Meet the team
See the people behind the programme working hard to make it a success
We have ten dedicated project officers working on Start to Success, as well as being supported by members of staff from each of our project partners. We believe that we have a brilliant and dedicated team in place to run this project, find out a little more about them below.
Ruth Hodkinson
Project Coordinator
The Project Coordinator is responsible for general oversight of the project, coordinating the work that the other project officers are engaged with and delivering top level initiatives that span across all work streams such as the survey and staff training framework
Toni Karic
Postgraduate Support
Toni is our Postgraduate Support Officer. In this role, she is looking to understand the experience of Keele’s postgraduate students, particularly in terms of the barriers to wellbeing, and the challenges associated with the transition into and through postgraduate study. All of this with a view to removing the barriers to mental health and wellbeing and improving the support and services that are available to students.
Mike Sailsman
Coaching Officer
Mike is a JNC qualified Youth and Community development worker and a level 7 coach with thirty four years’ of practice experience. Mike’s role within the project is to lead on the development of a student coaching model and will be responsible for introducing training for staff across the universities.
Laura Kendall
FE Liaison Officer
Laura will be working on the FE transitions strand of work. Her key priorities include creating a map detailing the FE student journey, identification of pinch points during the year when students may be more vulnerable to stress and implementing interventions that support wellbeing, particularly around transition periods.
Anne Piper
Active Wellbeing Officer
Anne’s role with the OFS project is active wellbeing. Her key aims are to promote and support students to be more physically active through promoting social sports/exercise and creating an environment that facilitates physical activity.
Kerry Summerfield
Progression and Success
Kerry is the Progression and Success Officer working to improve outcomes for students, particularly those who are identified as high risk, increase engagement with services and develop interventions that will provide tailored support for students.
Katy Lockett
Foundation Year Support
Katy will be working on the Foundation Year strand of the project. Her key priorities will be focused on induction and transition support for foundation year students, to aid their sense of belonging in the Keele community and to improve retention. This will involve the development of tailored wellbeing sessions and peer mentoring for foundation year students, and enhanced staff training and engagement monitoring to aid early intervention.
Deb Boughey
NHS Liason Officer
Deb is the NHS Liaison Project Officer for the Start to Success Project. She has worked at Keele University for the past 7 years as the Mental Health Coordinator. Deb’s key priorities are to improve and develop new pathways for students into and out of the NHS, which will reduce waiting times and provide students with an enhanced service to meet their mental health needs.
Lydia Johnson
Project Coordinator
Former Project Coordinators, Kara and Lydia, were responsible for general oversight of the project, coordinating the work that the other project officers are engaged with and delivering top level initiatives that span across all work streams such as the survey and staff training framework
Kara Holloway
Project Coordinator
Former Project Coordinators, Kara and Lydia, were responsible for general oversight of the project, coordinating the work that the other project officers are engaged with and delivering top level initiatives that span across all work streams such as the survey and staff training framework
Jacqui Bowman
Peer Support Officer
Jacqui is our Peer Support Officer who will work to expand and enhance the existing Peer Support network at Keele University, and look to implement a similar model at Staffordshire University.