Tom’s Trust CEO is shortlisted for national Strategic Leader of the Year Award

TOM’S Trust CEO, Rebecca Wood, has been shortlisted in the 2023 CharityComms Inspiring Communicator Awards for the Strategic Leader of the Year Award. Rebecca is being celebrated for her work at Tom’s Trust, the charity that provides mental health, wellbeing and psychological support to children with brain tumours and their families in the UK.

Rebecca has 25 years of experience in senior roles at fast-growing charities. Previously CEO of Alzheimer’s Research UK, she grew the organisation from a team of 2 to over 70 employees and left it a multi-million-pound income charity. This allowed the dementia research charity to fund £53m of innovative dementia research across the UK. Rebecca has also headed up Blue Smile, a children’s mental health charity based in East Anglia. While there Rebecca managed the launch of two new services and doubled the charity’s income.

Her vision for Tom’s Trust bears the same ambition. Since she joined Tom’s Trust in 2020, she has transformed the small local organisation into a national charity that now employs a team of 13. The expansion has allowed Tom’s Trust to support more children, now reaching 536 children and over 1,600 family members. Rebecca has also established the Tom’s Trust Network, which funds small innovation grants and research projects for hospitals across the UK. The approach allows Tom’s Trust to assist treatment centres previously beyond reach and develop national influence. In addition to the above, Rebecca has instigated new team roles that will have a huge impact on the charity moving forward.

Debs Mitchell, Co-Founder of Tom’s Trust, said:

“Rebecca’s visionary approach has led to ground-breaking changes in Tom’s Trust and her leadership has grown us into a nationally recognised entity. Within a mere three years, the organisation has expanded from a local service to encompassing four national services and Rebecca’s forward-thinking strategy outlines a clear path for us to take over the next five years, bolstering our growth and impact in the realm of paediatric brain tumour support. Rebecca absolutely deserves this accolade; we are so lucky to have her leading our team.”

Rebecca Wood, CEO of Tom’s Trust, said:

“I am touched to be recognised in this way, and to be shortlisted along with such talent. When I met Debs, I was so inspired by her passion that no family should be unsupported as hers had been and I could see so many exciting ways that Tom’s Trust could help more families, more quickly. If you know you are doing good work that helps people then you have to find a way to do more of it. The beauty of experience is that you know what has worked in other areas but you also understand what you need to consider when you are growing a charity to support more people. Key to that is the road map given by a good strategy.”

To find out more about Tom’s Trust please visit: www.tomstrust.org.uk.