Jeremy Benton (Council Member) - Jeremy is the link for Brighton and Hove Branch

Jeremy qualified in 2004 and has worked in a number of settings including Flight Nursing, Critical Care and High Dependency Units in the NHS and independent sector in the UK and overseas. He has been involved with the RCN since he was a nursing student and has been a student steward, a workplace steward, staffside chair and branch chair. 

You can contact Jeremy by emailing: jeremy.benton@rcn.org.uk

Ali Upton (Board Chair) - Ali is the link for safety reps, stewards and learning reps and Surrey Branch

Ali has worked in the NHS for 34 years, currently as an Emergency Nurse Practitioner. She has been an accredited Health & Safety representative for 10 years, holding the South East seat on the RCN UK Safety Representatives Committee since 2013. and has just started a two-year term of office as Chair. She is passionate about the Health & Wellbeing of the workforce and is keen to empower members to access the offers within both the RCN and the organisations they work within. Ali received the RCN Award of Merit in 2019 for her role in passing legislation to improve Health & Safety for all NHS employees. Her Congress item on assaults on clinical staff set in motion work by the RCN, Police Federation and supportive MPs to extend the scope of the Emergency Workers Bill which was granted Royal Assent in 2018. Ali is a keen walker and frequently walks long distances to raise money for a local charity.

You can contact Ali by emailing: ali.upton@reps.rcn.org.uk

Adam Mapp (Board Vice Chair) - Adam is the link for West Kent and Medway Branch and Recruitment

Adam is currently a Charge Nurse on a General Medical Ward in Margate, having worked there since he qualified in 2017.
Adam represents RCN members by acting as a Safety Representative, the Chair of the East Kent branch, and as a member of the South East Regional Board.

You can contact Adam by emailing: adam.mapp@reps.rcn.org.uk 

Modupe Akin-Areola (Board Member) - Mo is the link for Milton Keynes Branch

Modupe has been a qualified Mental Nurse for around 30 years. She started her nursing career in Neuro Psychiatric Hospital in Yaba, Lagos, Nigeria, and has been working in Southern Health NHS  Foundation Trust for the last 15 years. During this time she has gained invaluable knowledge and professional experience handling forensic patients and adult psychiatry.
She has been an active member of the RCN since she started working in the NHS. She is an RCN Learning Rep, and regularly promotes and supports staff with their learning needs. She has participated actively in joint conferences, organised teaching sessions and revalidation. She has been a member of the South East Board since 2016. Her hobbies include travelling, reading and listening to music.

You can contact Mo by emailing: modupe.akin-areola@reps.rcn.org.uk

Tammy Bourgaize (Board Member) - Tammy is the link for Guernsey Branch and Nursing Support Workers

Tammy is a registered Adult Nurse and has served on the South East Board for approximately 18 months. During the first year of this she was Vice Chair of the RCN Guernsey branch and was part of a local working group of nurses who were instrumental in organising a campaign for equal pay of equal value when compared to local government pay scales. As a result Tammy was invited to present on member engagement at RCN HQ in 2019. Tammy is a Practice Development Lead for the Surgical Wards in Guernsey, Channel Islands and leads on the Preceptorship programme. It is through this role that she has contact with a variety of nursing staff from different areas and bands and she uses this opportunity to listen to member voices.

You can contact Tammy by emailing: tammy.bourgaize@reps.rcn.org.uk

Glenda Boutell (Board Member)

Glenda is a Consultant Nurse and Strategic Lead for Advanced Clinical Practice working in mental health services since 2001. Having worked in both operational and clinical roles she is passionate about nurses having the right skills to provide safe and effective care. She believes that as a senior nursing leader she has a duty to ensure that we maintain strong professional values and model the strengths of the profession whilst delivering a diverse and sustainable workforce for the future. At the heart of this is about being able to listen and support nurses to continue to thrive in these challenging times.

You can contact Glenda by emailing: glenda.boutell@reps.rcn.org.uk

Mary Codling (Ex Officio Professional Nursing Committee) - Mary is the link for Berkshire Branch and Safe Staffing

Mary has worked in the NHS since qualifying. Over the years Mary has trained and worked as an Epilepsy Nurse Specialist, Independent Nurse Prescriber, Best Interest Assessor, and an Associate Lecturer.  Mary has also conducted several research projects in practice, carried out audits that facilitated changes in service delivery, as well as publishing several papers, and developed national training and clinical resources. Mary works in her current role as Primary Health Care Lead for Learning Disabilities and acts as an advisor for several other organisations on areas such as epilepsy, learning disabilities and best interests. She has also been a peer reviewer for NIHR. Mary is the South East representative for the RCN Professional Nursing Committee and is also a Queens Nurse.

You can contact Mary by emailing: mary.codling@reps.rcn.org.uk

Eunice Dupute (Board Member) - Eunice is the link for Southampton and Isle of Wight Branch

Eunice works as a Staff Nurse at the University Hospital Southampton NHS Foundation Trust, specialising in cardiovascular and thoracic nursing. She has been an active RCN Steward since 2019 and her trade union activities date back overseas as an active member of the Bulawayo Municipal Employees’ Union, an affiliate of the Zimbabwe Congress of Trade Unions. Eunice has 15 years of experience spanning nursing in hospitals, the community, and in domiciliary care settings with private care agencies. During the early phase of the COVID-19 pandemic Eunice was part of a surveillance research team monitoring community transmission. She also took part in the COVID-19 research for IQVIA on behalf of the ONS and Oxford University.  Prior to joining the health sector, Eunice worked in HR. With her MSc in Human Resources Management, Eunice will use her skills and attributes to champion the welfare of nursing. Eunice enjoys following current affairs and taking part in fundraising.

You can contact Eunice by emailing: eunice.dupute@reps.rcn.org.uk 

Andrew Haydon (Board Member) - Andrew is the link for Buckinghamshire Branch

Lorraine Hicking-Woodison (Board Member) - Lorraine is the link for East Kent Branch and RCN Education, Learning and Development Strategy

Lorraine is an Assistant Practitioner and Health Care Support Worker (HCSW) training lead. She currently delivers a level 3 training programme for HCSWs in Kent and Medway GP practices. She is passionate about her work and believes that HCSWs play an extremely valuable role in teams and that their learning and development is very important.  She has been an active member of the RCN since 2009. She is committed to raising the profile of NSWs. She has campaigned for the regulation of HCSWs and has served on various RCN committees including Nursing Support and Forum Governance Group. She also currently represents nursing support on the RCNi  Editorial Advisory Board. She has a special interest in health promotion and part of her role as an Assistant Practitioner focuses on helping patients with their weight management. 

You can contact Lorraine by emailing: lorraine.hicking-woodison@reps.rcn.org.uk

Liz Jeremiah (Ex Officio Trade Union Committee) - Liz is the link for Portsmouth Branch

Olufemi 'Abi' Lawal (Board Member) - Abi is the link for East Sussex Branch and RCN Education, Learning and Development Strategy

Abi, as she is fondly called, is a frontline nurse of over 30 years. She is currently a Ward Manager on a General Medical Ward with specialty in the Care of Older Persons at Frimley Park Hospital. She is a qualified Midwife and Adult Nurse, and has worked in different specialties including Maternity, Haemodialysis, Acute Medicine and Rheumatology. Abi obtained an MSc in Learning and Teaching for Professional Practice and she is a registered teacher on the NMC register. A Practice Supervisor/Assessor for learners in clinical practice, she was also an associate lecturer at the Oxford Brookes University.  Abi has been a member of the RCN for over 20 years and was recently elected into the Board role.
Abi led the 'DRINK UP' initiative, a campaign aimed at improving hydration in older persons. In her spare time Abi enjoys cooking, reading, watching films. She is a devout Christian who enjoys teaching children in Sunday School.

You can contact Abi by emailing: olufemi.lawal@reps.rcn.org.uk

Kenny McNeil (Board Member) - Kenny is the link for Jersey Branch

Heather Mercer (Board Member) - Heather is the link for West Sussex Branch

Claire Shields (Board Member) - Claire is the link for Hampshire Branch

Claire has been nursing for four decades, in roles as diverse as Sister in acute medical wards to Matron in a care home.
When the pandemic hit, she had just retired but came back to work and has for the last year been a Clinical Case Manager for track and trace, and is hoping to start in a vaccination centre any day now. As well as her nursing role she is an RCN steward and Chair of Hampshire branch, and when not working she is very family orientated with a large and growing family.
She sees her role as bringing the members' voice forward at a national level and using every opportunity to make their working lives better, especially in terms of pay and safe staffing. 
She is currently in her second term as a South East board member. 

You can contact Claire by emailing: claire.shields@reps.rcn.org.uk