Alisdair Cameron Alisdair Cameron has variously been an academic historian, a lawyer and a user of mental health services, in between stretches of generalised community activism... Expand Alisdair Cameron has variously been an academic historian, a lawyer and a user of mental health services, in between stretches of generalised community activism. His day job is as team leader at Launchpad, the mental health service user involvement project for Newcastle upon Tyne, and he is also co-chair of the Northumberland, Tyne and Wear Service User & Carer network, and has been a leading light in the establishment of a North East region-wide MH user and carer body, NEt. He is also Chair of Newcastle and Gateshead Arts Studio (NAGAS), Vice-Chair of MHNE, a Governor of the NTW NHS Foundation Trust, and a board member of NSUN, the National Survivor User Network for mental health. In spare moments he shuffles all of the letters from the aforementioned acronyms and sees what they can spell out.
Dr Sarah Carr Dr Sarah Carr is the Acting Chair of the Board. She is an independent mental health and social care consultant and researcher. Expand Dr Sarah Carr is the Acting Chair of the Board. She is an independent mental health and social care consultant and researcher. She also works as an Associate Professor of Mental Health Research at Middlesex University. She previously worked for the Social Care Institute of Excellence (SCIE) as a Senior Research Analyst, where she led on a five-year Department of Health funded improvement programme on personalisation and person-centred practice. She has worked in research, information and service development roles at the National Institute for Social Work, Oxleas NHS Trust and the Centre for Mental Health. Sarah is a member of the Care Quality Commission Adult Social Care Co-production Group and is on the editorial board of Disability and Society. She is Honorary Senior Lecturer at the School for Social Policy, Birmingham University, Visiting Fellow at the School of Social Policy and Social Work at the University of York and a Fellow of the Royal Society of Arts. Sarah currently chairs the Service User and Carer Advisory Group for Think Ahead. In 2012 Sarah co-edited the book ‘Social Care, Service Users and User Involvement’ with Professor Peter Beresford of Brunel University. Sarah has particular interest in service user and patient involvement, personalisation and person-centred practice and equality and diversity and uses her lived experience of mental distress and service use in her work.
Eleni Chambers Eleni has worked in health and social care since 1989, in both the voluntary and statutory sectors... Expand Eleni has worked in health and social care since 1989, in both the voluntary and statutory sectors. She is a long-term user of mental health services and more recently of adult social care, and has particular interests in concurrent mental and physical health conditions, self-management, personalisation and research. Eleni is currently a member of the National User Group of Shaping Our Lives, the Advisory Group of INVOLVE and works freelance for a number of national and local organisations. Eleni’s interest in involvement originates from activism in service delivery settings, and she is keen on user-led research and co-production. She has a particular interest in involving communities who are marginalised and/or not usually involved and is currently doing a PhD in involvement in Palliative Care research.
Joe Kelly Joe has been a service user/ survivor for 48 years and an activist for over 30 years... Expand Joe has been a service user/ survivor for 48 years and an activist for over 30 years. He attended the WNUSP (World Network User and Survivor of Psychiatry) Conference 2009 in Uganda for CRPD (Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities) human rights. Joe is the co-founder of Footsteps arts charity and a campaigner for reform of mental health care. A fellow of the RSA, board member of ECIL (Ealing Centre for Independent Living), member of Neighbourly Care Partnership, Joe is also CEO of New Vision of Disability.
Julia Smith Julia Smith is a member of the Pennine Service User and Carer Involvement Forum and has a wealth of experience as a service user trainer, facilitator and campaigner, working with diverse communities... Expand Julia Smith is a member of the Pennine Service User and Carer Involvement Forum and has a wealth of experience as a service user trainer, facilitator and campaigner, working with diverse communities. She is a volunteer for Rochdale Mind, delivering WRAP training and facilitating a peer support group. Julia is a member of the Rochdale Borough Users Forum (RBUF) and has worked closely with service providers and the NHS developing policy and products.
Mark Wood: Treasurer Mark Wood is a service user from Birmingham... Expand Mark Wood is a service user from Birmingham. Before mental illness necessitated ceasing paid employment, Mark worked for many years in management roles within children's social services and trained as a social worker. Alongside the paid employment, Mark was an active trade unionist with Unison, the public service trade union, holding positions at local, regional and national levels. Having used the services of Sandwell Mindsince 2005 and helping to represent the views of service users to the organisation, Mark was invited to join their Board of Trustees in 2012. The organisation has since changed name to Kaleidoscope Plus Group. In 2015, Mark was elected as a public Governor of the Black Country Partnership Foundation Trust