Successful Cities, Positive Ageing
Speaker’s biographies
Dr Mervyn Eastman, Chair
mervyn.changeagent@gmail.com @MervChangeAGEnt
Mervyn had an outstanding career in social work is now President of the Practitioner
Alliance for Safeguarding Adults. He was Director of the Government Programme, Better
Government for Older People (BGOP) until 2009. Change AGEnts Network (a Charitable
Society for the Benefit of the Community and a form of Co-operative) was co-founded out of
BGOP in 2009 and seeks to change how we think about Older People. He is Chair of Positive
Ageing in London.
Introduction to Age Friendly Cities Network
Paul McGarry, Manchester City Council
p.mcgarry@manchester.gov.uk @AgefriendlyMCR
Since 2003, Paul has led Manchester’s multi-agency urban ageing partnership, now known
as Age-friendly Manchester, which works across public, private and community sectors, and
with local residents, to improve the quality of life of Mancunians in mid and later life In
October 2009 Manchester City Council published, “A Great Place to Grow Older”, a ten-year
strategy. Paul a member of the World Health Organisation’s Global Network of Ageing
Friendly Cities Advisory Group, and the Scientific Steering Board for the joint Age-friendly
Environments in Europe project.
“The role of local authorities in preparing for the opportunities and challenges of an ageing
society”
Cllr Ken Meeson, LGA People and Places Board/Cabinet Member for Health & Wellbeing at
Solihull Metropolitan Borough Council.
kmeeson@solihull.gov.uk @solihullcouncil
Councillor Ken Meeson retired as Leader of Solihull Metropolitan Borough Council in June
2014, having done the job for a total of 10 years and is now implementing the new structure
of a combined Adult/Children’s arrangement to ensure alignment with the health remit of
the Health and Wellbeing Board. He is a member of the GLA People and Places board and a
member of LGA’s Ageing Task group. He is also a Trustee of the Sir Josiah Mason Charities
Group providing care for older people, a Lay Hospital Manager under the Mental Health Act
and the Mental Health Champion for Solihull
“An Age Friendly City: How far has London come?”
Professor Anthea Tinker, King’s College London
anthea.tinker@kcl.ac.uk @KingsCollegeLon
Anthea Tinker has been Professor of Social Gerontology at King’s College London since 1988.
She has been on the staff of three Universities and three Government Departments and has
been a Consultant to the WHO, EU and OECD.
She has undertaken a wide range of research in the field of social policy specialising since
1974 in gerontology. She is the author or co-author of 32 books and over 300 articles and
book chapters. She has undertaken a large number of national plenary lectures including
those organised by the Royal Society/British Academy, Royal Society of Medicine, Royal
College of Physicians, British Society of Gerontology and numerous international plenary
lectures.
London Assembly panel; how will elected members of each party take forward the Age
Friendly Cities Recommendations
Victoria Borwick, London Assembly
victoria.borwick@london.gov.uk @DepMayorLondon
Victoria was elected as a Member of the London Assembly in 2008 and is the Deputy Mayor of
London as well as serving on the Transport Committee and the Police and Crime Committee.
On the Transport Committee Victoria has led the investigation on reducing the congestion
and developing innovative solutions to transport issues in central London. As Chairman of
the Health and Public Services committee at the GLA, Victoria has worked in cross party
groups on improving access to childcare, reducing fuel poverty, a review of the emergency
services including detailed work on the London Ambulance Service and how the GLA can
help children in care.
Caroline Pidgeon, London Assembly
caroline.pidgeon@london.gov.uk @carolinepidgeon
Caroline was elected to the London Assembly in May 2008 and has a strong track record of
campaigning on issues such as strong policing and improved public transport. She is Leader
of the Liberal Democrat Group, Chair of the London Assembly's Transport Committee and
Deputy Chair of the Police and Crime Committee. Caroline was also a Board Member of
Lambeth and Southwark Housing Association between 2002 and 2010.
Jennette Arnold, London Assembly
jennette.arnold@london.gov.uk @JennetteArnold
Jennette Arnold OBE AM has been a member of the London Assembly since 2000.
Jennette’s work focuses on the key strategic issues that impact directly on the lives of her
constituents – improved transport services, crime reduction and affordable housing.
Under the previous mayoral administration, Jennette chaired the London Cultural Strategy
Group, which shaped the first Mayoral Cultural Strategy and helped bring the Olympic
Games to London. She was also Chair of the London Health Commission, campaigning
successfully for national legislation to ensure a smoke free London.
Darren Johnson, London Assembly
darren.johnson@london.gov.uk @DarrenJohnsonAM
Darren has been an elected member of the London Assembly May 2000. He is Chair of the
London Assembly's Housing Committee and is strong advocate of measures to protect
tenants and make housing and rents more affordable in London.
Darren has been a consistent advocate of measures to reduce traffic, improve public
transport and promote cycling and walking.
‘How Do We Develop Age-Friendly Strategies for our Cities? Perspectives from Research’
Professor Chris Phillipson, Manchester University
christopher.phillipson@manchester.ac.uk @MICRA_Ageing
Joined Sociology at the University of Manchester in November 2012 and became as coDirector of MICRA in January 2013. Previous Chris Before coming to Manchester I was
Professor of Applied Social Studies and Social Gerontology at Keele University where he
founded the Centre for Social Gerontology. He was elected a Fellow of the British
Gerontological Society in 2008 and a Fellow of the Gerontological Society of America in
2012. He served as member of the Advisory Committee of the New Dynamics of Ageing
Programme and was a member of the Advisory Board of the Norwegian Lifecourse, Ageing
and Generations Panel Study.
Built Environment
Jonathan Scrutton, International Longevity Centre
jonathanscrutton@ilcuk.org.uk @ILCUK
Jonathan is Senior Policy and Research Officer at ILC-UK, having joined in September 2013 as
a Research and Policy Assistant. Jonathan has a keen interest in health and social care
policy, and has previously completed a six month internship with the Centre for Mental
Health (CFMH) as a Policy Intern. In this position he conducted research into the possible
health ramifications of the recent restructuring of the NHS, with a specific focus on the
newly formed Health and Wellbeing Boards.
Amanda Senior, Newcastle City Council
amanda.senior@newcastle.gov.uk
Dr Stefan White, ARB, Manchester School of Architecture
s.white@mmu.ac.uk
Stefan is a Senior Enterprise Fellow at the Manchester School of Architecture (directing the
centre for Spatial Inclusion Design-research (cSIDr) alongside the MArch Projects atelier
(MSAp)). Design-research projects addressing Age-friendly cities run by the unit have been
called 'World Class' by WHO representatives. An architect with a practice specialism in social
and environmental sustainability, Stefan's research develops community-engaged
architecture and urban design methodologies addressing spatial inclusion.
http://www.msa.ac.uk/csidr/index.html
Culture
Lord Bichard
Following a distinguished career in local and central government management, Michael
Bichard is one of the UK’s leading contributors to new thinking about public service
innovation.
In 2001 he was appointed Rector of the University of the Arts and has also been Chair of the
Design Council. He serves as Chairman of the education charity Rathbone and is now Chair
of Filmclub, a nation-wide afterschool film club which is free to state schools.
Michael is currently Chair of the Social Care Institute for Excellence (SCIE) and strongly
encourages the involvement of older people in community development.
Kate Duncan, Creative Programme Manager Nottingham City Arts
kate@city-arts.org.uk @CityArtsNotts
Kate is an experienced arts educator and manager with a particular interest in how socially
engaged work connects with communities. Kate works collaboratively with artists and
diverse partners to devise programmes that offer, co-production and engage with people
from all walks of life.
The ethos of is to offer opportunities for people to voice their opinion and tell their stories.
We support this by devising research and evaluation that investigates the impact s of
project’s upon the participants with whom we work. We are particularly interested in
measuring outcomes including learning and skills development.
Glenda Watt, Edinburgh
glenda.watt@edinburgh.gov.uk
Glenda Watt is from Cumbria. She has been a public service manager for over 30 years within the
NHS and local authority with particular interest in policies and services for older people at a
international, national and local level.
She was the founder member of the Alzheimer’s Disease Society in Scotland, has a number of
publications and was the producer of an Edinburgh Festival Fringe show.
Glenda currently works with the City of Edinburgh Council as Strategy Manager for Edinburgh’s Plan
for Older People. This entails working with a wide range of people to improve opportunities for older
people in the city, and across Scotland through her responsibility with others to deliver the Scottish
Older People’s Assembly.
Annie Alexander, Brighton and Hove
annie.alexander@brighton-hove.gov.uk
Annie Alexander is Public Health Programme Manager at Brighton and Hove City Council.
She manages the Public Health Communities and Resilience team, which commissions public
health programmes for older people, mental health promotion, neighbourhoods and
communities and health promotion. Annie is currently developing a public health older
people programme, with two main strands:
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the older people locality hub programme with outcomes around keeping older
people healthy and well; reducing social isolation; helping people maintain their
independence
the Age Friendly City programme which is finding ways to make the city’s
environment and services more age friendly, .
Clare Hankinson, Fabrica
clare.hankinson@fabrica.org.uk @HankinsonClare / @FabricaGallery
Clare Hankinson is the Older Audiences Development Manager at Fabrica Art Gallery in
Brighton. Between 2010-2012 she managed *Growing an Older Audience*, an Arts Council
SE funded project which engaged new and diverse older audiences with contemporary art at
Fabrica. This programme established a thriving older audience which continues to flourish as
participants have become more established within Brighton & Hove's wider arts community.
Fabrica is now working on long-term projects with sheltered housing to reach socially
isolated individuals. Clare also manages Fabrica Film Club, a programme of events aimed at
older audiences, artists and emerging filmmakers.
www.fabrica.org.uk
Economic development
Dr Jonathan Collie, The Age of No Retirement?
jonathan@ageofnoretirement.org @agenoretirement
Jonathan is a medical doctor by background. He did an MBA (Edinburgh University) and
moved into health IT. He describes himself as an “Accidental social entrepreneur”. In 2011,
entered and won national competition funded by Department of Health – which was the
beginnings of Trading Times. Co-founder of ‘The Age of No Retirement?’ movement for agepositive social change.
Pat Doherty, Age Friendly Ireland
pat@agefriendlyireland.ie @AgeFriendlyIrl
Age Friendly Ireland is a non-profit organisation which is funded by Atlantic Philanthropies
and hosted by Dublin City Council. Pat supports the establishment of Age Friendly Cities and
Counties programmes throughout Ireland. He works with councils, private companies and
older people’s groups to deliver implementation plans.
Aisling Costello, Age Friendly Ireland
aisling@agefriendlyireland.ie
Aisling Costello is the Head of Projects with Age Friendly Ireland, and has been running the
Age Friendly Business programme in Ireland for two years. She is a chartered accountant.
After a number of years project managing in multinationals; Intel, Motorola and Dell, and a
stint in Local Authorities, she moved to work with small businesses.
In recent years her focus has shifted to the voluntary sector. She now designs, develops and
implements new programmes nationally including Age Friendly Towns, Age Friendly
Libraries, and the Age Friendly Businesses Recognition Scheme
Ed Cox, IPPR North
e.cox@ippr.org @edcox_ippr
Before joining IPPR in 2009, Ed was policy adviser to the communities and local government
secretary. He was previously the director of policy and public affairs at the Local
Government Information Unit, and served as a commissioner on the Government's
Commission on Integration and Cohesion.
He wrote Manchester’s first Community Engagement Strategy and was a member of the
Manchester Local Strategic Partnership Board. He is chair of a multimillion-pound
community regeneration partnership in his local neighbourhood.
Katrina Hann, New Economy
katrina.hann@neweconomymanchester.com @neweconomymcr
Katrina leads New Economy’s skills, employment and economic research and has over nine
years’ experience specialising in economic policy and strategic advice for public sector
clients. Her work for New Economy, Greater Manchester’s economic development agency,
addresses topics such as: economic development, productivity and low pay, exports and the
economic opportunities of ageing and translates these research findings into actionable
policy recommendations to support decision making across the city region.
Prior to this role, Katrina has worked as a consultant with Central Government, Local
Authorities and sub-regional organisations across the country, providing economic and
social intelligence and policy advice to inform decision making across key themes of
economic development, spatial policy, employment and skills and demographics. Relevant
studies have included work for the Audit Commission on the financial implications of an
ageing population, assessing how councils are preparing to meet the demands of an
increasingly ageing population. She has also undertaken an analysis of the challenges and
opportunities of an ageing population for Yorkshire and the Humber, updating their
evidence base and assessing the differing impacts on sub-regions and local authorities.