Co-Production Week 2021

At Your Voice Counts we believe that people with lived experience of services are best placed to design the solutions that meet their needs. This belief is at the heart of everything we do and shapes how we develop services and how we our run our organisation.

Ever since we were first established 30 years ago, we have supported people with lived experience of learning disabilities, autism and mental ill health to sit on our Board of Directors so their views, experiences and priorities are central to the direction of our organisation.

This week is Co-Production Week so we are sharing our commitment to co-production and thanking the Experts by Experience who give their time and energy to help make our services as accessible and relevant as possible for the people we support.

Meet the Board

There are currently four people with learning disabilities on our Board and we take care to make Board meetings inclusive through a range of methods, including pre-board preparation meetings, speak up cards, agenda summaries and minutes in simple language with images.

(L-R Lisa Kelly, Nick Herron, Derek Peters, David Taylor)

Lisa Kelly

Co-Chair of the Board of Directors and Expert by Experience

Lisa is a strong advocate for the rights of people with learning disabilities and is passionate about providing opportunities for people with learning disabilities to speak up for what they want and need. An experienced networker, Lisa is committed to partnership working and represents our organisation across the region. She also volunteers for user-led social enterprise New Vision, as well as being an active member of The Twisting Ducks Theatre Company. Lisa is an actor and her dream is to act on stage at the Theatre Royal in Newcastle.

Nick Herron

Director and Expert by Experience

Nick is passionate about the work of our organisation and proud of our staff team who provide support to people in the region. Nick is an actor and performs with The Lawnmowers Independent Theatre Company. As well as enjoying drama and dance, he enjoys the beach and making model aeroplanes.

Derek Peters

Director and Expert by Experience

Derek joined our Board because he wanted to raise awareness of the work we do and is passionate about helping us to achieve our aims. Derek is active in the South Tyneside community, presenting a programme on Hive Radio under his alias ‘Ding Dong Derek’, as well as being part of the Ocean Road media team and delivering Be Cancer Aware training. He’s a proud Sunderland FC supporter and has followed them for over 30 years.

David Taylor

Director and Expert by Experience

Originally part of the Talk to Us self-advocacy group, David joined our Board to get more involved in how our organisation is run. He is passionate about supporting people with learning disabilities to navigate the welfare benefits system and is proud of the work we do in this area. David is also an ambassador for the Speaking Up Together self-advocacy group and is interested in transport and local history.