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Prof Matthew Ashton, Director of Public Health, Liverpool City Council, Honorary Professor, Department of Public Health and Policy, University of Liverpool (Chair)
Prof Ashton was appointed Director of Public Health for Liverpool City Council in April 2020 in a joint appointment with the University of Liverpool, where he is an Honorary Professor in the Department of Public Health and Policy. He leads a team of over 30 people in the local authority, covering a range of public health activities including the commissioning of public health services, health protection, health improvement, health care public health, embedding health in all policies approaches, public health research & development, and addressing the wider and commercial determinants of health.
Matt is passionate about bringing together the best people and partnerships in the region to improve health and wellbeing and reduce inequalities in the communities we serve. Matt grew up and went to school in Liverpool, and also studied for his Masters of Public Health at the University of Liverpool.
Dr Adam Briggs, Senior Policy Fellow, Health Foundation
Adam joined the Health Foundation in September 2018 and is a Senior Policy Fellow. Adam works on various areas of public health policy, including risk factors for ill health and public health expenditure. He is a consultant in public health and alongside his role at the Health Foundation, he works as Deputy Director of Public Health for three days a week in Oxfordshire, is Deputy Director of the NIHR Research Support Service Specialist Centre for Public Health based at the University of Southampton, and is also a Visiting Professor at the University of Southampton.
Between November 2020 and September 2022, his Health Foundation time was used to support the pandemic initially as a Public Health Strategy Advisor to the Chief Medical Advisor at NHS Test and Trace, and then as interim Deputy Director for Health Equity, Strategy and Partnerships at the UK Health Security Agency. Before joining the Health Foundation, he was a Harkness Fellow in Health Care Policy and Practice in the United States, based at The Dartmouth Institute. His research focused on how accountable care organisations and place-based health systems meet patients’ preventive care needs. Adam studied medicine at Oxford and his DPhil is in Public Health Economics.
Dr Hannah Brinsden, Head of Policy and Advocacy, Food Foundation
Hannah Brinsden is Head of Policy and Advocacy at the Food Foundation where she oversees the organisation’s portfolio of policy and public affairs. Hannah previously worked at the World Obesity Federation, most recently as Director of Policy and Programmes working across a range of issues including childhood obesity, food systems and healthcare. Hannah has an undergraduate degree in Nutrition and Food Science from The University of Reading and a PhD in Food Policy from City, University of London.
Latest from the Food Foundation:
Food insecurity tracker: https://foodfoundation.org.uk/initiatives/food-insecurity-tracking
Pushed to the brink: The link between food insecurity and mental health: https://foodfoundation.org.uk/sites/default/files/2024-10/Mental%20health%20and%20food%20insecurity%20briefing_updated.pdf
Subscribe to their fantastic podcast: https://open.spotify.com/show/2l2iYVlnNCXkMKN5aqBldU
Laura Burgess, Head of Policy and Research, Resolve Poverty
Laura is the Head of Policy and Research at Resolve Poverty and she leads on all the advocacy, policy and research work for the organisation. Working with the policy team, she oversees the research we conduct, and the policy reports we produce. Laura also represents Resolve Poverty in meetings with stakeholders and a number of forums we are part of. Laura leads on the advocacy of a number of Resolve Poverty’s message and is involved in national campaigning on topics such as the Household Support Fund and the socio-economic duty. Prior to working for Resolve Poverty, Laura worked for nearly a decade as a researcher in the trade union movement.
Latest from Resolve Poverty:
Anti-poverty strategies in England' briefing: https://www.resolvepoverty.org/access-anti-poverty-strategies-in-england/
Resolve Poverty Annual Conference 2025: https://www.resolvepoverty.org/conference/
Nicola Calder, Food Active Programme Lead, Health Equalities Group
Nicola currently leads the Food Active Programme at Health Equalities Group, coordinating the programme across the North West and supporting organisations in other regions of the UK to implement Food Active's Healthy Weight Declaration. This work promotes a whole systems approach to healthy weight. Nicola also lead the Lancashire Healthier Places Programme for Lancashire County Council, focusing on a 'health in all policies' approach to create healthier weight environments. Additionally, Nicola contributes to the Cheshire & Merseyside Cancer Alliance's Strategic Obesity project and help deliver the ‘Why Weight to Talk’ training programme to stakeholders across local authorities and the NHS. Nicola's career began in community development, particularly in nutrition and dietetics, followed by a role at the Department of Health North West, where she supported initiatives like HENRY and the North West Food & Health Action Plan. Before leading Food Active, Nicola worked as the Food & Nutrition Programme Manager at Heart of Mersey and as a Research Associate at the University of Liverpool and has over 23 years’ experience in public health nutrition.
Liz Fisher, Senior Public Health Practitioner – Health Improvement, Liverpool City Council
With over 15 years of Public Health experience, Liz has worked as a Senior Public Health Practitioner for Liverpool City Council for just over 2 years. Prior to this she worked in the Public Health team in Wigan Council covering a wide variety of thematic areas.
Liz’s specialist areas include oral health, food insecurity, healthy weight and communities. Liz is passionate community-centred approaches to protecting and improving people’s health and wellbeing and reducing health inequalities.
Professor Charlotte Hardman, Professor of Psychology of Eating Behaviour, University of Liverpool
Charlotte Hardman is a Professor of Psychology of Eating Behaviour at the University of Liverpool, where she leads research on the psychology of food-related behaviours. Her recent work is focusing on tackling dietary inequalities, and co-creating healthy, sustainable and more equitable food systems. She has received competitive research funding from major funders including UKRI and the European Commission, and published more than 100 peer-reviewed articles in international scientific journals. Charlotte is a founding member of the Liverpool Food Growers Network, a trustee of Feeding Liverpool, and a member of the Food Standards Agency’s Advisory Committee on Social Sciences.
Emma Mackie, Food Cumberland Development Officer, Cumberland Council
Emma has been coordinating projects within the local food system for the last three years, as part of the Sustainable Food Places partnership programme. In 2023, Emma moved into the Public Health Team to establish a Cumberland-wide food Partnership and develop and deliver the outcomes of the Food Cumberland Strategic Framework. A holistic, whole systems approach to good food is adopted by the Partnership.
Matthew Philpott, Executive Director, Health Equalities Group
As the Executive Director of Health Equalities Group (HEG), Matthew works closely with the senior leadership team and trustees to set the strategic direction of the charity, ensuring that our organisation remains sustainable and delivers on its core charitable objectives. Matthew also oversees the delivery of several key programmes, including the Strategic Obesity Project for Cheshire & Merseyside, the NHS Prevention Pledge, and our Healthy Stadia programme.
Matthew has been with HEG since 2008, starting as the lead for the Healthy Stadia programme and physical activity initiatives, before stepping into the role of Executive Director in 2017. Matthew's early career was rooted in academia, where he engaged in doctoral and post-doctoral research and lecturing, holding a PhD in Philosophy and Psychology from the University of Warwick, awarded in 2001.
Anne Rose, Health Improvement Specialist (Early Years and Healthy Weight), Public Health South Tees, Middlesbrough Council
Anne Rose is a Health Improvement Specialist for South Tees Public Health, leading on early years and healthy weight. A previous background in sports development managing a portfolio to increase participation in sport and physical activity and reduce health inequalities within local authorities, before moving on to manage and develop a community programme in a semi-professional sports club. Current work programmes include NCMP, auto-enrolment of free school meals, infant feeding, oral health and Eatwell schools and early years programmes.
Dr Vicky Sibson, Director, First Steps Nutrition Trust
Vicky is a Public Health Nutritionist with an MSc from the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine and a PhD from University College London. She started off her career in the humanitarian world and worked for several international NGOs both overseas and as a head office adviser for over a decade, during which time she gained a particular interest in infant and young child nutrition. Vicky joined First Steps Nutrition Trust shortly after having her first baby and keen to bring her international experience to bear in the UK. She has been the charity’s Director since 2021 and is passionate about leading its small but mighty team in its vision to ensure all young children in the UK eat well from the start of life.
Latest from First Steps Nutrition Trust:
Drinks for young children marketed as ‘growing up’ and ‘toddler’ milks and drinks
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Stephanie Slater, Founder and Chief Executive, School Food Matters
Stephanie Slater is the founder and Chief Executive of School Food Matters, a charity she established in 2007 to campaign for healthier, more sustainable school food and promote food education in England. Her expertise and passion for change led to her appointment to the School Food Plan's expert panel in 2012, where she collaborated with the Department for Education (DfE) to create a nationwide action plan to empower head teachers in transforming school food. Today, Stephanie serves as Co-Chair of the School Food Alliance and is a founding member of the School Food Review, continuing her mission to advocate for nutritious and accessible school meals for all children.
Latest from School Food Matters:
Our Manifesto 2024: https://www.schoolfoodmatters.org/food-policy/our-manifesto-2024
Cost of a school meal: calculating the cost of a healthy and sustainable school lunch: https://www.schoolfoodmatters.org/sites/default/files/2024-10/CoaSM-report.pdf
Subscribe to updates from School Food Matters: https://schoolfoodmatters.us12.list-manage.com/subscribe?u=24c55d263e1f390520903bea5&id=07f746f25f
Hayley Stafford, Business Growth & Development Manager, School & Residential Care Catering, Lancashire County Council
My foodservice journey started in the year 2000 working for KP McVities as a retail account manager. In 2001 I moved to RHM Foodservice managing the wholesale sector, negotiating food contracts, rebates, and food supplies. In 2007 I worked for the County Range Group, managing public sector contracts. My current position is working for Lancashire catering service at Lancashire County Council, I am responsible for the growth & development of specific business areas, objectives, and strategies, including procurement and business services to existing and new customers.
Professor Christina Vogel, Director, Centre for Food Policy and Professor of Food Policy, City, St George’s University of London
Christina is the Director of the Centre for Food Policy, Professor of Food Policy and a registered nutritionist. Her research aims to inform the development, implementation and evaluation of food policies and interventions to improve population health, reduce inequalities and protect our planet.
Her work adopts a food systems approach and investigates the wider determinants of diet. Community participation and public voices are also integral to her research activities and development of policy recommendations to ensure they are appropriate and help shape fairer, more sustainable and more resilient food systems. Christina leads several major research grants from NIHR PHR, NIHR PRP and the Wellcome Trust. Some of her currently projects include product placement trials with a national supermarket chain, evaluations of the UK Government’s Food (Promotions and Placement) legislation and the Healthy Start scheme, and systems investigation of the UK convenience store sector. Christina’s research has informed local, national and international policy documents including the House of Lord’s Select Committee reports on Food, Diet and Obesity and Food, Poverty, Health and the Environment, the WHO European Region’s 2022 report on obesity and local authority plans. Her work has received national and international press coverage, and she is Deputy Editor of the scientific journal Public Health Nutrition.
Recent publications on food policy and other updates:
Barrett, M., Spires, M. & Vogel, C. The Healthy Start scheme in England “is a lifeline for families but many are missing out”: a rapid qualitative analysis. BMC Med 22, 177 (2024). https://doi.org/10.1186/s12916-024-03380-5
Muir, S., Dhuria, P., Roe, E. et al. UK government’s new placement legislation is a ‘good first step’: a rapid qualitative analysis of consumer, business, enforcement and health stakeholder perspectives. BMC Med 21, 33 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1186/s12916-023-02726-9
Centre for Food Policy YouTube channel: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCPr_FP4fy5rqT7PQgME8_nQ
Sign-up to the Centre for Food Policy mailing list: https://researchcentres.city.ac.uk/food-policy/sign-up
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