Meet our Board Members

I am excited and proud to have been appointed, in April 2023, a Board Member for Choice Support, an organisation that I have known since its inception.

Choice Support have a history of always striving to do the right thing for the people they support both on an individual basis and through initiatives that improve the lives of disabled people, autistic people, and those with mental ill health.

At the very beginning of my career, I was inspired by meeting a little boy who happened to have Downs syndrome at my mum’s playgroup. He and his family were so inspiring that over the next 45 years of work I have tried to follow the same values and always strive to do the right thing for people with disabilities.

I am a learning disability nurse and have worked in a variety of senior roles in the health and social care sector. Over the last 12 years I have been self-employed working in senior interim roles and been involved in quality improvement work and with mergers and acquisitions. I am an experienced active support trainer and am still involved in supporting organisations with this.

I am a keen watcher and participator in sport. I follow Manchester United’s women’s and men’s football teams and of course the magnificent Lionesses. I play golf and still compete in triathlons albeit in the small ones nowadays!

My favourite thing now is being a grandmother.

I joined the Choice Support Board of volunteers in April 2023. I have known the organisation for many years and have always admired its instinct to pursue the best option for the people it supports, irrespective of external challenges. I’m delighted to be part of it.

I am now retired, but my professional background has always been focused on people with learning disabilities and their families, autistic people, and – to a lesser extent – people with mental health difficulties. I started my career working in an old psychiatric institution, before moving on to work in a similar institution for people with learning disabilities. Over the years, I have helped develop and manage community based small scale support services for people with learning disabilities.

My main professional roles have been as managing director of United Response and of Dimensions, and I have also worked latterly as interim CEO of Abbeyfield, which mitigates loneliness through the provision of accommodation for older people. I have worked both in local authorities and in the not-for-profit sector.

My motivation for applying to join Choice Support, apart from its merits as an organisation, was to once more have contact with autistic people, and people with learning disabilities and mental health difficulties, and to support the work of Choice Support’s staff, whose commitment is outstanding.

Profile to follow

Mark Ferry one page profile

I am delighted to be a Board Member at Choice Support. I am an engineer by profession and began my career in property development consultancy.

In 2009 I established my own domiciliary care business in South Manchester providing care and support to adults and children. I worked diligently to establish an award-winning service and became a leading care provider in the area. My focus was enabling the people we support to remain independent in their own homes, and I worked to develop innovative solutions to achieve this.

I have three children and in my spare time work with several charities. My proudest accomplishment is travelling to the Syrian refugee camps to raise funds and support displaced families. I also sit as a Magistrate in court and am a member of the BAME group in the Magistrates Association where I will continue to champion diversity, something I am passionate about.

I became a Board Member of Choice Support to give back to the community and use my skills to support and safeguard vulnerable people. I hope that I can add my value to the work they already do and collectively make a lasting difference to the people we support.

I have been a Board Member at Choice Support since March 2019 and I am humbled and privileged to be in this role. As an information technology professional, I obtained a Master’s degree in information technology, completing a dissertation on information security. I have worked for various organisations, both in the public and private sectors operating at executive level as a chief information officer, providing strategic digital direction and transformation in support of an organisation’s overall strategic objectives.

I am a parent with lived experience, who has a son born with a disability that falls under the learning disability spectrum. I became a Board member of Choice Support for a number of reasons. The organisation’s values, with specific reference to the people we support, always put people at the forefront of what we do. The services offered and provided to a diverse group of people are some of the best on offer. But most importantly, I have always been passionate about everyone having the right to live a life of their choice, with dignity. I believe being part of Choice Support will provide the opportunity to do so.

I hope to add value and make a difference to ensure a better life for all the people we support by applying both my lived experience and professional expertise.

As a Board Member, I share Choice Support’s commitment to ensuring that everyone has the right to live the life they choose. My commitment to these ideals spans the three strands of my career as a doctor, journalist, and policymaker. I am also currently training in medical law at the Kings’ Inns.

I trained as a physician, and completed a Masters in Translational Medicine, at Trinity College Dublin. Throughout my education, I have conducted research to improve diagnostic practices and therapies for people with neurodevelopmental conditions, autism, ADHD, and other issues relating to mental health. Alongside this, I have been active working in crisis mental health and health rights advocacy on a national and global scale. I was profiled for my work by the New York Times and awarded Woman of the Year from the Lord Mayor of Dublin in 2019.

I have extensive experience as an academic and have been editing scientific journals for the last six years. I’m currently working as trainee editorials editor of the British Journal of Psychiatry and a reviewer of the Journal of Medical Ethics. I also work as a public-facing freelance journalist, for publications such as Irish Tatler and the Sunday Business Post.

I have acted as advisor to the Irish Human Rights and Equality Commission for my projects such as “All Equal, All Human,” and informed the work of the Oireachtas Joint Commission on disability matters from my professional and lived experience. I am currently part of the READ Advisory group to the NIHR Maudsley Biomedical Research Centre, making sure clinical research and practice are inclusive of the experiences of the communities I serve and represent.

I was delighted to have been appointed as a Board Member for Choice Support in 2020. I want to help ensure that the people we support receive the support they need to live their lives to the full.

During my career as a qualified accountant, I have worked in professional account practice within local government and more recently for housing associations delivering affordable homes and a professional medical membership charity. I have held senior finance roles for the past 20 years.

I have an interest in making a real and positive difference to people’s lives both in my day job and in a voluntary capacity outside of work. This has included working with young people through scouting and sports coaching as well as the homeless at a local winter shelter.

Outside of work I enjoy a wide range interests including time with my family, cycling, walking and bellringing.

It is a privilege joining Choice Support as a Board Member from April 2024, following its merger with Three C’s – a London based charity for people with autism, learning disabilities and or mental health challenges - where I was trustee there prior for two years.

My career has been in marketing, communications and engagement, spanning multiple industries and sectors, but predominately with public sector and third sector organisations at local, regional and national levels. Prior to joining Choice Support, I held a trustee position at Three C’s. My motivation for joining both organisations has been a personal one, as I have been surrounded by loved ones facing challenges that both organisations help with.

My current role is director of communications and engagement at the Kent and Medway NHS mental health trust (Kent and Medway Partnership and Social Care Trust).

Choice Support’s values are very much aligned with Three Cs and my own, with a strong commitment to putting the people we support at the heart of everything we do and campaigning for all people to have a decent shot at life no matter what their challenges or backgrounds are.

When I’m not working, my two young children keep me busy along with my love of indoor plants and gardening. I’m an exercise fanatic (probably down to the ADHD I have recently learnt I have!) and love to relax with a good book or political podcast.

I had the privilege of joining Choice Support as a Board Member in April 2024, following the merger with Three C’s where I was a Board Member for two years.

Choice Support’s mission, vision and values align closely with my own, which are reflected in my community involvement and career. I’ve been volunteering for nearly 15 years, supporting children with learning disabilities and autistic children in a range of roles, including teaching children with mental health needs to learn to ski. I have also been involved in shaping the strategic direction of organisations and projects on local and national mental health and wellbeing advisory boards.

In my career, I’ve been working as a public sector consultant and research and evaluation specialist across a range of policy areas, including social care, supported housing, health and mental health. My work focuses on helping organisations make evidence-informed decisions, by sharing research findings about the impact of programmes and recommendations for improvement.

I’m excited to contribute to Choice Support’s purpose of creating opportunities for happiness. I’m particularly looking forward to monitoring how the support we provide people impacts them, and how we can embrace a culture of continuous improvement.