Online conference
Wednesday, 22 September - Thursday, 23 September 2021
Meet the speakers
English | Cymraeg
Meet the speakers for our two-day online conference on Rebuild and recover: reducing alcohol harm and remaking connections in the post-pandemic world.
Speakers
Since 1998, Martin has been Chief Executive of the charity Kaleidoscope, which supports people with drug and alcohol problems in many parts of Wales. With Katy Holloway, he’ll be talking about what services learnt during lockdown.
Hugh is a psychologist and radio presenter. Hugh has shared his story on the Alcohol Change UK blog and, together with Amanda, will be talking about drinking during lockdown and the things he has done to cut back.
After years of parties and hangovers, Millie gave up alcohol in 2018, and in 2021 she published her first book The Sober Girl Society Handbook. She’ll be talking about changing how we think about not drinking.
Lee is a clinical psychologist, a lecturer at Bangor University, and a coach at Llandudno Amateur Boxing Club. With members of Moving On In My Recovery, he’ll be talking about peer support during the pandemic and beyond.
Katy is a Professor of Criminology at the University of South Wales and is currently working on the Welsh Government’s evaluation of minimum pricing for alcohol. With Martin Blakebrough, she’ll be talking about the lessons to be learned from the pandemic.
Larry is the Lead Peer Mentor at Cyfle Cymru and has drawn on his own experiences to help support dozens of people to overcome substance misuse and mental health problems and return to the world of work. In 2018 he was named the “Best Mentor” in European Social Fund projects in Wales.
Andrew is Director for Wales at Alcohol Change UK and has led the development of the charity’s work in Wales since 2009. His main work interests are in adapting services to ensure equality of access, and in community development as a means to alcohol harm reduction. He will be chairing the conference.
Amanda is choir director. Amanda will be joining Hugh to talk about her drinking during lockdown and the things she's done to cut back.
Justina is Chief Executive of Scottish Families Affected by Alcohol and Drugs and is committed to championing the hidden role of the families of people with alcohol and drug problems. She’ll be talking about the impact of lockdown on these families and how best to support them going forwards.
Richard is Chief Executive of Alcohol Change UK, a trustee of the Children’s Chronic Arthritis Association, and a volunteer with the Woodcraft Folk. He’ll be talking about how working from home has changed work-related drinking.
Cormac is the Managing Director of Nurture Development and a leading advocate for Asset-Based Community Development (ABCD). He has delivered ABCD training around the world and will be talking about remaking social connections in the post-Covid world.
Emmert is a psychiatrist and academic at King’s College London and the South London and the Maudsley NHS Foundation Trust. He will be discussing what we can learn from the hotel-based emergency housing programme during the pandemic.
Sohan is Managing Director of BAC-IN, a Nottingham-based drug and alcohol service for individuals and families from minority ethnic communities. BAC-IN was founded in 2003 by three people in recovery and has been growing ever since. Sohan will be speaking about how best to address alcohol issues in communities where drinking is a cultural or religious taboo.
Sarah is Founder and Director of Recovery Cymru, a charity offering support and guidance to people who are looking to begin or continue their journey to recovery. She and others from Recovery Cymru will be talking about the power of peer support, and the new approaches they developed during the lockdown.
Charlotte trained as a social worker and worked for Solas Cymru and for the Wales Adverse Childhood Experiences Hub, before joining Platfform. She’ll be asking the provocative question, what if more resources and more services are not the answer?
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