Who’s who

Ben Higgins, Bild CEO

Bild's Board of Trustees

Our board of Trustees are responsible for helping us to achieve our aims, and ensuring this is being done ethically, efficiently and within resources.

Fiona Ritchie, Co-chair of Board of Trustees

Fiona has worked all her working life for people with learning disabilities and or Autistic people.

A psychodynamic music therapist, she first worked with people with hefty reputations. She became the general manager of community services and went on to work for the South Midlands Strategic Health Authority where she finished her masters in public health. From there she went into regulation working with the Healthcare Commission as their lead for learning disabilities. Associate Director in transformation came next in a mental health trust and then from there went on to be managing director for a large not for profit organisation for their Mental Health and Learning Disability services in England.

Currently she has set up her own consultancy business and is working for NHSEI on complex/forensic discharges, chaired a high-profile death review and works with not for profit organisations in a variety of programmes. She is passionate about ensuring people with learning disabilities have their own voice and people act on it.

Matty Prothero, Co-chair of Board of Trustees

Matty is a Director at Sunderland People First, prior to taking on the role of Director, he worked with them for a number of years on a range of projects. This has included campaigning projects on issues that are important to him, such as the Staying Up Late Campaign. Matty also has experience delivering training on issues including hate and mate crime and anti bullying.

Matty has held a number of paid and voluntary roles, including steward at Sunderland Stadium of Light, co-chair of the Partnership Board and volunteering at a day centre for adults with learning disabilities. Matty particularly enjoys roles that include public speaking.

Matty feels being co-chair is about true coproduction and enjoys helping people understand what coproduction really means.

Andrea Wiggins, Trustee

Andrea has spent her career working in not for profit organisations supporting people with learning disabilities.

Andrea started her career as a support worker and has worked in various roles since including campaigning and advocacy. Going on to work predominately with people with complex needs often around service development and transformation until taking up the post of CEO at Nexus.

Nexus is a not for profit organisation delivering services to people with learning disabilities in South East London. Nexus has been rated as Outstanding by CQC since 2017 and has also been recognised for its work around recruitment and retention of staff.

Ashok Roy, OBE, Trustee

Dr Ashok Roy is a consultant in the Psychiatry of Learning Disability in Solihull Services and Coventry and Warwickshire Partnership Trust.

He is the Lead for the LD Assessment and Treatment Service and Service Development and Research for the Trust and represents the Royal College LD Executive at the Department of Health for the development of Care Pathways and Payment by Results (PbR).

Dr Roy is also a Senior Clinical Lecturer in the Psychiatry Department at Birmingham University.

His interests include clinical outcome measures, service development, access to primary care services, and ethical issues in Learning Disability.