Meet The Team

SAMH Trustee Board

Chris Creegan

Chair

Joined the SAMH Board as a trustee in 2013 and has been Chair since 2015. Read more

Chris has been involved in a host of equality and social justice initiatives and campaigns for more than three decades. Chris is Chief Executive of the Scottish Commission for Learning Disability (SCLD), and was previously Director of Corporate Affairs and Deputy Director of Qualitative Research at NatCen Social Research, Britain’s leading independent social research institute. He lives with his partner in Edinburgh and in his spare time writes a current affairs blog and runs for Edinburgh AC.

Tony Dick

Trustee Treasurer

Tony is a member of the Chartered Institute of Management Accountants and joined SAMH as Trustee Treasurer in 2014. Amongst his experience, Tony is a former Finance Director of the Scotch Whisky Experience. Read more

Tony is a keen hillwalker and member of Mountaineering Scotland, an enthusiastic football supporter and more recently has taken up beekeeping. Tony also enjoys travelling, particularly as both his children are currently living and working abroad. Tony lives in Falkirk with his wife and recently celebrated their 30th anniversary. 

Jane Ferguson

Trustee

Jane is the Foundation Director of the Edinburgh and Lothians Health Foundation, a post she has held since 2011, after moving to Scotland from London. Prior to this she was the Director of Fundraising for King’s College Hospital Charity for seven years. Read more

She brings to the board a successful track record of fundraising and charity leadership in the health sector and broad experience of charity governance. Jane was recently nominated by her peers to become Chair of the Scotland Funders Forum and is trustee of SASCS, her local schools after-school club. Jane lives in Edinburgh with her husband and two children

Barry Gardner

Trustee

Barry has extensive international communications experience spanning over 24 years. Winner of the prestigious CIPR Excellence 2016 award for Corporate and Business Communications, he most recently served as Media Relations Director and Head of External Affairs with banking group CYBG PLC. Read more

Prior to that Barry was Director of PR for Bank of Scotland and HBOS where he also held a part-time secondment to the Scottish Parliament as Secretary to the Cross Party Group on the Scottish economy. After graduating in Economic History at Glasgow University, Barry's career began as a newspaper journalist with DC Thomson. He then held communications roles with leading companies including General Accident (now Aviva) and Stagecoach Group. Barry lives in Kirkcaldy with his wife and two teenage children.

Catriona Headley

Trustee

Catriona is an Associate at Digby Brown LLP and specialises in personal injury litigation. Read more

She was a Scottish Labour Parliamentary Candidate in Edinburgh Western for the Holyrood elections in 2016 and a Justice and Policing spokesperson from August 2015. She was previously President of the Scottish Young Lawyers' Association (2010-12) and Assistant Honorary Secretary of the Glasgow University Union while completing her LLB Degree.

Professor Robert Hunter

Trustee

Professor Hunter is an experienced psychiatrist with over 30 years’ experience. His key motivation is to help people recover good mental health and well-being. Read more

Through the NHS Bob has worked as a clinician in the Rehabilitation and Recovery Service in West Glasgow. Through his academic work he is involved in 2 strands of research: developing better treatments for mental health problems and service-user centred assessments to personalise care. He currently holds the position of R&D Director for Research Governance and Ethics for NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde and Chairs at Glasgow and Strathclyde Universities.

Jack Law

Trustee

Jack is a former community worker in the Social Work Department in Strathclyde Region, based in Barrhead. He moved to Barlanark to set up a community social work project before taking up post as Area Manager in Possilpark/Milton and then as Assistant District Manager in various parts of Glasgow. Read more

Jack left Glasgow Council in 2000 for The Scottish Council on Alcohol (renamed Alcohol Focus Scotland) and was heavily involved in shaping up the 2006 Licensing Act and campaigning for minimum price. On retiring he worked for a few years with Drinkaware, before finally finishing work early 2013.

Stephen Martin

Trustee

Stephen is now Head of Communications and Engagement for SQA. Read more

Stephen has over 20 years’ experience in journalism. He was Baghdad correspondent for the Sunday Mirror during the Iraq War in 2003 and covered the aftermath of the 9/11 terror attacks from New York in 2001. A Londoner by birth, Stephen studies history at the University of Edinburgh and is a former group head of content for the Daily Record. An obsessive marathon runner and fairweather cyclist, Stephen lives in Lanarkshire with his wife and their four children.

Graeme McAlister

Trustee

Graeme has over 17 years of senior experience in the voluntary, health and mental health sectors in Scotland, primarily in member or user-led/service-based organisations, and has served as a Trustee of a mental health charity. Read more

He has led, developed or contributed to campaigns which have influenced legislation, policy, thinking and practice in a number of areas. In addition to specialising in advocating evidence-based policy, stakeholder engagement and working within health, he has lived experience of mental health, of recovering from serious ill health and promoting recovery in others. He is currently Head of Membership at the Royal College of Physicians of Edinburgh.

Lesleyann Russell

Trustee

Lesleyann is Compliance and Risk Manager for BBC Children in Need. Her role involves working with grant makers on strategy development, performance management and management of risk across the charity’s portfolio of 2500 funded children’s projects. Read more

In addition she works with leading Trusts and Foundations across the UK on practice development, charity governance and anti-fraud initiatives.   Outside of work she is a member of Action for Children’s Scottish Committee supporting the executive team on strategy, fundraising and advocating for young peoples’ rights.   Lesleyann has over 20 years’ experience in Financial Services and Management Consulting, specialising in corporate strategy development, service innovation and change management. She has an MBA from The University of Strathclyde Business School with research interests in leadership and innovation.

Executive Team

Billy Watson

Chief Executive

Billy joined SAMH (Scottish Association for Mental Health), Scotland’s largest mental health charity, as Chief Executive in November 2008. Read more

He has led SAMH through two ambitious strategies which has seen the organisation work to reposition mental health as one of the leading causes in Scotland; delivering award winning campaigns, national behaviour change programmes and community support services all across Scotland which continue to deliver high quality outcomes for the individuals who need it most. SAMH’s current strategic priorities include early intervention, suicide prevention, children and young people; all underpinned by a determination to end mental health stigma and discrimination. Prior to SAMH, Billy was with RNIB for 10 years, latterly as UK Group Director. Pre third sector was spent in NHS management for 12 years, variously in positions from General Management Trainee to Hospital Administrator and Business Manager.

Graeme Henderson

Director of Delivery and Strategic Development

As Executive Director of Delivery and Strategic Development Graeme’s responsibilities include new business development and overall management and development of SAMH services. Read more

Graeme originally trained as an engineer with British Shipbuilders ending his engineering career as a design draughtsman. Graeme then worked as a volunteer with homeless people and qualified as a mental health nurse in the mid eighties. Graeme left the NHS in the early nineties to work for SAMH and since then has worked for several leading Scottish voluntary organisations. Graeme has a broad experience in managing and developing services across the social care spectrum, with particular expertise in mental health, as well as services for people with addictions, homelessness issues, a learning disability and older people. Graeme completed a Masters Degree in Community Care at Glasgow University in 2002; carrying out research into the development of the new Mental Health Acts in Scotland and England & Wales. Graeme is a Member of the Mental Health Tribunal for Scotland and an elected Fellow of the Royal Society of Arts.

Patricia Aniello

Director of Corporate Services

Patricia Aniello has over 30 years’ knowledge and experience of the voluntary sector in Scotland. Since joining SAMH in 1987, Patricia’s role within the organisation has continued to expand. Read more

Currently as Director of Corporate Services Patricia has responsibility for a wide portfolio comprising Finance, Human Resources, Internal Audit, Information Systems and Property Management. In addition, in her role as Company Secretary, Patricia is responsible for organisational governance and compliance. Patricia is a Fellow of the Association of Chartered Certified Accountants; and former trusteeships include Treasurer of the West Drug and Alcohol Service and Treasurer of SCVO.

Jo Anderson

Director of External Affairs

Jo joined SAMH in May 2011 to develop and deliver a fundraising and income generation strategy, a new venture for the organisation. Positioning mental health as a cause to support SAMH is now raising in excess of £1million each year from voluntary sources. Read more

During this time Jo led a cross functional team at SAMH to deliver the ground breaking ‘Two Too Many’ Campaign, Scotland’s first ever suicide adverts on day time television. Taking up the role of Director of External Affairs in 2013 Jo leads on SAMH’s work in public affairs, campaigns, communications and fundraising. SAMH aims to inspire everyone in Scotland who cares about mental health to give or support us. Jo has worked in fundraising and communications in the third sector for 20 years. Prior to SAMH, Jo worked for the NSPCC, Cancer Research UK and CHILDREN 1ST. Jo is a fully certified member of the Institute of Fundraising and sits on the IoF Executive Committee in Scotland.