Our Board

Executive Board Member, Liam Knowles

Liam is a Project Support Worker at Bridges Family and Carer Service.

"After seeing the great work completed by Healthwatch Stockton-on-Tees and the way the team engaged with
our clients, I was thrilled to be asked to become involved by becoming a board member.

“This past year I have worked on several projects to support the health of Stockton, including providing
health advocacy, working with the Wellbeing Hub, testing for blood-borne viruses and delivering addiction
training to partner organisations.”

Executive Board Member, Jon Carling

Jon Carling is the former Chief Executive Officer of Catalyst Stockton-on-Tees. He had led the organisation since 2020 and was responsible for implementing the Voluntary, Community and Social Enterprise (VCSE) Strategy, which aims to ensure that the sector becomes stronger and more influential in the development of public policy as well as playing a full role in the delivery of VCSE services in the Borough.

Jon is a local resident, he has previously worked in Durham, Middlesbrough and across the North East in the public sector, and a few years back he spent three years as Chief Executive of a voluntary sector infrastructure organisation in North Yorkshire. Jon fully understands how important the voluntary and community sector is in Stockton.

To develop a strong sector, Jon understands that we need to have a really good, detailed understanding of the issues Stockton faces, as a whole and for each community. He wants Catalyst to bring together people from all sectors and to use that intelligence to develop projects to address those needs.

Jon has been inspired by the resilience and passion from the VCSE sector in Stockton and sees Catalyst as a voice for the sector, and as an enabler, helping local VCSE organisations to do the work that they do.

Executive Board Member, Peter Mayes

Peter works for Starfish Youth Employment Initiative (YEI), providing compassionate support and a community approach that offers young people choices to make positive changes to their lives and to take the next steps.

Starfish is linked with wellbeing and has the experience to help people realise their unlimited potential, overcoming any barriers or obstacles that are getting in their way.

Peter has also been involved with local Healthwatch since 2015, having worked with both the Middlesbrough and Stockton organisations. Peter is also a Healthwatch Stockton-on-Tees Community Champion.

Peter said: "I found that I wanted to be a part of it and to help make a difference to local people and their health matters. I have been involved with the team at Stockton on and off for a few years and the helped me so much to date and I feel I can give a lot to this from my background in wellbeing, mental health and the NHS."

"We are gathering real quality information directly from the public, from people of all ages, which is highly valued by Healthwatch and the local people themselves as we are giving them a voice and showing them that they can still make a difference. 

Executive Board Member, Lucy Owens

Lucy (pictured left) became the new Catalyst Chief Executive following the retirement of Jon Carling.

Lucy has previously worked for the National Trust and has extensive experience in the voluntary sector, managing and working closely with volunteers.

Executive Board Member, Lynda White

After retiring from a career in the NHS as a Biomedical Scientist, Lynda (pictured below) thought it was time to give something back to the community and make a difference to the people around her.

Lynda has been a volunteer with Healthwatch Stockton-on-Tees for a number of years. 

"I have an interest in health and social care in our area and the inequalities experienced within certain communities. This includes social, economic and diverseness, both in Stockton and Teesside as a whole.

"I feel that patients and carers should have access to health and social care in a straightforward way giving them a co-ordinated health and social care pathway."

Lynda is a representative for patients, carers, relatives and staff members as:

• A member of my GP practice Patient Participation Group
• Her role within the NHS
• An Elected Governor (Stockton) for North Tees and Hartlepool NHS Trust

Executive Board Member, Larissa Bennett

Healthwatch Stockton-on-Tees (HWS) ADHD champion Larissa Bennett, 31, from central Stockton, joined the Board in April 2025.

Larissa has been working with HWS since 2023, when she contacted Healthwatch Stockton-on-Tees (HWS) to share her struggles of living with ADHD and the positive changes that could be made to help others experiencing the same challenges in the community.

Since then, Larissa has volunteered her time with the HWS team to talk further about her experiences, and the detrimental impact the condition has had on her life, friends, and family, and to help change the narrative around neurodiversity. 

Larissa made HWS aware of the lack of support and understanding, highlighting positive changes that could be made to help others locally experiencing similar situations. 

Based on her knowledge and experiences, Larissa and HWS worked together to build a case study to better understand and shine a spotlight on the condition. 

Larissa continued to work with the HWS team devise an engagement plan, that would help to give people a voice’ while gathering additional feedback and intelligence from the local community about the challenges they face before and after being diagnosed with ADHD, with the report highlighting the findings and providing recommendations. 

This report was picked up by Healthwatch England and formed part of a national campaign to make changes to the current system. The work led to further awareness and Healthwatch England invited Natasha Douglas, Manager for HWS to present the findings of the ADHD report at the national Healthwatch Conference in London. 

Larissa has also been invaluable in raising awareness with members of the public, in Board meetings and at the Healthwatch Stockton-on-Tees’ Annual Event, where she spoke of her lived experience with ADHD and her passion to support others to make positive changes. 

In February 2025, Larissa won the Volunteer of the Year award at the Catalyst Conference & Awards in recognition of her efforts to raise awareness of living with ADHD.

Non-voting Guest Members

• Andrew Poinen - Kooth
• Wendy Peacock - Everyday Language Solutions
• Youth Focus North East
• Lorna Joice - Northern Cancer Voices
• Leigh Trimble - Red Balloons
• Catherine Wakeling - Starfish Health & Wellbeing