Board of Trustees
Bill Puddicombe - Chair
Coopted
Bill Puddicombe now works as a consultant in the fields of social care and substance misuse. From 1998 to 2006 he was Chief Executive of Phoenix House (now Phoenix Futures) the foremost registered social landlord and charity providing housing and services to substance misusers in the UK.
Bill is also Chair of the Essex Probation Board and Adfam and a Director of the Leonora Trust. He has been working in social care since 1978, as a face-to-face worker and later as manager and leader in many different kinds of service environment. He has a broad experience of the voluntary sector, with senior experience in everything from small community enterprises to large, brand name charities.
Steve Cooke - Vice chair
The Nelson Trust
Steve has 18 years experience in drug and alcohol treatment services in both structured day treatment and residential rehabilitation settings.
Steve has designed and developed innovative new drug and alcohol treatment programmes integrating education, training and vocational programmes within the clinical setting. Initiated resettlement and supported housing programmes, including a floating support scheme for people completing treatment programmes. Special professional studies and interests are in the area of “organisational change within drug and alcohol treatment settings” and “developing integrated treatment programmes”.
He was also involved in the development of EATA. He has training experience in the following areas; transactional analysis, cognitive behavioural therapy, counselling training and supervision, business and finance. Specialist qualifications: MSc Counselling training and supervision, Bristol University. Management and business training, Ashridge College.
Steve Rossell - Treasurer
Cranstoun Drug Services
Steve Rossell is Chief Executive of Cranstoun Drug Services, having taken up this post in 1998. Cranstoun is a voluntary sector provider of drug treatment and rehabilitation services within residential, community and criminal justice settings. Prior to his association with Cranstoun, Steve had worked within the voluntary sector and substance misuse field, since 1988.
His previous experience within the substance misuse field includes: the provision of high care residential treatment and rehabilitation; client service delivery in 'street agencies', needle exchanges and community outreach settings; drug work within the criminal justice system, in both the UK and Europe; and, the development and management of community-based drug and alcohol services.
Nick Barton
Joint Chief Executive of Action on Addiction
Nick Barton, who has a Masters degree in clinical psychology and trained as a psychotherapist, is Joint Chief Executive of Action on Addiction. He was previously Chief Executive of Clouds, an addiction charity that merged in April 2007 with two others to form Action on Addiction. Under Nick’s leadership, Clouds expanded to provide a range of residential and day treatment and rehabilitation services, as well as specialist assistance to families, including children affected by substance misusing parents.
Many of the services have established exemplary models. Clouds also became a leading trainer of addictions counsellors and, in a partnership with the University of Bath, runs Foundation and Honours Degree courses. Nick was a founding member and former chairman of the European Association for the Treatment of Addiction. He was a member of the Mental Health Committee of the Independent Healthcare Association and was also a Trustee of the Nelson Trust for many years. He has developed substance misuse training to industry, helped set up treatment centres abroad, written articles, spoken at conferences and contributed to books on addiction, including The British System edited by Professors John Strang and Michael Gossop.
Brian Dudley BSc (Hons) MAAT
Chief Executive, Broadway Lodge
I am 42-years-old, married with four children aged 10, 7, 3 and 2. I was born in Weston-super-Mare and still live locally. After attending the local comprehensive school, I started work at a company manufacturing rocket motors and missiles for the defence industry. During my 13 years there I progressed from purchase ledger clerk through to assistant Accountant.
To further my careeer I took a job with a local Housing Association and stayed for 11 years, progressing to Capital Accountant. Here I was directly responsible for the balance sheet of £400 million. During this time, I returned to studying as a mature student in my own time and obtained membership through qualifications to the Association of Accounting Technicians and an ACCA finalist. In 2003 I graduated from Oxford Brookes with a degree in Applied Accounting.
I then joined Broadway Lodge in September 2006 as Head of Finance and Company Secretary. In July 2007 I was appointed by the Board of Trustees to Chief Executive. I feel I can bring openness, honesty and a fresh look to the industry and I am very much enjoying the challenges to date. I am also presently involved with the Unity group.
Outside of work, I enjoy squash, cricket and golf and have spent nine years working as a youth worker.
Steve Hamer OBE FRSA
Chief Executive, Compass
Coming from a background in teaching, Steve first entered the social care field in 1977, working with single, homeless people in London before joining Cranstoun, a residential rehabilitation programme for drug misusers in 1979. After two years at Cranstoun and then spending two years teaching English in Sudan, Steve returned to the drugs field in 1983 to open the Parole Release Scheme, the UK’s first dedicated resettlement service for drug using prisoners. Since joining Compass in 1986 as its first employee, Steve has guided the organisation through its many stages of development, to become one of the UK’s leading drug treatment providers.
Steve has an MA in Social Policy and is a Fellow of the Royal Society of Arts. In June 2005, Steve was awarded an OBE for services to problem drug users, which he feels reflects the impact Compass has made on improving treatment. Compass offers a wide range of structured and unstructured programmes including community prescribing services, day programmes, specialist services for young people, employment programmes, advisory/counselling services and harm reduction services.
Ben Hughes
Treatment Now
As the Operations Director and co-founder of treatment-now.com, a growing independent Care Management company created to provide end-to-end care management for patients seeking high quality and effective treatment in the addiction and related psychiatric fields, Ben has been instrumental in the ISO9001 accreditation process for the company and driving the growth and reputation of the organisation. Prior to its creation, Ben had worked for several years as a DAAT Co-ordinator and latterly a consultant working with DAATs, local authorities, Primary Care Trusts and Mental Health Trusts across the country developing and commissioning treatment services.
He has worked in the drug and alcohol field for over 15 years at both clinical and management levels, has a diploma in counselling and has studied Motivational Interviewing, Solution Focussed Brief Therapy and Cognitive Behavioural Therapy to varying degrees. He is currently studying for his bachelor's degree in Social Sciences.
Having worked, as treatment unit staff, in prisions in the UK and as a strategic manager in the development and commissioning of treatment services and systems, he has wide and varied experience of drug and alcohol treatment from both the provider and commissioner standpoints.
Richard Johnson
ANA Treatment Centres
Richard Johnson is Executive Director of ANA Treatment Centres in Portsmouth, Hampshire. ANA provides Primary and Secondary residential treatment for those reliant on drugs, alcohol and gambling from its various centres. ANA also provides resettlement packages and a local Family & Carer Support Group.
Richard has worked as an HR and organizational development specialist for the past fourteen years. He began as a staff development officer for Durham County Council Social Services Department, working across departments. He then joined the IODA Consulting Group where he worked across the UK and overseas for five years with numerous public, private and third sector organisations. During this time, Richard developed specialist knowledge in senior management development and equality and diversity.
More recently, Richard joined Birmingham Professional DiverCity as Executive Director. BPD is a third sector equality and diversity consulting company, working predominantly in the professional and financial services sector across Birmingham. In 1998, Richard authored the How To Get A Management NVQ series of textbooks, published by Letts Publications.
Richard has a BA (Hons) Degree in Business and Marketing, holds many memberships with professional bodies including FDAP, IOD, CIPD, CMI and ILM. Richard became a Trustee and board member of EATA in 2006. He has been working in the drugs and alcohol field since 1995, initially in the public sector, then on a consulting basis, assisting in policy development and training. Richard joined ANA Treatment Centres in 2005.
Mhairi Macpherson
Turning Point
Since 2004, Mhairi has been Assistant Chief Executive for Turning Point, a large voluntary sector provider of substance misuse services across England. Mhairi is responsible for service provision and quality in all services, has a broad understanding of the substance misuse field, and is particularly interested in issues relating to users with a dual diagnosis of substance misuse and mental health.
Previously, Mhairi worked in the NHS for sixteen years, as has been both an operational director and a director of modernisation and improvement in the field of mental health in East London.
Peter McCann
Castle Craig Hospitals
Peter McCann has worked in the field of substance misuse for the last 25 years, founding and then running Clouds for five years followed by the Castle Craig Hospital in 1988, of which he is still the Chairman. He was instrumental in founding what is now EATA in 1992, and has been on the Board ever since.
He is currently a Board Member of the International Council of Alcohol and Addiction and a Patron of the Sick Doctors Trust. He is an Associate Member of the Medical Council on Alcohol. Peter has an MA was in Experimental Psychology and Economics, holds the ICRC accreditation and is a Member of the European Branch of American Counsellors Association.
Chip Somers
Focus 12
Chip Somers is the Project Manager at Focus 12 and has been working with addiction and alcohol problems for over 20 years. He initially trained and subsequently worked at Clouds House, Wiltshire, receiving several counselling qualifications from the State of Alabama. He is an accredited drug and alcohol counsellor with FDAP.
Prior to Focus 12 Chip has co-managed a 23 bedroom residential unit for men recovering from addiction and alcohol problems called Thurston House in London - part of the Chemical Dependency Centre. He then moved to the Priory Hospital Group as Treatment Director for the Dukes Priory Addiction Treatment Programme in Chelmsford working with people with addiction, alcohol and eating disorders. Whilst there, he completed a senior management course.
Patrons
- Lord Mancroft
- Lord Brooke of Alverthorpe
- Lady Gosling
- Hon. David Bernstein
- Eva Rausing
- Rick Ohrstrom