Trustees

• John Milne MBE

  John qualified from Leeds in 1980 and has worked mainly in general dental practice in Wakefield since then.

  He has a special interest in orthodontics having worked as a clinical assistant at Mid Yorks hospital. John has been involved in dental politics for most of his career.

  At local level John is Chair of Wakefield LDC and also represents West Yorkshire on the BDA General Dental Practice Committee. As Chair of GDPC from 2009-2015 John represented the profession at national level with a particular interest in NHS reform.

  John now works part time in practice and as National Dental Advisor to the CQC. John was awarded an MBE for his services to dentistry.

• Andrew Paterson

  Andrew is a Senior Clinical Lecturer/Honorary Consultant in Restorative Dentistry at Glasgow Dental School. He Graduated from the University of Edinburgh in 1987. He practised in a specialist referral based restorative practice for 22 years in Glasgow. Previously he has been an NHS Consultant in Glasgow and Leeds Dental Hospitals and in Crosshouse Hospital, Kilmarnock. He has a masters degree in medical law and ethics and has worked as a dento-legal adviser for a dental defence organisation. Andrew is s a clinical lead, regular volunteer and member of Bridge2Aid’s Clinical Advisory Group. Andrew’s academic research interests are the ethics of international healthcare volunteering.

• Colin Cohen – Interim Chair

  Colin worked for IBM for 45 years in various roles, ending up with executive responsibilities for Operations and Strategy in the UK. For 15 years he had an international role which included South Africa, and in 2007 focused on developing IBM’s strategy for southern Africa. He is using these business skills and experiences to support the growth strategy of Bridge2aid.

• Ian Kerr

  Ian has been involved in fundraising and overseas aid and development since starting ActionAid, one of Europe’s larger NGO’s, usually in fundraising or project development roles. These have taken him to 20 countries in Africa, Asia and the Middle East. He has recently served on the international board of The Brooke and their affiliate  boards in India and Pakistan and until 2020 chaired Virtual Doctors, a health charity working in East Africa.

  Ian was one of the UK’s most experienced fundraisers winning the Consultant of the Year award and helped set up the Institute of Fundraising and served on the board of the Association of Fundraising Consultants. He designed successful appeals for Deafblind UK, Orbis and Talking Newspapers. Ian has been  a Fellow of both the British Institute of Management and the  Administrative Accounting Institute. Since retiring he has been an volunteer ambassador for VisionCare for the homeless in Brighton, a trustee of Raystede Animal Sanctuary, socialised a hearing dog and he plays tennis and walks his dogs daily.

• Ian Wilson

  Ian qualified from Edinburgh University in 1987, working in NHS general practice in the North-East. In 1990 he began exploring how his dental skills could meet the needs of the poorest communities in Africa, visiting several countries in West & East Africa delivering dental services and training.

  Ian and his wife Andie, as founders of the Dental NGO Bridge2Aid, moved to Tanzania in 2002 with their young family. Coming back to the UK in 2011, Ian now serves Dental Foundation training for NHS England – Directorate for Workforce, Training and Education Yorkshire and Humber as Training Programme Director JDFCT Scheme.

  In this capacity he has helped to innovate an awareness of Emotional Intelligence within the Dental Workplace, specifically supporting Foundation Dentists through teach and coaching. He also works as a clinician and regional clinical director for Rodericks Dental Partners. He continues to visit Africa and work alongside other colleagues who are passionate to provide oral health services to the poor and marginalised communities here in the UK & Overseas. He and Andie have 4 children; Jake, Imani, Neema & Maisha.