Meet the team
Staff
Louisa Thorman
Charity Director
Louisa joined Arts and Minds in October 2023 as Charity Director. Having worked within education, local government and community settings for over twenty years. She is a qualified PGCE teacher with an MA in creative writing practice. Louisa is passionate about working with a wide demographic audience, enabling others to explore their mental health issues through the broad medium of art! She enjoys creative writing, painting and is a bootcamp regular.
Mari O'Neill
Arts on Prescription Co-ordiator
Mari joined Arts and Minds in August 2023 as our new Arts on Prescription Co-ordinator. She is a viola player who developed a career in arts marketing and communications, strategy, and project management. Having worked nationally and internationally, she’s loving making things happen locally now. She balances work with being a mum, and plays in Cambridge Philharmonic, sings every now and again, and relaxes by doing crochet or ballet.
Programme Facilitators
Peggy Mends
Artist Faciliator
Alongside her facilitation and volunteering roles with Arts and Minds, Peggy specialises as a Freelance Textile Designer, Nail Artist and a is Mum of 3.
Peggy graduated with an MA in Printed Textiles from the Royal College of Art in 2005 and has worked with large corporate design companies as well as on her own range of textiles accessories. Her passion is to combine her creative talent and knowledge alongside health and wellbeing in art making.
Programmes: Arts on Prescription; Creative Café @ Ely Library & Volunteer at Creative Café @ Cambridge Junction
Bob Race
Artist Facilitator
Bob Race worked on the graphic side of advertising until he turned 40 when he took a leap of faith and returned to his passion at art college: ceramics. His work sells through galleries, such as Byard Art in Cambridge. He also began giving workshops to those with mental health issues and realised this is the field of teaching he enjoys the most. For the past 30 years he’s taught in diverse settings, from the NHS to care homes. He also once held a televised workshop in Trafalgar Square. He’s run the Friday pottery group since its inception in 2001.
Programmes: Pottery
Pina Santoro
Artist Facilitator
Pina is an artist who's practice is mainly sculpture based, however still maintains her strong links with painting, print, textiles, sound, ceramics and socially engaged practice. She has worked with Arts and Minds in Cambridge and Peterborough since 2007. Her concerns lie in culture, identity, belonging, the healing arts and wellbeing.
Programmes: Arts on Prescription / Thinking Hands Pottery
Liz Falconbridge
Artist Faciliator
Liz has worked in the Eastern Region for over 30 years as an established curator, arts educator and mentor, whose special interest has been to work with those who may experience barriers to engaging in the arts. She has delivered workshops across a variety of artforms and is passionate about the power of art to transform lives. Liz currently works in a freelance capacity for Babylon ARTS in Ely and has her own art practice featuring quirky characters made from found and altered objects and novel narratives depicting their antics!
Programmes: Arts on Prescription
Trustees
Bob Bragger
Chair of Trustees
Bob is a carer for his wife, Ruth, who has had progressive Multiple Sclerosis (MS) for 24 years. Since 2017 Bob has been the volunteer group coordinator for the Cambridge, Ely and Newmarket MS Society Group. Since 2018 he has worked with the Wellcome MRC Stem Cell Institute on their public engagement program, which led him to become an Ambassador for the Institute in 2020. Bob completed two years as the Chairman of the Patient Forum for the Cambridge & Peterborough Foundation Health Trust and still retains close links the with the NHS. In 2022 he undertook training by NHS England to become a Peer Leader and also joined Healthwatch as a Health Champion
Appointed: January 2023
Kim Clayden
Treasurer
Kim qualified as a Chartered Accountant in 1989 and spent more than 30 years working with owner managed businesses, charities and social enterprises before retiring from practice in 2021. Outside of work Kim has achieved an MA in Creative Writing and writes fiction and scripts as a hobby. She has had a collaborative project broadcast on regional TV and is currently working on a novel.
Appointed: May 2021
Catherine Hatcher
Trustee
Catherine has a variety of arts experience spanning research, evaluation, fundraising and administration. She is currently the Learning and Impact Manager at Voices Foundation and has a strong interest in utilising evidence to increase organisational learning, better practice, and deliver the best possible experience for participants. Her other professional experience includes roles at Cambridge University, London Symphony Orchestra, Philharmonia Orchestra, Orchestras For All and Yorkshire Young Sinfonia. She holds master’s degrees in musicology from the University of Oxford, and in psychology and education from the University of Cambridge.
Appointed: January 2020
Emma Howes
Trustee
Emma has worked in the fields of arts and education for 20 years and is passionate about access to creative opportunities for all. She has managed diverse creative learning projects in both formal and community settings across England, with a focus on hands-on experiences, personal image making and analogue processes. Emma joined the team at Arts and Minds in 2020 because of her passion for the benefits that creative practices have for participants. She is currently employed at ARU Students' Union where she champions diversity and representation in Higher Education.
Appointed: January 2020
Jess Payne
Trustee
Jess is the founder of a graphic design studio based in Cambridgeshire and also works as a Senior HR consultant internationally. Jess has a background in both people management (MCIPD qualified) and art and design (Masters in Graphic Design), and has worked with sole traders to multi-national organisations on wide ranging topics such as branding and messaging, to large culture and change management programmes. Jess is passionate about wellbeing through creativity (in her spare time she likes to make semi-abstract art).
Appointed: January 2023
Sarah Massie
Trustee
Sarah is a senior leader at The Point of Care Foundation a charity who’s mission is humanising care and the owner of a small consultancy that supports people to bloom and thrive using coaching and mindfulness. Sarah has spent most of her career working in and alongside the NHS; she has a clinical background in Pharmacy and laterally has focused on well being and people development facilitating culture change and the design and delivery of leadership programmes across the NHS. Sarah is passionate about creativity; outside of work she is a glass artist and avid gardener and has first hand experience of art supporting her through trauma when seriously ill.
Appointed: January 2023