Bob joined the board of Trustees in 2004 and became chair in 2007.

He taught history, politics and physical education for 25 years, the last 11 of them as Principal of Kingsbridge Community College in South Devon, an 11-18 comprehensive school with extensive provision for adult education and youth. During that time, Bob wrote and edited a range of textbooks for GCSE and A Level students, all of which were designed to improve understanding and facilitate access.

Bob then worked for Devon for two years, in particular to support and challenge schools in Ofsted categories, before becoming Chief Education Officer for Wiltshire County Council. In 2003, he was redesignated as Director of Children’s Services, and in the seven years at Wiltshire oversaw a major school reorganisation and the integration of education and children’s social care.

Since 2007, he has worked as a consultant, playing a major role in establishing the National Leaders of Education programme for the National College of School Leadership. Bob has also been a member of the Board of the Co-operative College, worked as a mentor for young people at risk in Hereford, and chaired the interim executive board of a primary school that was, at that time, in special measures. He is now Chair of Governors of Springbank Primary Academy in Cheltenham, an additional Governor of a secondary school special measures, and adviser to a Herefordshire Academy Trust. He and his wife Penny work as respite carers and have spent five weeks teaching English in Chitardai Upper Primary School, Rajsamund, India in both 2010 and 2011

He became involved with ASDAN after working with Brian Fletcher as a fellow headteacher in Devon, and knew of its work across the South West. He decided to become a Trustee because of ASDAN's focus on active learning and its operation as a social enterprise. Bob's interests are in the active learning styles that ASDAN encourages, in the strategic directions of the company and in how an organisation of ASDAN's size can operate effectively, involving its employees and treating them fairly and honestly.

John first met Roger White, the former ASDAN CEO, and Dave Brockington in the late 1970s when he was a student doing voluntary work with ASDAN’s predecessor organisations.

He started his career in the late 1970s teaching geography and humanities in three Bristol schools before moving to the Avon Resources for Learning Development Unit (RLDU) in 1983. RLDU was similar to ASDAN in many respects in that it worked with networks of teachers to produce materials and develop classroom methodologies. In 1986, John moved to the London Borough of Brent as humanities adviser and undertook a range of roles there, the last of which was as director of education, arts and libraries. He left in 1999 to move back to Bristol as director of education for North Somerset.

In 2000, he became a founding director and education chief executive of Tribal Group, now a major provider of education services. He has a masters degree in the link between inspection and school improvement and is an associate of London University’s Institute of Education International Centre for School Effectiveness and School Improvement. Since 2007, John has run his own company that undertakes a range of education-related services. and works part time for the Government as a school adjudicator.

John has been an ASDAN trustee since 2008 and has recently been elected vice-chair. His main areas of interest in relation to ASDAN are business effectiveness and promoting education for a more equal and fairer society. He also holds non-executive roles in organisations involved with coaching and project management and was the founding chair of the West of England LSC. 

Dave has been involved with ASDAN since it was established in the early 1980s and contributed to the emergence of the organisation through published writings and by putting ideas into practice. Dave’s career has straddled Higher Education and Further Education as a Head of Faculty/Senior Manager. He has led a number of initiatives in collaboration with the Higher Education Funding Council to promote the development of wider employability skills and more independent and autonomous learning for progression in education, employment and life. He is currently a strategy adviser to ASDAN and attends Trustees meetings in a non-voting capacity.

Sheelagh retired in 2010 after 17 years as head teacher of Kingdown Community School in Warminster, Wiltshire. Before that she had worked for 18 years as a teacher in London, including posts as head of science and head of sixth form, and as a deputy head in Hertfordshire.

For the past three years she has been employed as a school improvement partner and National Challenge adviser for schools in Bristol, Gloucestershire and Poole. She became a National Leader of Education in 2009, and has worked as a consultant head for the local authority, Association of School and College Leaders and the Youth Sport Trust.

Sheelagh has a strong and long-held belief that education can change lives for the better and that every child deserves to be in a good school. She says that her strong sense of moral purpose is that she should use her expertise to help this to happen.

She joined the board of trustees in 2010 and has been a supporter of ASDAN for many years. She worked as a head teacher under Bob Wolfson when he was Wiltshire chief education officer and with Marius Frank as a National Challenge adviser to his school.

Alison was approved as Trustee in September 2010. Following a 13-year teaching career in primary and secondary schools in Bristol, she moved into educational management, working for the local authorities of Nottinghamshire, Hampshire and BANES (Bath and North East Somerset). Before retiring, she was the Director of Education for the London Borough of Southwark. Between 2007 and 2009, Alison undertook some interim assignments, including five months as the Director of Children’s Services in Poole.

Alison became familiar with ASDAN through her work with special schools and appreciated the many additional opportunities ASDAN created for young people who were not able to access the more common academic routes. She is a governor at two secondary schools in South Gloucestershire.

Julie joined the board in 2007, having been a teacher in special schools for about 20 years, working with pupils with a wide range of special educational needs across the 3-19 age group. She has been deputy head of Milestone School in Gloucester, headteacher of St Nicholas School in Chippenham and is currently headteacher of Three Ways School in Bath. She has a B Ed Honours degree in Special Education, a BA honours in Psychology and an M Ed in Autism

Julie has worked with the ASDAN curriculum and resources for many years in all the special schools she has taught in. She described being asked to become a Trustee as 'a privilege to be a part of something (she has) worked with and supported for many years'.

She is passionate about ensuring that all children with special educational needs have access to achievement - especially for students with PMLD who require additional resources and expertise to help them achieve. Julie believes it is important that ASDAN continues to offer this group of students an opportunity to have their achievements recognised.

Brian is a founder member of ASDAN, having created the Youth Award Scheme in 1981 during his time as a deputy headteacher in Exeter. Linking up with Roger White, Dave Brockington and Richard Pring he went on to develop ASDAN programmes, authoring Key Decisions, Key Steps and Stepping Stones.

As an ex-head teacher Brian also took an interest in formalising the institution that is ASDAN, leading the application for charitable status, creating the original Board of Trustees and initiating many of the policies of the organisation.

Brian retired from paid employment in 2007 and now devotes most of his energies to his many grandchildren and his active work within the Labour Party, which once saw him stand for Parliament three times during the 1970s.

Gary is the Business Development Director (Learning & Skills) for Tribal Education. Following a period in hotel management, he joined the Further Education sector in 1980; he was a lecturer and senior lecturer at Newcastle College and subsequently Head of Faculty at West Suffolk College. In 1989, Gary was appointed Vice-Principal at Newark and Sherwood College, where he then became Principal from 1990 until 1994.

In 1995 Gary took up the post of Principal and Chief Executive of Weston College in North Somerset. In both roles Gary operated a number of Higher Education programmes within the colleges’ curriculum portfolio.

In September 2000 Gary was appointed Executive Director of the Learning and Skills Council for Wiltshire and Swindon. In this role he was responsible for the planning and funding of all post-16 provision in the area.

During his principalships, Gary was commissioned by the FEFC, LEAs and LSC to provide a range of support services to the college sector including advice on the recruitment and selection of principals, governance advice following poor inspection grades and leadership development and training.

In 2000 Gary joined the newly created LSC as one of the first group of Executive Directors.

Tom was Chief Executive of the National Youth Agency from 1996 until his retirement in August 2007. Previously, he was Assistant Director of Inspection for Ofsted.

Tom was born and educated in Belfast where he was a teacher and youth worker. He worked for the Scout Association and the National Youth Bureau and became one of Her Majesty’s Inspectors of Education in 1979, managing the Inspectorate’s Divisions that were responsible for youth and community work, for educational disadvantage and for curriculum. 

He has chaired or served on various advisory groups for the UK government, the EU and Council of Europe and on the committees of the Economic and Social Research Council, the Prince’s Trust, the Financial Services Authority and the Joseph Rowntree Foundation. He is a trustee of various charities including the Paul Hamlyn Foundation and Rathbone, as well as ASDAN.