About us

Sophie has enjoyed a varied career including serving in the Royal Air Force and standing as a Parliamentary Candidate. She is the Speak Out Champion for the Crown Prosecution Service and advises organisations of all sizes on building open and inclusive cultures. Sophie is also a broadcaster and writer and is currently working on her first screenplay. Believing passionately that no one should be excluded from having a voice in society, Sophie has worked with the NHS and a number of mental health charities on a variety of inclusion issues.

Jo has been active in the third sector around Brighton, Hove and East and West Sussex for a number of years. She has worked as a Deputy CEO for Mind and as CEO for Relate in Brighton and Hove and is currently CEO of Citizens Advice Brighton & Hove. Prior to these roles she worked as an Area and Service Manager with responsibility for delivering both statutory and non statutory advocacy across Sussex and has spent time in front line work in London, New York and Brighton in the homeless and learning disability sectors.

Isabel joined the Speak Out board in September 2024. With a background in marketing, communications, and patient and public engagement, including in healthcare and charity, Isabel will support Speak Out to extend its vital work across the region and raise awareness for the important issues raised by service users. Isabel is passionate about improving access to healthcare and other services and tackling systemic social inequalities. She heads up marketing and communications at Protas, a not-for-profit designing and delivering large clinical trials for common diseases, including ensuring the experiences and needs of patients and the public are built into trials. Prior to this, she led communications at a central London hospital, where she also chaired its first equality, diversity and inclusion network.

Rahul was originally from India, but has lived in the UK since 1965.  Rahul worked for over 30 years as a radio news producer for the BBC - firstly with Radio 4 and then for the World Service, on a wide range of programmes.  He is now retired and looking after his daughter, who is special-needs and has complex challenges. Rahul hopes to use his experience to help the work of Speak Out.

Sally became a trustee of Speak Out in September 2024, as Trustee Treasurer. Sally, ACA, has 20+ years’ experience in financial management across various industries. She now runs a CFO consulting firm providing support to other organisations, especially reporting and cash flow management. She balances her diligence as a professional CFO, with empathy for fellow team members and her finance team.

Sally is British and went to Brighton University, and now lives in Switzerland. She is married with 2 grown-up children. In her spare time, she enjoys hiking in the mountains, painting, and watching England rugby and F1.

Margaret became a trustee of Speak Out in June 2023. Margaret currently works as an Easy Read officer for Grace Eyre and is very passionate about accessibility and making things better for disabled people. Margaret completed a trustee training course with Grace Eyre and was looking for organisations to become a trustee and was recommended Speak Out by friends.

Margaret is passionate about speaking up for people and equal opportunities, which is what drew Margaret to Speak Out. Margaret enjoys arts and crafts and likes watching wrestling matches in her spare time.

Nathaniel became a trustee of Speak Out in June 2023. Nathaniel is the Inclusion and Projects Director at Grace Eyre. Nathaniel has been involved with Speak Out since 2022 and is currently a member of the Our Voices Matter group and the steering committee. Nathaniel is interested in public speaking and has spoken at international (In Iceland in the NNDR conference 2023) and national (LDE London and SHLD Milton Keynes conferences 2023) conferences. Nathaniel has an interest in the self-advocacy movement from having lived experience.

Nathaniel has volunteered for a number of organizations and projects across the city of Brighton and Hove including as youth president of All Sorts, a local LGBTQ Plus youth group, and is an active member of the community, rallying to improve the rights and choices of people with learning disabilities.

Tor joined the Speak Out board as a trustee in June 2023, with a focus on helping the organisation raise its profile in the local community and highlight the range of support services available to people with learning disabilities. Tor has over 20 years’ experience in marketing and communications and is currently a senior director of employee communications for a global travel company.

Rohan has been a service user at Speak Out for 4 years and has been involved in a number of Speak Out projects. He was a steering group member for the Lottery funded Hub project and is a members of a BHIG group. He also is active in the Young People’s council and is an advisor to Possibility People a local disabled people’s organisation.

Seth has been a trustee since September 2024, having lived in Brighton for most of his 30 years. During this time, he's worked in a local MP constituency office, and a number of organisations in the charitable sector.

Currently, Seth works for the Sheila McKechnie Foundation - a charity infrastructure body concerned with campaigning. Seth brings a deep understanding of the sector, Charity Commission regulation, and how social change happens.