Ann Gow – Adviser, Grants Committee
Ann is Deputy Chief Executive of Healthcare Improvement Scotland, where she is also their first Nursing, Midwifery and Allied Health Professions Director. She has worked with Scottish government, contributing to the development of policy on early years and on public health nursing. Ann works with Scottish and UK regulators to develop a Scotland-wide strategic approach to improving patient care and the experiences of nursing staff.
Dr Katrin Lehmann – Adviser, Grants Committee
Katrin is a consultant nurse for CAMHS and Emotional Wellbeing at Belfast Health and Social Care Trust, with over 20 years’ experience working in child and adolescent mental health services. She provides support and advice on projects related to young people’s mental health and emotional wellbeing.
Professor Michael J Brown – Adviser, Scotland Committee
Professor Brown is Professor of Nursing and Director of Graduate Studies in the School of Nursing and Midwifery, Queen’s University, Belfast. A researcher, he has published over one hundred papers in the academic literature. He is a Principal Fellow of the Higher Education Academy and a Fellow of the Royal College of Nursing.
Victoria Bennett – Adviser, Income Generation and Investment Committee
Vix Bennett leads the marketing team at Savills, following ten years at Barclays, where she held various roles including Head of Marketing, and built their award-winning luxury lifestyle programme. Vix is passionate about building customer-centric brands, delivering commercial results, and using data to inform marketing strategy and measure impact.
Mickella Lewis-Purvis – Advisor, Grants Committee
Mickella is a grants fundraising manager at the leading mental health charity, Mind. Her experience covers youth, international development, and health, equality, diversity, and inclusion. Mickella’s passion for healthcare and improving collaboration and equity in grant-making led her to join the Grants Committee of the RCN Foundation in 2021.
Vivien Waterfield – Adviser, Income Generation and Investment Committee
Vivien is Deputy Chief Executive at the national family support charity Home-Start UK, where she heads up the charity's central fundraising and business development work. She held the post of Director of Fundraising and Communications at Home-Start UK for 11 years, having spent several years in retail and arts marketing. Vivien has been a volunteer and trustee for several arts and women’s health charities.
Hemal Naran – Adviser, Income Generation and Investment Committee
Hemal has over twenty years’ experience across investment management and advisory, having worked for large asset owners and investment managers across the globe. He has witnessed first-hand the power of private capital, in addressing social and environmental challenges. Hemal also serves as an investment committee member of the World Health Organisation and as a Trustee of the Institute and Faculty of Actuaries Foundation.
Professor Donna Mead OBE – Adviser, Wales Committee
Donna has been an external advisor to the RCN Foundation for some time. When reviewing grants, she brings the skills of having been a university Dean for 18 years, a researcher and educator. Donna now works in the NHS, chairing a University Trust. She has been a recipient of many grants, and knows what it’s like to go through the process.
Dawn Jackson – Adviser, Grants Committee
Dawn has worked in the social care field for most of her career, beginning by working with refugees, then people released from prison. Since then she has managed many different services for vulnerable people. Dawn became a funding manager within housing before moving into benevolent grant management for individuals. Dawn retired in 2021 and is now an adviser and trustee to three grant-making charities.
Tanya Strange MBE – Adviser, Wales Committee
Tanya is a registered nurse and the Assistant Director of Nursing for Person Centred Care at the Aneurin Bevan University Health Board. Tanya is committed to improving the quality of life for older people, a passion driven from spending four years as matron in nursing homes for the elderly. Tanya has won a number of nursing and patient experience awards, including the Chief Nursing Officer Award and the Lifetime Achievement Award.
Fiona Bickley – Adviser, Appointments Panel
Fiona is a charity lawyer who has worked as professional in the not-for-profit sector all her career. She is COO of Barts Charity, an endowed foundation supporting life-changing improvements to health in East London. She advises the RCN Foundation Appointments Panel and is also a trustee of the London Community Foundation.
Matt Craddock – Adviser, Income Generation and Investment Committee
Matt Craddock CFA has experience working across the investment industry. He is currently a Senior Vice President working with UK institutional investors at Lazard Asset Management, and has previously worked as a Senior Investment Consultant at PwC and Willis Towers Watson.
Andrew Wauchope – Adviser, Income Generation and Investment Committee
Andrew is an investment professional and charity trustee and board member with extensive committee experience. His aim is to increase the important financial resources that underpin the work of RCN Foundation, and contribute to its policy objectives by being an integral part of supporting and delivering our vision.