Meet the Staff Team

We're a small team, but dedicated team. With a range of experiences including health and social care, government, academia and business.

 

Chief Executive - Alan Boyd

Alan has worked for Healthwatch Brighton and Hove for over 6 years as a Project Coordinator. Prior to that, he had over 15 years’ experience of designing and implementing government policy.

He has worked in Parliament as a project manager securing the successful transition of draft legislation into law. He has also represented the UK at negotiations at the European Commission and overseas for the Foreign and Commonwealth Office.

After London, Alan transferred his experiences to the health sector working in care homes across the city working and for Terence Higgins Trust, a prominent HIV charity based in Brighton. He has also volunteered with adults living with long term mental health conditions.

alan@healthwatchbrightonandhove.co.uk


Dr Lester Coleman – Head of Research

Lester was awarded a Phd in Psychology from the University of Southampton, following previous positions at the Universities of Nottingham, Exeter and the Open University. He has since worked exclusively in the voluntary sector, leading research programmes at The Trust for the Study of Adolescence (young people’s heath within Brighton and Hove and nationally), OnePlusOne (family relationships and child wellbeing) and Coram Family and Childcare.

Lester has been awarded numerous research and project grants, including the Economic and Social Research Council, Nuffield Foundation, The Joseph Rowntree Foundation and the National Lottery Community Fund. He has compiled over 100 project reports, has led or co-authored several books on child wellbeing, and published around 40 peer-reviewed academic journal articles. He is an Honorary Research Fellow (Health Sciences) at the University of Brighton.

Lester has also worked on a number of local evaluation projects including those commissioned by East Sussex County Council and The Rockinghorse children’s charity.

lester@healthwatchbrightonandhove.co.uk


Michelle Kay – Project Coordinator

Michelle came to Healthwatch from a background in project management and international development. She has experience managing large scale projects both in the UK and abroad and  liaising with government grant-holders.

Michelle is committed to making a difference in her local community and is particularly interested in children’s mental health and social care for older people. Michelle has an MBA from Brighton University.

michelle@healthwatchbrightonandhove.co.uk


Will Anjos – Project Coordinator

Will is an experienced project manager who previously worked at a national office supplies company. Originally from London, he has lived in Brighton for over 30 years and set up Brighton Soup in 2015, helping to provide community funding for local projects.

He also works at Volunteering Matters on their Lifelines project which helps to create volunteer-led activities for older people across the city.

will@healthwatchbrightonandhove.co.uk


Clary Collicutt - Project Coordinator

Clary worked for over 20 years as a costume and personal stylist, working in TV, theatre, commercials, and as a personal stylist. As a mature student, Clary completed a BSc in Psychology and is currently studying an MSc in Health Psychology.

Clary joined Healthwatch as a volunteer and, in February 2022, came on board as a staff member. In February 2023, she was promoted to the role of Project Coordinator.

Katy Francis - Project Support Officer

Katy joined Healthwatch in May 2023. She has a BSc in Psychology and has worked in the non-profit sector in areas related to health, work, and food poverty.

She also works for Astriid, a small charity that helps people with long term health conditions access meaningful work. She works in both their consultancy service, carrying out research, and with candidates, supporting them to find work.

Her particular interest is health and social care for people with long term conditions.

katy@healthwatchbrightonandhove.co.uk

Work with us

If you're interested in joining the team, you can see if we have any vacancies below.

Current Vacancies

Meet Our Volunteers

Just personal experiences from their own lives and of family and friends, or from health and social care, business or education, other sectors. Our volunteers have a variety of backgrounds and interests and the common thread is they all want to do something to make a difference.

Meet our Volunteers

Our Board

We have a Board of Directors who lead the strategic direction of the organisation and ensures it effectively delivers on its important role.

Many of our directors also act as representatives on other health and social care Boards across the city, and get involved in our projects.

Meet our Board