Advisory board
We are supported by an Advisory Board bringing together experts from academia, service provision, industry and those with lived experience of mental health problems.
Advisory Board members support our work in an independent capacity and do not formally represent their employer. We’re very lucky to have their support.
Andy Bell
Andy Bell is Deputy Chief Executive at the Centre for Mental Health. He joined the Centre from the King’s Fund in 2002 as Director of Communications, before becoming Deputy Chief Executive in 2009. He is a member of the Mental Health Policy Group and chaired the Mental Health Alliance between 2006 and 2008. He writes a regular blog on mental health policy for the Huffington Post.
Luciana Berger
Luciana Berger is the former MP for Liverpool Wavertree and former Labour shadow cabinet minister for mental health. She frequently campaigns on the issues of waiting times and funding for mental health services and is a strong advocate of talking therapies. As shadow minister, Luciana toured mental health services and organisations across the country. Luciana is chair of the Maternal Mental Health Alliance and a vice president of the British Association of Counselling and Psychotherapy.
Dr. Jed Boardman
Jed Boardman is Senior Lecturer in Social Psychiatry at the Institute of Psychiatry and Senior Policy Adviser at the Centre for Mental Health. Throughout his career, he has worked mainly in social and community psychiatry and was Consultant Psychiatrist at South London and Maudsley Trust until 2016. He is Lead for Social Inclusion at the Royal College of Psychiatrists where he advises on employment, poverty, welfare reform, personalisation and recovery.
Dr. Billy Boland
Billy Boland is a Consultant Psychiatrist in Community Psychiatry and is the Deputy Medical Director at Hertfordshire Partnership University NHS Foundation Trust. He is the current Chair of the Faculty of General Adult Psychiatry at the Royal College of Psychiatrists and a co-Clinical Director for Mental Health for NHS England, London region. His interests include quality improvement, social care and safeguarding in mental health services.
Martin Coppack
Martin is director of Fair By Design, the campaign to end the injustice of people paying more for essential products and services – simply because they are poor. With a background in consumer advocacy, grant-making and regulation, Martin has held a range of positions, including at the Financial Conduct Authority and Big Lottery Fund, all with the common objective of placing low income and vulnerable people at the heart of policy making. He is also a Commissioner for the Commission on Financial Inclusion.
Steve Crabb
Steve Crabb is a consultant specialising in consumer vulnerability strategy and inclusive service design. He is a former business journalist and has held senior roles in charities, central government and the private sector.
Lord Davies of Brixton
Lord Davies is a Labour peer who was appointed to the House of Lords in 2020. Before entering the Lords, he worked as an actuary in the pensions industry and was active in the trade union movement. Earlier in his career, he served on the Inner London Education Authority.
Chris Fitch
Chris Fitch has led research on debt and mental health for almost a decade. Chris works with the Money Advice Trust and the Personal Finance Research Centre at the University of Bristol, much of his research focuses on vulnerability. Before this, Chris was a Research Fellow at the Royal College of Psychiatrists.
Lee Healey
Lee Healey is Founder and Managing Director of IncomeMax, a social enterprise that offers independent personal money advice. Lee has 21 years of experience supporting vulnerable and low income families, having held roles at the Department for Work and Pensions and in the charitable advice sector.
Dan Holloway
Dan Holloway has bipolar disorder and has been campaigning on mental health and finance issues for more than a decade. He works at Oxford University, where he sits on the Disability Advisory Group. Twice Creative Thinking World Champion, Dan is also CEO of Oxford University spinout Rogue Interrobang which helps institutions use creativity to solve wicked problems, in particular by providing spaces where disabled people can play a leading role in shaping the future.
Dr. Ricky Kanabar
Ricky Kanabar is Assistant Professor of Social Policy at the University of Bath. Prior to his appointment at Bath, Ricky was a founding member of the Understanding Society Policy Unit working with government departments on joint projects using the United Kingdom Household Longitudinal Study; one of the few longitudinal household surveys that collects information about both people’s debt profile and their mental health.
Adam Land
Adam Land is a senior director at the Competition and Markets Authority, where he has had a particular focus on the design and delivery of effective interventions to help people get a fair deal from markets. Adam is passionate about supporting good mental health and is a senior sponsor on wellbeing and mental health for both the CMA and the UK Civil Service.
Sandra Lawman
Sandra Lawman is a specialist in mental health with extensive experience in the public, private and voluntary sectors. She has held positions including administrator of the Maudsley Charity, Chair of Social Services in Lambeth and Trustee and Chair of the Audit Committee at Rethink Mental Illness. Sandra has lived experience of mental health problems, she has a diagnosis of schizoaffective disorder, and has also been a carer for her long term partner.
Mike Songer
Mike retired from the commercial world in 2021 after 38 years in Retail Banking, most recently leading strategy development for the treatment of Vulnerable Customers within his firm, and additionally acting as Chair for the Vulnerability Committee at the financial service trade body, UK Finance. In December 2024 he became Director for Samaritans of Bracknell, Ascot and Wokingham, after several years being weekly listening volunteer for people who are suicidal, in crisis or despair, as well as supporting the induction, training and mentoring of new volunteers. Mike has also spent time since retiring supporting a homelessness rehabilitation organisation, assisting with life skills such as cooking, applying for jobs, and understanding the benefit system.
Nicola Wood
Nicola Wood is the Senior Independent Director at the Information Commissioner’s Office and an Ombudsman at the Financial Ombudsman Service. She is a specialist in dispute resolution and a former solicitor. She has a particular interest in helping vulnerable consumers and helping businesses to help them too.
Professor Dame Til Wykes
Til Wykes is Professor of Clinical Psychology and Rehabilitation at King’s College London, much of her research focuses on rehabilitation and recovery for people with severe mental health problems. Professor Wykes also edits the Journal of Mental Health and is Vice Dean of Psychology and System Sciences at the Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology & Neuroscience.