Our trustees
Mind's board of trustees (council of management) is responsible for our governance and strategic direction. The board is accountable for everything we do. They:
- Set our strategic direction
- Scrutinise our performance
- Support our executive team of directors.
We're a federated network, with more than 130 local Minds delivering services in their local communities.
Our board
We have up to 16 trustees on our board. We aim to have a board that reflects our diverse communities. At least half of our trustees have direct experience of mental health problems.
Trustees have terms of office which last 3 years. They can stand for 3 terms (9 years in total).
We also have 6 sub-committees which support our board.
Stevie Spring CBE – Chairman
A portfolio director, investor and adviser, Stevie has been CEO of 2 international media groups and has served on numerous boards. She is a fellow of the Institute of Practitioners in Advertising and the Marketing Society, and holds an honorary doctorate for services to business.
Stevie has been a charity trustee since the age of 16 and previously chaired the boards of the Groundwork Federation, BBC Children in Need, and The British Council. Currently she chairs PRS for Music, serves on the Global Advisory Board of pladis, is a visiting Professor of the Manchester Metropolitan University Business School, and is investor/advisor to three tech companies .
Stevie has been named as one of the UK’s 100 most connected women and Britain’s 500 most influential people.
Three generations of Stevie's family live with complex mental illness diagnoses, and she has historically been a frequent user of Mind's information and carer support services.
Ian Ruddock
A Chartered accountant, Ian has over 30 years of experience in infrastructure finance, originally training in the London office of KPMG, the global consultancy firm.
He was founder and chief executive of a financial advisory practice for 10 years, and now acts as a mentor and senior advisor to start-ups in the infrastructure sector
Joanne Theodoulou
A lawyer by profession, Joanne has legal, financial and management experience, drawn from working in large law firms and banks, as well as small companies.
She lives with bipolar disorder and has caring responsibilities for others with serious mental illness in her family. She's passionate about making sure that everyone living with a mental health problem has access to appropriate support and information as well as hope for their future.
Alex Jensen
Alex’s background is in operations, marketing and digital. She’s run several multi-national retail and customer-facing businesses, most recently as CEO of National Express.
She spent 10 years as volunteer for Victim Support and currently sits on the board of Inchcape plc.
Alex’s interest in mental health was ignited by her daughter’s experience. She was struck by many factors in the mental health system, including response times, fragmentation of care and how schools support families experiencing mental health problems.
Alyson Scott
Alyson has worked in the voluntary sector for more than 20 years, starting as a volunteer and then, following university, as a youth and community worker.
She's worked in a number of charities which help to support the the voluntary and community sector, and facilitate links with schools and families to reduce exclusions and poor experience of education. She's led an organisation which provides support for young people through counselling, sexual health advice and generic youth work.
She moved into charity management more than 10 years ago and undertook a Post Graduate Diploma in Charity Resource Management.
Alyson has been the CEO at York Mind for more than 4 years and has been involved in the development of the Mind Network.
Shubulade Smith
Lade is a General Adult and forensic consultant psychiatrist in the NHS, and a visiting senior lecturer at Kings College London.
She holds a research fellowship in antipsychotic side effects and set up a joint medication review and physical health clinic, aimed at health promotion and management of physical problems in people with serious mental illnesses. She Clinical Director of the Forensic Services at SLaM and lead for the Acute Forensic Pathway of the South London Partnership. She is President of the Royal College of Psychiatrists.
Lade was also part of the core working group for the independent review of the Mental Health Act, responsible for some of the key recommendations to come from the review including improving outcomes for black people with mental health problems.
She has a BMA Pioneer award for innovation in psychiatry. In 2019 she was awarded Psychiatrist of the Year by the Royal College of Psychiatrists. She has been named one of HSJ’s 50 most influential Black, Asian or ethnic minority people in health.
Anna Hughes
Anna is a former CEO of Suffolk Mind, where she spent five years improving understanding of mental health and delivering innovative new services in the area. She was also instrumental in redeveloping a medieval church in Ipswich into a wellbeing and heritage centre.
Anna is a Chartered Accountant, who trained and qualified with KPMG London, and a consultant. She’s worked with organisations including Tate Modern, the British Museum and the Institute of Chartered Accountants, and has also been finance director at Ipswich Town Football Club.
Kevin Corrigan
Kevin is vice president of the University of Reading and a board member of CCLA charity funds. His background is in investment management, working with pension funds, families and local government.
Kevin has a long interest in mental health and lost his partner to suicide. He is a trustee of Suicide & Co which support people dealing with grief after suicide and was a trustee at Samaritans. He is also a Fellow of the Chartered Association of Certified Accountants.
Emrys Elias
Emrys recently retired after a long career with the NHS. He originally trained as a mental health nurse and has worked in various service areas, including policy, commissioning, hospital, and community mental health services. He has held several senior positions, including senior nurse, senior manager, executive, and Board positions. Up until his retirement in 2023, he served as the Chair of the Cwm Taf Morgannwg University Health Board.
Throughout his career, Emrys led the development of mental health services at both national and local levels. He chaired multiple mental health forums for service planning and operational delivery, most recently serving as Chair of the Welsh Government Mental Health Crisis Care Concordat.
Emrys has also had opportunities to visit and learn about mental health service delivery in Italy and Singapore.
He has directed and coordinated several national and local performance reviews of NHS services within Wales, in line with national delivery requirements. From a mental health perspective, these reviews included assessments of organisational mental health models, service access methods, care and treatment coordination, and outcome-focused care planning for both adult and children’s services. He was the joint author of the national review of the Care Programme Approach (CPA), where the findings influenced changes in mental health legislation in Wales.
Throughout his career, Emrys has consistently strived to improve the wellbeing and lives of others.
In the King’s New Year Honours 2024, Emrys was awarded the OBE for services to the NHS and Mental Health Services in Wales.
Pippa Glucklich
Pippa has 25 years of experience in media, digital and communications, and has worked in several agency roles, from buying to planning. She spent 5 years as the CEO of Starcom and was also CEO of Amplifi, the media investment, tech and innovation platform of Dentsu UK.
She is currently the CEO of media agency, Electric Glue and chair and board advisor a female-founded talent tech start-up.
Pippa is also a long-standing trustee of the charity NABS, striving to improve wellbeing in the advertising and media industry. She chairs the steering committee of timeTo, an initiative working to bring an end to sexual harassment. She is also an active member of the women’s network WACL, where she was president from 2018-2019.
Cynthia Tze Keng Ko
Cynthia is a global citizen with a heart for the planet and its people. She’s struggled with her mental health since the age of 11 while being on the receiving end of racism. At 18, she was diagnosed with chronic depression and has been on and off therapy ever since.
Her life has been a constant search for belonging, trying to find a balance between her Chinese ethnicity and Dutch upbringing.
Despite the adversities in her life she’s always found a home in social impact, by using her wide-ranging skills as a behavioural scientist, service designer, researcher and campaigner.
Cynthia has been involved in research projects around Equity, Diversity and Inclusion (EDI) in youth employment, broadcasting, the mortgage industry, the heritage sector and more.
Using her lived and professional experience, she’s been a Bridging the Gap advisor at Mind, aiming to make recruitment of lived experience opportunities more inclusive. She continued her passion for mental wellbeing as a lived experience facilitator and is now the youngest trustee at Mind.
Cynthia is also a sustainability campaigner who advocates for environmental justice, being fully aware that marginalised communities may face the worst physical and mental health impacts due to climate change.
All of this has gained her recognition as a Global 30 Under 30 Next Generation Insights Leader. As a trustee, she hopes to continue standing up for youth and ethnic minority communities, because, in her words: “The last thing I want is for anyone to feel like my 11-year-old self”.
Valerie Harrison
Valerie’s long career in the NHS saw her through several roles and as chief executive for 2 trusts, and she’s also worked as a consultant for and international consultancy firm, focusing on mental health services.
She spent the last decade of her career as chief executive for an advocacy charity and is currently a trustee of her local Citizens Advice Bureau and previously was chair of her local Mind.
Jude Trenier
Jude has a background in community and youth work. She has over 20 years of experience in the not-for-profit sector, including growing grassroots youth work initiatives in Ireland, radio presenting, and designing and delivering workshops for young people and leaders.
Throughout her career she’s written for training in gender and equality and published writings on issues surrounding areas like mental health, relationships and personal development. She regularly speaks at events around the UK.
Recently, Jude’s worked with parliamentary bodies advocating for refugees and young people, and she's helped lead and grow several charities.
Her personal experience with mental health struggles and gender-based violence has inspired her to speak up for more awareness, understanding, and support for others facing these challenges.
Jonathan Phelan
Jonathan is a solicitor and works in financial services regulation as part of the leadership team at the Financial Conduct Authority. He also runs his own business, Evenhood, which offers resilience coaching to individuals and support for workplaces and universities to help them foster a culture of resilience. Alongside his position as board trustee and Chair of the Federation First Committee at Mind, Jonathan is also Chair of the Board of Trustees at North Staffs and Cheshire Mind.
Jonathan’s involvement in mental health was inspired by his own experience of bereavement. Jonathan is a frequent speaker on the subject of resilience, mental health and baby loss awareness. He’s particularly interested in inspiring people to have mutually supportive conversations about mental health at work, university, school and in social settings. Jonathan has written about these subjects in his book, “The Art of the Mentally Healthy Conversation”.
Lynette Charles
Lynette has an extensive experience in mental health advocacy and organisational leadership, currently serving as the CEO of Mind in Haringey since 2017.
She is dedicated and passionate about advancing mental health initiatives. Under Lynette’s leadership, Mind in Haringey have undergone a remarkable transformation from the brink of closure to a thriving and sustainable organisation.
Lynette possesses a deep understanding of governance, strategic planning, and collaborative leadership, and fosters those collaborations amongst local Minds and key stakeholders. This results in tangible improvements in service delivery and advocacy efforts across London. She has been actively engaged with the network prior to becoming CEO and participated and volunteered extensively across various steering groups and leadership programs.
Her personal journey, which was marked by experiences of adversity and resilience, has fuelled her lifelong passion for mental health advocacy. As a dual heritage black woman who grew up in a deprived area of West London she understands the intersectionality of mental health, poverty, and systemic inequalities.
Her professional qualifications as a social worker, psychologist, and counsellor have further complemented her lived experiences, enabling her to offer better holistic and culturally responsive support.
Lynette is deeply invested in advancing Mind's mission and values, particularly in the context of becoming an anti-racist organisation, strengthening its collaborative efforts through the Federation, supporting the commitment to foster inclusivity and transparency, along with advocating for race equity, mental health and youth issues.
Her hobbies include seeking out diverse reading materials and exploring the principles of Buddhism, along with an enjoyment of music and contributing where she can to wider environmental conservation efforts.
Federation First committee
- Helps develop our network of local Minds
- Helps to drive forward Mind's federated structure
Pwyllgor Cymru
- Ensures we have the greatest possible impact in Wales
- Makes sure our work reflects Welsh culture, identity and devolved organisations
Finance, risk and audit committee
- Oversees and monitors Mind's financial, fundraising and admin activities
- Is partly responsible for auditing Mind's work
Mind Retail board
- Leads Mind Retail
- Reports to Mind via the finance, risk and audit committee
People and culture committee
- Oversees and monitors Mind’s people strategy and organisational culture
- Ensures that the policies and practices associated with the strategy are consistent with Mind’s values and desired culture
Nominations and remuneration committee
- Oversees recruitment of all trustees and honorary officers and advises the board on the skills and diversity required to be an effective board
- Ensures all senior management staff are remunerated fairly