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In conversation: welcoming our new trustees
Trustees play a crucial role in shaping the Centre for Sustainable Healthcare (CSH). They help guide our long-term vision, protect our values and ensure that our work remains both ambitious and practical. At a time when the health system is under growing pressure from climate change, workforce strain and inequality, the role of trustees is not just about governance, it is about stewardship, courage and care.
We recently sat down with three new Trustees — Jenni Martin, Rebecca Veazey and Elaine Mead — to talk about what brought them to CSH, what the organisation represents to them, and how they see the future of sustainable healthcare unfolding. While their professional backgrounds differ, a shared sense of urgency, realism and hope quickly became clear.
From left to right: Jenni Martin, Rachel Stancliffe, Joanna Romanowicz, Mike Tomson, Elaine Mead, Gill Manning, Duncan Mackay, Clare Scully
Why CSH, and why now?
The conversation opened with a simple question: what made this the right moment to join CSH?
For all three, the answer lay in alignment, between personal values and organisational purpose. Sustainable healthcare was not a new interest for any of them; rather, CSH felt like a place where long-held beliefs could translate into meaningful action.
“Healthcare should lift people up, not wear them down… and it should never harm the planet we all rely on.”
Jenni Martin, Trustee at the Centre for Sustainable Healthcare
Jenni spoke about how her career across global health, equity and climate has consistently brought her back to the same truth: health systems must be designed to serve people and planet together. CSH, she felt, offered a rare opportunity to stand behind work that is principled, practical and people-centred.
Rebecca reflected on the chance to contribute her skills while continuing to learn. Working at the intersection of NHS strategy, organisational development and environmental action, she saw CSH as a space where expertise is shared generously and applied thoughtfully.
“I was drawn to the opportunity to use my professional skills for climate action, while learning from people at the forefront of sustainable healthcare.”
Rebecca Veazey, Trustee at the Centre for Sustainable Healthcare
For Elaine, the decision was as much about people as purpose. She described encountering CSH as a moment of recognition, a community that combined credibility with warmth, and ambition with care.
“I could see CSH was raising the profile of sustainable healthcare in a way that was both engaging and inspiring, and I knew I’d found my tribe.”
Elaine Mead, Trustee at the Centre for Sustainable Healthcare
What CSH represents
As the discussion deepened, the conversation turned to what makes CSH distinctive.
There was shared agreement that CSH occupies a rare space: trusted, rigorous and evidence-based, yet creative and human in how it works. The trustees spoke about the importance of moving beyond abstract commitments towards tools, programmes and approaches that genuinely support clinicians and leaders on the ground.
Jenni pointed to CSH’s ability to hold complexity without becoming paralysed by it: turning systemic challenges into approaches that can be used now, not deferred to the future. Rebecca highlighted the organisation’s clinical transformation and green spaces for health programmes, and the way education and training are embedded throughout the work. Elaine emphasised CSH’s willingness to challenge the status quo while remaining deeply respectful of the realities facing healthcare staff.
Together, they described CSH as an organisation that does not ask healthcare to choose between quality, equity and sustainability but insists they belong together.
Hopes for the future of sustainable healthcare
When the conversation turned to the future of sustainable healthcare, the mood was one of grounded optimism. All three trustees were clear-eyed about the scale of the challenge ahead, but equally clear that progress is both possible and necessary.
There was a shared recognition that the impacts of climate change on patient health, healthcare infrastructure and services are no longer theoretical, they are already being felt. At the same time, healthcare leaders are operating under intense pressure, juggling workforce shortages, financial constraints and rising demand. Despite this, none of the trustees framed the future in terms of inevitability or decline.
Jenni spoke about the opportunity, and responsibility, to rethink how healthcare systems are designed. For her, sustainability must be woven into the very definition of quality care, with climate resilience, equity and workforce wellbeing treated as core components rather than additional considerations. She emphasised that this moment offers a chance to redesign systems in ways that better serve both people and the planet.
Rebecca built on this by highlighting the growing imperative for health-centred climate action. As climate impacts intensify, she noted, the case for sustainable healthcare will only become stronger. The real challenge, she suggested, lies in supporting healthcare leaders to implement sustainable solutions while navigating competing priorities and limited capacity, ensuring they are equipped with practical tools and realistic pathways for change.
Elaine returned the conversation to the importance of momentum. In a turbulent and demanding environment, she stressed, keeping sustainable healthcare firmly on the agenda will require optimism, urgency and collective effort. For her, the task ahead is not only about innovation, but about sustaining focus and commitment across the system, even when pressures threaten to pull attention elsewhere.
Together, their reflections painted a picture of a future that is challenging, but far from hopeless, one that depends on leadership, collaboration and a shared determination to make sustainable healthcare the norm rather than the exception.
A shared commitment
As the conversation drew to a close, one theme stood out: none of the trustees see this role as distant or abstract. Each spoke about the importance of listening to frontline voices, supporting those doing the work alongside demanding day jobs, and ensuring that governance serves, rather than constrains, meaningful change.
What unites Jenni, Rebecca and Elaine is a belief that sustainable healthcare is not a future ambition, but a present responsibility. Their collective experience, curiosity and commitment will help CSH continue to challenge, support and inspire the health system at a critical moment.
Trustee bios
Rebecca Veazey
Rebecca is an Organisational Development Advisor with over 16 years’ experience leading NHS strategy, policy and transformation programmes. She brings board experience and expertise in organisational development across the public, non-profit and environmental sectors.
Elaine Mead
Elaine is a healthcare leader with over 35 years’ experience across clinical, executive and academic roles within the NHS and beyond. She brings deep expertise in improvement, governance and sustainable healthcare, alongside a strong commitment to system-wide change.
Jenni Martin
Jenni is a global health, gender equality and sustainability leader with over 13 years’ experience working across more than fifty countries. She is the Founder of Menstrual Rights Global and brings expertise in governance, partnership-building and women’s leadership in health.
