Board of Trustees

Paul Burstow, Chair of the Board

Paul Burstow, Chair of the BoardPaul Burstow joined the SCIE board as Chair in July 2017. He has over thirty years of public service leadership in local government, Westminster and Whitehall. Since leaving parliament he has been appointed to chair the north London based, internationally renowned, Tavistock and Portman NHS FT – the home of psychotherapy. He is a member of the independent oversight and advisory group for the Five Year Forward View for Mental Health. His interest in mental health led to his appointment in 2016 as the University of Birmingham’s Professor of Mental Health Public Policy, a part-time role in which he is leading a policy commission devising a new prevention and early action paradigm. Paul was appointed minister of state for care services in 2010 leading the drafting of the Care Bill (now Act) and No Health Without Mental Health strategy. His interest in social care saw him appointed as Chair of the Design Council’s Transform Ageing National Advisory Panel in 2016 and as President of the TSA – the voice of technology enabled care in 2017. Paul was appointed to Her Majesty’s Privy Council in 2012.

Paul’s tweets

Rachel Armitage

Rachel has worked in the health information and media sector for over 25 years, producing evidence-based products and services for doctors, nurses and patients. As Director of the BMJ Evidence Centre, she gained extensive experience of structuring knowledge and evidence for practitioners and service users to improve best practice and the experience of care. She then joined the global publisher Elsevier as Director of e-Education Solutions for EMEA/LA. Here she developed and commercialised new, digital learning products for the undergraduate market.

Rachel is currently Managing Director of RCNi, the independent, commercial media arm of the Royal College of Nursing. She is a member of the RCNi Board, Audit and Remuneration Committees, and is responsible for the digital transformation of services to meet the needs of the nursing community.

Georgia Chimbani

Georgia is Director of Adult and Community Services for Suffolk, accountable for discharging the statutory duties locally, as well as shaping the national and local agendas for adult services. A registered Social Worker, she holds a master’s degree from the University of Southampton. Throughout her 25 year career Georgia has been a strong advocate for practitioner-led research and practice to deliver positive outcomes for people and communities. She is passionate about the promotion of equality, non-discriminatory practice, and empowerment of communities. Georgia has been the Association of Directors of Adult Social Services lead for dementia and has worked with partners to set the national strategic direction for dementia through the Dementia Programme Board.

Georgia has been instrumental in setting up and co-chairing the Dementia Action Partnership, making Suffolk a dementia-friendly county. She is current lead for the ADASS International Network and sits on the board and council of the European Social Network.

Zoe Gould

Zoe is a digital transformation specialist, writer and speaker with over 15 years of experience in the Civil Service and the health sector, including ten years working in digital and business transformation. At Kainos, she advises and delivers digital transformation. Zoe works with clients to ensure the smooth and successful delivery of multimillion pound contracts; developing strategies and leading multidisciplinary teams and keeping user needs at the heart of all of Kainos’s work. She is passionate about diversity and inclusion, including speaking events on disability diversity, Women in Digital and LGBTQ+ issues. Zoe is an AWS GetIT Ambassador, encouraging more young women into engineering careers. She has worked delivering services such as the COVID-19 home testing service and improving social care workforce date. Zoe has worked across five government departments and agencies.

John Grosvenor

John is a Chartered Accountant and spent 38 years with international professional services firm PricewaterhouseCoopers working with international companies and in his time was based in London, Rotterdam, New York and Singapore. Since stopping full-time work he has held a number of Non-Executive and Trustee roles, with a particular focus on the charitable and not for profit sectors. He was Treasurer of the Alzheimer’s Society for seven years and is currently the Treasurer for Alzheimer’s Disease International, the federation of Alzheimer’s associations globally. His roles have included Board member of the MS Society and Board member and Chair of the Audit Committee of a NHS Foundation Trust Hospital. His current roles are Chair of Goalball UK, a Paralympic sport for blind and visually impaired people, and on the advisory board of Mazars LLP, a professional services firm.

Zoë Hallam

Zoë is a commercial procurement specialist currently working in the healthcare sector where she supports the provision of genomic screening services into the NHS. She is a lifetime disability advocate, having taken up campaigning at the age of 16 with Muscular Dystrophy UK, and having subsequently been a spokesperson and representative for a number of disability-led organisations. Most recently she was a Trustee at Attitude is Everything, a charity broadening access to live events for disabled people. She is a personal budget user herself and is passionate about the inclusion of younger people in conversations about disability and social care. Zoë holds an Advanced Diploma in Procurement and Supply and a BA in Politics, Philosophy and Economics from the University of Oxford.

Sean Holland

Sean Holland began his career working in homeless projects before training as a social worker at the University of Ulster. From 1986 he worked in a variety of social work posts in Northern Ireland. In 2008 was appointed to the Social Services Inspectorate in NI becoming Assistant Chief Social Services Officer and then Chief Social Worker for Northern Ireland, a post he held for over 10 years. Sean also served as a trustee of NICO, which encourages building efficient, accountable and sustainable public sector institutions internationally and has been directly involved in work to strengthen social work services in a number of countries including Ukraine, Croatia, Bulgaria, Azerbaijan and Jordan. He has also been a member of the Advisory Committee for the Child Protection Research Advisory Centre at Edinburgh University. He currently serves on the board of TUSLA, the national children’s social services agency for the Republic of Ireland chairing its Services and Quality Committee. Since October 2022 Sean has held the position of Director of Access to Justice in the Department of Justice NI. Sean is a qualified social worker, practice teacher, has an advanced diploma in the management of psychological trauma and has a LLM in medical law. In 2021 he was made a CBE and in 2022 he was appointed visiting professor of social work at Ulster University.

• Sean’s tweets

Margaret Lally

Margaret joined the Board in March 2019. She worked in the NHS for number years where her responsibilities included developing services for people with learning disabilities and managing a range of community health services. Margaret left the NHS to become Deputy Chief Executive of the Refugee Council. She then went onto the British Red Cross where she was responsible for developing services in the UK including its health and social care offer. Margaret has previously worked with SCIE including chairing the Group which established Guidelines for the Care and Support of People with Learning Disabilities as They Grow Older. Margaret is currently trustee of Heritage Care which provides services for older people, people with learning disabilities and people with mental health issues.

Brett Terry

Brett joined SCIE in July 2022 and is the director of people at the Children’s charity, The National Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children (NSPCC). He has more than 20 years’ experience in the charity sector and specialises in organisational development, including large scale transformational change, leadership development and employee and volunteer engagement. Brett has held numerous roles at Alzheimer’s Society. He has also worked at Breakthrough Breast Cancer, Cancer Research UK and Amnesty International. Brett believes passionately in the power of people and in creating working and volunteering environments where everyone feels valued; and where they can be their one true, authentic self. His motivation for joining SCIE lies in:

Isaac Samuels

For over 25 years, Isaac has been a tireless advocate for social justice and tackling inequalities. As an accomplished community campaigner and co-production advisor, Isaac has dedicated their career to empowering individuals and communities to overcome systemic barriers and achieve their best possible outcomes. Their work spans the health, social care, and housing sectors, where they have supported those at risk of disadvantage due to poverty, disability, and health disparities to rewrite their narratives and reclaim their voices. Isaac’s approach is deeply rooted in enabling people to share their lived experiences, using these insights to shape transformative policies and foster real change. Whether addressing racial inequality, intersectional discrimination, or the multifaceted challenges faced by marginalised groups, Isaac champions co-production and citizen voice as vital tools for creating fairer systems and better futures. 

Drawing from their own lived experience of navigating health and social care challenges, Isaac understands firsthand the complexities of overcoming societal and systemic obstacles. Their personal journey has shaped an unwavering commitment to dismantling barriers and supporting others to thrive. This lived experience not only informs their empathetic and rights-based approach but also fuels their passion for promoting equity, compassion, and fairness in every facet of their work. Throughout a distinguished career, Isaac has taken on a wide array of leadership roles. From spearheading integrated policy initiatives for people with additional support needs to advancing practice in areas such as nursing, mental health, HIV/AIDS stigma, and co-production, their impact has been both profound and far-reaching. They have also contributed to mental health research, supported the implementation of the Care Act, and championed greater choice and control for those navigating complex systems of care. 

At the heart of Isaac’s work is an unwavering belief in the power of co-production—a values-driven methodology that places individuals at the centre of decision-making and empowers them to shape their own outcomes. Guided by core principles of compassion, equity, and the relentless pursuit of justice, Isaac is committed to breaking down stigma and paving the way for a more inclusive and equitable society. Whether collaborating with policymakers, facilitating community-driven initiatives, or advocating for those whose voices are too often silenced, Isaac’s dedication to creating a better world shines through. Their work is a testament to the transformative power of lived experience, the strength of collective action, and the enduring belief that everyone deserves the opportunity to thrive.