Hazel Cheeseman Director of Policy, Action on Smoking & Health (ASH), London
Rubyni Krishnan Stop Smoking Facilitator/Specialist for Mental Health, Smokefree Ealing, London
Gillian Connor Head of Policy & Development, Rethink Mental Illness
Martin Burrows Project Manager, Groundswell
Biography
Hazel Cheeseman is ASH’s Director of Policy and leads on policy and campaigning work at Action on Smoking and Health with a particular interest in local tobacco control. She has a background in health and housing policy. She first worked for ASH in 2008 developing local campaign networks and supporting local tobacco control leads.
Rubyni began her career in addiction services and have been trained specifically to work with challenging populations like prisoners, COPD and mental health patients to improve their physical health. She currently works with West London Mental Health Trust as a Facilitator and Specialist for mental health in smoking cessation to support the implementation of smoke free policy. She has supported Public Health England to produce a smoke free implement guidance for mental health settings.
Gillian is Head of Policy & Development at Rethink Mental Illness. This includes oversight of the charity’s Innovation Network, a group of 13 mental health care providers, who have come together to share, test and evaluate best practice such as the integration of smoking support into mental health services. Gillian has over 15 years’ experience in policy, communications and external affairs in the public and voluntary sectors. Most recently, she was Head of External Affairs at a national housing association. Her roles prior to that include the development of housing and communities policy at Age UK and a political advisory role in an inner London local authority.
Martin Burrows oversees Groundswell’s Insight and Action work and the day-to-day operations of the organisation. He joined Groundswell in April 2014 so he could follow his passion for peer–research and participatory practice. Previously Martin has worked for various homelessness organisations, at home and abroad, including Crisis, Broadway, Homeless Link and Casa Ioana (Bucharest).
