Meet Our Trustees

I’m proud of the continuing efforts that my partner and I make together to ensure we are both able to be active and engaged parents of our three fantastic children, and both able to pursue things we are passionate about outside of family life. It’s required us to challenge social norms, what was expected of us by our colleagues and families, and challenge each other which hasn’t always been easy, but definitely been worth it!
That racism, prejudice and discrimination play such a significant factor in determining who experiences the greatest health inequalities in the UK.
Between juggling work (which I was lucky enough to be able to continue throughout lockdown) and home schooling the children, I was spending lots of time sitting in front of a screen. Once outdoor mixing was allowed my next door neighbour and I started taking regular evening walks to stretch our legs and chat about the day. It always boosted my mood, especially on the days when I felt most tired, and is something we’ve continued.

I did a three month motorcycle trip around South America with three friends. It was incredible. We were camping and travelling around and we all made it across safely without any serious incidents or injuries. All that planning and logistics, and Spanish speaking. Definitely something I loved doing and all the planning and hard work in pulling it off, gives a great sense of achievement.
That health inequalities are getting worse. We can increasingly see that the gap is widening. My girlfriend is a nurse in the NHS and so I hear first-hand about the difficulties faced in health care settings. Most people cannot afford private healthcare and need to access the NHS which is under-staffed and not able to cope. What I love about Social Action for Health is that we try to do something as an organisation to mitigate the effects of this.
Running. It is a bit cliched but I went on a fitness push and started running and taking my fitness really seriously. Or maybe it is more accurate to say that I had a fitness push in the first lockdown which was eroded in 2nd lockdown! And I now trying to get myself back into shape after the effects of the 2nd lockdown!

Cycling from London to Paris and camping along the way. Best week of my life.
I recognise that lower socio-economic status is linked with reduced life expectancy. Just having the wrong postcode should not mean worse health for anyone. I wonder sometimes whether boroughs with lower socio-economic classes also have worse funding for public health, acute health and chronic health - this just means increased disease burden for patients and the borough - it’s a vicious cycle.
I used to dabble in plants before lockdown, but lockdown gave me the opportunity to really hone this hobby. I was still going to work and therefore wasn’t able to start baking or start a vegetable patch (would have loved to do those), but had to contend with looking after houseplants - propagating and nurturing and learning how they live.

I’m really lucky to have wonderful friends and family, and they make me proud so often and so much more than I could ever do myself.
That they’re preventable, and that means they simply shouldn’t exist – equity in our health and our opportunities, regardless of our background, should be a minimum bar for any healthy and fair society.
Reading and baking (or at least eating what you’ve baked) are good friends at the best of times, and I’ve gotten even friendlier to these lovely things over the past 18 months!

It’s hard to name a single proudest moment. There have been many times in my life when I have felt proud of the impact of the charities I have worked with, knowing that our services have supported individuals and communities and our advocacy campaigns have been a positive force for change. And as a mum of two, I’d say they have given my many proud moments in life.
What disturbs me is that health inequalities have been widening, there’s ever more evidence that this is linked to social inequality. We know social conditions in which people live affect their health and life expectancy. Tackling that requires national and local action, which is why I am joining up with Social Action for Health.
One good to thing to come out of lockdown and from working from home was being able to use the time I used to spend travelling to the office to keep fit instead. So I started early morning running with NHS Couch to 5k, and did lots of online yoga and pilates classes. Those were great for mental and physical health. And I started baking bread, and still do.

Taking up scuba- and free-diving in the past three years. Free-diving in particular was a real physical and mental challenge.
That health disparities can exacerbate (and be exacerbated by) so many other socioeconomic inequalities — especially concerning given the current economic crises.
I got a road bike on impulse and started cycling and running — added swimming to the mix after the lockdowns lifted, and joined a triathlon club!

Due to my time at Social Action for Health and passion for improving health, I was awarded a full scholarship to complete my dream Master's degree! I could not have achieved this without the experience, opportunities and development that Social Action for Health provided to me.
The most unsettling thing about health disparities for me is how it affects every aspect of someone's life. From maternity to mental health to geriatric care, health disparities and inequalities have a ripple effect that can taint the way someone lives their entire life.
During lockdown, I self-taught myself the piano! By self-taught I mean spending hours watching youtube videos but I would like to say that I am at a sufficient level now!