Healthy Deaf Minds London

Join us for our 100th Healthy Deaf Minds event on 18th June at 6:15pm.

Jeff McWhinney, Lucy Warnes and Joanna Wootten will be joining us as we reflect on the mental health challenges of being a high-flier.

 

Jeff McWhinney

Jeff McWhinney’s career is a story of pioneering leadership and personal resilience. At just 34, he became the first Deaf Chief Executive of the British Deaf Association in its 100+ year history, setting up bases in Wales, Scotland, and Northern Ireland to extend its services across the whole of the UK. After almost a decade at the BDA, he pioneered the UK’s first video relay service, SignVideo, that broke down barriers to telephone access for deaf people and provided a career lifeline during the Covid pandemic. Beyond these achievements, Jeff will share his personal journey navigating demanding roles, offering valuable insights into resilience and prioritising mental health self-care..

Lucy Warnes

Lucy joined SignHealth in September 2022 with over 25 years’ marketing, engagement and fundraising experience.  She has worked for a wide range of causes including disability, animal welfare and international development.  Lucy is a deaf BSL user, so brings lived experience as well as professional expertise. Prior to becoming Chief Executive, Lucy was Director of Engagement where she had strategic responsibility for fundraising, business development, communications, campaigns, policy and public affairs at SignHealth. This involved engaging with key audiences to end barriers to health for deaf people and to generate income from various sources.

Joanna Wootten

Joanna Wootten began her professional journey as a solicitor before transitioning into the not-for profit sector where she has had senior roles.  She has worked as a consultant advising businesses around age and disability inclusion, including a long standing relationship with Sainsbury’s customer experience team.  Joanna has been Chair of Transport for London’s Independent Disability Advisory Group (IDAG) since 2017.   It provides strategic and practical recommendations to make London’s transport network more accessible and inclusive.   Since 2021, Joanna has been a grant manager at Trust for London where she leads on disability justice, including a £3m initiative aimed at supporting deaf and disabled led organisations in London, aiming to facilitate a diverse and effective disability justice movement. She is also Chair of Governors for Frank Barnes School for Deaf children, a bi-lingual school that emphasises both British Sign Language and English. 

Address: UG05 University of Westminster 309 Regent Street London W1B 2HW

Near Oxford Circus Tube, central London.

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