Dr Laura N Young MBE Board Member and Founder Expand Laura is a pioneer in art therapy and arts for wellbeing services for children and young people in hospitals. With her husband John, Laura founded Teapot Trust in 2010 to redress the balance in care for children with hidden and/or complex rheumatology conditions by providing art therapy to support their mental wellbeing. Through Laura’s tenacity and the hard work of the Teapot Trust team this ground-breaking work has helped put art and creativity on the mental health agenda, the importance of which has been recognised by a number prestigious awards. Since 2018, Laura has also held a Trustee position at National Museums Scotland, which she enjoys as it reminds her of her first job when she trained at the Science Museum, after University. She was on the Court of Queen Margaret University for 3 years 2016 – 2019. She has attended Downing Street, on three occasions: as a social entrepreneur, for International Women’s Day and as a significant NHS partner for an [email protected] meeting. Offering a trusted, independent viewpoint, Laura is studying for a Masters in Executive Coaching, and works as an Executive coach enabling Founders and CEOs to have dedicated time for strategic thinking and planning, leading to greater fulfilment. Passionate about wellbeing and interested in what makes an organisation and its people resilient, she is expanding her executive coaching remit to include health and wellbeing and nearly completed her Accredited Health Coaching Skills with TPC Health. As a speaker her focus is on founding charities, the lived experience of chronic conditions, coping with grief and on what makes us resilient and happy i.e. good mental health and wellbeing. She is a Guild Fellow at Corpus Christi College, Cambridge; received an Honorary Doctorate from Queen Margaret University in 2015, and in 2016 was awarded an MBE in recognition of her services to children with health conditions. Laura is also a Mental Health First Aider.
Dr Simon Hackett Board Member Expand Dr Simon Hackett is a Consultant Art Psychotherapist in the NHS and a Senior Clinical Lecturer in Mental Health at Newcastle University. Simon has worked as a art therapist for over 20 years in services for children and adults and leads a team of art, dance-movement, drama, and music therapists. He has developed national guidelines for art therapists and has written and published widely in journals and books about evidence and research on arts therapies. Simon has an interest how the arts and creativity can help support and improve children's mental health and he is the Arts in Health adviser to the Great North Children's Hospital in Newcastle upon Tyne. In his spare time Simon loves being in the outdoors, whitewater canoeing, swimming in rivers, and trail running. He also runs his local community cinema and annual village winter arts festival in Northumberland.
Vicky Ferrier Board Member Expand Vicky Ferrier (CPFA) is Group Director at the Very Group. She has a strong background in finance, having previously been Finance Manager for Boots plc. As a trustee of Teapot Trust, Vicky is Chair of the Finance Committee. Having served the charity on its board for almost six years (2 terms), Vicky will be stepping down in November 2021. An advocate for business leadership, Vicky also works as a consultant focusing on the fundamentals, asking questions that are often not addressed in business.
Tom Brown Board Member Expand Tom is a business leader with 25 years’ experience in Managing Director and Chief Operating Officer roles across multiple industries. He has served in interim and advisory positions for both large corporates and SMEs in the UK and Europe, specialising in operational transformations. Tom’s connection with Teapot Trust began when he was working as an advisor with Pilotlight supporting a variety of small charities in Scotland. That experience led to Tom’s commitment to give more time and the charity was pleased to harness his skills. As well as serving as a trustee with Teapot Trust, Tom is also Chair at Cairngorm Canoeing and Sailing School Ltd.
Katherine Graham Board Member Expand Katherine has spent most of her career in the financial services industry. A Programme Director by trade, she has managed people change for the Royal Bank of Scotland (now known as the NatWest Group) during some of the most challenging times in banking. Katherine is a Fellow of the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development, and co-chairs their South East Scotland Committee and Branch. Her academic background is in HR disciplines, holding a MA and MSc from Heriot-Watt and the University of Edinburgh. However, her career path has changed and she is now a technologist! As Head of Transformation for the Security Services function in RBS (NatWest Group), she is rolling out the use of AI and robotic process automation, and having fun looking at gamification and process reengineering. Outside of work, Katherine volunteers at her local Code Club, where young people learn to create games, animations and websites using code. She is also a member of the Board of Management at Forth Valley College, one of Scotland’s leading providers of education and training. She is happiest when running through a theme park after her three young boys, and believes in creating the right opportunities so that everyone in the community can access learning, art therapy, and sources of support, throughout their whole lives.
Katie Wood Board Member Expand Katie has a background in management and leadership in regulatory organisations, in particular with professional bodies. She has an excellent knowledge of governance matters and the work of committees and boards. For Katie the driver for joining the Board was the opportunity to help support not only those children and families benefiting from the amazing work of the charity, but also the hardworking staff and therapists team who work so tirelessly to make it all happen. She's also excited to be working with such talented Board members. Katie is absolutely delighted to be able to bring her skills and enthusiasm to Team Teapot.