Who we are

Ria took over as Chief Executive of Action for Stammering Children in June 2022. She is a qualified Speech & Language Therapist with a clinical and research background in stammering.

In 2023, Ria was awarded her PhD in Psychology by University College London (UCL). Her doctoral research focused on the association between stammering and risk of adverse mental health in children.

Joe joined the Charity in March 2017 to oversee our Trust and Foundations fundraising.  He has a huge range of experience having previously worked for Prostate Cancer UK, Morley College and the Family Holiday Association.

Heela Yoon is a Communications, Engagement and Impact Officer with a strong track record across the charity and humanitarian sectors. She has previously worked with organisations including the International Rescue Committee (IRC), Oxfam, and Amnesty International. Heela brings expertise in strategic communications, stakeholder engagement, and delivering campaigns that drive measurable impact. She is also a Chevening and Fulbright Scholar, with a passion for inclusive storytelling and building meaningful connections that advance organisational goals.

Grace has spent many years supporting individuals and their families throughout their treatment journeys in adolescent and adult mental health services. She went on to work as a Speech and Language Therapy Assistant in stroke rehabilitation, before joining the Action for Stammering Children team in March 2024

Jane Roberts DBE is a Visiting Fellow in Public Leadership at The Open University Business School.

Professionally, Jane trained in medicine and was for many years a Consultant Child and Adolescent Psychiatrist in London, with experience in senior healthcare management within the NHS.

She previously served as Leader of Camden Council in the early 2000s, and since then has held a variety of high-level non-executive roles. These include Chair of the Councillors Commission for the Department of Communities and Local Government, Chair of Parenting UK, Board Member at Ofsted, Chair of New Local Government Network, and currently Chair of the charity Living Streets. Jane also sits on the Independent Remuneration Board of the Senedd and is part of the Advisory Group of the Welsh Centre for Public Policy.

She was awarded a DBE in 2004 in recognition of her public service.

Jane has published academic work in paediatrics, psychiatry and politics. She co-edited The Politics of Attachment (1996) with Sebastian Kraemer and authored Losing Political Office (2017).

David became Treasurer of the Charity in April 2014, and has had first-hand experience of the work of the Charity having attended the intensive therapy course at the Michael Palin Centre in 2012 with his son Thomas.  He is a chartered accountant and currently the head of internal audit at a credit rating agency. He has worked in a number of global companies across the financial services sector.

Richard was appointed as Chief Executive of The King’s Fund in January 2019, after five years as the Director of Policy. The King’s Fund is an independent charity working to improve health and care and combines research, policy analysis, leadership development and provides a place for people to meet and discuss the big health and care issues.

Before joining the Fund in January 2014, Richard was chief analyst at NHS England and previously held a number of roles at the Department of Health, including director of strategy, director of financial planning and chief economist.

Richard initially trained as an economist and spent five years in academia before joining the Department of Health as an economic adviser. Following this he spent four years as a health care specialist at McKinsey & Co before returning to the Department of Health.

Anya is a digital marketing and technology leader who has spent 25 years working for global companies like Accenture, Google, WPP and Yahoo!, across three continents. Having stammered since she was 6, she was offered an adult place at the Michael Palin Centre (MPC) 10 years ago – since then she has co-authored a chapter of a book on the use of Cognitive Behavioural Therapy in adults who stammer, with her speech therapist at MPC. For a number of years, she has served as a mentor in the annual summer intensive course at MPC for teens and young adults, and has also participated in their interview practice sessions. She holds a postgraduate certification in Psychology, and has taken part in several neurological research studies into stammering at academic institutions in both the UK and the US.

Joe has been an active volunteer with our charity since he came onboard to launch our Youth Panel in 2015. Since then, Joe has been a familiar face and has provided excellent input and direction to our charity.

In 2022, Joe became a trustee alongside fellow Youth Panel alumni Zain Ghani. We look forward to working with Joe at this new level through our nationwide projects.

Archna has worked in the NHS for 23 years with many years as Director of Performance in East London. She is now Director of Specialised Services and Cancer driving the agenda on early cancer diagnosis, treatment and personalised cancer care alongside clinical transformation of specialised services and the long term condition and prevention agendas. 

Archna trained as a pharmacist at Kings College London and has previously held a Non Executive Director position at Accelerate CIC transforming wound and lymphoedema care for east London residents.

She was also a member of the BBC London region Audience panel for 4 years .

Family members with a stammer have drawn Archna to ASC where she is passionate to learn more and contribute to improving the lives of children with a stammer.  

Felicity works as a Senior Producer on the BBC’s News at One, Six and Ten. She has had a stammer since childhood and stepped out in front of the camera for the first time to front a TV news piece which was broadcast on the Six and Ten o’clock news in January 2021.

This led to her presenting a documentary called ‘I Can’t Say My Name’ which looked at the realities of life with a stammer, and was broadcast on prime time BBC One in March 2021.

Since then, she helped to set up a Stammering Support Network at the BBC, and has continued to speak publicly about her experience, encouraging others to be more open about their speech.

After completing a degree in Geography, and a Masters in Overseas Development I worked for 8 years in financial services. 

In 2005 I followed my passion and started working in the charity sector and now own one of the UK’s largest fundraising agencies, working with charities across the UK.  

I have a son, Elliott, who stammers and we became involved with ASC as part of an awareness raising film in 2022.

Michael Palin has been involved with Action for Stammering Children since 1993 when he agreed to the Michael Palin Centre being named after him following his role in “A Fish Called Wanda”, in which he portrayed a character called Ken who stammered. He based the role on his own father who suffered from stammering all his life. Michael’s continued support and involvement has helped create a high profile for the Centre and we are very fortunate to have him.

Ed Balls was appointed vice-president of Action for Stammering Children in 2016.  The former Labour MP and Shadow Chancellor has been a supporter of the charity for many years and regularly meets children and young people to talk about the challenges of living with a stammer.  He is an active fundraiser for the charity, running marathons and speaking at fundraising events.   His book Speaking Out addresses his personal journey and the challenges he faces in public life of having a stammer.

Colin Firth became involved with the Charity following his role as King George VI in ‘The King’s Speech.’ He says, “The King’s Speech taught me not only the cruelty of having a stammer but also the life-changing benefits specialist therapy can bring. Just as Lionel Logue unleashed the passion of a king, so too Action for Stammering Children is unlocking the potential of thousands of children in the UK every year.”

Sir Thomas Hughes-Hallett was Chair of ASC for ten years. Formerly, Chief Executive of Marie Curie and Chair of Chelsea & Westminster Hospital NHS Foundation Trust, Sir Thomas also co-founded the Marshall Institute for Philanthropy at the London School of Economics. In 2021, Sir Thomas was appointed Chair of the John Innes Centre.

Jo Hunter first became involved with ASC in 2008 as Treasurer, and has been committed ever since, witnessing first-hand the transformative work of the Charity. She was Chair of the Board of Trustees from 2014 to 2021 in which time the Charity helped more than 30,000 children and young people. Jo trained at PricewaterhouseCoopers specialising in audit and taxation and is a member of the Institute of Chartered Accountants in England and Wales, and has a wide range of charity and business experience. She was also Co-Founder of Smart Works Charity and was awarded an OBE in 2019 for her charity work.