AMOSSHE National Conference 2026

Beth Allender

Programme Manager, National Student Mental Health Partnerships Programme, Cardiff University

Beth was recruited by Cardiff University in January 2021 to support the development and delivery of a pilot to improve understanding, access and support to NHS Mental Health Services for university students in Cardiff, particularly those with moderate to severe, complex or long term mental health symptoms. This has expanded into a national programme of work involving all further and higher institutes and their regional NHS Health Boards. 

Prior to the current role, Beth has been a programme and project manager for over fifteen years. Working in universities in Wales, within Student Services, Strategic Programmes and IT Services, in particular with cultural and student experience transformation programmes. She has supported managing aspects of planning and design for the £450 million Bay Campus development for Swansea University. Starting her career in the NHS, Beth also has experience in hospital administration and Welsh National IT Programmes.

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Professor Jason Arday

Professor of Education, University of Cambridge

Jason Arday is Professor of Sociology of Education at the University of Cambridge, and a Fellow at Jesus College, Cambridge.  Previously, Jason was Professor of Sociology of Education at the University of Glasgow and has also held the position of Associate Professor in Sociology at Durham University and Deputy Executive Dean for People and Culture in the Faculty of Social Science and Health.

Jason is a Patron of the Adult Literacy Trust (ALT) and Get Further, an award-winning UK charity providing tuition and support in English and maths to disadvantaged students. He is a Trustee of the British Sociological Association (BSA) and sits on the NHS Race and Health Observatory Academic Reference Group and the ITV Cultural Advisory Council. 

Jason was formerly a Trustee of the Runnymede Trust, the UK’s leading Race Equality Thinktank for 11 years.

Sarah Bishop

Assistant Director, Communities, Culture and International, Teesside University

Sarah joined Teesside University in 2021 as Assistant Director in the area of Communities, Culture and International (CCI), managing teams covering wellbeing, welfare and sport. Sarah's portfolio focuses on developing a sense of campus community and belonging through targeted initiatives that enhance student wellbeing and integration. This includes initiatives that encourage greater engagement in the local outdoor environment, lifestyle interventions around sleep, nutrition and exercise and a range of regular drop-in health and wellbeing clinics that support students throughout their studies. The CCI team also collaborates with local community projects and faith organisations to support students in the wider local community. 

Sarah has worked in Higher Education since 2013 and has experience in developing and managing transnational education initiatives, leading adaptive responses across the university, and developing portfolios to enhance the student learning experience. 

Suzanne Carrie

Head of Student Equality and Welfare, Office for Students

Suzanne is Head of Student Equality and Welfare at the Office for Students. She leads policy teams focused on access and participation and disability. She is a member of the Disabled Student Commitment Advisory Group and the UK Government Department for Education’s Higher education mental health implementation taskforce. She previously worked in the higher education sector leading the development and implementation of access and participation and student inclusion strategies.

: office-for-students

Kieron Carroll

Student Experience Programme Manager, University of Warwick

Kieron brings over a decade of diverse experience in the higher education sector, having held roles at the University of Southampton, the University of Birmingham, and the University of Warwick. Currently serving as the Student Experience Programme Manager at Warwick, Kieron leads a strategic portfolio of projects dedicated to translating the student voice into tangible, actionable outcomes.

His current initiatives focus on amplifying student representation within Student-Staff Liaison Committees (SSLCs), ensuring campus space design is student-informed, mapping institutional non-academic engagement, and directing tailored user experience projects for specific cohorts. He is deeply committed to fostering a sense of belonging and enjoys building collaborative partnerships across academic departments, the Students' Union, Campus Services, and Professional Services.

: https://warwick.ac.uk/services/studentexperience/
: kieron-carroll

Ellen Goddard

Project Manager, University of Bangor

Ellen leads the data sharing workstream for Telyn: the National Learner Mental Health Partnerships Programme in Wales.

Telyn brings together all universities, further education colleges, and NHS health boards in Wales to collaborate for better student mental health outcomes through joined-up services and clear communication.

Ellen’s role focuses on the development of information-sharing pathways between education and health sectors, alongside regional work to improve student transitions in North Wales. Telyn aims to move beyond informal mechanisms to developing robust, structured information-sharing pathways that protect students by enabling consistent, coordinated support between education and healthcare.

Prior to joining Telyn, Ellen was a researcher at Dartington Service Design Lab, where she worked across mixed-methods social research, systems change, evaluation, data, service design and improvement projects in the public and charity sector. 

: ellengoddard

Louise Grimmett

Head of Student Support and Wellbeing Service (Inclusion and Disability), University College London

Louise is Head of Student Support and Wellbeing Services (Inclusion and Disability) at UCL, as well as a designated Safeguarding Lead, Doctoral Researcher at the UCL Security and Crime Sciences department and a Specialist Study Skills Tutor for specific learning differences, AD(H)D and autism.

Louise is a published author in the Handbook of Higher Education and Disability, ‘Higher education and disability: digital accessibility and assistive technology in the UK’ (2023).

Current interests include, but not limited to, disability rights legislation, the benefits and risks of Artificial Intelligence, crisis presentations and neurodiversity.

: https://www.ucl.ac.uk/study/support-and-wellbeing

Lisa Hellawell

Student Mental Health & Wellbeing Strategy Manager, London South Bank University

Lisa started her career as a Mental Health Social Worker in Community Mental Health Teams in London. She then moved into higher education and is currently the Student Mental Health and Wellbeing Strategy Manager at London South Bank University.

In this role Lisa leads strategic initiatives to strengthen the whole university approach to student wellbeing, improving experience and outcomes for LSBU's highly diverse student community. Over the last few years, this has included re-developing the student training model in the context of the E6 Condition of Registration. Lisa's academic background in neuroscience and social work provide a solid foundation in utilising evidence-based, co-produced approaches. Her curiosity about how humans interact with, and are shaped by environments drives her to apply these approaches to the broad wellbeing landscape. 

: lisa-hellawell-1a0a27163

Keith Houghton

Director of Student Support and Wellbeing, The University of Law

Keith is the Director of Student Support & Wellbeing at The University of Law (ULaw) where he heads up a number of multi-disciplinary teams all dedicated to providing integrated and holistic support to students. Keith is also a current member of the AMOSSHE Executive.

In his current role, Keith leads the Disability & Inclusion, Student Wellbeing, Mental Health & Counselling, Advice, Funding & Accommodation and Safe Inclusive Campuses teams and engages with a number of external partner suppliers to remove barriers to learning, enable student success and ensure that services are delivered with the student at the centre of delivery.

He has extensive experience in higher education student support gained in a number of roles prior to ULaw including in Students' Unions and a post-92 university and was Chair of the National Association of Student Money Advisors (NASMA) from 2002 to 2006. 

Keith is particularly interested in the use of technology as an enabler in student support and the influence that Student Services can have in wider institutional practices.

: https://www.amosshe.org.uk/about/our-team.html
: keith-houghton

Professor Deborah Johnston MBE

Vice-Chancellor, University of Bedfordshire

Deborah Johnston MBE is a Professor of Development Economics and the incoming Vice-Chancellor at the University of Bedfordshire, whose academic work and leadership focuses on inequality, poverty and wellbeing. She's a Professor of Development Economics and has published more than 55 journal articles and four books. Her academic work focuses on inequality and poverty. She grew up in Hounslow, Greater London, and was the first in her dual-heritage Irish-Pakistani family to attend university. She completed an undergraduate degree in Economics and an MPhil in Economics and Politics of Development at Queens’ College, University of Cambridge, and a PhD in Economics at SOAS University of London. She's a national leader for the Disabled Students Commitment and serves as Universities Disability and Access Ambassador for the UK Government Cabinet Office. She also holds a board position with a national stammering charity and, in 2024, was awarded an MBE for her work on stammering recognition in higher education.

: https://www.beds.ac.uk/news/2026/january/university-of-bedfordshire-appoints-professor-deborah-johns
: linkedin.com/in/prof-deborah-johnston-mbe-09321489

Sally Lambah

Head of Student Support and Wellbeing, Wrexham University

Sally is an AMOSSHE Executive Member and Head of Student Support and Wellbeing at Wrexham University. 

: https://www.amosshe.org.uk/about/our-team.html

Laura Leadsom

Director of Student Enquiries and Campus Services, The University of Law

Laura is the Director of Student Enquiries and Campus Services at The University of Law, where she provides strategic leadership for student enquiries, information, communications, and campus hub services across a national, multi-campus institution.

With a career spanning administration, finance, and customer service leadership in both public and private sectors, she brings extensive experience in designing and delivering large-scale, student-centred services, and played a key role in institutional transformation as Business Architect on a major operating model redesign programme.

In her current role, she leads the development of an integrated, end-to-end student query and support model, driving digital transformation, service excellence, and continuous improvement across all student touchpoints. Her work focuses on creating seamless, inclusive student journeys that enhance engagement and success.

Laura is particularly interested in service transformation, operating model design, and the role of data and technology in shaping the future of student experience in higher education.

: laura-leadsom-48b4b3270

Dr Karla Lopez-Murillo

Impact and Evaluation Officer, London South Bank University

Dr Karla Lopez-Murillo is the Impact and Evaluation Officer at London South Bank University since 2023. She is responsible for embedding research and evaluation for the initiatives part of the Access and Participation Plan 2024-2028 (APP). Her work focuses on strengthening institutional evaluation capacity by building confidence, fostering collaboration, and supporting evidence‑informed decision-making.

Karla completed her PhD in Education Practice and Society from the Institute of Education, UCL in 2020 and is an Associate Fellow of the Higher Education Academy. Karla is also a member of the Evaluation Collective Steering Group.

In 2024, she co-authored a chapter contributing to the evidence of the value of prison-university partnerships in the e-book ‘Co-Constructing Education for all’ published by the Forum for Access and Continuing Education (FACE). She also co-authored a dissemination piece reflecting on the evaluation of LSBU’s mental health mentoring programme for the second issue of The Pivot online magazine of AMOSSHE. Her research interests include higher education, lifelong learning, widening participation, student voice, international mobility and intersections with gender, race, identities, and migration.

: https://researchportal.lsbu.ac.uk/en/persons/karla-lopez/
: karlalopezmurillo

Clare McCauley

Associate Director, Uniac

Clare McCauley is an Associate Director at Uniac, specialising in internal audit, governance and higher education regulation. She has over 25 years’ experience working in senior leadership roles across a wide range of higher education providers, including Russell Group, post‑1992, specialist and small institutions. 

At Uniac, Clare leads and delivers assurance and advisory work in academic and corporate governance, regulatory compliance, and risk management. Her work includes extensive experience of auditing compliance with Office for Students conditions of registration, particularly Condition E6 on harassment and sexual misconduct. Clare’s work focuses on supporting institutions to evidence effective practice in meeting regulatory requirements, drawing on a pragmatic, sector‑informed approach to interpreting and applying regulatory expectations for both governance and operational audiences.

She holds a Master’s degree in Linguistics and volunteers for an international charity that supports victims of sexual violence.

: https://uniac.co.uk/

Georgina Pilling

Student User Experience Officer, University of Warwick

Georgina is a Student User Experience Officer at the University of Warwick, specialising in inclusive practice, student engagement, and student‑centred service design. She holds a BSc (Hons) in Business Management and a PGCE.

Georgina became a mature student while working at Warwick, an experience that has strongly shaped her commitment to improving support for those balancing study with work, caring responsibilities, or later‑life transitions.

Before joining Warwick, Georgina spent five years in teaching, focusing on inclusive classroom practice and enhancing the overall student experience. In 2025, Georgina moved into the Student Experience & Engagement team as a Student User Experience Officer. She works on student‑centred projects aimed at developing belonging across the institution, and supports the team through data analysis, insight generation and evaluating the impact of institutional events and initiatives.

: https://warwick.ac.uk/services/studentexperience/
: georgie-pilling-969402311

Suparna Sengupta

Commissioning Editor, Epigeum

Suparna graduated with an MA in English Literature from India and has since built a diverse career spanning journalism, book publishing, and digital learning. She started her professional journey in journalism, working as a reporter at The Statesman newspaper before moving on to become an editor at NDTV 24x7, India’s leading English news channel, where she contributed to editorial decisions and news coverage. She later transitioned to publishing, managing book production across various subjects as a project editor at Dorling Kindersley.

: https://learningresources.sagepub.com/epigeum

Andy Shanks

Director of Student Wellbeing, The University of Edinburgh

Andy became the University of Edinburgh’s first Director of Student Wellbeing in August 2017, a key appointment in the University’s commitment to delivering an outstanding student experience. Andy’s remit includes leading strategically on student wellbeing and tackling gender-based violence, and responsibility for the Student Counselling Service, the Disability and Learning Support Service, the Chaplaincy and the Student Wellbeing Service, as well as for relationships with the University Health Centre.

Originally from Edinburgh, Andy graduated from the University of Manchester in 1994 with a BA (Hons) in Russian and Social Policy. Andy trained and worked as a Mental Health Social Worker and then as a Service Manager in London. He was also South West Locality Manager at the City of Edinburgh Council / NHS Lothian with responsibility for the delivery of integrated, statutory health and social care services in that area of the city.

He is a season ticket holder at Hibernian FC.

: https://www.amosshe.org.uk/about/our-team.html

Chilima Sianyeuka

Head of Student Support and Wellbeing Service (Disability, Neurodiversity, Mental Health and Wellbeing), University College London

Chilima is Head of Student Support and Wellbeing Services (Disability, Neurodiversity, Mental Health and Wellbeing) as well as Deputy Safeguarding Lead (students) and Inclusion Lead at UCL.

Chilima is a qualified coach with expertise in mental health and has over 15 years’ experience within education. She has successfully led her service to grow threefold. Chilima was awarded the UCL One Personal Excellence Award in 2021 for her commitment, outstanding service and integrity.

Current interests include, but not limited, intersectional approaches to care and improving outcomes for disadvantaged communities. Chilima is a director at 4-22 Foundation CIC serving communities in Haringey and Enfield. 4-22 Foundation CIC was crowned ‘Small Business of the Year’ and won the ‘Mission Possible’ award for best social enterprise at the 2023 Small Awards.

: https://www.ucl.ac.uk/study/support-and-wellbeing

Victoria Stoner

Senior Academic Partnerships Manager, Epigeum

Victoria is Senior Academic Partnerships Manager at Epigeum, part of Sage Publishing, where she is responsible for developing and managing collaborative partnerships with universities and institutions across the UK, Ireland, and Europe. With a strong focus on relationship‑building and sector engagement, she works closely with institutions to support strategic priorities through Epigeum's high‑quality, impactful online, self-paced, programmes for staff and students.

Jennifer Sumner

Clinical Lead for Mental Health, University of Lancashire

Jen Sumner is the Mental Health Clinical Lead at the University of Lancashire and has worked in the higher education sector for over three years. She is responsible for leading a team of Mental Health Advisors who assess students presenting with mental health difficulties or in crisis and ensure appropriate support plans and referrals are in place. 

Prior to working in higher education, Jen worked in numerous clinical and leadership roles in NHS mental health services over 10 years. She is a registered mental health nurse, and is passionate about supporting individuals with complex and / or severe and enduring mental health conditions to access higher education and reach their full potential.

Jen has particular interest in crisis and risk management, utilising evidence-based assessment methods such as a formulation based approach to ensure a person-centred and holistic approach. 

: jennifer-sumner-69945a282