Bruce Howorth - Chair Bruce H Expand Bruce is the Chair of the Board of Trustees. Bruce worked as a solicitor for 26 years with a large north-east firm before leaving in 2014 after 21 years as a Partner. He specialised in health and safety and personal injury law throughout his career as well as having wide ranging management responsibilities within his firm, and a long history of voluntary sector engagement. He is the CEO of a charity providing working opportunities to those with learning disabilities and mental health needs. "As with all of the Trustees I am very committed to the aims, objectives and person centred approach of Mental Health Matters. While our role is to ensure the charity is financially sound and operates in a lawful and ethical manner, we do this to enable Mental Health Matters to continue to deliver its desperately important services to those who need them, today more than ever. What inspires me to continue in my role is that everything we do has a direct effect on those in need. Our staff are helping people in crisis every day, enabling them to rebuild their lives and restoring hope to those in despair. To be a part of that is an honour and a privilege, as well as truly humbling." Bruce has a wide range of outside interests including rowing, cycling, walking (especially with his Cocker Spaniel, Chester) and cooking.
Andrew Britton Expand Andrew is a Finance Director with an MSc in Engineering, MBA in Finance and FCMA, and considerable experience at the strategic and operational levels. He has 20 years’ commercial experience within the private and public healthcare industry gained from Executive and Non-Executive positions in large SMEs, family businesses and NHS trusts. Andrew has considerable experience in corporate finance, M & A, change management, and implementation of new business information systems. "I am passionate about helping those in need of support." Andrew's hobbies include walking around North Wales whenever he gets a chance!
David Brown David B Expand David joined MHM as a trustee in October 2015 and became Chair of the Audit Committee in April 2016 which involves overseeing the financial governance and internal controls framework at MHM. The Audit Committee reports into the main Board of Trustees. David is a qualified chartered accountant and Fellow of the Institute of Chartered Accountants in England and Wales, having obtained a BSc honours degree in Business Finance and Economics from the University of East Anglia. David has more than 20 years’ experience in commercial finance and has significant board and audit committee experience developed in a number of sectors. In 2016, David took up the role of CFO at Smart DCC, the organisation tasked by Government to manage the rollout of 53 million smart meters for gas and electricity consumers, in 30 million homes in Great Britain. Previously, David held senior finance roles at Viapath, Eurostar, BSkyB and PwC. “I’m always in awe of the work that MHM's people carry out and their passion and dedication is incredibly inspiring. Mental Health is a very important subject for us as a country and I’m lucky to be part of the charity. Hopefully, I can bring my many years of corporate experience to the charity to ensure that we have strong governance and controls, whilst letting the fantastic management team deliver to a really high standard.” David is married with three young children and so family takes up most of his spare time! However, when time allows, he is a keen sportsman and enjoys cricket, football, skiing, running and cycling. He has also participated in a number of ‘Tough Mudder’ events over the last few years.
David Corner Expand David became a member of the MHM Board of Trustees in 2016. David is a qualified accountant with over 25 years of experience in helping public bodies to enhance their performance. He has had board and corporate level roles in a number of different organisations and projects, including as Director of Corporate Affairs at the National Audit Office. He has worked with Boards to develop performance assessment frameworks for Regional Development Agencies and Sector Skills Councils. He now heads a consultancy providing advice on evaluation design and execution. "I believe MHM’s work is invaluable. I want to ensure the voice of its clients are heard clearly by the Board." Outside work David enjoys working on his allotment.
Naomi Hankinson Expand Naomi became a member of the Board of Trustees in 2015 and is also a member of the Audit Committee. Naomi qualified as an occupational therapist in 1985, after taking a degree in philosophy at Manchester University. In the early years of her career she worked in mental health services, in professional, general and project management roles. In 2001 Naomi joined the North East London Mental Health Trust as joint Director of Therapies and was later seconded for two years to the Department of Health’s National Social Inclusion Programme leading on workforce. Naomi went on to become its Assistant Director for Evidence and Innovation, producing the Capabilities for Inclusive Practice, making a valuable contribution to the social inclusion agenda. In addition, Naomi provided support to develop the Department of Health’s ‘New Ways of Working’ for staff working in mental health services. She was made Visiting Fellow at London South Bank University during this time. Naomi has contributed as a non-executive and trustee on various organisations and was voted on to the British Association and College of Occupational Therapists Council as its Chairman in June 2009, serving four years in this role. She has previously chaired the Audit Committee of the professional body, and in 2017 was elected to the vice- presidency of the Council of Occupational Therapists for the European Countries for a four year term. "As an Occupational Therapist I am always driven by supporting people to achieve the life they want to lead, and this seemed to sit well with the work of MHM. I also feel strongly that we need to provide staff with the development opportunities to deliver effective services which are satisfying to service users, staff and the charity." Naomi has a number of interests outside work including theatre, film and travel.
Sally Baines Expand Sally became a member of the Board of Trustees in 2018 and is also a member of the Audit Committee. Sally has spent more than 35 years in the NHS, initially as a qualified nurse and with 30+ years in Human Resource and Organisational Change roles. She is a Fellow of the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development. Sally has over 10 years in Board level roles in the NHS in primary care, secondary care, regional and national NHS organisations. Sally left permanent roles in the NHS in 2017 to develop a portfolio career working on an independent basis providing executive coaching, personal development and senior level HR support to organisations. She has experience of organisational change, leadership development, systems leadership and is a qualified executive coach. "I am passionate about improving the quality of mental health provision and removing the stigma attached with mental health. I have a particular interest in teenage and young adult mental health issues and suicide prevention." Outside of work Sally spends a lot of time in the Lake District where she enjoys hill walking with her husband and her dog. She also enjoys spending time with her two adult sons, going to the theatre and reading.
Stirling Moorey Expand Stirling became a member of Board of Trustees in 2014. His clinical experience complements the broad range of skills available on the Board of MHM. Stirling worked as a psychiatrist in the NHS for 30 years, specialising in Cognitive Behavioural Therapy and was professional Head of Psychotherapy at the South London and Maudsley NHS Foundation Trust until he took early retirement in 2013. Stirling continues to teach and supervise mental health professionals in the Trust and is a Visiting Senior Lecturer at the Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology and Neuroscience, King’s College London. Stirling has a strong interest in training clinicians from all professions in CBT, and co-founded with the Institute of Psychiatry Cognitive Behaviour Therapy Course, which was the first cognitive therapy course in the country. "As one of the largest third sector providers of talking therapies services, MHM continues to impress me by its delivery of efficient and effective services. I am pleased to be able to bring some of my experience in the NHS to the table and support MHM in its work to offer evidence-based therapies to as wide a group of people as possible." Stirling has a number of interests outside his work including running, opera and supporting Crystal Palace.