Brigstowe is proud and thankful to have a skilled board of trustees from various disciplines and backgrounds managing the strategic direction of the organisation. Here’s a little about each of them.
Tom Sharkey (Chair)
Tom was born and raised in the Northeast and came to the West Country to study social work at Bath University in the late 80s. Back then, he was a volunteer with the Aled Richards Trust and Gay Switchboard in Bristol. He coordinated Bristol’s LGBTQ+ Youth Group for a couple of years in the early 90s. After qualifying as a social worker, he worked in Bristol with children and families and in the courts. Inspired by undertaking work in the courts, he embarked on a change of career to law, qualifying as a solicitor in 2001. As a solicitor, he has specialised in representing two vulnerable client groups: children in family law cases and those lacking mental capacity in the Court of Protection.
Since 2006, Tom has been a partner in a law firm gaining experience in management, finance and business development.
Sheila Ollis (Vice Chair)
Sheila was born and educated in Zimbabwe. She has been a qualified nurse for 24 years both in Africa and in the UK. Sheila worked for two years in HIV and AIDS awareness in Zimbabwe with a special interest in mother-to-baby transmission and the management of HIV-positive under 5s.
Sheila has volunteered at Terrence Higgins Trust (THT) for several years and helped to run the Positive Women’s Group and also the Black and Ethnic Minority Group.
She is currently in the process of setting up and establishing her own home care business.
Dominic Eastham (Treasurer)
Dominic is a not-for-profit accountant. In his own words, he is “trying to make the world a better place one spreadsheet at a time”.
Alison Scott
Alison is originally from Manchester and studied history at Bristol University. Following university, she worked for an accountancy firm then Bristol City Council in a variety of teams, including managing benefits, homelessness, rents, repairs and now tenancy management, which includes lettings and tackling antisocial behaviour. She is also responsible for a youth project which includes refugees and care leavers. Alison brings useful knowledge of housing and commissioning. When she is not busy working, Alison enjoys watching football.
Simon Purkiss
Simon was born in Bristol and has lived in the city for most of his life. He enjoys playing football, watching Bristol Bears and spending time with his young family.
He is passionate about equity and making a positive difference in people’s lives. He’s inspired by Brigstowe’s passionate approach and enjoys being part of the team.
Simon has over 15 years of fundraising and marketing experience in the voluntary sector. His work focuses on creating, developing and implementing successful strategies for sustainable income generation.
Jeremy Horwood
Jeremy is a Professor of Social Sciences and Applied Health Research at the University of Bristol. He is passionate about health services being designed and delivered to ensure equity of access, use and acceptability. His work aims to reverse health inequalities experienced by marginalised groups, with a focus on reducing the stigma of sexually transmitted infections (STI) and improving access to STI testing and PrEP (a pill taken by HIV-negative people before and after sex that reduces the risk of getting HIV).
Vicky Harwood
Vicky graduated in Classics from Newcastle University, and after volunteering in a homelessness hostel, has since remained working in the supported housing sector for 29 years, including 24 years as a manager/leader and in organisations ranging from national housing associations to local, grassroots charities. Currently, she is working for a Bristol-based charity providing housing and support services for young people. Vicky is passionate about the support sector, fairness, professional standards of service delivery, innovation and improvements.
Vicky has lived in Bristol for 19 years and is interested in history, quizzes, and football (Grimsby Town FC – her hometown team!).
Adele Wolujewicz
I have been a Consultant in HIV care for 8 years and worked in services in Liverpool, Coventry, South Africa and Bangladesh before starting at North Bristol NHS Trust in 2017. I am also a Consultant in Genitourinary Medicine in Bristol where I manage complex STIs and provide contraception.
My interests are focused on women’s health, contraception and sexual wellbeing but I am always learning and feel grateful to work in a vibrant and dynamic specialty that continues to present new questions. I have published and presented work on HIV treatments, HIV and pregnancy, and STIs at national and international conferences. I am also dedicated to improving HIV testing and currently lead the Bristol Fast Track City HIV Testing workstream. I am a Co-director of the Bristol Sexual Health Improvement Programme Health Integration Team (SHIP HIT).
Outside my work, I enjoy running muddy trails and have run the London Marathon for Terrence Higgins Trust. I look forward to breaking my Bristol 10k run record when I run for Brigstowe in May 2025!
David Crofton
I moved to Bristol from Essex in 1979, so I consider myself almost a Bristolian now, though I was brought up in Manchester.
I have been associated with Brigstowe on and off for the last 25 years.
I have had a wide range of jobs, giving me a wealth of lived experiences, from retail management, to transport fleet supervision, and for a long time, Sales Executive (the sort that used to drive around and sell services to businesses).
I have worked as a waiter and a barman, finally becoming a licensee and owning several pubs and a nightclub, which was notably one of four that had the first 24-hour licenses in Bristol.
I was active on the gay scene in Bristol for many years and ran two Bristol Prides in the early 90s.
I am now retired and devote some of my time to various voluntary works, including working with the volunteers on the working exhibits at M Shed museum, and with Healthwatch Bristol, where I represent the public and patients of the University Hospitals Bristol and Weston at the Experience of Care group meetings. I am also involved with various other health-related organisations.
Joshua Anderson
Joshua is an HIV activist, software engineer, and dedicated volunteer who has been providing peer support to people living with HIV in London and the South West for nearly a decade.
Since his diagnosis over ten years ago, Joshua has worked with various HIV organizations, offering mentorship, facilitating support groups, and delivering workshops for newly diagnosed individuals. In 2015, he participated in Through Positive Eyes, an international photography project documenting the lives of people living with HIV. That same year, he began volunteering with Positively UK, later becoming a mentor and group facilitator for the gay men’s support group.
From 2020 to 2022, he worked as an HIV Peer Support Worker at Swindon’s sexual health department, helping people living with HIV access support. In 2021, he was part of a steering committee for an Imperial College study assessing the impact of COVID-19 on people with HIV.
Joshua is passionate about improving HIV care, peer support, and the lives of people living with HIV more generally.