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We are delighted to announce that Sarah McIntosh will be stepping into the role of interim Chief Executive at MHFA England® from September 2024. Sarah is currently Director of Delivery and Managing Director of the Association of Mental Health First Aiders®. The news comes as we bid farewell to our current Chief Executive, Simon Blake, who announced that he would be stepping down to join Stonewall as their new Chief Executive.
Sarah joined MHFA England in 2019 as Director of People and Organisational Effectiveness before becoming Director of Delivery in January 2021. Her time in these roles has seen her at the heart of designing MHFA England products and services for our community, learners, and workplaces. Over her five years at MHFA England she has built strong relationships with Instructor Members, clients, and learners, playing a vital role is setting the organisation’s strategic vision to improve the mental health of the nation.
Prior to joining MHFA England, Sarah was Director of People and Membership at the National Union of Students and Head of Diversity and Wellbeing at the Co-Operative Banking Group. She has also been a Non-Executive Director at Social Enterprise UK since May 2022.
Sarah steps into the role at an exciting time as we establish and grow the first and only membership body for Mental Health First Aiders and redevelop our Youth Mental Health First Aid training. We are also entering into an Innovation Cycle, where we look to develop our organisational strategy for the next five years.
“I am delighted to be taking on the role of interim Chief Executive and would like to offer my deepest thanks to Simon for his dedication and commitment to Mental Health First Aid England.
“It is an honour to excited lead the social enterprise to improve the mental health of the nation. I look forward to working with our staff and community to keep transforming how we talk about and support mental health in the workplace and beyond.”
Speaking about the announcement, Chair of MHFA England, Adah Parris, said,
“As Chair, I am proud of the work that Simon and I have done with MHFA England’s Directors over the past four years. I am grateful to Simon for his six years of leadership, including ensuring we adapted swiftly to continue delivering on our mission through the pandemic. Whilst I will miss working with him, I am delighted for Stonewall whose work to support LGBTQ+ rights is incredibly important.
“I very much look forward to working with Sarah McIntosh. She has been an integral part of the MHFA England Executive team for over five years. With her leadership, MHFA England’s training, consultancy and campaigning will continue to pave the way for positive mental health in the workplace and beyond.”