MARIE HUGHES, CHIEF EXECUTIVE
Marie founded the charity with her husband Ian, who passed away in 2020. She is the mother of four boys. Two of Marie’s sons have died from different types of brain tumours – Oscar who was 9 and Milo who was 5 years old. She is determined to help find better treatments for brain tumours so other children won’t have to go through what her own sons and her family have.
Marie is CEO of OSCAR’s charity, working closely with Phil on strategy and vision. Marie lives in Copenhagen with her two other sons, Sebastian and Lucas, and works as a Risk Manager on the Danish railway.
PHIL MARTINEZ, CHARITY MANAGER
Phil was a teacher for 25 years, spending two decades at the school Oscar and his brothers attended. Phil sadly lost his mum to a brain tumour in 2013. He is passionate about supporting the charity in helping children receive early diagnosis and the best possible treatment, as well as providing support and care for families through difficult and confusing times. Phil was RAG President at the University of York, raising thousands for a range of charities through a variety of events, and will draw on that experience to assist Oscar’s PBTC. He lives in York with his wife and two children.
Phil explains his motivation for being involved in a touching tribute.
SHARON REID, CHAIR OF THE BOARD OF TRUSTEES/FINANCE
Sharon has been involved with OSCAR’s PBTC since its inception. She is a passionate believer in the importance of research and is very proud to be involved, particularly in running the annual Family Challenge events. She hopes that the work of the charity will allow more families to get the support and care that they need when they get a brain tumour diagnosis in their family. Sharon has 20 years experience in the entertainment industry, working across film, TV and gaming.
SARAH JANE GRAY, TRUSTEE/SECRETARY
Sarah has over 20 years of experience in the pharmaceutical and surgical sales sector and is very familiar with the importance of medical advancements for better patient outcomes. She believes research is essential for improving diagnosis, treatment and prognosis for all children with brain tumours and hopes OSCAR’s PBTC can offer much needed funding to help push the boundaries in finding better ways of curing this devastating disease. Sarah’s focus as a treasurer will ensure record-keeping and accounts meet the conditions of the statutory bodies and compliance with regulatory organisations.
ALICE BECKWITH, PARTNERSHIPS TRUSTEE
Alice has been involved with OSCAR’s PBTC since 2020. She passionately supports the aims of the charity and believes that if the charity can change one life for the better, then it is a success. Working in the public sector for 18 years, Alice has helped transform Adult and Children’s Social Care Services by ensuring heavy investment in preventative services. This is why the impact OSCAR’s work will have on families is at the forefront of Alice’s motivation to be involved.
As partnerships trustee, Alice is keen to involve businesses, trusts and individuals in the work OSCAR’s does and show them the role they can have in providing the base for the charity to continue to expand its projects to help children with brain tumours.
LISA DAWSON, SOCIAL & DIGITAL TRUSTEE
Lisa has been a friend of the Hughes family since 2016 and was honoured to be asked in 2022 to represent OSCAR’s PBTC as Social & Digital Trustee. Both Lisa and her family have taken part in numerous fundraising events and are dedicated to raising awareness of paediatric brain tumours. Lisa is a social media content creator, blogger and writer and lives in York with her husband Joe and three children, Ella, Max and Leo.
RYAN MATHEW, CLINICAL TRUSTEE
Ryan Mathew is an Associate Professor at the University of Leeds and an Honorary Consultant Neurosurgeon at Leeds Teaching Hospitals.
The Hughes Family story had a big impact on Ryan. He first learnt of the charity when he became surgeon to Oscar’s dad, Ian. After a successful surgery, he continued to show great care and concern for the family when Ian became ill again and when Milo, Oscar’s brother, was diagnosed with a brain tumour. Ryan is driven to make life outcomes better for brain tumour patients and their families. His extensive work in both research and surgery is testament to that commitment.
His clinical practice covers the full spectrum of general neurosurgery with a subspecialty in brain tumours. His research focuses on advanced brain tumour models, residual therapy-resistant glioma cell populations, local therapeutic treatments and surgical technologies and devices. He peer-reviews for several journals and grant award committees and has published numerous papers.
MATTHEW TAYLOR, TRUSTEE
Matthew Taylor is Director of the York Health Economics Consortium at the University of York. He has been a supporter of OSCAR’s since its inception and, through his twenty years of research into the measurement of health-related quality of life, Matthew is keenly aware of the huge benefits that new treatments can bring to people living with brain tumours.
Matthew is actively involved in national-level healthcare decision making, having had former roles as the Scientific Director of the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE)’s Economic and Methodological Unit and as a committee member for NICE’s Public Health Advisory Group. He has over fifty peer-reviewed scientific publications, including a chapter in the textbook ‘The Business, Policy and Economics of Neurosurgery’.