Staff
Charlotte Augst
Charlotte is the Chief Executive of National Voices. Prior to joining National Voices in March 2019, Charlotte led the work of the Richmond Group for five years, developing strategy, facilitating discussions and representing the Group externally. She came to London in 1997, after completing a law degree in Germany, to pursue postgraduate studies at the University of London. She holds a PhD in law and medical ethics. Charlotte has held senior positions in health and research policy – in Parliament, for national regulators, and in the charitable sector. She has been a Trustee of Mosaic Clubhouse, a Brixton based mental health recovery charity, since 2015.
Sam Batey
Sam works on various aspects of external communications, member engagement and events organisation. Amongst other things, Sam contributes on newsletters, social media, digital design and content for the National Voices website. Prior to this, Sam worked for a PR agency called Alpaca Communications, where he worked with national charities. He has also volunteered on a number of health awareness projects in developing countries around the world.
Jess Brayne
Jess is Head of Membership and Engagement for National Voices. She is responsible for shaping and implementing National Voices’ membership strategy, ensuring high levels of member engagement in National Voices’ work, recruiting new members, and leading a varied and active programme of events. Prior to joining National Voices Jess worked for various charities, holding membership roles at Equality Challenge Unit and Design Business Association. Outside of work Jess is a Councillor in the London Borough of Barnet.
Charles Howgego
A former Big Issue editor, Charles has spent time at the Guardian and the BBC before moving into communications roles with organisations such as the Royal College of Pathologists, criminal justice charity User Voice and community development trust Westway Trust.
Rachel Matthews
Rachel is an experienced health professional with clinical, research and leadership experience, specifically in patient and public engagement and involvement in healthcare research and quality improvement. She is committed to working with diverse teams including patients, carers, service users and community representatives to improve healthcare systems. Rachel is an Alumna of the King’s Fund Top Manager Programme and NIHR Leadership Programme.
Patrick Ryan
Patrick is the Head of Office at National Voices and has lead responsibility for ensuring that National Voices is a well-run organisation through managing risk, business planning and processes as well as overseeing the finance function and supporting Charlotte with the team. He also supports the Board of Trustees. Previously Patrick has worked for the blood cancer charity DKMS leading on projects such as self-injection for blood stem cell donors and working with the international business team researching countries to develop new donor centres.
Rebecca Steinfeld
Rebecca is Head of Policy at National Voices. She is responsible for influencing key decision-makers across the health agencies. She works to embed person-centred healthcare and to ensure our members’ experiences and concerns shape policies. Her experiences span policy and campaigns work and academic research. Prior to joining National Voices, she worked at Maternity Action and co-chaired the Maternity Voices Partnership at Chelsea & Westminster NHS Foundation Trust. She also co-founded the successful Campaign for Equal Civil Partnerships. She holds a PhD in Politics from the University of Oxford.
Ella Wright
Ella graduated from Bristol University last summer and joined National Voices through the Charityworks graduate scheme in November 2019. She supports our membership by learning about their work and sharing ours; providing membership administration; organising events and much more. She is also working with Rachel on our new collaborative project with the Health Foundation on patient experience that will kick off in April.