Linda is an independent consultant, facilitator and coach with more than twenty years’ experience in the field of management & people development. Linda’s expertise brings together an understanding of organisational development and individual behaviour, together with the desire to ensure strategies make a difference to organisational performance, are business focused, and are practical in their approach. Whilst not having accessed Leeds Mind services herself, Linda has personal experience of providing support to family members who have suffered mental health difficulties, and has also witnessed the issues surrounding misdiagnosis.

David is a Director at YFM Equity Partners, based in Leeds. Now in his 30th year there, he invests and then helps Companies through their transformational growth. This is in a wide range of sectors from services and technology through to manufacturing and retail. He is a Chartered Accountant by profession, qualifying with Grant Thornton in Leeds. Outside work David is a keen runner and cyclist and volunteers at Wheels4fun, a local disability cycle group. At Leeds Mind he sits on the Finance Committee.

Andy is a Senior Associate employment lawyer at Shoosmiths. Andy has assisted a large number of organisations, ranging from PLCs to small family-owned businesses, to manage work-related issues involving mental health. Andy regularly works with occupational health companies and employers to achieve positive outcomes for employees who encounter mental health issues.
Andy has delivered a number of bespoke training sessions to line managers on managing their team’s performance and absence, with a particular focus on mental health issues

Rebecca is a consultant Psychiatrist working within a secure rehabilitation ward in Leeds. Rebecca's work mainly supports those people who have found themselves in and out of hospital and are unable to sustain long periods in the community well. Rebecca is passionate about contributing her knowledge to Leeds Mind to help improve mental health within the community.

Sarah is currently director of strategy at the Leeds Academic Health Partnership. It’s a small organisation, set up to foster partnership working across the health and care sector and academic institutions in Leeds. She has previously worked in the NHS at national and regional level, and in research in the UK and overseas. She joined Leeds Mind because wants to do what she can to help them make a difference for people in Leeds.

Luke is a Chartered Surveyor specialising in commercial property management. Very aware of the fantastic work Leeds Mind do, Luke hopes to put his property knowledge to good use and add value to the team by helping to develop a property strategy.

Jen is passionate about making a difference to people whether that be personally or professionally. With extensive experience in Community Fundraising and Events having previously worked for Cancer Research UK and in her current position as the Director of Fundraising for Headway - the brain injury association, she enjoys building relationships and partnerships that deliver impact.

Having seen first hand the debilitating effects poor mental health can cause and personally benefitting from counselling a few years ago, she was keen to support the great work Leeds Mind provides people locally.

Outside of work Jen doesn’t sit still. She is a mum to three young girls and enjoys walking, weight training and is known to get stuck in to a challenge for Charity, just don’t ask her to run another Marathon.

Ayesha works at The University of Leeds as a Senior Education Outreach Officer. Her work includes travelling across the UK delivering talks and workshops in schools to inspire and inform primary, secondary and post-16 learners about the variety of opportunities and routes open to them when considering, and applying, to university. She has previously worked in the Charity and Finance sector and has led mental health projects based around employee well-being and reducing anxiety in the workplace. Ayesha is an advocate for mental health and joined Leeds Mind to help serve a community and cause that she is very passionate about. Ayesha also sits on the People Development committee.

Mario is passionate about making positive difference within the social care sector and highlighting the need for greater engagement and participation of marginalised and vulnerable groups in community life. He is a firm advocate for greater diversity and inclusion, and uses his position to champion the rights of LGBTQ+ people in the workplace.
Mario's background is within the social care and hospitality sectors, and he is currently employed at St Anne’s Community Services as the Director of Business Development, Marketing and Communications.

Fiona Venner has been a Labour Councillor on Leeds City Council since 2014, where she represents Kirkstall ward in West Leeds. Fiona is also the Cabinet Member for Children’s and Adult Social Care, Early Years and Health Partneships.

Prior to this, Fiona was the Chief Executive of multi award winning mental health charity, Leeds Survivor Led Crisis Service, an organisation she led for 15 years. Fiona worked in mental health from the early 1990s, always in the voluntary sector and predominantly in acute settings. This included working with homeless people with mental health problems in London, managing the Suicide and Self Harm Team at 42nd Street, a Manchester based charity supporting young people and serving as the Deputy Chief Executive of Leeds Mind. Fiona has also worked as a volunteer psychotherapist in several Leeds counselling services.

Fiona is also a marathon runner who loves cats and shoes.

Kate has a background in strategy development, policy, research analysis and evaluation, and has worked across a range of fields both in the UK and internationally. She currently works for NHS England and Improvement, where she leads strategy work on behalf of the National Quality Board. Kate is passionate about health and wellbeing and runs yoga classes and coaching in her local community “in her spare time”.