The Trustees

Founder - Mark Mathews BSc (Hons), DO, FRSA
Mark graduated in Ecology from Edinburgh University in 1969 and was subsequently responsible for managing the set-up of the National Centre for Alternative Technology in Wales. He qualified as an Osteopath in 1979 and then completed his first course in Applied Kinesiology in 1984. Mark continues to study with the world's most knowledgeable teachers of Applied Kinesiology and has himself published widely on the subject. He has also trained in Neuro-Linguistic Programming (NLP) over many years and graduated from the Robbins Research International Mastery University.

In 1988, Mark established the Rêve Pavilion Natural Health Clinic which provides an integrated and multi-disciplinary approach for the treatment of all kinds of health problems. Being dyslexic himself, Mark has always had a special interest in helping children with learning and behavioural difficulties. The Sunflower Programme was pioneered by Mark at the Rêve Pavilion and in 1995 he set up the Sunflower Trust.

Chairman - Richard Allen
Richard Allen is a Chartered Accountant who helped to set up the Sunflower Trust when it was founded some 14 years ago and became re-involved with Sunflower as a trustee in May 2009. He has had a wide-ranging career in financial and general management, having worked in several large commercial organisations in the UK and Germany, for two charities and latterly for the Higher Education Funding Council for England. He is glad to bring his experience and expertise to assist the Trust to work effectively and professionally and to achieve its objective of assisting children with learning difficulties.

Trustee - Val Barnes BA (Hons), PGCE, Med, MBA, FRSA
Val Barnes lives and works in London. She has held a range of senior posts in education as well as having significant experience in business and marketing. With a keen interest in the visual arts, she is currently writing the biography of a leading contemporary northern landscape painter.