Patrons and Trustees

Biography

I am an experienced management consultant and a former trained nurse (SRN) with a background in social administration having held senior management positions in the NHS, Social Services, Education, community and health organisations. I am a Chartered Member of the Chartered Institute for Personnel and Development (CIPD) with Diplomas in Social Administration and Personnel Management from the London School of Economics.

I joined the board of Mary Seacole Memorial Statue Appeal in 2011 and in my capacity as a previous Non-Executive Director of Guy’s and St Thomas’ Foundation Trust (GSTT) (1999 – 2007) and a member of the GSTT Council of Governors (2009 -2015) have been an instrumental link between the Mary Seacole Trustees and GSTT, in organising events to raise awareness amongst GSTT Staff and building community support for the statue. I had particular responsibility for organising the unveiling event on 30^th June 2016.

My role with the MST legacy is to champion education programmes that will be of inspiration and support to children and young people in reflecting Mary’s qualities in their own lives and those whom they admire. Added synergies will involve working with the Black Cultural Archives, which I have chaired since 2012, and the Florence Nightingale Museum.

I was awarded a CBE in the Queen’s 2018 New Year’s Honours list for services to culture.

Biography

Trevor is an Major Trauma Lawyer and Senior Partner at Moore Barlow, with over 35 years’ experience. He also sits on the firm’s Partnership Council and has a leading role in respect of Diversity and Inclusion. At age 28, he became the first black and youngest partner in the history of his previous firm and in 2021 he was appointed Senior Partner at Moore Barlow Solicitor becoming the first black Senior Partner of a top 100 UK firm.

Trevor became involved in the latter of stages of the campaign for the bronze statue of Nelson Mandela unveiled at Parliament Sq. in 2007. He subsequently became involved in the Mary Seacole Memorial Statue Appeal as a trustee, leading to his appointment as Chair following the unveiling of the Mary Seacole statue in 2016, the first bronze statue of a named black female in the UK. Trevor leads the Mary Seacole Trust, on a number of legacy projects including its education and diversity programmes. He has been particularly vocal on the relationship between statues and Black Lives Matters, creating the Mary Seacole Trust “Black Plaques” proposal arguing against the toppling of statues.

Trevor has appeared in the media on numerous occasions, most notably he was involved in campaigns in respect of the Windrush Scandal being the son of Windrush immigrants and an advocate for racial and social equality.

Biography

I am a writer, coach and mental health campaigner.

I joined the NHS in 1973. I was a nurse and health visitor for the first half of my career and a manager for the latter half, including 13 years as a trust chief executive. I developed a deep awareness of the racism, sexism and other inequality within the NHS, reflective of wider society. I did my best to tackle this. In 2012, I was awarded a CBE for services to the NHS. I retired in 2014.

These days I try to help others be the best they can be, acknowledging I am a work-in-progress myself. I use my understanding of stigma, including self-stigma, to reduce the negativity still associated with mental illness. I write, speak at events and via broadcast media, coach new managers, clinicians and executives, and mentor those from diverse backgrounds. I also volunteer as a Samaritan and help run our local branch. I blog at www.LisaSaysThis.com.

My vision for the Mary Seacole Trust is that we use Mary’s legacy to promote achievement in people of all ages, genders and backgrounds. It is a privilege to serve as Vice Chair.

Biography

I began my career in journalism working on local newspapers in London. I did a degree in economics and history as a mature student at the London Metropolitan University from 1982-1985, followed by a master’s degree in social policy.

After leaving college I provided professional support for a GLC-funded newspaper written by and for homeless people. Funding was lost when the GLC was abolished and so I moved to a post in the information department at the college lecturers’ union Natfhe.

In 1989, I joined the RCN Publishing Company’s flagship title, Nursing Standard – now the UK’s leading weekly nursing title, becoming Editor in 1998. From 2008-2014, I was Editorial Director with overall responsibility for all RCN Publishing titles and a seat on the Board.

I was Media Adviser with the Mary Seacole Memorial Statue Appeal from January 2016 and became a Trustee with MST in February 2017. I chair the MST communications group which is responsible for media and public relations as well as the MST website.

Biography

I’ve worked at AmicusHorizon (AH) Housing Association for over 10 years. I started on reception and worked my way through various roles including Lettings, Performance & Policy, Income Management and Home Ownership into management. I’m currently a Neighbourhood Manager within our housing management teams.

I absolutely love working within the Housing sector as it’s hugely rewarding supporting our residents, some who are highly vulnerable. I enjoy specialising in a broad range of housing legal matters too. It’s an area where our Government faces some of its biggest challenges.

Within my local community, I was the former Chair of Eastfields Resident Association (TRA) which quickly became one of the largest active TRA’s in South East England.

My true passion is and will always be raising awareness around Diversity. Across the social sector, there remain challenges around a lack of diversity at higher levels, Housing is no different. I’m keen to be at the forefront of addressing challenges for people from disabled, BAME and LGBT groups. I want to be able to positively contribute and address these issues pro-actively.

I founded our Diversity Group at AH and supported the creation of our Diversity strategy in 2016. I’ve also supported our sub-groups based around the Equality Act 2010, nine-protected characteristics; LGBT Allies Group, Disability Awareness Group and BAME Networking Group. I’m the Chair of the latter. I remain the youngest and only senior black male manager at our organization. I’m keen to mentor and support others.

I was also nominated to attend the CIH National Conference as a ‘delegate of the future’ in 2015. Networking with others is critical to address these fundamental issues. Building platforms for others to be inspired and achieve success is at the forefront of my mind.

Biography

I am Colonel David Bates ARRC and I have been a Trustee on the board of the former MSMSA and the current MST since October 2015; being elected as the military representative whilst I was serving as Director Army Nursing Services. I have been married to Helen for 30 years and have enjoyed 37 years’ experience as an Army nurse. I have been deployed all round the world gaining a huge awareness of cultures, beliefs, challenges especially inequalities.

More recently I have held every appointment as a board member in the charity sector. I have a passion for military and social history, I see everything through a public health lens and I champion inclusivity whilst countering inequality across the political and socio-economic spectra.

I believe that Mary Seacole is a role model for all, not just care givers, intrepid travellers and entrepreneurs! She demonstrated what people from minority and marginalised communities can do if they have the will. Her links with the Army and her love for soldiers and helping people in adversity provides a direct link to our current Army and more widely, Defence Medical Services and the missions that we find ourselves deployed in.

I am still an Army Reservist at the tender age of 57 and will continue to follow where Mary and others led in the Crimea theatre of operations by maintaining my competence in order to continue bringing my experience to bear in support of this brilliant Trust.

I hope that you are inspired by us and that you find some way to follow in Mary’s footsteps or at least learn lessons from her mission.

Biography

I work in technology, more specifically product management. I regard myself to be very fortunate with the career I’m in. From a child I’ve always loved gadgets and technology, and even more so with mobile and website technologies, having the opportunity to work with the Nokia brand (Symbian) soon after graduating. Launching the first every mobile phone to have a camera. 19 years on I’m still continuing to build my career in technology and have worked with some great brands – 3, Skype, Microsoft, Shazam and WorldRemit. Successfully helping them to scale their products to 10’s of millions of monthly active users & downloads. Launching great products like the Skype app, and the first ever Skype video call on mobile.

Nothing delights me more than making products successful, finding the necessary drivers to scale is a passion, along with building successful teams.

What I’m most passionate about is scaling the company’s usage of their products which in turn scales the company’s brand & business. Also, making a difference to customers lives by ensuring that with the mobile apps and/or website they’re using they can intuitively use or get the information they need quickly and easily.

It’s an honour and I’m extremely proud to be asked to join the Mary Seacole Trust. I’ve been inspired by the work thus far and the potential the trust has to offer. I’m looking forward to contributing and supporting the Trust’s digital activities.

Biography

Dr Habib Naqvi has a background in public health, and healthcare policy and strategy development, and is Director of the NHS Race and Health Observatory.

Habib worked on the development of national equality and diversity policy at the Department of Health. He led on the development of the Equality Delivery System for the NHS, the establishment of the NHS Equality and Diversity Council, and led on the health sector’s response to the Ministerial review of the Public Sector Equality Duty.

More recently, Habib was the Director of the NHS Workforce Race Equality Standard at NHS England, where he also led on the national strategy for this programme. Habib currently sits on several national healthcare advisory groups, and also provides advice to the boards of a numerous public sector organisations.

Habib is the Chair of Knowle Cricket Club in Bristol. He is also a qualified cricket coach and provides coaching, mentoring and sponsorship to youngsters, particularly from deprived areas. Habib is reverse mentor to the NHS Chief Executive, Sir Simon Stevens, and was awarded an MBE in the 2019 Queen’s Birthday Honours for services to equality and diversity in the NHS.

Habib is on Twitter: @DrHNaqvi

Biography

I am a Mary Seacole Trustee and Projects Coordinator. I first became involved in the charity when it was the Mary Seacole Memorial Statue Appeal, working as a volunteer during the final stages of fundraising ahead of the statue unveiling. I was lucky to be present for the unveiling of the statue, which is a day I will never forget. I have gradually learned about Mary’s story through my involvement with the charity and how powerful this can be to promote diversity, fairness and inclusion in society – across all generations.

My role has steadily grown since the Mary Seacole Trust was launched in 2016. Originally a volunteer, I assumed a number of more operational roles, including secretarial and project management responsibilities. I generally monitor the emails coming into the charity, assist with website administration and development, co-ordinate / manage the delivery of key projects and assist with business planning.

I am also a Major Trauma Lawyer at Moore Barlow, having joined the firm in 2012. I act for major trauma clients from the early stages of injury as part of the Signposting Partnerships at both St George’s and King’s College Hospitals in London. I focus on early intervention by seeking to obtain funding for rehabilitation and any other support that my clients may need as well as securing them compensation.

At Moore Barlow, I am also involved in a number of initiatives, including a network that seeks to empower those at the early stages of their career. I am IT Lead for my division and assist in a number of operational aspects and technical projects for my department.

I am proud to be involved in a charity that has such a positive focus and impact on society, which is why I felt incredibly honoured and privileged to be invited to join the Board of Trustees.

Biography