Equity, diversity and belonging committee

Sarah Todd (she/her/they/them)

Originally trained as a nurse in the 1980s, Sarah joined the ambulance service in 1992 when there were just 2 per cent women as front-line ambulance service clinicians. She then qualified as a paramedic in 1994 and when the profession developed the first degree-level programmes for post-registered clinicians in 2006, Sarah was keen to develop her practice and in 2010 gained her BSc while working full-time. Sarah then worked as a specialist paramedic in urgent and emergency care across the emergency sector and later in primary care and in a minor injury unit.

In 2012, Sarah started a career in higher education as a senior lecturer. She developed on to become programme leader, associate head of department for paramedic science and then as the student success and inclusivity lead for the School of Health and Social Wellbeing at the University of the West of England (UWE). During the final year working at UWE, Sarah became a member of the Chief Allied Health Professions Officer Black, Asian and Minority Ethnic Strategic Advisory Board of which she remains a member.

Since March this year, Sarah has held two roles: as diversity equity and belonging manager for the College of Paramedics and as South West region paramedic systems relationship manager for Health Education England. Both of these roles offer an opportunity to influence the future of the profession from an educational and an equity, diversity and belonging perspective and Sarah is working on a number of projects across these roles which aim to help diversify the profession, improve the working lives for all paramedics but especially those from disadvantaged backgrounds, to ensure the workforce represents the population and that ultimately it provides high-quality care for all.

Sarah is a member of the LGBTQIA+ community, has a long history of allyship and advocacy and is really keen to learn about other allied health professions and how we can all work together to break down barriers and remove discrimination in all its forms. She is delighted to have been selected to join the CSP equity, diversity and belonging committee and hopes to bring a different perspective to the group as a non-physiotherapist.

Charli Robertson (she/her/hers)

Since qualifying at Coventry University in 2010, Charli has spent the majority of her career working in performance sports settings including professional and international team sports and Olympic winter sports. She also has previous experience in the NHS and private practice. With an MSc in sport and exercise medicine, her main clinical interests are athlete health and injury prevention. Charli is currently studying for a PhD in health/epidemiology, examining injuries on varying pitch surfaces in professional men's rugby. This sits alongside her roles as a teaching fellow for the University of Bath, a tutor in pitch-side trauma for the English Football Association (ITMMiF) and ongoing clinical practice within various sports.

An openly gay woman, diagnosed with autism in 2020, Charli has an engrained passion for ensuring equity and opportunity within our profession. Charli also has volunteering experience delivering workshops in schools for the LGBTQ+ charity Diversity Role Models as well as public speaking around her experiences of neurodiversity.

As part of her involvement with the equity, diversity and belonging committee, Charli hopes to create and contribute towards impactful change in the profession of physiotherapy and support the visibility, progression and recognition of under-represented groups. 

Georgie Eckersley (she/her/hers)

Georgie is currently a lecturer of physiotherapy at the University of Liverpool specialising in cardiorespiratory physiotherapy and mental health and wellbeing. While Georgie has worked in higher education since 2012, she specialised in cardiorespiratory physiotherapy early in her career. Georgie has experience of working a variety of settings including ICU, palliative care and COPD teams as well as experience in both acute and community settings. A large part of Georgie’s current role has been supporting disabled students to achieve their potential, and she is passionate about reducing health inequalities.

Georgie holds a master's in cardiorespiratory physiotherapy and is currently a third-year, part-time, PhD candidate. Her PhD explores Armed Forces veterans’ health and wellbeing post transition from service, utilising a mixed-methods approach, and draws on social psychological theories.

Since Jan 2018, Georgie has been a volunteer trustee and grants officer for a veterans’ charity based in Newcastle-under-Lyme, Staffordshire. The charity is primarily a drop-in centre that supports Armed Forces service personnel, veterans and their families across the county.

Justine Musiime

Justine is a clinical lead on the Enhanced Health in Care Homes Programme, Hertfordshire Community NHS Trust (HCT). After qualifying as a physiotherapist in Uganda, Justine went on to complete an MSc in exercise and nutrition science at the University of Chester and a master's in public health at the University of Warwick. Justine’s physiotherapy career has mainly been in older people's services including community and inpatient rehabilitation, Discharge to Assess, accident and emergency, rapid response and falls prevention.

Justine also has experience in public health and has worked in areas of maternal health, disease prevention, health promotion, partner liaison and health system strengthening. Justine has also done some global health work with refugees in different refugee camps in Uganda, designing training manuals on nutrition, sanitation and hygiene for persons with disabilities.

Out of her passion for improving health equity, Justine founded Siima School, a nursery and primary school in Uganda that provides holistic education and aims to support the children to manifest their potential.

Justine is an active member of the CSP BAME network and is also vice-chair of the HCT BAME network.

Justine is on the steering committee for AHPs Everywhere, a network of AHPs working in diverse roles and is the East of England regional representative for AGILE, the network of physiotherapists working with older people.

Justine is interested in mentoring the next generation of physiotherapists and AHPs and has recently done some teaching on frailty in older people as a guest lecturer at the University of Bedfordshire and University College London.

Justine was part of the reference group that formulated the CSP equity, diversity and belonging strategy and is excited about seeing the committee move this work forward within the CSP.

Sudhir Daya (he/him/his) (Vice Chair)

Sudhir is a gay, cisgender, able-bodied male of South Asian heritage who grew up in apartheid South Africa before emigrating to the UK. He works in the private sector and runs a clinic in central London (Integrated Health). He founded The Life Architect (a human potential consultancy) offering coaching, training, speaking and facilitation services including the man.I.cure project that explores structural patriarchy. He currently has a focus on equity, diversity, inclusivity and belonging (EDIB) and is chair of the CSP's LGBTQIA+ network and is a member of it's BAME network. He lectures on Hertfordshire University’s postgrad leadership course.

Ema Swingwood (she/her/hers)

Ema is currently a NIHR Clinical Academic Research Fellow at the University of the West of England. Her substantive post is as the respiratory pathway lead physiotherapist at University Hospitals Bristol and Weston NHS Foundation Trust. Her area of clinical expertise and interest is ventilation, weaning and complex airway clearance. 

Having completed the advanced cardiorespiratory physiotherapy Msc programme at University College London (UCL) in 2012, Ema has continued her research focusing on the use of Mechanical Insufflation-Exsufflation (MI-E) and other cough augmentation strategies. Her current PhD work focuses on the use of MI-E in the intubated population.

Her extracurricular activities include contributions to the undergraduate physiotherapy programme at the University of the West of England, and postgraduate teaching at University College London. She sits on the BTS Education and Training Committee, PHE Independent High-Risk Aerosol Generating Procedures Panel, ICS Physiotherapy Professional Advisory Group and WARE project as the AHP representative.

She has been a member of the Association of Chartered Physiotherapists in Respiratory Care since 2008 and a committee member since 2016, completing the chair term in January 2022. During this time particularly, she has become acutely aware of the lack of diversity within our profession and the discrepancies of opportunity for all. She is excited to join this committee, sharing learning with colleagues while contributing to lasting changes within our profession.

Sarine Baz (Chair)

Sarine has worked in an array of clinical settings as a junior and senior physiotherapist prior to becoming the team lead physiotherapist within the neurosciences team at University Hospital Coventry and Warwickshire NHS Trust. Here, Sarine has led with the development of several workplace changes to support equity, diversity and belonging, with the success of this work going on to to be recognised by the trust and awarded an OSCA for Equality and Diversity.

Sarine is an alumnus of the CSP leadership development programme and has supported CSP members as a local workplace and regional steward for the West Midlands. Most recently, she has embarked on the experience of working in New Zealand to gain a further understanding of structures, policies and procedures of a different healthcare system with a strong focus on inclusivity and equitability. Sarine is passionate about making a positive and meaningful difference and is excited to work as part of the equity, diversity and belonging committee.

Gwyn Owen

Gwyn is a senior lecturer at St George’s University London. She qualified as a physiotherapist in 1988, and has worked as a children’s physiotherapist, a physiotherapy lecturer and a CSP professional adviser. These experiences together with an MSc in interprofessional health and welfare studies and a PhD in social science have fed her understanding of politics that shape (and are shaped by) physiotherapy’s professional identities and practices, and a desire to challenge the discourses/structures that compromise equality and diversity within physiotherapy.   

Gwyn has a long-standing interest and commitment to addressing equity, diversity and belonging issues. This is driven by a value of fairness and honesty instilled in her as a child, and has been fed through study of sociology and experiences of working with physiotherapy service users, peers and students from diverse backgrounds. Gwyn uses the privileges she has as a white female physiotherapist to address issues of social justice through her learning and development and networking activities.

Andrea Wright

Andrea Wright, MCSP, MSc is a chartered physiotherapist, somatic educator, facilitator at Integra Therapy working in private practice. She utilises embodied, art-based creative methods to enable her clients and groups to develop skilful tools to manage their mental and physical wellbeing. She is an active member of the CSP’s BAME and LGBTQIA+ diversity networks and co-chair of the informal intersectional diversity network. She speaks and offers trauma-informed workshops on areas of wellbeing and equity. An independent, early career researcher, her interests include qualitative methods exploring the experiences of physiotherapists within the profession from the global majority and those from LGBTQIA+ community; phenomenology, embodiment practice as it informs social identity in arts and health. She is the founder of Black Swan Wellness to Work Initiative, an employability project supporting Black people with mental health and chronic pain and their carers in Lambeth.

James Calvert

James is a second-year at the University of East Anglia. He is due to complete his BSc in physiotherapy in 2023. He has had experience in a range of different clinical environments including spending time in a private hospital in New Delhi.

He is passionate about improving the university’s current clubs and societies and has joined multiple committees including the physiotherapy, volleyball, and karate committees. Representing the physiotherapy society in the union council enabled him to have a bigger voice and have discussions and resolutions regarding equity, diversity, and inclusivity issues. These roles have also enabled him to have a wide range of experience with committee working.

He has a keen interest and commitment to combating equity, diversity and belonging issues within physiotherapy and in universities, and hopes to spend his time during his university career to help provide further opportunities to both students and practising physiotherapists.

Two vacancies