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Meet our ambassadors

TOFS ambassadors play a vital role in helping to raise awareness of Oesophageal Atresia (OA) and Tracheo-Oesophageal Fistula (TOF).

Ambassadors dedicate their time and efforts freely to support the charity and help promote understanding of these rare and complex conditions. Their role extends beyond mere representation, as they actively engage with the community, healthcare professionals, and the general public, striving to improve the lives of those affected by OA/TOF and advocating for enhanced research and support.

Through their personal experiences or connections with OA/TOF, they offer guidance and encouragement to affected individuals and their families.

Celebrity ambassadors

Tom Bright

Tom Bright, a renowned singer/songwriter, was born with OA/TOF and underwent a number of operations as a baby.

Over the years, Tom’s family have found immense support and resources through TOFS and Tom wanted to become an advocate for the charity.

“Since last year’s One Show feature, I’ve received lots of contact from fellow former patients and parents of new babies and children with OA/TOF. When you’re in a battle like this one, I think it’s really empowering to see that there can be a healthy life lived after the turbulence.”

“I hope that as someone who has had to overcome, and still works on overcoming, everyday hurdles fellow OA/TOF sufferers go through, it’s a great honour to help raise awareness of TOFS and the great work they do for this community”.

With Tom’s passionate voice and lived experience, we hope our partnership can make a significant impact and improve healthcare outcomes for those affected by these conditions.

Charlotte Fisher

BBC Interior Design Masters competitor, solicitor and actress, Charlotte Fisher, became the first celebrity ambassador for TOFS in July, 2023.

Charlotte’s son Elton was born in February 2023 and diagnosed with OA/TOF.

“It was so frightening. Not long after he was born, Elton began struggling to breath and was rushed to theatre for emergency surgery. He spent the next three weeks in NICU.”

“We had no idea what this condition was, we’d never heard of it, so finding the TOFS charity and being able to use them as a resource for information and invaluable support was a lifeline for us.”

We are delighted to partner with Charlotte as our first celebrity ambassador.

Honorary Presidents

Christine Shepherd, Gren Shepherd

In 2011 long-standing trustees Gren and Christine Shepherd stood down from their role, after being involved with TOFS for 25 years, and in honour of their tremendous commitment to TOFS, they were given a life-time non-executive role as our honorary presidents. We are very grateful for their continued involvement and support.

Christine Shepherd, TOFS Honorary President

Gren Shepherd, TOFS Honorary President

“Gren and I already had two children, aged eight and five when our youngest child, Tom, was born in 1985 with OA/TOF and a number of anomalies associated with the VACTERL Association. It was a scary time for us all as we had no idea that anything was wrong and, like most parents, knew nothing about the condition.

We were desperate to find whatever information we could, particularly in relation to radial aplasia which seems strange now as this wasn’t a life-threatening condition but it was the one visible sign. In the days before home computers and access to the Internet, information was difficult to find.

Thinking we were all alone, eventually, after nine months we discovered TOFS, when I saw a poster displayed at the hospital which Sue Lewis-Jones had displayed. We got in touch and this was the start of a long and lovely friendship which still goes on today.

We joined TOFS in its infancy and were involved when TOFS became a charity, taking a role as Trustees that we carried out for 25 years.

We are very pleased to have been involved with TOFS which has gone “from strength to strength”, becoming an international organisation and reaching out to people all over the world.

We are both now retired but TOFS is still very close to our hearts. We were honoured with the title of Honorary Presidents. We are still involved with TOFS – Gren donates his speaker fee to TOFS whenever he presents a talk to local groups, and I am involved with the editing of the Chew magazine.”

Christine Shepherd
November, 2023