
Meet our team
We strive to build excellent relationships with our Partners and all our customers by working together to meet their challenges and priorities.
Senior Leadership Team

Dez Holmes
Director
Dez Holmes
Dez is responsible for the overall leadership of Research in Practice. She is interested in knowledge mobilisation, systems leadership, adolescence, transitions, safeguarding and participative practice. For enquiries please contact Lauren Chatfield.
07966071377

Susannah Bowyer
Assistant Director
Susannah Bowyer
Susannah leads the Research in Practice children and families team on core delivery to the Partnership network, as well as a range of commissioned project activities.
07880710303

Lisa Smith
Assistant Director
Lisa Smith
Lisa leads the Research in Practice adults team overseeing the delivery of our services to Partners, and leading on commissioned projects. She is particularly interested in safeguarding adults, co-production, systems re-design and supporting organisational change.
01803 847262

Mairi-Anne Macdonald
Assistant Director - Business Development
Mairi-Anne Macdonald
Mairi-Anne leads on business development which includes approaches to learning, workforce development, marketing & communications, web, project support, finance, business support and new business development, as well as some commissioned activities.
07585 221746
Research and Development

Laura Bracey
Research and Development Manager
Laura Bracey
Laura works in the children and families team and oversees the annual programme of development and delivery of the evidence-informed resources produced for Partners. She also works with individual partners to support the promotion and best use of resources within local areas.

Jess McEwen
Research and Development Manager
Jess McEwen
Jess oversees our annual delivery programme, developing resources for Partners to support them to embed evidence-informed approaches to practice with adults and carers. Jess is a registered social worker, with more than 20 years’ experience working across social care practice, policy, research, workforce development and regulation.

Fidelma Hanrahan
Senior Research Officer
Fidelma Hanrahan
Fidelma is based in the children and families team and leads on the delivery of resources across a number of practice areas. Having previously held academic research roles which focused on the experiences of young people in care and care leavers, she also champions the use of research within the organisation and has particular responsibility for ensuring quality research is embedded into all outputs.

Julie Wilkinson
Senior Research and Development Officer
Julie Wilkinson
Julie works in the children and families team and leads on the delivery of resources across a number of topic areas. She also works on commissioned research and evaluation projects.

Alison Domakin
Senior Research and Development Officer
Alison Domakin
Alison has worked in the children and families sector for thirty years as a social worker, manager and academic. She is based in the children and families team at Research in Practice and leads on the delivery of resources across a number of topic areas. She is interested in developing new evidence-informed ways of learning from practice, particularly one-to-one and group supervision.

Melika Malone-Lee
Research and Development Officer (maternity leave)
Melika Malone-Lee
Melika works with Partners across adult services to to embed knowledge, skills and resources into their organisations and wider networks. She also works closely in producing information for our publications and in designing workshops, webinars and other digital content. She is interested in human rights and social justice.

Susan Ridpath
Research and Development Officer
Susan Ridpath
Susan works with Partners across Child and Families services to embed knowledge, skills and resources into their organisations and wider networks. She also helps to ensure the voice of children and families is amplified in our resources. She is a social worker and brings her experience of supporting children and young people with care experience to the role. She is particularly passionate about ensuring children, young people and their families are at the centre of decision-making about their own care and support.

Mary Robson
Research and Development Officer
Mary Robson
Mary works with partners across children, families and adult services to support them in using our evidence-informed resources. She also leads on specific topics for the annual delivery programme.

Claire Williams
Research and Development Officer
Claire Williams
Claire is currently working on the Creating Care Partnerships and ConnectED NIHR projects supporting the development of Research Practice Partnerships in Adult Social Care. She also leads on topics for the delivery programe and manages the Social Work Organisational Resilience Diagnostic (SWORD) project. She supports the Partner Engagement team around the wellbeing and resilience topics.

Hannah Scott
Research and Development Officer
Hannah Scott
Hannah works with Partners in children & families, young people and adult services to support them in using our evidence-informed resources.

Luciann Blake
Research and Development Officer
Luciann Blake
Luciann produces content for our evidence-informed resources on children & families, young people and adults services. She is interested in embedding participatory research strategies in service design and holds two degrees in anthropology which inform her person-centred approach to topics in care.

Georgina Chetwynd
Research and Development Officer
Georgina Chetwynd
Georgina helps produce information and content for our publications across children, families and adults services. This includes helping to design workshops, webinars and other digital content. She works with partners to support them in using our evidence-informed resources. She is a qualified social worker.

Emily Smith
Research and Development Officer
Emily Smith
Emily supports the development of evidence-informed resources for Partners across a range of topics. This includes helping to create the content of workshops, webinars, publications and other digital resources. Emily is a qualified social worker.

Rachel Fitzsimons
Research & Development Officer
Rachel Fitzsimons
Rachel helps to produce content for our publications and resources across children & families, young people and adult services. Rachel works with our partners to support them in using our evidence-informed resources.

Kate Kayley
Senior Learning and Development Officer - Adults
Kate Kayley
Kate oversees the Online Workshop Menu options for adults partners. She also leads on bespoke learning and development requests for large scale projects, programmes and commissioned workshops for partners and other organisations.

Alex Kalinowska
Senior Learning and Development Officer - Children & families
Alex Kalinowska
Alex oversees the Online Workshop Menu options for children and families' partners. She also leads on bespoke learning and development requests for large scale projects, programmes and commissioned workshops for partners and other organisations.

Myles Thorpe
Learning & Development Officer
Myles Thorpe
Myles works with adult partner organisations to support them in using our evidence-informed resources. He has a background in development, engagement, and partnerships with charity and public sector organisations, focussing particularly on engaging service users through training, consultation and signposting. Myles is interested in developing novel and contemporary methodologies to deliver user-centred learning for Research in Practice and their partner organisations.

Joey Hulin
Learning and Development Officer
Joey Hulin
Joey works with children and families partner organisations to support them in using our evidence-informed resources. She supports development of an accessible and varied menu of learning and development workshops which meet the needs of the social care sector. She has a background in project management, community engagement and training in the third sector, and has a particular interest in mental health and wellbeing.

Raquel Vieth
Senior Consultation Lead
Raquel Vieth
Raquel is a qualified social worker working in the Children & Families practice area for Research in Practice and is currently the operational lead as the co-design partner for Youth Endowment Fund (YEF’s): A Supportive Home project addressing issues of youth violence, child exploitation, and harms outside the home.
Partner Engagement

Geoff Owen
Head of Partner Engagement
Geoff Owen
Geoff leads our Partner Engagement team and manages our Account Management service. Geoff’s work focuses on developing, maintaining and strengthening the relationships between Research in Practice and our network of Partners.
01143 122610

Louise Johnstone
Senior Partner Engagement Officer
Louise Johnstone
Before joining Research in Practice Louise spent over ten years supporting practitioners and managers in social care to engage with research. She was a Link Officer for most of that time. Since joining she has developed significant experience in Partner Engagement and is passionate about building strong relationships with our network of Partners. Working with them creatively to ensure they get maximum benefit from using our resources in practice.
07964 750975

Melissa Vernal
Partner Engagement Officer
Melissa Vernal
Melissa is a qualified social worker and former children's rights advocate. Joining Research in Practice as a Practice Engagement Officer, her focus is supporting partners to ensure they get maximum benefit from using our resources in practice. Melissa's background has predominantly been with children in care and care leavers. Her past career experience means she has an excellent understanding of how to support practitioners to engage with research.

Jessica Broome
Practice Engagement Officer
Jessica Broome
Jessica works in the Practice Engagement team supporting partners to ensure they get maximum benefit from using our resources in practice. Jessica has worked with Research in Practice for over 9 years, both as an Account Manager and in the Tailored Support team. Her background is in designing and implementing workforce development programmes to support the use of evidence in practice.

James Saunders
Practice Engagement Officer
James Saunders
James works in the Practice Engagement team supporting partners to ensure they get maximum benefit from using our resources in practice. James is a qualified social worker with experience working in both adults’ and children’s teams and prior to being a social worker he spent 20 years working in a variety of educational settings

Gem Kitcher
Partner Engagement Administrator
Gem Kitcher
Gem provides administrative support by maintaining records in our database, scheduling meetings with Partners and supporting engagement activity for both the children, families and adult Partner networks.
Evaluation and Primary Research

Helen Stacey
Head of Evaluation & Primary Research
Helen Stacey
Helen leads the evaluation and primary research activities at Research in Practice. This includes projects and evaluations with children and young people, families, adults and carers, and professionals across the social care sector.

Karen Allen
Research Officer
Karen Allen
Karen works in the Research and Evaluation team, assisting on evaluations across children’s and adults’ social care. She has particular interests in quantitative analysis and survey research.

Lorna Trend
Research Officer
Lorna Trend
Lorna works in the Research and Evaluation team, assisting on evaluations across children’s and adults’ social care. She has particular interest in qualitative research.

Conn Doherty
Research Assistant
Conn Doherty
Conn works in the Research and Evaluation team, assisting on evaluations across children’s and adults’ social care.
Learning and CPD

Neeta Chauhan
CPD Programme Manager
Neeta Chauhan
Neeta is responsible for overseeing the smooth operation of learning events. These include events on our national programme, Online Workshop Menu, bespoke and additional commissions as well as extension projects funded by Government departments such as the Department for Education (DfE).
07857 501826

Dyfrig Williams
Head of Learning
Dyfrig Williams
Dyfrig leads the development of Research in Practice learning activities, podcast and video resources across children, families and adult sectors.

Ami Fullalove
Learning Programme Coordinator
Ami Fullalove
Ami is the Learning Programme Coordinator responsible for the delivery across the children and families and adult sectors of our national delivery programme events which include our hybrid and online conferences.

Emma Rawlins
Learning Programme Coordinator
Emma Rawlins
Emma is the learning programme coordinator for the Learning Events Team and is the main contact for the Research in Practice CPD events including Online Workshop Menu, additional commissions and bespoke projects.

Jo Bramham
Learning Impact Officer
Jo Bramham
Jo supports Partners with online learning delivered to their organisation as part of their membership offer. Also with learning programmes commissioned to support professional development or to meet a particular organisational challenge. She also works with new and current Associates to grow our capacity to support Partners and other organisations.

Phil John
Technical Officer
Phil John
Phil supports the delivery of Research in Practice events. With responsibilities for the logistics of running our in-person and live online learning events and activities. Phil is keen to develop and refine approaches both online, in-person and hybrid events to further support evidence–informed practice with children, adults and families.

Yousrah Beedassy
Events and Projects Officer (maternity leave)
Yousrah Beedassy
Yousrah supports the planning of the Online Workshop Menu allocations for adults services alongside the operational planning and delivery of large-scale projects, programmes and commissioned workshops.

Becca Brookfield
Events and Projects Officer
Becca Brookfield
Becca supports the planning of the Online Workshop Menu alongside the operational planning and delivery of large-scale projects, programmes and commissioned workshops.

Amy Holgate
Events Administrator and Virtual Meetings Host
Amy Holgate
Amy supports the Research in Practice Learning and CPD teams assisting with the planning, administration and hosting of their current face-to-face and online events. She has a keen interest in events having completed an Events Management degree.

Ali Huntley
Events Administrator
Ali Huntley
Ali provides administrative support to the Learning Programme Coordinator, with the delivery of all events across the children, families and adults bespoke and additionally commissioned programmes.

Shannon Dobinson
Events Administrator
Shannon Dobinson
Shannon provides administrative support to the Learning Programme Coordinators and Events Officers, with the delivery of all events across the children, families and adults programmes.
Digital and Communications

Simon Webster
Web Systems Coordinator
Simon Webster
Simon manages a variety of projects and activities to develop, implement and maintain effective web systems across a range of platforms that communicate and promote the work of Research in Practice.

Amy Rich
Web Systems Officer
Amy Rich
Amy works on a variety of projects and activities to develop, implement and maintain effective web systems across a range of platforms that communicate and promote the work of Research in Practice. Including uploading website content and digital materials, leading on our microsite project activities and working closely with the wider digital team on improving user experience.

Karen Young
Senior Communications, Marketing and Engagement Coordinator
Karen Young
Karen is responsible for leading the marketing communications team and managing a range of publicity activities for Research in Practice. This includes digital communications, content creation, publicity materials and branding.
Lloyd Boone
Senior Communications, Marketing and Engagement Officer
Lloyd Boone
Lloyd leads on a variety of digital and communication projects to develop, implement and maintain effective engagement for Research in Practice. This includes campaign management, digital communications, content creation and user experience.

Catrin Wallace
Communications, Marketing and Engagement Officer
Catrin Wallace
Catrin works on a range of marketing and communication projects for Research in Practice across a number of platforms, including social media, digital communications and publicity materials.

Simon Rose
Senior Products and Resources Coordinator
Simon Rose
Simon oversees the production of publications and resources at Research in Practice, liaising with the authors, editing drafts and working with our brilliant design team.

Robin Wooller
Digital Design Coordinator
Robin Wooller
Robin oversees the design and production of Research in Practice resources in different formats, including publications and digital materials, such as podcasts, videos, webinars and tools. He ensures everything that reaches our Partners is high-quality, clear and consistent.

Alisha Fisher
Innovation Designer
Alisha Fisher
Alisha advocates for the user in decision-making about product/website design, user-centred design and design thinking. Whilst designing the product, service and customer experience solutions, she supports the development and implementation of UX strategy and the creation of physical and digital resources, publications and providing specialist support to projects.
Business Support

Louise Rea
Senior Projects and Contracts Coordinator
Louise Rea
Louise leads the Projects and Contracts team to deliver on projects, process improvement, contracting and compliance. Louise's team has a keen focus on developing efficiency and efficacy in its operational delivery.

Grace Akinyemi
Project and Contracts Officer
Grace Akinyemi
Grace is responsible for the project team's delivery activity. She oversees and manages the project delivery ensuring it meets contractual compliance and expectations.

Marion Chan
Contracts and Compliance Officer
Marion Chan
Marion oversees and manages the contracting process for the organisation including ensuring quality assurance processes are in place, risk is monitored, measured and mitigated and contractual compliance is maintained.

Anita Klich
Project Support Officer
Anita Klich
Anita supports the Projects and Contracts team in all aspects of project management. Her primary focus is around process and system development and improvement, and offering specialist advice to support problem solving.

Susannah Ferguson
Project Support Officer
Susannah Ferguson
Susannah supports the project team in all aspects of project managment. Her primary focus is in project budget administration and bid process management, she also acts as a point of contact offering specialist advice to support problem solving.

Ann Aston
Project Support Administrator
Ann Aston
Ann provides administrative support to the Projects team. Working with the team to ensure internal and external customers are well supported and all our projects projects are well-managed.

Aisha Ofori
Project Development Officer
Aisha Ofori
Aisha works on the development and delivery of evidence informed resources for the National Workload Action Group (NWAG) project. She is experienced in working across research, children’s social care and children and adolescent mental health services.

Sarah Wilson
Project Administrator
Sarah Wilson
Sarah works within the Projects and Contracts team to provide administrative support on the National Workload Action Group (NWAG) project.

Chris Green
Operations Coordinator
Chris Green
Chris leads our administration team providing organisational and administrative support to the business. He supports our workforce development, recruitment and HR practices, implementation of new business process and procedures and coordinates our office management, IT and GDPR processes.

Andrea Grimson
Business Support Coordinator
Andrea Grimson
Andrea manages the smooth running of our offices, supports staff recruitment and documents business processes.
07712 323318

Lauren Chatfield
Personal Assistant
Lauren Chatfield
Lauren works closely with the Directors, providing strategic external liaison, diary management and administrative support and coordinates governance activity, such as the Partnership Board and Management Team meetings. Her role is to ensure that the Directors are supported by effective administration and that clear lines of communication are enabled between the teams.

Sarah Simpson
Team Administrator (maternity leave)
Sarah Simpson
Sarah offers administrative assistance along with her colleagues in Business Support to ensure the smooth day to day running of Research in Practice.

Kath Lythgoe
Team Administrator
Kath Lythgoe
Kath offers administrative assistance along with her colleagues in Business Support to ensure the smooth day to day running of Research in Practice.

Brian Bean
Finance Coordinator
Brian Bean
Brian leads the management and oversight of finance coordination processes, ensuring a focus on efficiency, consistency, quality and value for money.

Rhian Creber
Finance Officer
Rhian Creber
Rhian raises all of our sales invoices and chases up any overdue payments. She ensures that all income into the organisation is accurately recorded.

Ena Halford-Toledo
Finance Officer
Ena Halford-Toledo
Ena works closely and collaboratively with various teams, ensuring that they are supported with effective finance administration and support as required.