Our People

Patrons

Lord Renfrew of Kaimsthorn

One of the country's leading archaeologists, with a distinguished academic career, including Chairs at Sheffield and Southampton. Appointed Disney Professor of Archaeology in the University of Cambridge in 1981, a post held until retirement in 2004. Master of Jesus College from 1986 until 1997. Life Peer 1991. Many learned publications and honorary awards. Has a great interest in the arts.

Mike Thorne

Professor Michael Thorne became Vice-Chancellor of Anglia Ruskin University in 2007, and was previously Vice-Chancellor of the University of East London from 2001. He has a first-class honours degree in Pure Mathematics and a Ph. D. in Computational Group Theory.

Mike is the author, co-author and editor of a large number of books and academic papers, and has contributed to many television and radio programmes, as well as being in high demand as a speaker. He is the chairman of the Parliamentary Skills Commission's enquiry into Information, Advice and Guidance; on the Board of the Office of the Independent Adjudicator for Higher Education, and chairs the Government's Advisory Committee on Libraries. In his spare time he conducts Wagner operas and other large-scale musical works, and hopes to put on and conduct an opera every year at Anglia Ruskin.

Simon McBurney

Born and educated in Cambridge. An actor and theatre director, in 1983 he co-founded the UK-based Theatre de Complicite, and is its artistic director. Has a profound interest in the link between mental health and the arts, which has formed the basis of several of his recent pieces. He was recently awarded an O.B.E.

Jill Gomez

Patron of the Michaelhouse Chorale

A distinguished soprano, Jill hails from Trinidad and studied in London and Rome. Her international career as a concert and opera singer was launched at Glyndebourne, and she has since appeared worldwide in leading opera houses and concert halls, in repertory from Monteverdi, Handel, Haydn and Mozart, to Britten Tippett, Stravinsky and Adès.

As a recitalist she is especially celebrated in French and Spanish song, and many of her recordings, such as Songs of the Auvergne, have won coveted prizes. Jill believes passionately that everyone can and should sing, and that through singing they can discover their creative energies and wholeness of body, mind and spirit. Jill frequently gives up time to join the members of the Michaelhouse Chorale at their weekly singing workshops.

Professor German Berrios

Prof German Berrios was emerited from the Cambridge University Chair of the Epistemology of Psychiatry in 2007. Until his retirement he was also Honorary Consultant Neuropsychiatrist at Addenbrooke's Hospital. He read Psychology & Philosophy at Oxford University and trained in Neurology and Psychiatry at the Oxford United Hospitals. As well as his academic and clinical roles, he has been Honorary Librarian at the Royal College of Psychiatrists, chaired for 20 years the Cambridge Research and Ethics Committees, held visiting Professorships at more than ten foreign Universities, and been awarded doctorates honoris causa by the Universities of Heidelberg (Germany) and San Marcos (Peru). He is a Life Fellow of Robinson College (Cambridge) and a Fellow of the British Psychological Society and of the Academy of Medical Sciences. He has published 14 books and more than 400 papers and book chapters on the clinical aspects of Neuropsychiatry and on the epistemology and history of descriptive psychopathology.

Directors

Richard Taylor

Recently retired as Director of the Eastern Regional Development Centre of the Care Services Improvement Partnership, a national advisory and support service whose purpose is to improve service users' and carers' experience and promote as much independence and fulfilment as possible. Past roles have included Chief Executive of the Cambridgeshire and Peterborough Mental Health Partnership NHS Trust and the Cambridge Community NHS Trust. Richard has sought actively to promote the role of the creative arts and to support service user access to them in all these roles.

Christina Rowland-Jones

Retired NHS administrator and part-time children's music teacher. Carer. Mental Health Act 'Associate Manager'. 1999-2009 Chair of Friends of Fulbourn Hospital & the Community, and initiator of their Millennium Arts Project. 2009 Received a Lifetime Achievement Award from the Cambridgeshire & Peterborough Trust, and a Special Commendation in the 2009 Royal Society of Public Health 'Arts and Health' Awards. 2010 Awarded an MBE in the Queen's Birthday Honours, for services to mental health care in Cambridgeshire.

Dr Bronwen Loder

Retired. Active in the voluntary sector. Mental Health Act ‘Manager’ and service user. Fifteen years in academic, scientific research. Subsequently wide experience at a senior level in scientific administration in UK public and charitable sectors, and with the European Commission.

Richard Townley

Retired County Planner in local government with a particular interest in strategic land-use planning. This interest has continued into retirement through his involvement locally in environment and sustainability matters. He has served as a trustee and director of the local Wildlife Trust and currently chairs a charity delivering services to children and families experiencing challenging situations across East Anglia. He is also active in a number of community groups in the village where he lives close to Cambridge. He has had a lifelong interest in the arts and sees his involvement as a contribution to the wider local community.

Cliff Walker

Cliff served in the Royal Air Force for some 25 years befiore moving to Peterborough. Here he has been a Director of the YMCA and a member of the Community Association of Peterborough where for a number of years he arranged the Christmas day social for the elderly. He has been a Non Executive Director of both Peteborough Hospitals Trust and the Peterborough Primary Care Trust. He is a member of the Mental Health Review Tribunal and sits locally as a Hospital Manager for the Cambridgeshie and Peterborough Community Foundation (Mental Health) NHS Trust. He is also a member of the Independent Monitoring Board at Her Majesty's Prison, Peterborough. He is the Chairman of the Caribbean Golden Age Association and has been the Chair of both The African Caribbean Forum and of its Youth Club. He currently the Chair of Accent Nene Housing Asssociation and of Peterborough Racial Equality Council. He sits as an Assessor under the Race Relations Act in the County Courts and locally as a Magistrate on the Peterborough Bench of which he is the Chairman. He is the holder of the MBE and is a Deputy Lieutenant of Cambridgeshire.

 

Ted Unsworth

Ted is currently an active member and appriaser for the Mental Health Tribunal Service, and has extensive experience operating in a variety of roles at the interface between local government, criminal justice and mental health services in the public, private and third sectors. Although Ted claims to possess little artistice talent of his own (a claim we hear often at Arts & Minds, but invariably see disproved following participation in our workshops!), Ted is an avid audience member and throughout his long career has seen many times at first hand the positive benefits brought by artistic endeavour to our fellow citizens in mental distress.

Helen Acton

Helen is a existential psychotherapist working in private practice in Cambridge and London; she is a member of the British Association for Counselling & Psychotherapy (BACP) and the Society for Existential Analysis, and a Registered Member of the UKCP (United Kingdom Council for Psychotherapy). As a counsellor and therapist she has worked for the Terrance Higgins Trust, the Claremont Psychotherapy Service, and the Student Counselling Service at Goldsmiths College, University of London. Before retraining in psychotherapy Helen's first career was spent in the theatre where she worked as a stage manager on a variety of productions - opera, plays and West End musicals. Helen was a professional member of the 2009 Laurence Olivier Awards Theatre Panel.

Francis Durrant

Honorary Secretary

Gavin Clayton

Staff

• Executive Director – Gavin Clayton
• Rita Smith – Administrator/Finance Manager
• Susan Potter – Arts on Prescription Research Manager
• Jaclyn McLoughlin – Arts on Prescription Project Manager

Freelance Artists:

• Caroline Kisby – Cavell Centre Gallery, Peterborough
• Natasha Carsberg – Inside Out Project
• Sam Hayes – Michaelhouse Chorale
• Various – Arts on Prescription

 

Volunteers:

• Claire Adams – Website designer
• Joanne Limburg – Facebook & Twitter