
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.
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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, safeguarding and participative practice. For enquiries please contact Chris Green.
01803 867692

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.
01803 847261

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
Research and Development

Laura Bracey
Research and Development Manager
Laura Bracey
Laura 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.

Fidelma Hanrahan
Senior Research Officer
Fidelma Hanrahan
Fidelma champions the use of research within the organisation and has particular responsibility for ensuring quality research is embedded into all outputs. She is also Account Manager for Partners across the South West region and the topic lead for the monthly Children & families Research Summary and Policy Update.
01803 847294

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.
01803 847292

Susan Ridpath
Research and Development Officer
Susan Ridpath
Susan supports a number of Partners to embed Research in Practice into their organisation. She also helps to ensure the voice of children and families informs our resources. Susan is a qualified social worker and she is interested in addressing extra-familial harms, participation and co-production.
01803 847293

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 NIHR Creating Care Partnerships project, supporting the development of Research Practice Partnerships in residential care homes for adults in England. She also leads on the Social Work Organisational Resilience Diagnostic (SWORD) project and supports the Partner Engagement team around the wellbeing and resilience topics. She is interested in co-production and how the perspectives of people with lived experience can be included in service design and delivery.
07813 119754

Hannah Scott
Research and Development Officer (maternity leave)
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 adult 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.
07894 075776

Georgina Chetwynd
Research and Development Officer (maternity leave)
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 helps to produce content for our publications and resources across children, families and adult services. She works with partners across children, families and adult services to support them in using our evidence-informed 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. Working with our partners to support them in using our evidence-informed resources.

Karen Allen
Research Assistant (maternity leave)
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.
01803 847266

Lorna Trend
Research Assistant
Lorna Trend
Lorna works in the Research and Evaluation team, assisting on evaluations across children’s and adults’ social care.
01803 847271

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

Kate Kayley
Senior Learning and Development Officer - Adults
Kate Kayley
Kate is responsible for the coordination and development of the Research in Practice tailored support provision for Adults and also leads on specific topics on the delivery programme. She is also an account manager for several partners.
01803 847267

Alex Kalinowska
Senior Learning and Development Officer - Children & families
Alex Kalinowska
Alex is responsible for the development of the Research in Practice tailored support provision for children and families.

Bethan Harker
Learning and Development Support Officer
Bethan Harker
Bethan supports the coordination and delivery of workshops and events for adult services, along with the development and preparation of workshop materials.
01803 847296

Jo Bramham
Tailored Support Officer
Jo Bramham
Jo supports Partners with their Tailored Support allocation as part of their membership offer and is a point of contact for enquiries from Partners and other organisations across children and adult health & social care for new Research in Practice learning and development events. She also works with new and current Associates to grow our capacity to support Partners and other organisations.

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
Louise is one of our most experienced Account Managers and was also a Link Officer in a past life. She is passionate about building strong relationships with our network of Partners, and working with them creatively to ensure they get maximum benefit from using our resources in practice.
07964 750975

Melissa Vernal
Practice 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 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.

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.
Business Support

Chris Green
Operations Coordinator
Chris Green
Chris leads our administration team providing organisational support. He provides the Director with diary management and administrative support, supports recruitment and HR, implementation of new business process and procedures and coordinates governance activity, such as Partnership Board and Management Team meetings.
01803 847269

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.

Andrea Grimson
Business Support Coordinator
Andrea Grimson
Andrea manages the smooth running of our office alongside supporting recruitment and HR.
01803 847273

Lauren Slack
Team Administrator
Lauren Slack
Lauren works with various teams across Research in Practice, ensuring they receive effective administration support as and when required.

Sarah Simpson
Team Administrator
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.

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.
01803 847274

Rhian Creber
Finance Officer
Rhian Creber
Rhian is responsible for our purchase ordering system, the processing of purchase invoices and raising all sales invoices. She also assists in the finance and budget monitoring of larger projects.
01803 847258

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.
01803 847286

Louise Rea
Senior Projects Coordinator
Louise Rea
Louise manages the delivery of the Research in Practice project portfolio as well as managing and supporting other programmes the organisation is involved in.
01803 847259

Grace Akinyemi
Project and Contracts Officer
Grace Akinyemi
Grace supports the project team in the delivery of the projects the organisation is involved in and acting as a point of contact for queries relating to processes and offering specialist advice to support problem solving.

Anita Klich
Project Support Officer
Anita Klich
Anita supports the project team in the delivery of the projects the organisation is involved in and acting as a point of contact for queries relating to processes and offering specialist advice to support problem solving.

Susannah Ferguson
Project Support Officer
Susannah Ferguson
Susannah supports the project team in the delivery of the projects the organisation is involved in and acting as a point of contact for queries relating to processes and offering specialist advice to support problem solving.

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.

Andrea Dyson
Contracts Administrator
Andrea Dyson

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

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.
01803 847276

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.
01803 847275

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.

Karen Young
Senior Communications, Marketing and Engagement Coordinator (maternity leave)
Karen Young
Karen is responsible for managing a range of marketing communications activities for Research in Practice. This includes digital communications, publicity materials and public relations.
01803 847256

Lloyd Boone
Senior Communications, Marketing and Engagement Officer
Lloyd Boone
Lloyd works on a variety of projects and platforms to effectively communicate and promote the work of Research in Practice. This includes digital communications, content creation, social media and publicity materials.
01803 847277

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.

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 and improve user experience.
01803 847252

Jack Walker
Digital Assistant
Jack Walker
Jack assists the Digital Team with work on digital, web development and user experience projects. He also uploads website content and supports marketing activities.
Events

Dyfrig Williams
Head of Learning
Dyfrig Williams
Dyfrig leads the development of Research in Practice learning activities and oversees the national programme of learning events and training courses across children, families and adult sectors.
01803 847251

Ami Fullalove
Learning Events Coordinator
Ami Fullalove
Ami is responsible for the delivery of our learning events across the children, families and adult programmes.
01803 847289

Abbi Woodman
Events and Projects Officer
Abbi Woodman
Abbi supports the operational planning and delivery of large scale programmes and commissioned workshops, alongside planning the Tailored Support allocations for children and families services.
01803 847250

Phil John
Events Administrator
Phil John
Phil provides administrative support to the Learning Events Coordinator and Events Officers, with the delivery of all events across the children, families and adults programmes.
01803 847288

Amy Holgate
Events Administrator and Virtual Meetings Host
Amy Holgate
Amy supports the Research in Practice Events Team 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.

Yousrah Beedassy
Events Administrator and Virtual Meeting Host
Yousrah Beedassy
Yousrah supports the Research in Practice Events Team assisting with the administration and hosting of their current online events across the children, families and adult programmes.
National programmes

Neeta Chauhan
Programme Manager – Practice Supervisor Development Programme
Neeta Chauhan
Neeta is responsible for the smooth delivery of the Practice Supervisor Development Programme within budget and timescale, and maintaining relationships with all consortium and local delivery partners, as well as the commissioner.
07857 501826

Emma Rawlins
Project Coordinator – Practice Supervisor Development Programme
Emma Rawlins
Emma is the Project Coordinator for the Practice Supervisor Development Programme and is the main contact for any programme events queries.
01803 847202

Anna Racher
Partnership Manager – Tackling Child Exploitation Support Programme
Anna Racher
Anna has overall responsibility for the Tackling Child Exploitation Support Programme, which is a Department for Education funded partnership, led by Research in Practice with The Children’s Society and the University of Bedfordshire. The programme focuses on changing the systems which support exploited children and young people in order to make a greater positive impact for them and their families.
07590 074279

Raquel Vieth
Senior Consultation Lead - Tackling Child Exploitation Support Programme
Raquel Vieth
Raquel is the Senior Consultation Lead for the Tackling Child Exploitation Support Programme (TCE), which is a partnership funded by the Department of Education with the University of Bedfordshire and The Children’s Society. The Programme aims to support and change systems responding to child exploitation and extra familial harm by learning from the expertise of those with lived and professional experience.

Amy Bishop
Events Administrator and Virtual Meetings Host
Amy Bishop
Amy supports The Practice Supervisor Development Programme (PSDP) and Tackling Child Exploitation Support Programme (TCE) at Research in Practice, assisting with the administration and delivery of virtual events. Amy is passionate about learning and is currently in the process of completing a degree in social science.

Aline Politano
Events Administrator and Virtual Meetings Host
Aline Politano
Aline supports the Tackling Child Exploitation Support Programme (TCE) at Research in Practice, assisting with the administration and delivery of learning events. Aline believes that events are a great way to promote learning and connection between people.