Our leadership team
The Birth Trauma Association is governed by a board of trustees. Day-to-day operations are managed by a small team of paid staff and volunteers.
staff and volunteers
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Rachael is our chair and volunteer manager as well as mother of lively twins.
rachael@birthtraumaassociation.org
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Kim Thomas is our CEO and media liaison. She wrote the 2024 report of the parliamentary inquiry into birth trauma and is secretariat to the APPG on birth trauma.
She has written two books about birth trauma: Birth Trauma, a guide aimed at helping women experiencing post-traumatic stress disorder after a difficult birth; and Postnatal PTSD: a Guide for Health Professionals.
kim@birthtraumaassociation.org
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Chloe is our Wales officer, helping parents in Wales understand the NHS pathways.
chloe@birthtraumaassociation.org
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Maureen Treadwell is co-founder of the BTA. Maureen is our treasurer, and until recently our representative various working parties and lay panels including UKOSS and MBRRACE. Email Maureen.
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Gill Skene is the Scottish Representative to the BTA. Additionally she is the chair and co-founder of LATNEM, a mental health peer support charity based in Scotland for mums and birthing people.
Gill also volunteers with the Grampian Maternity Voices partnership and is a Maternal Mental Health Alliance Champion, a change agent with Parent and Infant Mental Health Scotland and part of the Experts by Experience reference group.
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Emma is a our head of finance. She is a Chartered Accountant who initially worked in practice but has been working in-house for over 25 years.
Emma is pleased to work for the BTA as she experienced a traumatic birth over 20 years ago. She prides herself on her attention to detail and loves a spreadsheet!
In her spare time, Emma loves to shop for a bargain, enjoys walking in the countryside with her husband and curling up with a good book.
Emma@birthtraumaassociation.org
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Norah is our fundraising officer, bringing extensive experience in grant fundraising and program management. She has a global background in securing grants, managing cross-sector partnerships, and implementing programs that enhance maternal health outcomes. Having personally experienced a traumatic birth in Zimbabwe, she is passionate about supporting those affected by birth trauma and dedicated to ensuring that all families have access to compassionate care and vital services.
Our Trustees
Our trustees are responsible for governance of the BTA.
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Neha is a lawyer specialising in consumer and competition law, with around 15 years’ experience across both the private and public sectors. She has led major investigations and helped shape and deliver key policy reforms, combining legal expertise with a strong commitment to public impact. Alongside her legal work, Neha holds an MBA and is a passionate advocate for diversity, founding the Superwomen of Colour network for women in competition/consumer law and regulation. Neha joined BTA because she is passionate about using her recent journey through birth trauma and PND to improve outcomes for women.
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Christine retired in 2022 from her full-time role as dean of the Institute of Education and Humanities, in her local university. She now works part time for the Quality Assurance Agency managing reviews of higher education providers and other organisations involved in the management and/or delivery of education. She also leads activities and projects for the QAA, aimed at enhancing policy and practice across the Higher Education sector. Christine and her family live on a small holding in west Wales and have a small flock of pedigree sheep.
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Susan is a Chartered Accountant with many years of experience in providing a diverse range of audit, assurance, accounting and consulting related services to clients. She has worked with, and supported, both listed and private companies, and also charities, during periods of change. She is an experienced Trustee and Governor, with expertise in volunteering across a number of organisations, helping them to achieve their goals. In recent years, she has trained as a volunteer for Shout, the 24/7 national text crisis service for anyone experiencing mental health problems. She is passionate about playing a part in supporting those suffering from birth trauma and improving the consistency of maternity care across the UK.
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As a consultant in Plymouth, Bob set up a clinical and research urogynaecology unit over 30 years ago. Several trainees have obtained MDs and PhDs from Plymouth University. The unit is an RCOG-approved centre for subspecialty training and is accredited by the national society (BSUG).
With others, he has helped with the RCOG/RCM OASI Care Bundle for the prevention of obstetric anal sphincter injury, the UR-CHOICE risk assessment tool for identifying those at-risk of long-term incontinence and prolapse, and the Episcissors-60 for the safe angle of episiotomy.
His main area of interest is the prevention of obstetric pelvic floor injury and he has written and lectured on this both nationally and internationally.
Previously he was a scientific editor for the International Urogynecology Journal and the BJOG.
He helped form the British Society of Urogynaecology as founding secretary in 2001, and Chairman (2006).
He was president of the International Urogynecological Association (IUGA) from 2014-2016.
He is now education chair for the MASIC Foundation (the UK charity for women who have suffered birth injury) as well as a trustee for the BTA.
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Angie is a Consultant Obstetrician and Gynaecologist at University Hospitals of Leicester NHS Trust and an Honorary Professor. With over two decades of experience, she is committed to improving maternal outcomes and reducing inequalities in women’s health by delivering holistic, equitable care across the reproductive journey, focusing on both physical and mental wellbeing during the perinatal period.
She is also the creator of JanamApp, an award-winning digital health innovation empowering South Asian mothers with accessible, linguistically tailored, evidence-based information to support informed choices and improved outcomes.
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Sara is chair of the trustees. She has been a solicitor for more than 16 years, and has a freelance practice advising broadcasters and production companies on all aspects of media law and regulation. She is also co-founder of High Grange Devon, a cookery school and wellbeing centre by the Jurassic Coast of East Devon, as well as training to become a counsellor. She wanted to become involved with the BTA following difficult births with her three children. She spends as much free time as she can wild swimming in the Lyme Bay. She is currently an acting trustee.
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