Our People

Julie Bass

Julie Bass joined Turning Point as an executive board director and member of the Chief Executive’s team in 2009 and held the position of Chief Executive since 1 April 2020.

She has always been deeply committed to both the pursuit of holistic health and wellbeing and the exploration of strategies for assisting people in realising their own potential.

While working in financial services for more than 20 years in the UK and abroad, she gained a lot of knowledge about system leadership, people leadership, and risk management. She now has the privilege of being able to combine her passion and her expertise in her role at Turning Point.

"I am inspired every day by the amazing achievements of the people we support and by my colleagues who tirelessly seek out ways to support others to discover new possibilities in their lives. As a unified team, we can clearly see the growing gap in health inequalities, and we work to play our part in closing this gap and to enable enduring change in communities and society."

Nicola Gilham

Nicola joined the Turning Point Board in 2018 and currently chairs the Audit, Risk and Quality Committee. She had a rewarding first career as a chartered accountant with Arthur Andersen, where she oversaw consulting projects both domestically and abroad.

She moved into the recruitment industry while living in Australia and worked in that sector for more than twenty years.

Nicola now pursues a portfolio non-executive career working for businesses across health and social care. She also has a long-standing interest in her local community. As such, currently, she is NED for the Buckinghamshire Healthcare NHS Trust, Brighter Futures for Children in Reading which runs Children’s Services for the Borough, and the North West London NHS Integrated Care Board.

She is Vice Chair of Child Bereavement UK, and separately she spent several years, in a voluntary capacity, as a telephone counsellor for emotional support services.

Clare Taylor

Clare has overall responsibility for Turning Point's service delivery across its different areas of work. She has worked in health and social care for over 26 years including roles within universities, service providers, local authority commissioning and public health.

She is Vice-Chair of Collective Voice, the umbrella body for third sector drug and alcohol treatment providers, and is passionate about improving access to services, particularly for those who need help the most.

Clare has an MSc in Addiction Studies and through her varied leadership roles has a keen interest in supporting the development of women leaders within the wider system.

Dr Greig Sharman

Dr. Greig Sharman joined the Turning Point Board on 1st July 2024 as Chief Information Officer. For over 20 years Greig has worked in several sectors including healthcare, financial services, higher education and more in recently child protection as the NSPCC’s first ever Chief Technology Officer.

Greig has always had a passion for healthcare, and as a technology advisor gained experienced with many organisations both at home and abroad in primary-, secondary-, social care and child health settings. With a varied background in data and technology enabled change and transformations across differing clients and sectors, alongside operational experience of managing complex technical environments, he is adept at working with organisations to bring their data and technology ambitions to life.

Greig has a passion for health and social care and working for a values-based organisation. He feels privileged to bring this together with his expertise in technology and data to help Turning Point extend its reach and impact, empowering our people and those we support to bring about positive and lasting change.

Philip Newton

Philip joined Turning Point in 2007 after many years working for British Telecommunications PLC. He supports the board, executives, and senior management teams to shape the organisation from the perspective of corporate governance and strategy. Philip is a Fellow of the Chartered Institute of Management.

David Slegg

David has worked in the health and social care sector through-out his career. He joined Turning Point in June 2020 having previously spent his career in the NHS where he worked in Finance Director roles for 27 years.

Sarah Kennedy

Sarah joined Turning Point in 2009, having previously spent 8 years working with the National Lottery operator, Camelot, and Breast Cancer Care.

Sarah has also worked in politics in numerous roles and was a local government councillor in an inner-city London Borough. Sarah is a Member of the Chartered Institute of Public Relations and is a member of the Company of Communicators.

Katherine

Katherine is Turning Point's Head of Medicines Optimisation and Pharmacy Services, and she is in charge of overseeing the prescribing and medication administration processes across all Turning Point services. Katherine is a pharmacy technician with a diverse background, having previously worked in the NHS and training organisations.

Katherine also serves as a registrant member on the GPhC Investigating Committee. Katherine is a full member of the College of Mental Health Pharmacy and an active member of the Association of Pharmacy Technicians UK.

Nat

Nat is a dedicated professional who began her career in mental health services as a Healthcare Support Worker before discovering her passion for working in substance use. She gained valuable experience at HMP Winchester, supporting men entering the prison on remand and those being released. Nat then moved into community services, working as a front-line worker in police custody suites and supporting people in community drug rehabilitation requirements.

Nat's career progressed quickly, and she secured her first management position as a Team Leader in Hampshire, before setting up a new contract for another provider in Wiltshire. In 2013, Nat joined Turning Point as a Service Manager in Salisbury, before being promoted to Operations Manager for the Wiltshire Substance Misuse Service. In 2016, she moved into a regional role for the southwest and was appointed as the Assistant Director of Operations three years later. When the pandemic hit, Nat was called upon to step up in the National Head of Service role, where she looked after all the substance use services for Turning Point.

Nat is also a keen supporter of making treatment more accessible and appealing to women, and she currently sits on the Collective Voice Women in Treatment working group. Her dedication to the field of substance use and mental health services is evident in the passion and commitment she brings.

Davinder

With a deep commitment to improving the lives of individuals with learning disabilities, Davinder has been instrumental in developing and implementing innovative strategies to enhance service delivery and accessibility.

Her work focuses on promoting good health, preventing illness, and ensuring that individuals with learning disabilities receive the support they need to lead fulfilling lives.

Davinder's leadership and expertise have been pivotal in creating resources like the Health and Wellbeing handbook, which empowers people with learning disabilities to make informed choices about their health.

"We must support people to lead the healthiest and most enriching lives they can, ensuring people are able to make informed choices about their health and wellbeing, have access to the services they need and they feel comfortable to take advantage of those services and support."

Stephen

Profile coming soon...

Peter Hay CBE

In September 2018, Peter was elected Chair of Turning Point. Following a lengthy career as a director of social care services and as the former president of the Association of Directors of Adult Social Services.

Peter is currently pursuing a variety of interests and roles in social care, housing, and wellbeing.

Peter is curious about ways of developing people’s control over their own health and wellbeing, passionate about building good lives and fascinated by the leadership styles that support these aims. For his services to health and care, Peter received a CBE in 2012.

Christian Van Stolk

Christian van Stolk joined the Turning Point Board in December 2020. Chris is very supportive of Turning Point's mission having worked with colleagues at Turning Point during a review he did for the UK government on psychological wellbeing and employment in 2016. As a Board member Chris wants to grow the reach, resilience and impact of Turning Point.

Christian is an executive vice president at RAND Europe. He has worked extensively on health and wellbeing in the workplace. His work in the past has focused on improving the health and wellbeing of staff in the National Health Service in the UK, maintaining and gaining employment for those with common mental health conditions, building an evidence base for health interventions in workplace settings, and looking at the relationship between productivity and health and wellbeing outcomes.

He has advised large private sector employers, charitable foundations, the UK government, European institutions, OECD and World Bank over the years.

Dr Victoria Tzortziou Brown, OBE

In May 2021, Dr. Victoria Tzortziou Brown joined the Turning Point Board. Victoria is a general practitioner in east London and the organization's research lead.

Victoria conducts research on the design and evaluation of healthcare interventions and their impact on professional behaviour and health inequalities as part of her academic role at Barts and The London School of Medicine and Dentistry.

Victoria is also the co-honorary secretary of the RCGP, a founding senior fellow and council member of the Faculty of Medical Leadership and Management, and a director at Healthcare Quality Improvement Partnership (HQIP). She has extensive experience with clinical commissioning and has held board and clinical vice chair positions with the Tower Hamlets Clinical Commissioning Group.

Victoria sits on the Faculty of Sexual and Reproductive Health's Council. Her clinical and research interests are in musculoskeletal medicine and education. She also serves on the Council of the Faculty of Sport and Exercise Medicine.

Dawn Kenson

Dawn joined the Turning Point Board in January 2023. After a career where she was responsible for the combined regulated sales forces of The Woolwich and Barclays Bank, Dawn moved into non-executive work and built a portfolio in, and supporting, the public sector.

Dawn has held roles in a wide variety of organisations spanning central government, Arms Length Bodies, a housing association and the NHS. Currently she sits on the NHS Lincolnshire Integrated Care Board, with a special interest in service delivery and has been the Senior Independent Director at Frimley Health NHS Foundation Trust for the past seven years. She holds a degree in Mathematics and Statistics and qualified as an Associate of the Chartered Insurance Institute.

Julie Bass

Julie Bass joined Turning Point as an executive board director and member of the Chief Executive’s team in 2009 and held the position of Chief Executive since 1 April 2020.

She has always been deeply committed to both the pursuit of holistic health and wellbeing and the exploration of strategies for assisting people in realising their own potential.

While working in financial services for more than 20 years in the UK and abroad, she gained a lot of knowledge about system leadership, people leadership, and risk management. She now has the privilege of being able to combine her passion and her expertise in her role at Turning Point.

"I am inspired every day by the amazing achievements of the people we support and by my colleagues who tirelessly seek out ways to support others to discover new possibilities in their lives. As a unified team, we can clearly see the growing gap in health inequalities, and we work to play our part in closing this gap and to enable enduring change in communities and society."

Nicola Gilham

Nicola joined the Turning Point Board in 2018 and currently chairs the Audit, Risk and Quality Committee. She had a rewarding first career as a chartered accountant with Arthur Andersen, where she oversaw consulting projects both domestically and abroad.

She moved into the recruitment industry while living in Australia and worked in that sector for more than twenty years.

Nicola now pursues a portfolio non-executive career working for businesses across health and social care. She also has a long-standing interest in her local community. As such, currently, she is NED for the Buckinghamshire Healthcare NHS Trust, Brighter Futures for Children in Reading which runs Children’s Services for the Borough, and the North West London NHS Integrated Care Board.

She is Vice Chair of Child Bereavement UK, and separately she spent several years, in a voluntary capacity, as a telephone counsellor for emotional support services.

David Slegg

David has worked in the health and social care sector through-out his career. He joined Turning Point in June 2020 having previously spent his career in the NHS where he worked in Finance Director roles for 27 years.

Dr Greig Sharman

Dr. Greig Sharman joined the Turning Point Board on 1st July 2024 as Chief Information Officer. For over 20 years Greig has worked in several sectors including healthcare, financial services, higher education and more in recently child protection as the NSPCC’s first ever Chief Technology Officer.

Greig has always had a passion for healthcare, and as a technology advisor gained experienced with many organisations both at home and abroad in primary-, secondary-, social care and child health settings. With a varied background in data and technology enabled change and transformations across differing clients and sectors, alongside operational experience of managing complex technical environments, he is adept at working with organisations to bring their data and technology ambitions to life.

Greig has a passion for health and social care and working for a values-based organisation. He feels privileged to bring this together with his expertise in technology and data to help Turning Point extend its reach and impact, empowering our people and those we support to bring about positive and lasting change.