Meet our Trustees
This Trustees’ Week we would like to thank our board of trustees for volunteering their time, sharing their expertise, and working together to make important decisions about the charity that drive us forward.
Our trustees are responsible for Playlist for Life’s governance and strategy, and for making sure that the charity is administered effectively.
Find out a little more about them as they share a song from their own personalised playlist below.
Sandra Stark
Sandra is Founder and Managing Director of Ardoch Group, which supports organisations to improve their performance, manage clinical risk and improve staff wellbeing. She is a registered nurse with an MBA in healthcare management and over 30 years’ experience in a variety of care settings in the NHS, community and independent sector. Sandra has seen at first hand the significant benefits of personally meaningful music for people with dementia and their families. In her role as Chair, she works to ensure as many people as possible have access to their own playlist.
Every River – Runrig
For my husband, who I met travelling in the Himalayas.
Andy Lowndes
Andy was one of the founding trustees of the charity. He is Vice Chair and ‘The Music Detective’ at Playlist for Life. Andy is a former mental health nurse and a retired nurse academic from Glasgow Caledonian University. As ‘The Music Detective,’ he has helped people with dementia, family carers and health and social care staff to identify personally meaningful music and develop personalised playlists for the person with dementia.
Adagio, Violin Concerto No 5 In A Major – Mozart
One of my Dad’s favourites and it reminds me of him.
Sally Magnusson
Sally founded Playlist for Life in 2013 after discovering the power of personal music for dementia whilst caring for her mother Mamie, who lived with dementia. She is honorary president of the charity and continues to support its mission alongside her successful broadcasting and writing career.
Two Sleepy People – Peter Skellern
Exhausted years of early marriage, all the kids in bed at last, dancing half asleep in each other’s arms.
Angiolina Foster CBE
Angiolina is Chair of Public Health Scotland, the national agency for improving and protecting the health and wellbeing of the people of Scotland. She is an experienced public service leader who has worked in local government, national government and the third sector, as well as the NHS. Prior to her role of Chair of Public Health Scotland, she was Chief Executive of NHS 24. Angiolina was awarded a CBE in 2011 for her contribution to Scotland’s public services.
Frank Sinatra – Strangers in the Night
This makes me think of my parents, gliding across the dance floor together, long before Alzheimer’s came to them both.
Diane Nicol
Diane Nicol is an experienced employment lawyer who has practised for 30 years and is a trusted advisor to a number of PLC clients. In 2016 Diane was appointed as the sole lawyer on a panel of three engaged as part of the Taylor Review on modern employment practices. Having met Sally to find out more about the charity, Diane felt convinced her business and legal skills could be put to good use in its development.
Together in Electric Dreams – Human League
As a teenager in the 80’s this reminds me of school and university days and it still makes me and my oldest friends dance in the “New Romantic” style!
Fiona Haro
Fiona is a Chartered Accountant and Partner who has practiced for over 25 years and heads up the firm’s Not for Profit Department. She acts for a considerable number of charities and companies limited by guarantee and in 2019 won Highly Commended for Services to Accounting and Finance in the Scottish Women’s Awards.
Tiny Bubbles – Don Ho
I played this song all the time when I was pregnant with my eldest son.
Professor Frank Dunn CBE
Frank is a Past President of The Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of Glasgow, retired Consultant Cardiologist at Stobhill General Hospital and Honorary Professor at the University of Glasgow. Throughout his medical career, he has been convinced of the value of music as a therapy for patients. Since his retirement, he has been able to pursue that interest through Playlist for Life and the Glasgow Hospitals Broadcasting Service and is now delighted to be on the Board of both organisations.
The Song of the Plough – The McCalmans
This has been a popular number at our family gatherings. Great melody and lyrics. The McCalmans at their best.
Joanna Storrar
Joanna has been a fundraiser for more than 30 years and is now a partner with More Partnership – a firm of fundraising consultants whose purpose is to Advance Great Ambitions. She has advised a range of clients including Queen’s University Belfast, Stellenbosch University (South Africa), the University of Glasgow, and National Galleries of Scotland.
Dvorak’s Slavonic Dance Opus 46, B.83, No 8 – Furiant
When I was a child, my two sisters and I listened to this piece and danced around our living room. We all loved folk music and folk dancing, and this one particularly delighted us. I have lost both my sisters, so this has special resonance for me now.
Julie Adair
Julie is Director of Communications and Digital Engagement at GCU, in charge of internal and external communications for the University as well as its digital output. She has worked in interactive media since the mid-1990s in senior roles at the BBC and The Walt Disney Company. Alongside her involvement with Playlist for Life, Julie is also Chair of Remembering Srebrenica Scotland.
La Mer – Charles Trenet
I have a lifelong love of France and the French language. We have a tiny wee village house in the South of France and this song always make me think of our first drive to the beach each holiday, past vines and olive trees, before that magical moment when you see the turquoise sea for the first time.
How you can get involved
There are many ways to show your support for Playlist for Life. Whether you are an individual caring for someone living with dementia, a health or social care professional, or part of an organisation that offers dementia support – we want to hear from you.
At Playlist for Life we want everyone living with dementia to have their own playlist of songs that is meaningful to them and for all those who love and care for them know how to use the playlist effectively. Find out more about how you can help at the links below.
