Patrons and Board
PROFESSOR PETER M MORTIMER
Patron/Medical Advisor
Professor Peter Mortimer trained in Dermatology in Sheffield and Oxford. Formerly Physician to the Skin Department at St George’s and consultant skin physician to the Royal Marsden Hospital, as well as Professor of Dermatological Medicine to the University of London since 2000, he is now Emeritus Professor of Dermatological Medicine at City St George’s, University of London. Professor Mortimer is a founder of both the Lymphoedema Support Network (LSN) and British Lymphology Society (BLS), and was appointed the first Clinical Training Fellow in Lymphovascular Medicine in the UK.
PROFESSOR KRISTIANA GORDON
Patron/Medical Advisor
Professor Kristiana Gordon is a Consultant and Professor in Dermatology and Lymphovascular Medicine. She is Clinical Lead of the Lymphoedema Service at St George’s University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust, London, where her team cares for thousands of patients with primary and secondary lymphoedema from across the UK. Professor Gordon completed her doctorate in lymphoedema but continues to pursue her research interests within the rapidly developing field of lymphovascular medicine and Lipoedema.
PROFESSOR VAUGHAN KEELEY
Medical Advisor
Professor Vaughan Keeley is a Consultant Physician who specialises in lymphoedema. He leads the lymphoedema service in Derby, Nottingham and Mansfield, which sees people with all types of lymphoedema/chronic oedema and Lipoedema in adults and children. In 2020, the service was designated as a ‘Comprehensive Centre of Excellence for Lymphatic Diseases’ by LE&RN (the Lymphatic Education and Research Network). His research interests include developing quality of life assessment tools in lymphoedema and Lipoedema, and he is an Honorary Professor at the University of Nottingham Medical School.
SHARIE FETZER
Chair
Sharie has been Chair of Lipoedema UK since 2014. She initiated the first patient survey in 2012 and, with Amy Fetzer, co-wrote the Lipoedema UK Big Survey 2014 Research Report, which was instrumental in creating the Royal College of GPs (RCGP) eLearning course. The Big Survey and RCGP’s course together became a worldwide impetus for better awareness of Lipoedema. Sharie and Mary Warrilow, Lipoedema UK Nurse Consultant, co-authored Women in Dire Need Denied Surgery and Treatments: Compression Garments and Liposuction to Manage Lipoedema following the NICE review into non-cosmetic surgery for Liposuction. Sharie is also a Patient Organisation representative on the Board of the newly formed Lipedema World Alliance (LWA).
KATE FORSTER
Trustee/Treasurer
Kate was diagnosed with Lipoedema in autumn 2015, following the late diagnosis of her mother with lipo-lymphoedema. As she grew up, Kate and her family experienced the impact of her mother’s undiagnosed and inappropriately treated Lipoedema and lymphoedema; Kate is therefore passionate about increasing access to early diagnosis and appropriate treatment. She had Lipoedema surgery in spring 2016. Kate is currently Vice President, Global Human Resources, for a medical device manufacturer, and is a Chartered Member of the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development. Kate also volunteers for several other charities and community groups, and is a Patient Organisation representative on the Board of the newly formed Lipedema World Alliance (LWA).
SUZANNE EVANS
Founder/Trustee
Suzanne was diagnosed with Lipoedema in May 2011, 35 years after her symptoms first appeared. The shock of discovering she had a genetic condition, and the realisation that her long years of dieting had not just been worthless but had almost certainly made her condition worse, led Suzanne to work with St George’s Hospital to create Lipoedema UK.
KRIS JONES
Kris started working in Lymphology in 1998 and is now a Clinical Nurse Specialist and Director of LymphCare UK Community Interest Company, the first standalone lymphoedema service to have spun out of the NHS. She has a long-established interest in the diagnosis and management of Lipoedema, and has been involved in ensuring Lipoedema treatment is recognised within service specifications. She also has experience of living with Lipoedema, so brings a personal and clinical perspective. Kris is a respected trainer on compression and treatments for lymphoedema and Lipoedema.
SARA PERCIVAL
Trustee/Clinical Consultant
Sara Percival MSc. is an Advanced Practitioner and Service Lead. Sara started her working life as a radiographer, but her interest in lymphology started in 2008 while working as a therapy coordinator for a local hospice. She helped to set up a lymphoedema service in North Essex, and has since worked with commissioners to get NHS funding for this service. In 2017, she secured funding approval to see people with Lipoedema. Sara has a personal interest in Lipoedema and is keen to promote, and ensure, parity of care and treatment provision, and she is actively involved in providing education on both lymphoedema and Lipoedema to health professionals, patients and the public.
MARY WARRILOW
Director of Strategic Partnerships
Mary is an award winning Registered Nurse and Queens Nurse with over 42 years’ experience, specialising in both lipoedema and lymphoedema management. As Director of Strategic Partnerships for Lipoedema UK, she aims to improve recognition of the condition, diagnosis, treatment access, and bring about policy change for people living with lipoedema.
A published author, previous judge for The British Journal of Nursing (BJN) Awards and former co-founder of the award-winning Social Enterprise LymphCare UK, she is dedicated to transforming the future of lipoedema care through collaboration, advocacy, and innovative care.
In her role of Director of Strategic Partnerships at Lipoedema UK she has been able to collaborate with leading healthcare organisations, including the Royal Society of Medicine, co-producing a ‘Medicine and Me’ event on lipoedema. Mary’s career reflects a lifelong commitment to evidence-based practice and improving the quality of life for patients living with both lipoedema and lymphoedema.
LUCY PRICE
Digital Marketing and Events Co-ordinator
Lucy is an experienced multi-channel marketer with over six years experience in digital marketing, copywriting, and campaign management. She has delivered successful campaigns across online and offline platforms, including contributing to more than 30 UK Top 10 charting albums during her career in the music industry. Her expertise spans social media growth, email marketing, SEO, content creation, graphic design, and client relationship management.
Lucy was introduced to Lipoedema UK after being diagnosed with lipoedema at 24. In 2018, she attended the charity’s annual conference, where she connected with the team and was embraced by the support of the lipoedema community. Inspired by this experience, and passionate about making a difference, she began volunteering her skills to help drive awareness campaigns, projects, and events.
Since December 2024, Lucy has been working with Lipoedema UK in a professional capacity, managing online marketing activities, planning events and representing the charity at conferences. Drawing on both her creative background and lived experience of the condition, she is committed to raising awareness, advocating for earlier diagnosis, and improving access to treatment for others living with lipoedema.
CLARE ANVAR
Clare has been a clinical massage and complementary therapist since 2004. She is extensively qualified in many massage techniques, including neuromuscular therapy, MLD, myofascial release, scar therapy, kinesiology taping and counselling, and has a diverse private practice helping people with complex pain conditions, post-surgical recovery, cancer-related dysfunction, post-traumatic stress disorder/breathing pattern dysfunction and immune/autoimmune/lymphatic issues. Since 2015, Clare has focused on improving the lives of people with lymphoedema and Lipoedema.
DR LESLEY STEINITZ
Head of Research
Lesley was diagnosed with Lipoedema in 2021, 40 years after first seeking medical advice for its symptoms. Diagnosis and access to treatments have transformed her quality of life, but the journey should not have been so long and difficult. She is now determined to do what she can to improve the diagnosis and treatment for people with Lipoedema in the UK. She brings several decades of business experience and a decade as a historian of food, medicine and science to her role as Head of Research.
JOELLA NUTT
Membership Support/Operations Manager
Joella has been an invaluable and integral part of Lipoedema UK for several years. She is our front-line contact person, managing our membership systems and enquiries. As our webinar co-ordinator, Joella has become a familiar face at our membership sessions.
TERESA SANDERSON
Lipoedema UK Ambassador
Tess has played a pivotal role in promoting awareness of Lipoedema through sharing her personal story and being a valued team member of Lipoedema UK from the beginning. Lipoedema has shaped Tess’s life since around the age of eight, but she experienced 41 years before a diagnosis, so knows what it’s like to have gone through life with Lipoedema without support or treatment.
DR YANNAN (JESSICA) JIN
Nutritional Research
Jessica’s research expertise lies in the areas of dietary prevention and management of cardiometabolic diseases, and childhood malnutrition prevention in the UK. Her current research activities include finding nutritional and adjunctive solutions to improving the health conditions and life qualities of patients diagnosed with Lipoedema or cardiometabolic diseases, and also developing strategies to tackle food insecurity and health inequality that are emerging at regional, national and global levels. Jessica is also a Registered Nutritionist (specialising in Nutrition Science), certified by the Association for Nutrition since 2013, and has been a Fellow of High Education Academy in the UK since 2016.