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binge drinking conference
Speakers
Some of the leading experts will speak at our conference.
Professor Ian Gilmore MD, PRCP, President, Royal College of Physicians
Professor Ian Gilmore President of the Royal College of Physicians and is a consultant physician and gastroenterologist at the Royal Liverpool University Hospitals and Honorary Professor at the Department of Medicine, University of Liverpool. His specialty interest is liver disease.
Professor Gilmore was previously Registrar of the College and a member of Council. He chaired a Working Party in 2001, producing the report ‘Alcohol – can the NHS afford it? A blueprint for a coherent alcohol strategy’. He continues to chair the Alcohol Committee and now also chairs the Alcohol Health Alliance in which relevant agencies work together in a coherent and focussed framework. Professor Gilmore is Chair of the European Alcohol and Health Forum Science Group and is a member of the Climate and Health Council.
He is currently a Commissioner for Sir Michael Marmot’s review of the social determinants of health in this country and a member of the National Quality Board. He continues to undertake some clinical work.
Chief Constable Sara Thornton, Thames Valley Police
Sara Thornton is chief constable of Thames Valley Police (TVP),, the largest non-Metropolitan force in England and Wales. She is a member of the Association of Chief Police Officers’ (ACPO) Terrorism and Allied Matters and leads on counter terrorism for the South East of England. She was the chair of the ACPO Intelligence Portfolio from 2003 – 2007.
Sara Thornton served with the Metropolitan Police from 1986 and for the next 15 years she alternated between operational postings in West London and strategic roles at New Scotland Yard. She joined TVP as ACC Specialist Operations in November 2000 and in August 2003 was appointed Deputy Chief Constable.
In 2006 she was awarded the Queens Police Medal. She is a member of the Royal College of Defence Studies and the Advisory Board for the Oxford University Centre for Criminology.
Seymour Fortescue, Chairman, the Portman Group
Seymour Fortescue is the Chairman of the Portman Group. The Portman Group regulates drinks producer marketing and represents the views of its nine member companies about alcohol social responsibility.
Seymour was Chief Executive of the Banking Code Standards Board for seven years, the only self-regulatory body remaining in retail financial services. Previously, he was Chief Executive of the Health Education Authority; Chief Executive of Barclaycard and Head of Marketing for Barclays Bank.
Seymour has an M.A in Economics from Cambridge University, an M.Sc. in Business Studies from the London Business School and is an Associate of the Chartered Institute of Bankers. Until recently he was a Council Member of London University and Chairman of the charity BookPower. He is also Chairman of the private sector UK Migrant Remittances Task Force set up by the Department for International Development.
Don Shenker, Chief Executive, Alcohol Concern
Don Shenker has been chief executive of Alcohol Concern since April 2008 and was previously their director of policy and services. His policy work has included campaigning for a pre-watershed ban on TV alcohol advertising, better support for young drinkers and for equitable alcohol support in prisons.
Don has co-authored several policy reports, including Glass Half Empty?, Keep it in the Family and Unequal Partners. He is a member of the Joseph Rowntree Foundation’s Alcohol Research Committee and the Department of Health’s National Alcohol Interventions Improvements Programme Board.
Don has worked in the alcohol sector for over 15 years as a clinician, manager and director.
Dr Willm Mistral, Mental Health Research & Development Unit
Dr Willm Mistral manages the Mental Health Research & Development Unit, a joint unit of the University of Bath and Avon & Wiltshire Mental Health NHS Trust. Over the past 15 years he has undertaken much research and evaluation focused on social problems associated with alcohol, drugs and mental health. His work has been widely published in journals and book chapters.
Olivia Bailey, National Women’s Officer, National Union of Students
Before winning her election as National Women’s Officer at the National Union of Students, Olivia Bailey was President of the Junior Common Room at St Hilda's College, Oxford, and Equal Opportunities Officer of Oxford University Student Union.
The NUS Women’s Campaign is one of the four autonomous liberation campaigns within NUS. As an autonomous campaign, it has its own conference that only people defining as women can attend. This year the Women's Campaign's priority will be to focus on the impact of violence and objectification towards women students. The campaign will also be fighting for better rights for student parents and better representation for women in students’ unions.
Olivia is proud to call herself a feminist.
Helga Swidenbank, Director, Bronzefield Prison
Helga Swidenbank joined HM Prison Service in 1993 after completing a masters degree in criminology. She has had experience at HMP Wormwood Scrubs, HMP Wayland, HM YOI Huntercombe and HMP Holloway. In December 2003, Helga took up post as Deputy Governor at HM YOI Feltham. In October 2007 she became director at HMP Bronzefield.
HMP Bronzefield is a closed local prison for women. It opened in June 2004 and was the first privately managed women’s prison in England and Wales. Managed by Kalyx, Bronzefield has an capacity of 465 holding remand; short term convicted and restricted status women. There is also an inpatient facility and a mother and baby unit.
In December 2009, a new 77 bed house-block will be open, designed to accommodate longer term and life sentenced women. From December 2009, Bronzefield will also accommodate young offenders..
Emma Reynold, Government Affairs Manager, Tesco
As Government Affairs Manager for Tesco, Emma is responsible for relations with government and policy in a wide range of areas including alcohol. Before joining Tesco Emma was a consultant at a public affairs agency.
After graduating with a BA in Modern History from Magdalen College, Oxford, Emma spent two years as a researcher in the Conservative Research Department.
Tesco is a retailer of alcohol, serving millions of customers every week. Tesco knows that the majority of people who buy alcohol from them drink responsibly, but they accept that for a minority this may not always be the case, and that alcohol misuse represents a wider societal problem.
Tesco is therefore committed to playing its part in combatting this problem, by selling alcohol responsibly, providing customers with the information they need to make healthy and responsible choices, and working with others at nationally and locally.
Wulf Livingston, North Wales Probation Service
Wulf Livingston works for the North Wales probation service. Before this he was with a large North Wales voluntary sector drug and alcohol agency. He got his formative experience in a variety of voluntary sector roles dealing with drugs, alcohol, mental health and young people.
Wulf is a lecturer and PhD student in social work and substance misuse at the University of Wales. He supervises local social work teams involved in drugs and alcohol, social work practice teachers and social work students.
Wulf is an active member of the BASW (British Association of Social Workers) substance misuse specialist interest group. He spends his spare time juggling kids, family, sheep and chickens, while running up mountains, listening to music and playing bridge.
Julia Brown, Executive Officer, The FASD Trust
Julia Brown originally started the FASD Trust with her husband in 2007, in response to the growing number of requests they were receiving for information about FASD (Foetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorders) and realising how little support was available for those affected by it.
The FASD Trust now provides support to those affected by FASD, including parents and carers, by raising awareness and improving understanding of this condition. The Trust runs support groups, a telephone helpline and internet forum. It also provides training and information for teachers, health workers and other professionals, as well as carers. The FASD Trust is based in Oxfordshire, but has several regional representatives, enabling support to be accessed on a local as well as a national level.
Before running The FASD Trust, Julia held various posts in both the private and charitable sectors in administration, finance and HR. She and her husband have a daughter with Foetal Alcohol Syndrome (FAS); they are also foster carers.
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