Who we are

JIA-at-NRAS is a part of the National Rheumatoid Arthritis Society (NRAS). We design, coordinate, fund and deliver a comprehensive and wide range of high quality products and services for all affected by RA and JIA.

Clare Jacklin

Chief Executive

Stuart Munday

Chief Operating Officer

Ailsa Bosworth

NRAS National Patient Champion

Helen Ball

Finance Director

Meera Chauhan

Head of Data

Sarah Watford

Support Service Manager

Victoria Butler

Information Resource Manager

Emma Sanders

Individual Giving Officer

Helen Saich

Trusts and Company Giving Fundraiser

Emma Spicer

Trusts and Giving Manager

Cathrine Mouttou

Salesforce Administrator

Nicola Goldstone

Young People and Family Project Officer

Anita Masih

Digital Marketing Manager

Geoff West

Marketing Manager (Mat cover)

Aribah Rizvi

Digital Marketing Officer

Sam Grant-Riach

Office Manager

Amy Allen

Information and Support Coordinator

Rosie Evans

Information and Support Coordinator

Sally Matthews

Research Coordinator

Kate Evans

Information & Support Coordinator

Kate Lyall

Information & Support Coordinator

Tracy Dias

Services Administrator

Maddy Roberts

Families and Young Peoples Service Manager

Karen Farrington

Services Administrator

Sadé Asker

Senior Policy Officer

Juliet Young

Financial Accountant

Eleanor Burfitt

Marketing Manager

Kim Watts

Executive Assistant to Clare Jacklin

Cheryl Scowen

Receptionist and Administrator

Simon is a chartered engineer who has spent the majority of his career working in engineering consultancy in the rail and highway sectors. His experience includes business leadership with responsibility for service delivery, commercial management and business performance. He is keen to apply the experience gained during his career for the benefit of NRAS, and to maximise the help it can bring to people with RA. 

Simon became aware of the enormously valuable work of NRAS through his wife Sarah, a long-term RA sufferer and NRAS member. Through her involvement with NRAS he has been able to appreciate the extensive range of services which the organisation provides, and the positive impact it makes on the lives of those living with RA. 

As Chair of the Board of Trustees Simon works closely with Clare, her Management Team and the Board to provide strategic direction to NRAS, ensuring sound finances and securing a sustainable future for the charity. Our aim is to continue to broaden the reach and appeal of NRAS amongst all those who suffer from RA and JIA and provide them with the best available support and understanding.  

Simon has three step children and lives in Gloucestershire with Sarah and their two dogs. 

Peter C. Taylor was appointed to the Norman Collisson chair of Musculoskeletal Sciences at the University of Oxford in 2011 and is a Fellow of St. Peter’s College Oxford. He was born in London and studied pre-clinical medical sciences at Gonville and Caius College at the University of Cambridge. He subsequently studied clinical medicine at the University of Oxford and was awarded a PhD degree in 1996 from the University of London. He was elected a Fellow of the Royal College of Physicians in 2000 and a distinguished member of the British Society for Rheumatology in 2016. In the summer of 2015, Peter was appointed Chief Medical Advisor to the National Rheumatoid Arthritis Society and has always had the highest admiration for the outstanding contribution that the charity makes to helping people living with rheumatoid arthritis lead a full and active life. Peter has worked closely with Ailsa, founder of NRAS, and with Clare and her team in negotiations with NICE regarding access to advanced treatments.

Peter has specialist clinical interests in rheumatoid arthritis and over thirty years’ experience in clinical trial design and leadership in studies of biologic and small molecular therapies including the earliest seminal trials of anti-TNF and anti-IL-6 receptor therapy as well as JAK inhibitors. He also has research interests in wellbeing measures and approaches to holistic care beyond pharmacological intervention alone.

Peter and his wife live in Oxfordshire. They have two adult children and a passion for the countryside and classical music.

Anna Woolf is the Director of London Arts and Health, as well as being a PhD candidate at the Royal Central School of Speech and Drama. As the Director of London Arts and Health, she supports artists, creative practitioners and health professionals across the whole of the Capital and beyond, promoting excellence and engagement in the field of arts and wellbeing. The organisation aims to extend the reach of the arts to communities and individuals who would otherwise be excluded as the leading sector support organisation, advocating for arts and health in London. Anna’s PhD research examines socially engaged and participatory art, health and applied theatre in relation to teenagers living with the complex autoimmune disease Juvenile Idiopathic Arthritis. Prior to beginning her PhD studies, Anna has worked for a range of companies and engaged in a number of research and teaching projects both at Central and Goldsmith’s University of London. Her specialisms include working with young people from primary school through to University age, coupled with digital practices in particular. Her work spans the interdisciplinary nature of applied theatre and digital practices such as social media, online communities, filmmaking and digital facilitation. Anna has a connection to Rheumatoid Arthritis as the daughter of Ailsa Bosworth, the founder of NRAS. She brings marketing, research and a background and interest in arts and health expertise to the board. Anna has two daughters and lives in London with her husband.

Richard has worked for Anglian Water Group for most of his career and is currently Strategic Development Director within Anglian Venture Holdings and a Director of the main operational subsidiary businesses. Richard has a wide range of experience, from day to day operations through to developing and delivering commercial and strategic projects. His current role involves commercial support to a range of businesses and the strategic development of growth and market opportunities in the UK and Ireland.

Having been diagnosed with RA in 2015, the NRAS website was one of the first sites Richard visited to understand more about RA. Recognising the benefit NRAS gives to those newly diagnosed with RA he is keen to support and contribute to our work. Richard has been very active in charity work, chairing Anglian Water’s WaterAid fundraising committee since 2011 and as a Board member of the Beacon Project (a programme to improve water, sanitation and hygiene in the town of Lahan – working with the Nepalese Government, Nepal Water Supply Corporation, WaterAid Nepal, the Lahan Municipality and Anglian Water) – experience he hopes will also benefit NRAS.

Richard is married with four children, and is keen to remain as active as possible – enjoying most sports, especially cycling, swimming and rock climbing.

Rayman has 14 years of experience in strategy, corporate communications, business development and leadership for global corporations.

At MTC, he held the positions of Group Director of Social Value and Executive Director of Business Development and Corporate Communications. He played a crucial role in establishing the company’s brand and expanding its reach into domestic and international markets.

Rayman earned an executive master’s degree in business administration from Warwick Business School and, served as the Deputy Leader for the Slough Conservatives as a Councillor for five years.

Ray became aware of NRAS through his Bibi (gran), who was a long-term RA sufferer but was diagnosed much later in life due to a lack of knowledge about RA from his family.  

Ray joined as a Trustee in 2023 and aims to use his knowledge and experience in strategy, corporate communications, partnerships, and policy to help the NRAS team support its members and raise awareness of RA and JIA. 

Rich works for ScoutsCymru as Head of Strategy supporting the Organisations Groups across Wales. He has a wide range of experience within the Voluntary Sector including Charity Governance, Volunteer support, Communications and External Affairs. 

 Having been diagnosed with RA in 2014, NRAS was the organisation Rich turned to for support and advice in understanding the condition. Living in Wales and at the time NRAS was creating its Campaigns Networks, Rich wanted to put some of experiences forward and took on a role within the NRAS Welsh Ambassadors, supporting the Organisations work in lobbying Welsh Government and engaging with stakeholders to move Rheumatology services forward in Wales, including supporting the work of JIA at NRAS in the campaign for a Paediatric Rheumatology Service for Wales. 

 Rich is married with four children, and enjoys visiting Historical sites and baking.

Jim is a qualified Chartered Accountant, who has worked across practice and industry for almost 25 years. Following his most recent role as Chief Financial Officer (CFO) at the Institute of Directors, Jim has switched his focus to working as a portfolio CFO, helping entrepreneurial businesses deliver their strategy.

Jim became aware of the support provided by NRAS through his wife Sophie, when she was diagnosed with RA in 2010 at the age of 30. From seeing the support and advice that was on offer to his wife in understanding the condition, Jim has been really able to appreciate the positive impact it makes on the lives of those who live with RA. In recent times, NRAS has also been the go to place for her in seeking information around COVID-19 vaccines and their potential impact on people with RA.

Jim joined as a Trustee in 2021 and aims to put his knowledge of finance and business to good use in helping Clare and the NRAS team to support its member and to continue to raise awareness of RA and JIA. 

Jim lives in London with his wife and son, along with their dog and two cats. He enjoys most sports and is a keen runner and cyclist. 

Claire was diagnosed with rheumatoid arthritis in 2020. The journey to finding medication that worked was exhausting and Claire found the mental adjustment to her new health condition particularly hard. In many ways it felt like she was grieving her old self.

Claire has no family history of RA and was diagnosed at a relatively young age. This, coupled with the pandemic, made the first few years following her diagnosis feel very lonely. Discovering the information and community of NRAS allowed Claire to connect to others with similar lived experiences and adjust to her condition. Now Claire feels able to advocate for herself to her medical team, is confident in managing her symptoms and knows that support is always available.

Professionally, Claire has over ten years of experience in the financial services sector, specialising in operational risk and resilience. Her experience spans the public and private sector, including writing policy at the regulator. By becoming a trustee at NRAS, Claire hopes to use her experience to continue NRAS’ great work and make sure others living with rheumatoid arthritis continue to be at the very centre of the charity.

Claire lives in South West London with her partner and their very friendly cat.

Juvenile Idiopathic Arthritis at NRAS

JIA-at-NRAS is a service launched by the National Rheumatoid Arthritis Society.

From the Chief Executive

The National Rheumatoid Arthritis Society was founded in 2001 and is the only UK charity devoted specifically to offering support, information and advocacy for those living with Rheumatoid Arthritis and since 2014 those living with Juvenile Idiopathic Arthritis.

In 2012 NRAS conducted a review of JIA and JIA services across the UK with a view to being able to start to provide a much more comprehensive service for families and young people affected by JIA.

The first thing we did was to spend a year producing a major report, ‘A Focus on JIA’ by visiting rheumatology and paediatric rheumatology centres across the UK to find out what the state of JIA service provision was. We talked to many different clinicians and allied health professionals, parents, young people with JIA and NHS Managers and effectively mapped what service provision looked like. 

It is important to be clear to anyone affected by JIA who is reading this or interacting with our JIA-at-NRAS web area that JIA and RA are not the same while they are both inflammatory forms of arthritis they do differ in many ways.  Very importantly JIA does not ‘become’ RA after the age of 16. If you are diagnosed with JIA, then you continue to have JIA, unless your disease goes into remission, after the age of 16. Another important aspect of JIA is that it is not one disease, it has a number of different types and you can read about the different types here.

This website for those affected by JIA will provide you with the information about JIA and living with JIA which you are seeking,

With best wishes

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Clare Jacklin

NRAS CEO

About Us

Our Vision

Life without limits for all those with RA or JIA.

Our Mission

To enable the RA & JIA community to thrive by providing access to

  • Support
  • Engagement
  • Expert Knowledge
  • Research
  • Campaigning

all of which is informed by those living with these complex and currently incurable auto-immune diseases.

Our Core Values  

We approach our commitment and responsibilities to all with empathy, professionalism, passion and enthusiasm. We continually strive to achieve the best results and outcomes that we can for those we represent. These core values underpin the way we work. 

At all times, we act: 

We work openly and ethically, with integrity, honesty and independence.

We are creative and constantly challenge the status quo, always striving for better and looking for new ways to add value, whilst basing what we say and do on the best evidence and our Members’ experiences.

Our staff are not just enthusiastic and committed, they are passionate about making a positive difference for all those we represent.

We work with many different organisations, contributing significantly to alliances and coalitions.

We are results focused and deliver on our projects and campaigns. Our many awards are testament to our achievements.

We act with sensitivity and compassion, respecting the needs and preferences of the individual regardless of nationality, creed, gender, age or ethnicity, while at the same time representing the entire community affected by RA or JIA in the UK, encompassing adults and young people, families, carers and rheumatology healthcare professionals.

Support our mission

Because of your generous donations JIA-at-NRAS will continue to be there for everyone affected by JIA.

NRAS in 2023

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