We have a small part-time team of staff who are passionate about achieving our vision and supporting our members and champions. The team is made up of individuals with a broad range of interests, skills and lived experience.
The Maternal Mental Health Alliance (MMHA) is governed by a Board of Trustees who are dedicated to helping us drive change for women and families affected by perinatal mental illness.
Her Royal Highness The Princess of Wales was announced as the MMHA’s Royal patron during Maternal Mental Health Awareness Week on 6 May 2022.
We are honoured and delighted that The Princess of Wales has recognised and chosen to support our work by becoming Royal patron. The Princess’ longstanding dedication to the Early Years and keen interest in mental health marry beautifully with the Alliance’s mission to ensure every mum, baby and family impacted by perinatal mental health problems can access high-quality support and compassionate care. We look forward to working with The Princess to make this goal a reality for all. Read the announcement...
Made up of passionate clinicians, professionals, mothers, and fathers, the MMHA Board help set the organisation’s strategic direction, and support staff and members in the delivery of campaign objectives.
Chair
Luciana Berger is Chair of the MMHA and served as an MP for almost a decade. During her time in the Commons, she held prominent frontbench and backbench roles, including as the first-ever Shadow Cabinet Member for Mental Health. Luciana was also a leading member of the Health and Social Care Select Committee and presented the findings of the Committee’s inquiry into children and young people’s mental health to parliament.
Today she serves on the advisory board of the Money and Mental Health Policy Institute, and is Vice-President of the British Association of Counsellors and Psychotherapists.
An award-winning campaigner, Luciana has long called for increased awareness, parity of esteem, and improvement of mental health services. A keen photographer, Luciana is Mum to Amélie (5) and Zion (3).
Made up of passionate clinicians, professionals, mothers, and fathers, the MMHA Board help set the organisation’s strategic direction, and support staff and members in the delivery of campaign objectives.
CEO
Laura has 25 years’ experience in the statutory and voluntary sectors. Prior to joining the MMHA, she worked at Changing Lives, a national charity supporting people experiencing challenging times such as homelessness, addiction and trauma. Laura set up women’s services for Changing Lives, before becoming Executive Director for External Affairs, leading on public affairs, policy, communications and innovation across the organisation. True to MMHA’s roots, she believes in engaging closely with experts by experience to amplify their voice and influence decision-makers at a local, regional and national level.
Before joining Changing Lives, Laura worked as a Probation Officer and her background brings specialist expertise in supporting women with experience of the criminal justice system, sexual exploitation, and domestic abuse. Laura has experience of policy at a national level, multiple peer research projects and system change practices. She sits on several boards, including as Chair of the Millfield House Foundation, and is an active member of the Better Way Network.
Communications Lead
Community Engagement Lead
Head of Campaigns and Policy
Lived Experience Coordinator
Engagement Manager
Senior Team Administrator
Senior Campaign Assistant
Director of Marketing and Partnerships
Honorary President and Founding Chair
Dr Alain Gregoire is the former Chair, and now Honorary President of the MMHA.
Alain is a member of the NICE Guideline Development Group for Antenatal and Postnatal Mental Health and has contributed to the development of policy, guidance, and clinical services in the UK and abroad. He is determined to ensure that all women have access to care for their mental health which is at least as good as the care available for their physical health during pregnancy and postnatally.
Dr Alain Gregoire is a retired Consultant Perinatal Psychiatrist and Honorary Senior Lecturer at the University of Southampton. He set up and leads the national award-winning Hampshire Perinatal Mental Health Service, which provides comprehensive integrated community and inpatient services to women with severe mental health problems during pregnancy and postnatally. He has conducted research into perinatal services, the mental health of mothers in prisons, and other aspects of perinatal mental health. He began his postgraduate medical training in obstetrics, but on finding that the illest women, who also received the worst care, were those with mental health problems, he switched to psychiatry and completed his training at the Maudsley Hospital and Institute of Psychiatry.
Founding Director
Emily is the former CEO of the MMHA, and Development Coordinator of the Global Alliance for Maternal Mental Health (GAMMH). Following her experience of postnatal depression after the birth of her son in 2009, Emily founded, with her partner, the campaigning organisation ‘Break the Silence – PNI’. In this capacity, Emily attended the first meeting of what became known as the MMHA. She has been instrumental in its funding and growth to a 100-plus-strong coalition of UK organisations with the shared vision to see all women across the UK get access to consistent and quality care and support for their mental health during pregnancy and postnatally.
