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Chief Executive
Simon joined MHFA England® as Chief Executive in October 2018. He is responsible for setting the organisation’s strategic vision to improve the mental health of the nation, through its mission to train one in ten of the adult population in mental health knowledge, awareness and skills. He has also been instrumental in leading MHFA England’s commitment to become a truly anti-racist social enterprise.
Simon is a thought leader for mental health, workplace wellbeing, equality and inclusion. He writes for the MHFA England blog, contributes to media articles as well as speaking and facilitating mental health and wellbeing events.
Before joining MHFA England, Simon’s work was with young people. He has a long track record of championing difference and creating platforms for people’s voices to be heard. In doing this, Simon has worked on some of the most complex social issues of today: HIV, sexual and reproductive rights, volatile substance abuse, Personal, Social, Health Education (PSHE) and LGBTQ+ rights. He is driven by a passion for a better, more inclusive society where everyone can be themselves. He has written over 40 publications on all aspects of PSHE and Citizenship, health and wellbeing.
Through his roles at the Sex Education Forum, National Children’s Bureau, sexual health charity Brook, and the National Union of Students (NUS), Simon has considerable experience in balancing the competing agendas of various stakeholders, finding ways to build consensus and collaborate to achieve positive social outcomes.
Simon received an OBE in 2011 for his services to the voluntary sector and young people. He is Chair of the Dying Matters Campaign and the Support After Suicide Partnership. Prior to this he held a number of trustee and Chair positions, including Compact Voice, Black Health Agency, Diversity Role Models, and Stonewall. Simon is a Companion of the Chartered Management Institute. He enjoys equestrian eventing and walks with his dog.
Director of Membership
Sarah McIntosh's career is grounded in HR and wellbeing, and she has many years of experience working with membership organisations. From mutuals and social enterprises, to co-operatives and charities, social purpose has been key to the organisations that Sarah has worked for, with their profits reinvested to bring about positive social change.
Sarah’s career began in developing organisational culture and customer experience within the financial services sector. She found a drive for considering diversity and wellbeing when developing the experiences of customers, members, and employees. She was appointed the Head of Diversity and Wellbeing at the Co-operative Banking Group for several years as a result of this passion, delivering award-winning thought leadership by improving the experiences of over 6 million members and twelve thousand employees.
Her work also meant she was involved in developing guidance and codes of practice as part of the Equality Act 2010, influencing laws around the provision of goods and services as well as the development of sector-specific guidance in applying the Mental Capacity Act in the provision of financial services to vulnerable adults.
Sarah has worked in Director roles leading on HR and HR consultancy, and recently graduated with a Master’s in Business Administration from the University of Bradford. Her research and dissertation focused on employee mental health and wellbeing needs within the social enterprise sector.
Alongside her work at MHFA England®, she is also a Companion of the Chartered Management Institute, and acts as a Non-Executive Director at Social Enterprise UK.
Director of Finance and Operations
Pardeep Dhoofer is Director of Finance and Operations at MHFA England®. He has been a financial professional for over 25 years, with over ten years' experience in a leadership role.
Prior to his current role Pardeep worked in higher education, leading the Reporting and Financial Planning team at Queen Mary University of London (QMUL), a Russell Group university. He has previously worked in the charity, property, retail, and financial services sectors.
Having gained an Accountancy and Finance degree from the University of Greenwich, he later qualified in 2009 with Chartered Institute of Management Accountants (CIMA), where he is now a member of the South London branch committee. He is also a mentor on the CIMA mentoring programme.
Pardeep is passionate about the third sector and organisations focused on providing positive social impact. He spent seven years at the British Heart Foundation and has been Treasurer and Trustee at Headway East London, a charity supporting people affected by brain injury, since February 2021. He is also a supporter of the National Deaf Children’s Society.
Pardeep is an advocate of equity, diversity and inclusion (EDI) in the workplace. Having previously been a member of the Professional Service Equality Diversity and Inclusion Steering Group at QMUL, he is now part of the EDI Group at Headway East London.
Pardeep prides himself on strong leadership and team development, and has enjoyed taking the lead on several improvement projects while challenging existing processes and methodologies.
Pardeep joined the Executive team at MHFA England in August 2021 and is responsible for overall leadership of the Finance, People and Wellbeing and the IT and Facilities teams. Amongst many achievements so far in his role, under Pardeep’s directorship MHFA England was awarded the 2022 Great Place to Work certificate, including a specific award for workplace wellbeing. Pardeep is looking forward to building on these successes and working with the leadership team to develop and deliver MHFA England’s strategic goals.