Team
“The strength of Room to Heal comes from the enthusiasm and dedication of the people involved.” Amy Saunders, UK Programme Officer, Comic Relief
STAFF
Mark Fish is Room to Heal’s Founder and Director. He is a counsellor and psychotherapist with post-graduate qualifications in refugee healthcare and an MSc violence, conflict and development. He has 20 years’ therapeutic experience in group therapy, mediation, clinical supervision and professional development. Mark worked as Country representative for Quaker Peace and Social Witness in the conflict zone in Northern Uganda (2002-04) and subsequently as a volunteer group facilitator at The Medical Foundation (now called Freedom from Torture). He is currently senior counsellor and psychotherapist at the Helen Bamber Foundation.
Jane Taylor is the Women’s Programme Coordinator – an experienced psychotherapist with previous experience of individual counselling with survivors of torture at the Helen Bamber Foundation and international experience in cross-cultural research in Cambodia.
Roro Ratih Ambarwati is the Women’s Programme Community Support Worker. Roro has qualifications in psychology and therapeutic group-work and has worked at Room to Heal since its beginning.
Chloe Davies is community manager and works as a counsellor and group facilitator at Room to Heal. She previously worked at legal charity Reprieve, coordinating rehabilitation projects for former prisoners from Guantanamo Bay and Death Row. She has an MSC in violence, conflict and development from the School of Oriental and African Studies and is currently completing her integrative psychotherapy training at the Minster Centre. She also works part-time in research into responses to conflict, at the Department of International Development at LSE.
VOLUNTEERS
We rely on the support of over twenty committed volunteers and trustees, giving their time to help our community flourish.
TRUSTEES
Penny Farrar (Trustee and Chair): Penny is a management consultant with a diverse background in community development. She is a former Board member of Foundation House in Australia and has been involved with Room to Heal since its inception in 2007. Penny brings expertise in governance, programme planning and management and stakeholder engagement to Room to Heal.
Wendy Stayte (Trustee, Director and Secretary): Wendy was a founding member of the Board of Trustees. A consultant psychiatrist for 30 years, Wendy brings a wealth of clinical, cultural and community based understandings to Room to Heal. Following a posting as a Mental Health Advisor for Médecins Sans Frontières in the north Caucasus in 2004-2005 she then worked from 2006 to 2009 providing psychiatric assessments/medico-legal reports and facilitating a women asylum seekers’ group for the Helen Bamber Foundation. Wendy supports the ongoing development of Room to Heal’s group work and plays an important role in Room2Heal retreats working alongside staff as a volunteer therapist facilitator.
Sarah Hughes (Trustee and Director): Sarah is a linguist and anthropologist. She was Director of the International Rescue Committee UK 2005-2009, head of the Africa Division at Christian Aid from 2002-2005 and before that head of their Eastern and Central Africa team from 1998-2002.
Michelle Knorr (Trustee): Michelle became a Trustee in November 2009 and is a practicing barrister at Doughty Street Chambers. Michelle’s main legal practice areas are immigration, asylum and human rights law. Michelle brings a deep knowledge of asylum and refugee experiences together with knowledge of best practice in charity governance and experience of working with international development NGOs to her work as a Trustee.
Sophie Wickham (Trustee): Sophie joined the board of Trustees in 2010. She is the Women in Crisis Coordinator at British Red Cross Refugee services. She has extensive experience in providing casework support and advocacy to refugees and asylum seekers and has managed support groups focusing on addressing the needs of women who have experienced gender-based violence. This background, combined with her expertise in Human Rights law, enables her to play a valuable role in advising on Room2Heal’s programme delivery and development.
Rhodri Jamieson-Ball (Trustee): Rhodri has been Liberal Democrat Councillor for Mildmay, Islington since 2006. Rhodri joined the Board of Trustees in August 2010 and brings a strong knowledge of the local community in which much of Room to Heal’s work is based. He is very involved in local Islington activities and is a Director on the Board of the Mildmay Community Partnership. Rhodri also has a strong interest in good governance, and assists Room to Heal in developing more efficient governance structures and processes. Rhodri also has a wider interest in international development economics.
Mark Wickham (Trustee and Treasurer): Mark is a trainee accountant and works as a Business Planner and Finance analyst for Danone Waters UK. He graduated from the University of York in 2007 and previously worked for M&S as a Commercial Manager.