Our People

Patrons

The BCNO is proud to have dedicated patrons who support our work and help spread the word about what we do.

HRH Princess Eugenie

We are delighted to have Her Royal Highness Princess Eugenie as Patron of the BCNO Group. Princess Eugenie’s interest in musculoskeletal healthcare has been long standing, following back surgery that Her Royal Highness underwent at the age of 12 to correct a scoliosis condition. As a result of this and family members’ experience of osteopathic treatment, Princess Eugenie is keen to support charities that make a difference to the lives of people with similar disorders.

HRH Princess Eugenie

Patron

Dr Paula Fletcher

Dr Paula Fletcher has been involved with osteopathy and the ESO for over 30 years and, during that time, has overseen enormous change, both within the School and the profession as a whole. In 1987, Dr Fletcher was Chief Education Officer at the General Council and Register of Osteopaths (GCRO), later to become the General Osteopathic Council. In 1989 Dr Fletcher joined the ESO as Education Advisor, working alongside Barrie Savory, the School’s then Principal, co-founders Tom Dummer and Margery Bloomfield and, later, Renzo Molinari. Dr Fletcher became Vice Patron after officially retiring from the ESO and continues to actively support the school and the BCNO.

Dr Paula Fletcher

Vice Patron

Roger Heathcote

After a PhD in high energy nuclear physics Roger joined the civil service as an administrator and worked in many different areas over the next 35 years mainly in the energy sector. His last two jobs covered responsibility for export controls and non-proliferation in the Department of Trade and Industry when he represented the UK on the Governing Bodies of the International Atomic Energy Agency in Vienna and the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons in The Hague. His final job before retirement was as Chief Executive of The Employment Tribunal Service.

Roger comments, “Like others, my first contact with osteopathy was as a patient to ease problems arising after two spinal operations. I see my role as some payback to the profession for the benefits I have received from it.”

Roger Heathcote

Vice Patron

Graham Mason

Graham Mason is Vice Patron of the BCNO Group and was formerly a Trustee of the European School of Osteopathy from 2002-2022. Graham Mason qualified as an osteopath from the British School of Osteopathy.

He played an important part in taking the Osteopaths Act of 1993 through Parliament, giving the profession statutory regulation. Graham has taught both at undergraduate and postgraduate level for many years in the UK, France, Austria, Denmark, Norway, Spain, Russia, Estonia and India. He has taught at undergraduate level and postgraduate level at the British School of Osteopathy (now the University College of Osteopathy) and since 1986 he has lectured at the European School of Osteopathy, mainly teaching the involuntary mechanism.

He has also taught at postgraduate level with Professor Frank Willard from the University of New England on many occasions.

He is author of Osteopathy Without Borders published in 2022.

Graham Mason

Vice Patron

Mark Morgan

Mark Morgan has been associated with The British College of Osteopathy and Naturopathy (BCNO) since 1979. He graduated from the BCNO in 1983.

He was asked to join the Board of Governors of The British College of Osteopathic Medicine ( formerly BCNO) and was a Trustee of BCOM from 1996 until his resignation in 2021. He is currently a Vice Patron of BCNO. He practices as an osteopath part-time, in Gloucestershire.

Mark Morgan

Vice Patron

Peter Ward

Peter Ward was appointed a Trustee at the ESO in 2002. He helped establish the Finance Sub-committee of the Board and has served for several years as the Honorary Treasurer. Prior to joining the ESO Board, Peter worked as a management consultant in finance and technology. He was appointed as a Vice Patron of ESO in 2021 and is delighted to be a Vice Patron of BCNO.

Peter Ward

Vice Patron

Board of Trustees

The BCNO benefits from a strong and diverse Trustee team that works with the Senior Management Team, staff, faculty and students to assure our place as a leading osteopathic educational institution.

David Tasker

David is at heart a geographer, who worked in the Insurance industry for 40 years. During that time he held a variety of operational management roles, which saw him lead teams of up to 100 people. His working life reflects his geographic background as it took him to the East End of London, Kent, Gloucestershire, Herefordshire, mid Wales, South West England and East Anglia and the home counties, as well as on one occasion a national role.

David comments, “As you can see, I’m not an osteopath – however, I have been treated for an old rugby injury by osteopaths for 40 years and readily espouse the benefits. I regard being entrusted with the role of Chair of the Board of Trustees as an honour and a responsibility that I will not take lightly.”

David Tasker

Chair of Trustees

Simon Fielding

Simon has worked for 45 years to advance the role and standing of Osteopathy both in the UK and overseas. He lectured at the ESO and also served as Vice Principal. He led the successful campaign for statutory self-regulation and was appointed as the first Chair of the General Osteopathic Council (GOsC). He spent 13 years as a specialist advisor at the Department of Health and has served on the Commission on Primary Care, the Academic Board of Exeter University Department of Health Studies, and the Education Board of the American Academy of Osteopathy. Simon also played a leading role in developing and establishing the Osteopathic International Alliance (OIA) and served on its Board for many years. In addition, Simon has many charitable interests and currently serves as the Chair of Trustees of The College of Medicine and the Kairos Rehabilitation Trust. Recently Simon has been appointed Chair of the Osteopathic Foundation . He received an OBE for services to healthcare in 1995.

Simon Fielding

Trustee

Nick Goddard

Nick has lived in rural Kent for all of his adult life. After attending Maidstone Grammar School he read Geography at St.Catharine’s College Cambridge and completed a Ph.D in Social and Economic History at the University of Kent in 1981. His publications deal with historical aspects of agriculture, environment and public health. Nick is a Fellow of the Royal Geographical Society.

Nick has an extensive knowledge of UK Higher Education gained both as a former Associate Dean at Anglia Ruskin University and as a Quality Assurance Agency (QAA) university/college audit/ review team member/leader and as a member of a variety of Degree Awarding Powers scrutiny teams.

Nick Goddard

Trustee

Debi Hayes

Debi has worked in public and private higher education for over 25 years in a range of roles including Director of Partnerships – University of Greenwich, Dean of Creative Enterprise at University of the Arts and Provost at GSM London. She is currently MD of LCCA and Principal of St. Patricks International College and is committed to expanding opportunities for mature and non-traditional students. Debi is a Principal Fellow of the Higher Education Academy. She has contributed to national education agendas as a Teaching Excellence Framework assessor and as an advisor to the Department for Education on widening participation. Her academic publications span the arts, tourism and higher education policy. She is Deputy Editor of the Creative Industries Journal, an international publication that features cutting edge research by academics and practitioners.

Debi Hayes

Trustee

Graham Jones

Graham is a solicitor and director in a large Kent firm of solicitors. He works in the area of family law which has led to an interest in education law. As a result of this, he has spent a number of years working voluntarily at school governor level for primary and secondary schools as well as his involvement as a trustee of BCNO.

He is a Kent boy born and bred and has a passion for music and theatre so loves to attend live performances at any opportunity. He is not an osteopath but has benefited from osteopathic treatment over many years and appreciates its value. He is pleased to be able to support osteopathy as a trustee of BCNO.

Graham Jones

Trustee

Howard Kidd

Howard has spent his career in the Accountancy world. His first four years were in Local Authority Finance. Following a brief interlude in a logging operation in British Columbia, he trained as a Chartered Accountant with two firms in Hampshire before moving to Grant Thornton in Sussex where he was a Partner for many years.

He has been involved in the Charity Sector initially at a professional level and subsequently as a Trustee for more than twenty years, mainly but not exclusively in the Educational Sector.

Howard Kidd

Trustee

Conor McDermott

Conor holds the position of Honorary Treasurer and has nearly 20 years of experience in the Financial Services sector. He has a strong interest in the Education, Healthcare and Not for Profit sectors, having held several senior roles specialising in providing specialist financial services to these sectors in the past.

A graduate, Conor currently works with a start-up bank specialising in Real Estate finance. In addition, he holds post-graduate qualifications in Healthcare Financial Management and FinTech.

In his free time, he enjoys travelling and hiking and seeks out opportunities to combine the two wherever possible.

A proponent of lifetime learning, commenting on his position of Trustee and Honorary Treasurer at BCNO Conor states “The role provides me with the opportunity to combine my passions for Education and Healthcare, and utilise my experience in the Financial Services sector in helping drive the organisation forward.”

Conor McDermott

Trustee & Honorary Treasurer

Simeon Milton

Simeon graduated from BCOM in 1993 and has worked in private practice since. He has worked extensively in sport initially in rugby but more recently at multisport events. He was clinical Lead Osteo at the 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games and was also Osteopath to the Rio and Tokyo Games. He has been a subject specialist for the QAA (Quality Assurance Agency), Chair of OSCA (Osteopathic Sports Care Association) and lectures on Sports Osteopathy in the UK and internationally.

Simeon Milton

Trustee

Student trustee

Devan Rajendran

Trustee

Elio Luis

Staff Trustee

Alice Parasram

Alice has a background in scientific research and teaching Pilates, but also has experience in small business management and in the charitable sector. She is currently studying at the European School of Osteopathy (ESO) as a way of furthering her interest in the human body, rehabilitation and helping people move well and feel well.

Alice is delighted to serve as Student Trustee on the BCNO board, representing ESO students. She has made it her mission to ensure that the more esoteric osteopathic practices, for which the ESO has a strong reputation, remain valued and comprehensively taught in the curriculum. She hopes to contribute, in some small way, to improving the educational experience for current and future osteopathic students, and generally securing the future of Osteopathy as we know it, for the benefit of all.

Alice Parasram

Student Trustee

Senior Management Team

Our Senior Management Team (SMT) and Heads of Department work with staff, faculty and students across our London and Kent sites. You can reach a member of the SMT through our contact us page.