Meet the team
The team at YoungMinds is uniquely informed about the mental health and well-being service and support needs of young people.
To translate this insight into evidence-led practice, we draw on a wide range of expertise from the field of children and young people's mental health.
Sarah Brenan, Chief Executive
Sarah Brennan became chief executive of YoungMinds on 12 May 2008. She had acted as its interim chief executive since October 2007.
Sarah has over 25 years experience as a champion of young people’s causes, starting out in youth and community work, teaching and youth counselling. She gained an MSc in Voluntary Sector Organisation at LSE in 1990. From 1994 to 2001, she became director of services at the youth homelessness charity Centrepoint, moving to Motiv8, a charity creating life chances for young people, as Chief Executive.
Sarah is Chair of the Children and Young People’s Mental Health Coalition.
Lucie Russell Director of Campaigns, Policy & participation
Lucie has worked at the cutting edge of the social justice sector for 25 years.
Lucie started out as a youth worker on some of the most deprived estates in south London. In 1991 she started The Big Issue magazine with its founder, John Bird, and in 1995 she launched its charity, The Big Issue Foundation, which provides support services to homeless people including housing, jobs, education and training and referral to specialist health services. She went on to become Director of SmartJustice, a campaign for community-based solutions to crime based at the Prison Reform Trust.
At YoungMinds, she is responsible for all our work with the media and our campaigning and policy work. She also line manages our national participation project which puts children and young people at the heart of YoungMinds' work to improve mental health services and tackle stigma.
Daphne Joseph, Parents’ Helpline Manager
Daphne Joseph has worked for YoungMinds since March 2001. She began as a helpline adviser, was promoted to senior helpline adviser in 2003, and has managed the helpline since 2006.
Daphne had a 14 year career in international banking, before returning to education and gaining a BA Hons in Psychosocial Studies with Professional Studies from the University of London, and a Diploma in Counselling & Psychotherapy. She has supported children and families in a variety of local frontline services, in paid and voluntary roles.
Daphne is regularly asked to comment on media stories about children and families, and has appeared on GMTV and the Paul O'Grady Show. In her private life, she is a mother and has been foster mother, and loves everything about families.
Roger Catchpole, Training & Development Manager
Roger has designed and delivered training and consultancy projects for government departments in England, Wales and Scotland, and for local authorities, NHS Trusts and voluntary and community sector organisations across the UK.
He was a member of the CAMHS Review which produced the Children and Young People in Mind report in 2008 and earlier this year Roger was part of a capability building programme run by the Cabinet Office and the National School of Government to explore the implications of changes in children’s services commissioning.
Roger is a founder member and currently chair of the National CAMHS Trainers’ Forum, and is also a visiting lecturer in child and adolescent mental health services at City University. He has published articles and a book chapter on the subject of inter-professional practice in CAMHS and contributed to the Radio 4 series Bringing up Britain.
Paula Lavis, Policy & Knowledge Manager
Paula has been helping YoungMinds to influence government policy and share information about children and young people's mental health for more than 11 years.
In addition to responding to government consultations and producing briefings on the latest research and policy, Paula is currently supporting policy development for the Children and Young People's Mental Health Coalition, and maintaining ChiMat's children and young people's mental health hub.
Paula has worked with a range of organisations including the National Institute for Mental Health (NIMHE), the National CAMHS support service, the Care Services Improvement Partnership (CSIP), and the National Advisory Coouncil for Children's Mental Health and Psychological Wellbeing. She also helped to develop Choosing what's best for you?, a resource to help young people with mental health disorders to make informed and evidence-based decisions about their treatment choices.