Wendy’s first grandchild, William, was diagnosed with Kleefstra Syndrome just after his first birthday in 2014 and remembers the early days of his diagnosis well. She first heard of the Charity through Williams parents, Paul and Emma, as they found the information and support from the Charity invaluable. They attended both the 2015 and 2018 Conference and even managed to speak to Dr Kleefstra herself. They enjoyed the opportunity to meet other children and families in the same position as them and told Wendy all about it.

Wendy has Chief Executive experience in managing Charities, supporting people in need, such as homeless people and vulnerable families, and found by chance that the founder members, Chris and Fiona, were stepping back from their Chair and Trustee roles to concentrate more on their family. She immediately expressed an interest in supporting the Charity, to bring her expertise and passion of supporting families to help continue the fantastic work that Chris and Fiona have done to develop the website and support network.

She aims to use her connections and knowledge to ensure the families have access to relevant information, helpful support links, the latest medical updates, and the opportunity to meet other families with children and young people diagnosed with Kleefstra syndrome.

Vito is the father of three boys, of whom the youngest, Freddie, was diagnosed with Kleefstra syndrome at the age of seven months. He found the compassion, help, understanding and information about Kleefstra he received from kleefstrasyndrome.org invaluable and as such, believes strongly in being able to give back. Originally from Lithuania, Vito has lived in Derbyshire for the past 20 years, qualifying as a solicitor in 2011 and is currently a director of an Agricultural Law Practice in Derbyshire. He is confident that the skills and experience gained within this role will be useful in helping families in the same way that the charity has helped his, and in raising awareness of Kleefstra Syndrome.

Anna is the mom of Hunter (6) and Hazel (2). Hunter was diagnosed with Kleefstra Syndrome at 4 weeks old. He was born with a congenital heart defect, which prompted the early genetic testing.

Anna remembers the early days, feeling lost and scared for the future. Being a first-time mom, the early diagnosis was simply overwhelming. Making contact with other families that had gone through similar was the best support she could have hoped for. Feeling understood and having other parents tell you “you will be fine” and “you are not alone” helped getting through the tough first year.

Six years later Anna is excited the get involved with the Charity and help other parents to navigate a life with Kleefstra and tell families that “they will be fine”, because they will.

Jo has three wonderful children with her youngest Matthew having been diagnosed with Kleefstra syndrome in February 2020. It was clear from the beginning that something was different with Matthew and even after the relief of an official diagnosis there remained many unanswered questions. The hospital consultant was limited in his answers to the family, simply due to the lack of information available and the small number of diagnosed persons within the United Kingdom. The meeting ending with a leaflet being handed over which had simply been printed from the Internet with further advice to seek out other families online for more support.

On the journey home from the hospital, Jo sought answers online in the hope to connect with anyone who had experience of Kleefstra syndrome. She found Kleefstrasyndrome.org and immediately messaged Fiona and Chris. From the outset they were able to put her mind at ease and quickly defused the increasing worry, helping her family to feel less alone. Jo has found the online community is a great resource for questions and answers and has provided the opportunity to learn and comprehend more about what a life with Kleefstra syndrome is about, not only for Matthew, but his surrounding family as he continues on his journey through life. She is passionate about helping anyone who finds themselves in a similar position that their family once was, whilst also promoting and creating awareness of the syndrome and to strive and help others on their unique journey through experience and advice.

Barbara heard about Kleefstra Syndrome through the Chair, Wendy Hocking, who she has known for many years, and when Wendy mentioned her work with the Kleefstra Syndrome charity, it raised her interest. Barbara’s older sister has a rare disease, Oculodentodigital dysplasia (ODDD) which she believes their mother also had on becoming aware of the symptoms. Barbara looked at the Kleefstra Syndrome website to understand more about this rare disease and the charity. She then asked about becoming a trustee of the charity.

Barbara is retired and believes her business experiences and volunteer roles would be useful in supporting a charity. Barbara started and managed her own franchise business in 1996 and sold it in 2016 and also worked for the franchisee for twelve years. Her role was to lead, support and provide training to existing franchisees and to train new franchisees in the management of their businesses.

Barbara loves to keep fit by playing badminton, going to the gym, and walking. She is chair at Stafford Badminton Club and at Stafford Walking Nerball Club. Playing with the members provides fitness and great friendships. Barbara also enjoys sewing, gardening and reading.

Barbara is happily married to Ian for over forty five years. They have a son and a daughter and three gorgeous grandchildren and the best times are when they can all be together. Making homemade pizzas with the grandchildren is now a family tradition.

Barbara is delighted to be working with all the trustees and members to continue raising awareness of Kleefstra Syndrome.

Kate is a retired doctor. After training covering all aspects of paediatrics she specialised in the care of newborn babies. For 25 years she worked as a consultant on a neonatal intensive care unit. Many of the babies she cared for had significant health problems in the newborn period and for some of them the problems became lifelong. Kate understands that the process of recognition of difficulties, their investigation and the formulation of a management plan can seem disjointed and frustratingly slow and may involve a bewildering number of people. She appreciates the difficulty of caring for a baby and his/her siblings whilst simultaneously adjusting to a new, uncertain future and the toll this may take on a family. Kate hopes to utilise her experience to support the families of children and young people diagnosed with Kleefstra Syndrome.

Cath first became aware of Kleefstra Syndrome after her grandson Jack (born 2004) was diagnosed in February 2017. Jack was 12 at the time and Cath’s daughter Jo, single parent to Jack had tried to establish a diagnosis for him from when he was a baby as the family were all aware that Jack had additional needs. Jack comes to stay with Cath and her husband during school holidays, initially with his mum but latterly on his own, as he puts it “Jack Lockwood is having time with my grandparents”. Since Jack’s birth Cath, together with her husband, has spent a great deal of time with him. The family attended the Kleefstra conference in 2018 in Coventry. Cath completed a charity walk in May of 2023 from Skegness to Mablethorpe primarily to raise money for Kleefstra, naturally a charity close to her heart. It was following this that Cath became a Trustee for Kleefstra Syndrome UK in August 2023.

Cath’s professional background is in administration having worked extensively in healthcare for the Royal College of General Practitioners (a registered charity), a hospital Consultant, Hospital Manager (Modern Matron), Director of Planning for a Hospital Trust, and a Deputy Medical Director. Cath also worked as an administrator for a UK subsidiary of an American incorporated company who were a computer aided design/manufacture/engineering company. Cath is also a DJ for an online community radio station based in Skegness (started June 2023) a voluntary role that Cath enjoys immensely.