Rupert Marks

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

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

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.

I have been a civil servant for over 20 years.  I work in the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy and have spent most of my career in regulatory policymaking.  During a break from the civil service I volunteered for the charity Working Families and researched and authored their 2018 report “Off Balance” which looked at the challenges faced by parents of disabled children who are trying to get into and stay in paid work.

Kieran Travers

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.