I am committed to bridging gaps – between healthcare systems and communities, between current practices and transformative possibilities. My work is about creating spaces where every voice matters, where healthcare isn't just a service, but a collaborative human experience.

I provide independent consultancy, thinking partnership and hands on support across the full breadth of the health and care system to make this possible.

Most recently, I led the community engagement strand of the national conversation to inform the 10-year health plan.

I am proud to be Assistant Professor in Healthcare Leadership and Change Management at Brighton and Sussex Medical School (University of Sussex) and a Trustee at the National Voices.

Neelam Heera-Shergill, a Tedx Speaker, founded Cysters (a community led charity) after facing her own battles around getting her diagnosis and care for PCOS, Endometriosis and PMDD. She saw first-hand the disparities in healthcare for people of colour and other marginalized groups, thus Cysters was born. Neelam felt that issues around reproductive health was often trivialised by healthcare professionals and sexualised by racialized communities due to outdated cultural beliefs, male dominated spaces and patriarchy.

I have over twenty years’ experience in stakeholder engagement, consultation and inclusion at national, regional and local levels across the statutory, voluntary and private sectors, designing, developing and implementing strategies and approaches with people and communities.

I am a member of the Consultation Institute and have led consultations and stakeholder engagement for the NHS and local authorities, and large-scale data analysis for Nationally Significant Infrastructure Projects. I have worked at a strategic level in the NHS, leading statutory consultations for significant service change, from community hospitals and mental health services to primary care.

Coproduction is the core value behind my work. I work with decision-makers to co-create engagement approaches with the communities that they serve, to embed real involvement in the governance of projects and systems – creating environments where conversations and relationships inform better decisions for people and communities.

I specialise in using creative engagement methods (including graphic facilitation and ‘Livescribing’) to involve people in shaping decisions that affect them.

I design, manage, deliver, and report on public and stakeholder engagement, with a particular focus on accessibility and inclusivity.

Before freelancing, I was a Research Director at Traverse (Office for Public Management / Dialogue by Design), managing projects across different sectors, including utilities, infrastructure, data and future technology, and health and care. In previous roles I focused on climate change policy and research, and environmental management and education.

My clients have included Activity Alliance, Queen Mary University of London, Sciencewise, NIHR, Sport England, The Alan Turing Institute, the Geospatial Commission, Department for Transport, and Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy.

I am a senior research and evaluation director and manager with 15 years’ experience delivering projects for clients in central and local government, health and care, voluntary and community, and children and young people sectors.

I have a strong focus on qualitative methods, with expertise in facilitating co-production and co-design. I’m passionate about designing research and evaluation to ensure decisions are shaped and driven by those affected by them.

Over the past year I’ve most enjoyed: talking to 7 year-olds in Norfolk about their visit to a farm, as part of a research project for Defra on increasing children’s access to protected landscapes; providing the final outputs for a 5 year evaluation of a grants programme to increase genetic testing for inherited cardiac conditions, for British Heart Foundation; and interviewing people with visual impairments about what enables them to take part in sport and physical activity, for British Blind Sport.

I have almost 20 years' experience in consultancy, working across research, engagement and organisational development.

A former head of engagement and head of public sector work at Traverse, I have directed a wide range of projects and programmes for central and local government, the NHS and national charities. In recent years that work has included designing and leading: deliberative processes such as citizens assemblies; public engagement on local futures; support for staff transitioning into new integrated care systems (ICSs) and development programmes with internal teams, Cabinets/exec teams and other governing bodies.

Essentially my work is about helping organisations to make better connections - whether that's between citizens and decision-makers; between colleagues and partners; or between high-level strategy and frontline action.

I support charities and social purpose organisations to measure their impact and do more good.

I provide bespoke advice, guidance to help organisations: build a clear understanding of what they want to achieve; evidence what matters most to them with robust data collection; and improve their impact through equipping their team with the knowledge, tools and confidence to learn from their work.

I have over ten years’ experience working alongside the charity and health and care sectors in a range of roles, most recently as Head of VCSE at the social impact consultancy, Traverse. I previously worked within the sector as a trustee and in evaluation, fundraising and project management roles.

Clare is our mental health lead on projects.

I came to counselling through volunteer work, completing an Introduction to Counselling and personal therapy. My journey has opened new ways of thinking, bringing her insight and an overview of the theories and practices of psychotherapy.

Through volunteer work I have helped a diverse section of Londoners, which I will take forward into my clinical training. I believe everyone needs to be able to access talking therapies, and my training has leant toward a practice which focuses on CBT and person-centered counselling.

I am a proficient qualitative researcher with over four years’ experience in social impact consultancy and an academic background in international relations, conflict studies, and human rights.

In my professional capacity, I have designed, delivered, and managed research and evaluation projects for a diverse range of clients across local and national government, health and social care, and the voluntary, community, and social enterprise sector. As such, I have a strong understanding of evaluation tools, facilitation and interviewing techniques, and desk research methodologies.

My work has primarily focused on issues of criminal justice and youth violence, and I have a particular interest in the role of public and voluntary sector organisations in identifying and disrupting organised crime and child criminal exploitation.