Rupert Marks

I am father to 2 teenage daughters who were diagnosed as severely sight impaired from a young age. Over the years have been wonderfully looked after by the QVTI team from Linden Lodge. I was delighted to become both a Parent Governor in 2018 and a committee member of the Wandsworth Sensory Support Service. I have a corporate background in commodities but now work for myself offering advisory services to clients. I was widowed some years ago but remarried in 2021 and live in a busy house with 5 teenagers in total, so education is an important part of my current life.

Joanna Johnson

I am a Consultant Paediatric Dentist and Clinical Director of the Dental Directorate at Guys and St Thomas NHS Foundation Trust.

I graduated in1997 from the University of Newcastle upon Tyne and completely the early part of my training in the North East, Cambridge and London.

I completed specialist training at Guy’s and St Thomas NHS Foundation trust from 2003 to 2009 and appointed a Consultant.

My enthusiasm and admiration for the school and the amount of holistic care they provide for the pupils is what drove me to take up the position of Governor.  I am interested in staff well-being, especially in light of the Pandemic.

Julie McLynchy

I am delighted to be a parent governor at Linden Lodge.  My daughter has been a pupil at the school since 2017, accessing the very specialist curriculum and teaching in the Alba Centre for deafblind children.  We live in Hampshire so I am very aware of the challenges that the school and parents face when parents don’t live close to school and aren’t able to visit in-person regularly.

Kieran Travers

I am married to Mike and have lived in Tooting for almost 25 years.  I grew up in Ireland and have family in London, Ireland and Canada, including two teenage grandchildren.  I retired in March 2019 after almost 30 years as a Local Authority Social Worker with Child and Family support services.  

I have been a Governor at Linden Lodge since September 2020 and a Trustee at Southfields Academy since September 2021. I am the designated safeguarding lead in both roles.

Career History
I graduated with an Honours degree in Social Studies and a post graduate qualification in Social Work from Trinity College Dublin, Ireland in 1990.  Prior to that I had qualified as a psychiatric nurse. 

My career has almost all been in Local Authority Child and Family support services, in particular in “front line” child protection services. I have been a case holder, a senior practitioner, a team leader, a principal manager and an independent reviewing officer with Local Authorities in Birmingham and London.  

For the final 2 years of my career I worked as a Family Court Advisor employed by the Child and Family Court Advisory and Support Services (CAFCASS).  I was based in central London working primarily at the Family Courts in Holborn.    

I earned a post graduate Certificate in Child Protection, a Diploma in Child Protection and a Masters Degree in Leadership each from the University of East London based at the Tavistock and Portman Clinic in London.   I was awarded a MA in 2015.  

Interests
I love to read, exercise and do voluntary work.  I am a keen swimmer and a beginning tennis player.  I enjoy travelling, reading, music and politics.

Adam Ockelford

I first came into contact with Linden Lodge in 1980, when volunteered in the evenings, undertaking musical activities with the residential children. When I finished my course at music college I then taught at Linden Lodge for around 10 years. In 1992, I went to work at the RNIB, where I became Director of Education, running their schools and colleges and inclusive support services. I am currently Professor of Music at the University of Roehampton in the School of Education. I provide the music every year on the summer vacation scheme through the charity I set up around 30 years ago called The Amber Trust, which supports blind and partially sighted children in their pursuit of music across the UK. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Adam_Ockelford