CLAPA Announces New CEO
Today, CLAPA bids a very fond farewell to our CEO, Dr David Stokes, who is leaving the charity after 2 and a half years. Deputy CEO, Claire Cunniffe has been appointed as David’s successor, and will formally take on the position of CEO on Monday 24th September.
David’s enduring positivity and genuine passion for CLAPA’s work has seen him lead the charity through uncertain times in a challenging financial climate, and he leaves behind a united staff team who will be truly sad to see him go.
From his very first days with CLAPA, David has been keen to immerse himself in all levels of our work, from talking to new parents over the phone with empathy and kindness to representing us to the cleft world at the highest levels. He has been a driver of innovative ideas and new partnerships that will continue to help CLAPA for years to come, and has inspired us all with his dedication to our cause.
David commented, “Working with the CLAPA community has been an absolute honour for me. From the new parents learning about the condition for the first time – to the adults born with the condition sharing their experiences – to our wonderful volunteers running our services – as well as the clinicians and researchers delivering and developing world-class care – and all the family members who have run marathons or jumped out of planes – and of course to the dedicated team of CLAPA staff bringing it all together – it seems that everyone involved is absolutely passionate about making the world a better place for everyone affected by cleft.
“Over the past couple of years I am proud to say that we have seen demand for CLAPA’s services rocket; we are now working with every cleft team in the UK (and helping quite a few outside), we have won awards, and have built partnerships near and far to raise awareness. I will be genuinely very sad to leave, but as with CLAPA’s other former CEOs I will be staying in touch and helping out where I can. I am also really pleased that Claire will be taking over, using her amazing experiences of delivering CLAPA’s services to take the charity to new heights.”
We know that David will remain invested and involved in CLAPA’s work. We look forward to welcoming him and his lovely family at CLAPA events well into the future, and wish him every success going forward.
Our new CEO, Claire Cunniffe has been with CLAPA since early 2011, overseeing our hugely successful Regional Coordinator Project from its inception. Claire served as Director of Development for 4 years heading up our engagement work at a national level and has been our Deputy CEO since 2016. Claire has worked in the voluntary sector for 16 years and is well placed to step into the new role.
Rona Slator, Chair of the Board of Trustees for CLAPA said: “On behalf of the Trustees for CLAPA, we would like to take this opportunity to thank David for leading CLAPA during the last two and a half years with passion and skill, working alongside our many volunteers, staff and valued community.
“We very much look forward to continuing to work with Claire, who has been intimately involved working for CLAPA over the last seven years, to support all those affected by cleft throughout the UK.”