| Our Team |
Patrick VernonChief Executive Patrick Vernon was appointed as The Afiya Trust's Chief Executive in May 2009. He has worked as a senior civil servant at the Department of Health and Local Government Association, was Director of the Brent Health Action Zone (Brent Primary Care Trust), and was Regional Director for Mind. Patrick is a Non-Executive Director of Camidoc (GP out-of-hours service in North London) and a Trustee for Social Action for Health in East London. Patrick is also a former Non-Executive Director for East London and The City Health Authority, and Independent Chair of the Westminster Partnership for Race Equality where he played a key role with the Metropolitan Police and the Muslim community in the aftermath of the 7/7 bombings in Westminster. Patrick has been a Labour Hackney Councillor in the Queensbridge Ward since 2006. He has also launched a campaign for Windrush Day to be an official public holiday, in celebration of the achievements of BME communities in Britain.
Meena PatelHead of Policy and Long term Conditions Meena Patel has worked for The Afiya Trust as a Programme Manager since 2003. She oversees Afiya's work on long term conditions and carers. Meena has a Masters degree in Business Administration and has been a senior manager since the late 1980s. Meena has a strong commitment to social justice and has worked in the voluntary sector since 1984 for a variety of organisations, including Newham Race Equality Council where she provided casework support and policy work on race equality issues. She was part of Lambeth Citizens Advice Bureaux Specialist Outreach and Training Team, providing access to advice and information to marginalised communities, capacity building for organisations and influencing local service delivery. At Cancerlink she led on the organisation's pioneering work around BME communities and cancer. Meena is also a founder and management committee member of Cancer Equality. Denise FordeHead of Special Projects and Events Denise Forde has been with The Afiya Trust for over eight years. Her current role consists of managing, supporting and coordinating Afiya's mental health projects, the National BME Mental Health Network, the BME Mental Health Advocacy Network, the National BME Service User Network and the Work and Recovery Project. Denise has experience of working in community grassroots engagement for the charity's mental health and cancer programmes including producing translated materials, organising awareness raising and consultation events, highlighting concerns and challenges facing service users and BME mental health organisations. She also encourages the service user voice to participate and respond to health and social care policies, particularly the Mental Health Act and New Horizons. Denise is currently involved in developing work programmes around service user and carer involvement, and leadership from a BME perspective in partnership with the National Mental Health Development Unit and the Department of Health.
Polly FalconerHead of Mental Health and Training Services Polly Falconer joined The Afiya Trust in November 2009. Polly was the Deputy Chief Executive of a local mental health charity for nine years until November 2008. Her role included the development of a Peer Support Programme in partnership with Berkshire NHS Trust, partnership development, project development and she was a voluntary sector representative on the Reading Integrated Commissioning Board for Mental Health. Her expertise is in people management, training, mental health awareness, anti stigma and modernising Day Services with a focus on service user involvement. She is a qualified and experienced senior manager, trainer and facilitator. In 2007 Polly was nominated for the Pride of Reading Awards for her work in mental health and her contribution to the community. She is currently Chair of Trustees for Graft (Thames Valley), an organisation that supports disabled and vulnerable adults into employment, and is the Public Relations Officer for the Jamaica Society in Reading.
Soka KapunduHead of Finance, Admin and IT Soka Kapundu is a qualified accountant with years of experience in the voluntary sector. He qualified as a Chartered Certified Accountant with a medium sized firm of Chartered Accountants. He went on to qualify as a Chartered Management Accountant before pursuing post graduate studies in charity finance. Prior to joining The Afiya Trust, Soka worked with a variety of organisations in the private and public sectors. He has also served as Treasurer at a number of organisations over the past 20 years. Nita DevabhaiNational Network Manager Nita Devabhai has worked in the voluntary sector for 20 years. Since 2004 Nita has worked at Afiya managing the National Black Carers and Carers Workers Network (NBCCWN), initially on a regional basis. She created an infrastructure in the East Midlands which brought together carers workers and carers from BME communities. This work was mirrored in the North West region by Natalie Pinnock Hamilton. A carer herself since 1984, Nita brings her personal experience to the role. In 2006 Nita recruited a steering group called Beyond We Care Too, comprised of national organisations supporting BME carers. The group audited the good practice guide developed by the NBCCWN in 2002. As a result, 300 responses came from BME carers and 60 from organisations supporting BME carers. This led to the report Beyond We Care Too, Putting Black Carers in the Picture in 2008. Two years later Nita was involved in the recruitment and training of the National BME Carers Panel, funded by the Department of Health. Homaira Sofia KhanStroke Project Officer Homaira Sofia Khan joined Afiya at the beginning of 2010. Before her current position, Homaira was based at The Stroke Association, working on a three-year project raising awareness of stroke in BME communities. This involved grassroots outreach work and encouraging local partnership events with health providers and community and faith organisations. Homaira has also been involved in local authority health scrutiny committees and regional stroke networks to promote the patient's voice. She has project managed a number of publications around stroke prevention including two sets of recipe cards in conjunction with the London School of Tourism, Hospitality and Leisure based in Ealing, London, a set of healthy living posters and a blood pressure toolkit for patients. Homaira has also produced a sickle cell and stroke leaflet aimed at parents and teachers alongside the organisation Sickle Cell and Young Stroke Survivors, which was well received. Homaira is passionate about raising the profile of BME communities and their health needs to reduce health inequalities. Showket AliIT Manager Showket Ali has worked for The Afiya Trust since March 2007. Showket is responsible for the design, implementation, management and maintenance of Afiya's ICT network. His role also includes policymaking, needs analysis and IT training to staff. Showket has an MSc in Mobile Computing and Communications, a BSc in Electronics and Computer Science. He is a Microsoft Certified System Engineer (MCSE), Cisco Certified Network Associate (CCNA) and PRINCE2 Practitioner. Showket has also completed ITIL v3 Foundation for Service Management. He has a great interest in network security and its impact within charities. He is working towards CISSP Certifications. Showket is keen to ensure that Afiya's ICT service is fit for current and future projects. Samantha WatsonCommunications and Online Editor Samantha Watson joined The Afiya Trust in February 2011 as the Communications and Online Editor. She has worked in the communications field for over seven years. She is an accredited journalist who began her career working for a local newspaper in Waltham Forest and later progressed into a career working for the non-partisan political organisation Operation Black Vote (OBV). She participated in the US State Department's International Visitor Leadership Program (IVLP) where she reported and gained an understanding of social and political organisations across America. She continues to work with non profit organisations seeking social, environmental and political change in their communities. She is currently a committee member for Helping Hands for Refugees and Disabled in Newham. Sahar HaddadAccounts Assistant Sahar Haddad has worked part time at The Afiya Trust since February 2006 holding the position of Accounts Assistant. In addition, Sahar assists with the completion of day-to-day administrative issues at Afiya's main office. She plans to build on her experience at Afiya to strengthen her skills and expertise in accountancy. She enjoys family gatherings and travelling around the UK and abroad. Sahar is also committed to adopting a healthier lifestyle. Chris ReidAdministrator Initially involved with obtaining contacts for the National BME Advocacy Network database, Chris has stayed on at The Afiya Trust to update and maintain the growing number of contacts across all of Afiya's databases in addition to general office administration. He works as part of the ongoing BME Advocacy Project and will be assisting with the Work and Recovery Project. Chris has an engineering degree and is hoping that the experience at Afiya will be useful in his career plan to move into IT as a systems administrator. Supporting staffNathan Richards (Digital communications officer)
Credits: photographs by Sharron Wallace |
