ATL

Andy Ballard, President

Andy Ballard has taught since 1977 having trained at Whitelands College which was then part of the University of London, Institute of Education.

After two years teaching science in West Sussex, Andy worked for a bank and then in the retail trade for two years before returning to teaching in Somerset where, for the next 22 years, he specialised in biology to A-level. In 1997, Andy completed training as a counsellor and volunteered part time in local mental health and youth placements.

Andy joined ATL in 1983 and soon after became school rep, then the Somerset branch secretary in 2000 and finally the Executive Committee member for Somerset in 2002.

Lesley Ward, Senior vice-president

Lesley Ward joined ATL in the mid-80s and has been teaching in the same primary school in Doncaster since 1975, where she now works part time as a supply teacher.

Lesley was elected joint branch secretary before becoming the Executive Committee member for South Yorkshire, where she has been chair of the Continuing Professional Development Committee and the chair of the Defence Committee. She was also convenor of the new professionalism specialist task group.

Andy Brown, Junior vice-president

Andy Brown joined ATL as a student in 1988, becoming active on the ATLNI Student Committee from 1990-1992. After graduation and a year as students' union president, he secured a teaching job in the English department of Ballymena Academy where he became school rep.

In 1994, Andy was elected onto the branch committee. Over the last few years Andy has become chief negotiator and spokesperson on pay and conditions in the branch and, in 2007, became the youngest president of ATLNI.

In 1996, Andy joined the Recruitment and Retention Committee before becoming the youngest Executive member to win a contested election in 1999.

Andy has served on Appeals, Legislation and Parliamentary, Pay and Conditions, Action, Hearings, Policy and Rules and Procedures Committees, has been vice-chair of the Leadership, Conditions of Employment, and Defence Committees, and has chaired the Schools' Conditions of Service Committee and Young Members' Forum from which ATL Future grew.

He is ATL's representative to the Irish Congress of Trade Unions, sitting on the ICTU Education Committee. He sits on the Teachers' Negotiating Committee (NI's STRB) and is vice-chair of the Northern Ireland Teachers' Council. Andy is the youngest person to be elected to the position of ATL national president.

Julia Neal, Immediate past president

Julia Neal has been an ATL member since her teaching career began in 1978. She became active in ATL when she took the post of branch president before her election to ATL's Executive Committee, where she served as chair of the Education Committee.

Julia was president of ATL in 2007-8 and currently chairs ATL's Policy Council as well as representing ATL on the General Council of the TUC. In 2009, Julia will take the chair of the Standing Committee for the Education and Training of Teachers (SCETT).

Julia studied history before her PGCE at Birmingham University and has taught in the west country throughout her career. She is currently head of careers guidance and industry links at Torquay Grammar School for Girls where she also teaches history from Key Stage 3 to A-level.

Shelagh Hirst, Honorary secretary

Shelagh Hirst has been honorary secretary since joining the Executive Committee in 2000.

A regular supply teacher throughout Calderdale and Kirklees primary schools, Shelagh has also attended the TUC annual Conferences and has been active in the Women's TUC.

Chris Wilson, Honorary secretary

Chris Wilson has been honorary secretary since September 2005, taking up the role after he was Executive Committee member for the Cambridgeshire and Peterborough branch. Prior to serving as honorary secretary, Chris represented the Cambridgeshire and Peterborough branch on the Executive Committee for a number of years. He was also chair of ATL's Further Education Committee, and served on a number of committees of the Executive.

Chris has been active in ATL since 1995 and was the founder of the Cambridge Regional College Branch (FE) in ATL, which is now the largest single workplace branch in the union. Chris has taught a number of humanities subjects, and currently teaches equality and diversity across a range of tutorial groups within his college.

Outside of ATL, Chris is a multi-faith college chaplain, a part-time Unitarian and Free Christian minister, and serves on the National Council of Faiths and Beliefs in Further Education.

Angie Rutter, Honorary treasurer

Angie Rutter has been honorary treasurer since 2005. She joined ATL in 1985 as a student member and has been on the Executive Committee since 1996.

Angie was for many years the lead member for special educational needs and campaigned with the Special Education Consortium on the many issues around inclusion, including lobbying the government for additional funding and training for this area.

Angie was a specialist communication and interaction teacher in Buckinghamshire and ATL branch secretary for the area but she is now subject leader of an area resource base for secondary pupils with severe learning difficulties at Launceston College, Cornwall.

Stephen Buck, Honorary treasurer

Stephen Buck first became a member of ATL in the 1980s before working his way up through the Humberside branch to take a seat on Executive Committee in 2002, where he has been a member of Policy Council, Finance Committee, Budget Group and Rules and Procedures Committee.

Even with his national ATL commitments, Stephen remains ATL school rep and local secretary for North Lincolnshire. A physics graduate, Stephen has been a full-time teacher for more than 30 years, and will continue to teach two days a week while he fulfills his ATL roles.

Mary Bousted, General secretary

Dr Mary Bousted is general secretary of ATL. She was previously head of the school of education at Kingston University, where she led a team of 40 colleagues devoted to the education of undergraduate and postgraduate student teachers.

Mary has also worked as head of secondary education at Edge Hill College in Ormskirk, and as director of initial teacher training at the University of York. Prior to this, Mary was an English teacher in comprehensive schools in north London, including being head of English at Whitmore High School, Harrow.

Paul Day, Deputy general secretary

Paul Day is deputy general secretary of ATL. He joined the organisation in 2005 as assistant general secretary after 16 years at Abbey National, where his roles included employee relations, project management, and business process re-engineering.

Paul was national chairman of Abbey's trade union, ANSA, from 1998 to 2000. From 2001-2005 he was a trustee director of its £2bn pension scheme. He has served as a member of his local unitary authority, where he became cabinet member.

Martin Johnson, Deputy general secretary

Martin Johnson is ATL's deputy general secretary. Particular areas of expertise include the future of the teaching profession, funding, admissions, schooling in London, school-business links, personalisation, and staffing schools in challenging circumstances.

Before joining ATL in 2005, he worked at the Institute for Public Policy Research and was president of NASUWT from 2000 to 2001. Martin was a secondary teacher for over 30 years in Merseyside, Yorkshire and London, specialising in social studies.

Mark Langhammer, Director of ATL Northern Ireland

Mark Langhammer is director of ATL Northern Ireland. He is responsible for the staff team, strategic direction, education policy, negotiations, recruitment and organisation. Mark was previously employed as director of the University for Industry's learndirect initiative in Northern Ireland, as CEO of the North Belfast (urban regeneration) Partnership and director of the Dunanney Centre.

Philip Dixon, Director of ATL Cymru

Dr Philip Dixon is director of ATL Cymru. He is responsible for the work of the union in Wales. He directs policy in Wales and supervises caseworkers and organisers in the field.

Previously he was director of CAFOD Wales, an international aid agency, and before that special advisor to the then Leader of the Opposition at the National Assembly, Ieuan Wyn Jones (currently Deputy First Minister).

Keith Robson, National official for Scotland

Keith Robson became ATL's first national official for Scotland in August 2007. Previously, he worked as director of the National Union of Students Scotland. Keith has worked in education, health and housing. He has also served as a school governor in London and on the Scottish Higher Education Funding council.

Keith's main responsibilities include building organisational capacity, providing support to members, representing ATL with key stakeholders, and developing a distinctive ATL response to educational policy developments in Scotland.

Martin Freedman, Head of pay, conditions and pensions department

Martin Freedman is head of ATL's pay, conditions and pensions department. He represents ATL on the Rewards and Incentives Group, the social partnership between employers, teacher unions and government on teachers' pay and conditions.

Martin sits on the Workforce Agreement Monitoring Group, which looks at the deployment of teachers and support staff in schools, and leads negotiations for ATL in further education. He has worked in education and employment for more than 30 years.

Martin Pilkington, Head of legal and member services

Martin Pilkington is head of legal and member services at ATL. He manages the provision of support for members who face professional difficulties, which is provided through the legal and member services department at the London office, the network of regional officials working in England, the national casework officials and the senior regional officials.

He qualified as a solicitor in 1988, practising law at Simmons & Simmons, a City law firm, before joining AMMA (ATL as was) in 1990.

Nansi Ellis, Head of education policy and research

Nansi Ellis is ATL's head of education policy and research. She is responsible for the development and implementation of ATL's education policy.

Nansi joined ATL as a primary education advisor, having previously managed the early years team at the Qualifications and Curriculum Authority. Before that, Nansi worked as a primary teacher, first in west Wales and then in London.