Advisory Board

Rachel Booth-Gardiner, Lead Occupational Therapist, Tees, Esk and Wear Valleys NHS Foundation Trust 

Rachel Booth‑Gardiner is a Lead Occupational Therapist working within a mental health and learning disability NHS trust in the North East of England, with over a decade of experience in clinical leadership.

Her clinical work has been based in mental health settings. Rachel brings a strong focus on equity, diversity and belonging, informed by lived experience of disability.

She is a co‑founder of AbleOTUK, a member of the OTalk team, Network Lead for the RCOT Northern & Yorkshire Network, and Chair of the RCOT Equity, Diversity and Belonging (EDB) Advisory Group for disabled and neurodivergent members. 

Adam Ferry, Occupational Therapist and Director, The Occupational Therapy Service (Advisory Board Co-Chair) 

Adam worked in the NHS as an occupational therapist for 11 years until he left in 2018 to work full-time in the private sector as a Director of The Occupational Therapy Service. 

Whilst in the NHS Adam worked in a range of clinical areas initially but developed a special interest predominantly in emergency care, then neurological rehabilitation as a senior therapist.  In the final 3 years of NHS employment Adam managed acute and rehabilitation services (including elderly care and neurological rehabilitation) across four in-patient sites. 

Adam has continued to develop a clinical reputation within neurological rehabilitation and falls, holding a complex caseload supporting case managers and their clients, as well as being a ROSPA L4 moving and handling trainer. 

It is within commercial consultancy that Adam has developed his national profile, responsible for development of The OT Show CPD programme as well as expert consultancy for high profile manufacturers, distributors and suppliers. 

Lawrence Fung, Falls Prevention Lead / Specialist Occupational Therapist in Ortho-Frailty, Milton Keynes University Hospital NHS Foundation Trust 

Lawrence Fung is an experienced Occupational Therapist and Falls Lead at Milton Keynes University Hospital NHS Foundation Trust, specialising in frailty, orthopaedics, and emergency care. Known for his compassionate, strategic, and person-centred leadership, he blends evidence-based practice with service innovation to improve patient care. 

As Deputy Lead for the MSc Frailty Module, he plays a key role in advancing occupational therapy within multidisciplinary teams/education. 

He also holds certifications in Mental Health First Aid, Montreal Cognitive Assessment (MoCA), Patient Safety Incident Response Framework (PSIRF) and Human Factors Training. 

Professor Priscilla Harries, Professor of Occupational Therapy, Kingston University London 

Cilla Harries PhD, MSc, DipCOT, FHEA, FRCOT is a Professor of Occupational Therapy and a Fellow of the Royal College of Occupational Therapists (FRCOT).

She is currently Head of Graduate Research School and Researcher Development at Kingston University London. She has held 20 competitive research grants and supervised 10 PhD students through to completion.

She is currently European Commission Action CA23101 - COST Management Committee member & Grant Awarding Co-ordinator for ‘Building Opportunities for Participation and Accessibility through lifelong community Mobility’.

She has held multiple NIHR positions and awards and developed and leads the ARC NIHR Research Leadership Academy.   

Sarah Meharg, Occupational Therapist and Owner, Moodlifter 

Sarah Meharg is a neurodivergent occupational therapist with 25 years’ experience across mental health and neurodevelopmental services. She is a Director of Neuroflect CIC and also works as an OT in independent practice trading as MoodLifter. Sarah supports individuals, teams, and organisations to develop neuroaffirmative, accessible environments that enable people to thrive.    

It is within commercial consultancy that Adam has developed his national profile, responsible for development of The OT Show CPD programme as well as expert consultancy for high profile manufacturers, distributors and suppliers. 

Dr Matumo Ramafikeng, Lecturer in Occupational Therapy, University of Essex 

Matumo is an educator from Lesotho committed to creating inclusive, supportive learning environments.

Now a Lecturer at the University of Essex, she previously worked in mental health practice and spent over a decade teaching at the University of Cape Town.

She has led curriculum development, academic support initiatives, served as OTARG President (2019–2025), and is a Trustee of the Elizabeth Casson Trust. 

Stuart Reynolds, Marketing & Product Management Director, AKW 

(awaiting bio and headshot) 

Odeth Richardson, Head Occupational Therapist, Newcastle upon Tyne Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust 

Odeth is an Occupational Therapist and is currently employed as OT Professional Lead at The Newcastle Upon Tyne Hospitals.

She is also Chair of Council at the British Association of Occupational Therapy and The Royal College of Occupational Therapy.

External to work, she undertakes a number of voluntary roles and is a writer and poet.

Dr Rachel Russell, Head of Regional Advice, Foundations 

Rachel Russell is Head of Regional Advice at Foundations, the national advisory body for Disabled Facilities Grants and Home Improvement Agencies.

With 30 years' experience as an occupational therapist and a PhD, she has a central role in national work on housing adaptations, including RCOT's Adaptations Without Delay and Housing Without Delay initiatives.

Samantha Shann, Occupational Therapist and Director, The Occupational Therapy Service 

Samantha is a global leader in occupational therapy and rehabilitation, bringing over 27 years of international experience across diverse health systems and practice settings. Her career spans senior leadership roles at government, institutional, and service levels, where she has led transformative work in organisational management, workforce development, and the design of innovative rehabilitation and occupational therapy services. 

Now based in the UK, Samantha continues to work as an occupational therapist and serves as a Director of The Occupational Therapy Service. Her professional foundations lie in mental health and community-based rehabilitation, complemented by 18 years in higher education, where she specialised in fieldwork education, interprofessional learning, and curriculum design. 

Samantha has also played a key role in shaping the profession through her involvement in organising regional and international occupational therapy initiatives and congresses. She brings to the Advisory Board a rare combination of strategic insight, UK and global perspectives, and a deep commitment to advancing occupational therapy in complex and evolving contexts.

Kate Sheehan, Occupational Therapist and Director, KS Occupational Therapy Services 

Kate Sheehan is an occupational therapist specialising in inclusive housing design and a director at KS Occupational Therapy Services, providing housing advice to case managers and consultancy to the commercial sector.

She graduated in 1987 and has played a significant role in The OT Show, curating its education programme from 2013 and remaining involved until 2025.

Vimal Sriram, Director of Allied Health Professionals, University Hospitals Bristol and Weston NHS Foundation Trust 

Vimal is the Director of Allied Health Professionals at University Hospitals Bristol and Weston NHS Foundation Trust. He worked previously as Deputy Theme Lead for the Collaborative Learning and capacity Building theme for the NIHR Applied Research Collaboration in Northwest London.  

Vimal trained as an Occupational Therapist in India and worked initially in a specialist spinal and brain injury rehabilitation centre and moved to the UK in 2005 and has since worked in acute, community and academic settings. 

Vimal read for his MSc in Evidence Based Healthcare and DPhil in Populational Health at the University of Oxford, with research focussing on carers experience of assistive technology use in dementia care and continues to work as a clinical academic as an Honorary Clinical Senior Lecturer at Imperial College London. Vimal is a Fellow of the Higher Education Academy and regularly lectures on translating health policy into practice and applied health research for MSc programs in Imperial College London.  

Vimal was a NICE Fellow (2015-2018) and was a fitness to practice panel member for the HCPC (2014-2022) and was a Trustee for a national charity called Dementia Adventure. Currently Vimal is a Trustee for the Community of Allied Health Professionals in Research and a Trustee for the Elizabeth Casson Trust, a member of the Research & innovation advisory group at the Royal College of Occupational Therapists, a reviewer for the WHO dementia knowledge exchange platform and a Founding Fellow of Innovate Healthier Together in Health Innovation West of England. 

Vimal has experience in capacity building for quality improvement and a keen interest in digital health, research using mixed-methods, eLearning, mentoring and developing future Allied Health Professionals, especially those from a Black and Minoritised Ethnic background.

Rhiannon Stokes, Managing Director, Stokes Case Management 

Rhiannon is a visionary in health, rehabilitation, and legal services whose career spans over 29 years across the NHS, independent practice, and leadership in the private and third sectors. She began her professional journey as an occupational therapist within the NHS, steadily progressing to management level. Along the way, she developed and led innovative occupational therapy services that improved patient outcomes and modernised service delivery.

Motivated by a desire to broaden her impact, Rhiannon later moved into independent practice at a time when few occupational therapists in Wales were doing so helping to shape this emerging field within the profession.

In 2015, Rhiannon founded Stokes Case Management, driven by her belief that truly client-centred, creative approaches to case management are possible through collaboration across health, legal, and allied sectors. She also established an expert witness practice, combining her clinical expertise with a deep understanding of complex legal processes. Under her leadership, Stokes continues to deliver high-quality, tailored support for individuals facing life-changing injuries and conditions.

Rhiannon’s commitment to advancing the profession is evident in her role as Chair of CMSUK, where she is the first occupational therapist to hold this position. She is also a founding member of The Sketcher Project, a community art initiative in Cardiff for people with acquired brain injury, and remains active in charitable and educational work across Wales and the UK.

A regular guest lecturer at Welsh universities and a sought-after speaker across the UK and internationally, Rhiannon shares her experience with the next generation of clinicians, case managers, and allied professionals helping to shape the future of care both nationally and beyond. 

Martina Tierney, Occupational Therapist and Clinical Director, Seating Matters 

Martina Tierney is an Occupational Therapist, Author, Educator and Clinical Director of Tierco Healthcare – a group of clinically focused companies comprising: Seating Matters, the equipment company she founded 16 years ago; Posicare, a hygiene and bathing company; A1 Momentum, a clinical education business acquired in 2024; and Advanced Seating in Republic of Ireland. 

Throughout Martina’s 30+ year career, she has worked in acute and community care, nursing homes and rehab, specialising in clinical seating provision.  

During this time working with patients, Martina soon discovered the profound effects that unsafe seating could have on patient outcomes and struggled to find chairs which met their clinical and functional needs. 

After outlining the different features her patients required, including pressure care and easy adjustability, Martina, with the help of her engineer husband James, set a goal to change the world through healthcare seating by designing clinical, therapeutic chairs that would meet needs of bed-bound and low mobility patients. 

Seating Matters and now Tierco Healthcare are synonymous with providing a quality product, supported by people who really care about the patient and the caregiver. 

Martina’s drive for change is helping inspire the next generation. Her book “The Power of OT” and her podcast series are helping shine a light on the important work being done by healthcare professionals all over the world.

Fiona Wasdell-Bowyer, Head of Clinical Services and Safeguarding Lead, Medequip 

As Head of Clinical Services for Medequip, Fiona Wasdell-Bowyer brings over 20 years’ OT and management experience.

With strengths in systems analysis, service development and team leadership, she drives innovation across community equipment services, supporting the delivery of safe, effective and responsive clinical practice nationwide.