Trauma survivors are the driving force of our organisation.
As survivors, we have an unparalleled understanding
of what trauma is and how it can be transformed. It is
our inner perspectives, combined with our expertise in art and science, that allow us to change the ecosystem
of trauma from the inside out and create new horizons.
Yet, this is a movement that must include everyone
– for trauma concerns us all and we are all to benefit from the world we are building. Therefore, we are also intentional about working with non-survivors who share our vision and align with our values.
Our core team members are all survivors,
our associates include survivors and their loved ones, and our advisors encompass a range of people with different experiences and interests in trauma.
Team
Laura E. Fischer (she/her)
Founder & CEO
Laura trained with the Ballet de
la Côte in Switzerland and studied arts at Central Saint Martins, mental health sciences at Queen Mary University, psychology at King’s College London, and traumatic stress at the Justice Resource Institute. She was also awarded Improvement Leader Fellow by NIHR CLAHRC NWL. Her research has focused on the embodied experience of trauma and new body-based interventions. Her art practice has explored the reclaiming and rewriting of the sociocultural narrative of trauma. Her consultancy has spanned trauma-informed practice, lived experience involvement, and arts for health. She is Visiting Lecturer at UCL and QMUL; Visiting Research Associate of the Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology and Neuroscience at KCL; and she serves on the ATTUNE Data Monitoring and Ethics Committee at the University of Oxford and the Editorial Advisory Board of The Lancet Psychiatry. She has worked with many universities, NHS Trusts, NHS England, the NIHR, Public Health England, Wellcome, and others. She has published, spoken widely, and exhibited internationally, including at the V&A, Whitechapel Gallery, and BFI, and some of her artwork is in the Central Saint Martins Museum Collection.
Sullivan Holderbach (he/him)
Art Manager & Researcher
Sullivan is a trauma survivor, artist, and researcher focused on the development and facilitation of survivor-led, arts-facilitated, healing practices. His research aims to utilize creative practices as means to encourage and sustain health by renegotiating personal relationships and understandings of trauma. He completed his BA degree in Drama and Theatre Arts at the University of Birmingham and his MASc degree in Creative Health at University College London. His practice is informed by his multi-nationality as well as his experiences working as a stagehand, performer, costume/set designer and stage manager in both the Festival of European Anglophone Theatrical Societies and the Edinburgh Festival Fringe.
Roz Etwaria (she/her)
Advocacy Specialist
Roz is the reputable driving force behind littlero.org and is an ambassador for Survivors Voices. Roz campaigns for the rights of victim-survivors of child sexual abuse. She has studied trauma through Black history, Feminism and Abuse. Roz has spoken to audiences worldwide on hope and healing. Roz is an award-winning, highly respected playful public speaker and thought-provoking social intellectual.
Bobbie Galvin (she/her)
Communication Designer
Bobbie is a communication designer who specialises in creative strategy, information design and branding. Within these areas, her practice lends itself to ethnographic methods which give life to designs that first and foremost connect to people and the places they inhabit. She has a BA (Hons) in Graphic Communication Design from Central Saint Martins and has worked on projects with Survivors Voices, VAMHN, NIHR SPHR, align, the UAL Social Design Institute, and Broadbase.
Jessa H. Benson Thorpe (she/her)
Coordinator & Artist
Jessa recently completed her BASc in Arts and Sciences at UCL. She is interested in applying arts-based methods to building community and developing understandings of complex issues. Projects she has worked on include plaster casting bodies to centre discussions on menstruation and making clay stamps to cultivate an understanding of ADHD in women and gender-diverse people. Jessa is keen to explore approaches to healing that are simultaneously trauma-focused and positive.
Associates
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Alicia Jane Turner (they/them) – Interdisciplinary Sound Artist whose work spans contemporary theatre, live art and new classical music (UK)
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Allison Vicente (she/her) – Dance Artist and Dance Movement Psychotherapy Trainee (UK, Canada)
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Ami Vadgama (she/her) – Researcher at the Blizard Institute (UK)
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Angie Sweeney (she/her) – Survivor Researcher, Senior Lecturer in User-Led Research, Director of the Service User Research Enterprise (SURE) at King’s College London (UK)
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Claire Sunho Lee (she/her) – Interdisciplinary Artist and Researcher (UK, Korea, USA)
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Concetta Perôt (she/her) – Psychotherapist, Consultant, Researcher and Co-Founder of Survivors Voices (UK)
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Espérance Mujer Guerrera (she/her) – Support Worker at St Mungo’s and Dance Movement Psychotherapy Trainee (UK)
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Gavin Edmonds (all pronouns) – Artist and Artist-Researcher (UK)
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Jane Chevous (she/her) – Writer, Educator, Activist, Co-Founder & Director of Reshapers CIC and Survivors Voices (UK)
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Julie Reed (she/her) – Director of Julie Reed Consultancy Ltd (UK), Visiting Professor of Improvement Science at Halmstad University (Sweden), Adjunct Professor Research and Improvement Scientist at the University of New Hampshire (USA)
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Julie-Yara Atz (she/they) – Filmmaker, Film Director, and Actress (UK)
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Leila Sibai (she/they) – Legal Researcher and Founding Member of Huquqyat (UK)
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Rachel Milligan (she/her) – Research Associate in Cellular and Molecular Medicine at the University of Bristol (UK)
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Ying Li (she/her) – Founder of Embodying Earth (UK)
Advisors
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Andrea Danese (he/him) – Professor of Child & Adolescent Psychiatry at King’s College London and Consultant Child and Adolescent Psychiatrist at the National and Specialist CAMHS Trauma, Anxiety, and Depression Clinic at the Maudsley Hospital (UK)
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Andrea Luka Zimmerman (she/they) – Jarman Award winning Filmmaker, Cultural Activist and Artist whose engaged practice calls for a profound reimagining of the relationship between people, place and ecology; Professor of Possible film at Central Saint Martins (UK)
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Avinash Sharma (he/him) – Consultant Physician at the Chelsea & Westminster Hospital NHS Foundation Trust (UK)
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Helen Fisher (she/her) – Professor of Developmental Psychopathology at King’s College London, Chartered Research Psychologist, Associate Fellow of the British Psychological Society (UK)
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Judah Armani (he/him) – Head of Social Impact Lab at The Royal College of Art, Associate Designer at Rhode Island School of Design (USA), Designer in Residence at InnovationRCA, Senior Design Researcher Central Saint Martins, Founder of InHouse Records (UK)
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Judy Willcocks (she/her) – Head of the Central Saint Martins Museum & Study Collection and Senior Research Fellow (UK)
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Kam Bhui (he/him) – Professor of Psychiatry and Honorary Consultant Psychiatrist at the University of Oxford (UK)
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Karin Hagemann (she/her) – Managing Director of Sustainable Outreach (Switzerland)
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Maria Grazia Turri (she/her) – Senior Lecturer and Co-Director of the MSc Creative Arts and Mental Health at Queen Mary University of London (UK)
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Michael Ghossainy (he/him) – Creative Strategist and Producer (USA)
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Minh Dang (she/her) – Executive Director of Survivor Alliance, Research Fellow and Lead in Survivor Wellbeing and Scholarship at the University of Nottingham’s Rights Lab (UK)
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Sunita Sharma (she/her) – Consultant Obstetrician and Gynaecologist at the Chelsea & Westminster Hospital NHS Foundation Trust, NHS England Clinical Entrepreneur (UK)
Partners
We turned violence into insight
and insight into action.