Welcome to Charlie, Helen and Phillip

A warm welcome:

Our three new trustees!

We are incredibly excited to share that joining us as we start 2025 are Charlie, Helen and Phillip. They have a broad range of experiences between them and have much to contribute to the Board and the work of the Trust. Welcome and thank you to our brilliant new trustees!

Dr Charlie Chung (left)

Charlie is employed as the Allied Health Professions Stroke Strategic Lead for NHS Lothian and is a consultant occupational therapist. He has worked in stroke rehabilitation in acute, sub-acute and community settings for over 25 years and delivered a post-stroke cognition clinic in recent years. After graduating in 1990 from Queen Margaret University in Edinburgh, he worked in physical and mental health settings in the UK and particularly found the time spent in a substance misuse team both challenging and rewarding. During five years of working in the USA, Charlie developed his speciality in stroke rehabilitation and on returning to the UK in 2001, completed an MSc and PhD with research focusing on executive function and cognitive rehabilitation after stroke. As part of his thesis, he was the lead author of the Cochrane review, “Cognitive rehabilitation for executive dysfunction in adults with stroke or other adult non-progressive acquired brain damage”.

In addition to working with stroke survivors towards regaining their participation in their valued activities and roles (occupations), Charlie is passionate about delivering training to equip other clinicians with the knowledge and skills to offer cognitive rehabilitation to their service users. Charlie has delivered executive function and cognitive rehabilitation workshops across the UK, Canada, and Australia and takes great care to ensure these are interactive, with attendees becoming knowledgeable in the practical application of their learning for rehabilitation. Workshops are designed for multi-professional audiences and occupational therapy-specific groups, and they continually draw upon real-life scenarios from his ongoing clinical work.

Charlie volunteered with the Royal College of Occupational Therapists as a member of the stroke forum of the Specialist Section Neurological Practice, 2014 – 2020, representing them on the UK Stroke Forum conference committee 2017 – 2020 and returning to chair the stroke forum 2023 – 2024. He was the Treasurer of the Scottish Eastern Regional Group of Occupational Therapists from its inception in 2016 until 2019 and is currently the Treasurer of the Scottish Stroke Allied Health Professions Forum. Charlie was also a trustee of Chest Heart & Stroke Scotland from 2011 until 2020 which provided him with valuable insight into the work of a third sector organisation.

Since returning to the UK in 2001, Charlie’s work has been characterised by an expanding management role including the management of occupational therapists, physiotherapists, nurses, and GP fellows across inpatient rehabilitation and community frailty hub settings. Retaining his passion for occupational therapy, his current AHP role and work history have helped him develop a deeper understanding of the other professions involved in rehabilitation, and he is very proud to have the opportunity to contribute to the valuable work of the Elizabeth Casson Trust.

Helen Jackson-Roberts (centre)

Helen joined the occupational therapy profession in the early 1990s and, following a rotational post, specialised in working with children and young people. This career choice has enabled her to work in acute hospitals, community services and the voluntary sector. Helen worked in East Africa for several years with community rehabilitation projects and was able to experience how occupational therapy was able to adapt to a setting different to the UK. More recently, Helen has returned to working for the NHS, leading multi-disciplinary Allied Health Profession services in the West Midlands and North West.

Helen has always been drawn to the foundation of health and wellbeing achieved through meaningful occupation. She has experienced how this can be applied to healthcare, as well as the voluntary and statutory sectors. Helen is committed to supporting the profession to evolve to meet health and societal changes and seeing fellow occupational therapists thrive.

Outside of work, Helen is also a trustee for Supportability, a charity that enables people with a learning and physical disability to live a fulfilled and independent life – again, bringing occupation into the services offered.

By joining the Elizabeth Casson Board, Helen hopes to contribute to strengthening the profession and bring insights from the workforce in acute care.

Phillip Lennon (right)

Prior to Phillip’s retirement in 2016, he had been Director of Finance at the Royal College of Occupational Therapists for 15 years. Phillip has a BSc (Hons) in Administrative Science from Aston University and has been an Associate member of the Chartered Institute of Management Accountants since 1978.

Phillip has over 40 years of commercial experience working in a variety of industries and organisations. He has worked in the Not-For-Profit sector on a number of occasions and understands the importance of public benefit and how this has to work in a commercial environment. Phillip has always been involved in providing good governance, strategic management and effective business operations.

Phillip lives in Essex and is a director and trustee of three other charities. He is a Council Member at Birmingham Newman University, where he chairs the Audit and Risk Committee and sits on the Remuneration Committee. Phillip is Vice Chairman of Corporation and Chair of both the Finance and Resources Committee and the Remuneration Committee at USP College, a college of Further Education. Phillip is also Treasurer at a local Community Voluntary Service which covers Basildon, Billericay and Wickford.

Please join us in welcoming Charlie, Helen and Phillip to the Trust.