Cynefin 3 - How can the arts contribute to Ill Health Prevention?
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Contributors’ biographies
Chris Ryan, Director of Arts Care Gofal Celf (ACGC)
ACGC delivers participative arts programmes across West Wales, with particular experience of working within health, wellbeing and social care sectors. Chris has spent most of his working life in the voluntary sector, previously having worked in community development in the Gwendraeth Valley, Carmarthenshire and for two large national charities developing leisure and employment opportunities for adults with learning disabilities/neurodiversity. A music graduate, Chris continues to perform and teach regularly in a variety of musical idioms.
Eleanor Shaw, People Speak Up
Eleanor started her career as a community arts practitioner, working nationally and internationally. For 15 years, she worked and managed teams in the further education sector within Performing Arts, and her passion was always in supporting those forgotten voices. In 2013 she found the power of autobiographical storytelling during a difficult period of her life, during that time, she changed direction personally and professionally and re-entered community arts by creating a social enterprise: People Speak Up: An arts, health and wellbeing enterprise based in south west Wales. Eleanor’s mission is developing and diversifying through social action and social change, working with other creatives and organisations with similar values, being an advocate for arts and health and supporting those forgotten voices through gathering stories and telling stories.
Eleri D’Arcy, Lead Clinical Manager, Quality, Safety and Improvement
Eleri D'Arcy is an Occupational Therapist with over 20 years of clinical experience in the NHS. Appointed Falls Prevention Lead for Swansea Bay University Health Board in 2019, she also chairs the National Inpatient Falls Prevention and Safer Activity Group. Passionate about quality improvement and prevention, Eleri now works within Quality, Safety and Improvement, managing a diverse portfolio that includes Arts in Health, Volunteer Services, Spiritual Care Services, Care After Death, Welsh Language, and Quality Assurance.
Hamaad Ahmad Khan, International Development Associate at the National Academy for Social Prescribing
As a global health researcher and student doctor working at the intersection of clinical practice and health policy and as International Development Associate at the National Academy for Social Prescribing (a WHO Collaborating Centre), he leads a 40+ country study of social prescribing implementation and is lead author of Social Prescribing Around the World. He founded and hosts the Medicine Unheard podcast, co-leads the social prescribing module at Imperial College London, and has been published in The Lancet. His honours include the Hillary International Award for Health & Care Leadership and recognition among the HSJ’s most influential BAME people in health.
Kathryn Lambert, Head of Arts and Health at Hywel Dda University Health Board
Kathryn brings with her over 20 years of experience of working in the arts sector and nearly 5 years in healthcare. Kathryn led the co-creation and publication of Hywel Dda’s groundbreaking Arts and Health Charter; a public pledge to integrate the arts into the work of the Health Board to improve health and wellbeing and promote healing and recovery, which is a Wales first. Kathryn is part of a national team of Arts and Health leads, one in each health board in Wales, which is supported by a Memorandum of Understanding between the Arts Council of Wales and the Welsh NHS Confederation with a commitment to putting the arts at the heart of service transformation.
Katie Bennett, Dance to Health Artist
Katie Bennett is a Dance to Health Dance Artist, with Specialist Postural Stability Instructor training, and an experienced yoga teacher. She brings together creative movement and evidence-based falls prevention to support balance, strength, mobility and confidence. Katie currently leads a Dance to Health programme in Port Talbot in partnership with Swansea Bay University Health Board, using dance to make movement both purposeful and enjoyable.
Marie Brousseau Navarro, Deputy Commissioner and Director for Health, Office of the Future Generations Commissioner for Wales
Marie has drafted and leads on the Commissioner's health and well-being mission to facilitate a transformation in the way we keep people healthy, with a greater focus on prevention and the long term. This is to help public bodies to work together to tackle the root causes of ill health, addressing health inequalities and increasing investment in prevention. Marie is the team lawyer and gets involved in all key projects. She helped set up the office in 2016 together with the first Commissioner. As Deputy Commissioner since 2021 and former Chief Operating Officer, she makes sure the Office of the Future Generations Commissioner walks the talk and operates as efficiently and sustainably as they can. Marie is ‘adopted Welsh’ originally from France having lived in Wales for over 25 years.
Nerys Edmonds, Public Health Specialist Lead, Swansea Bay University Health Board Public Health Team
Nerys initially trained as a Mental Health Nurse and has had a passion for improving mental health and wellbeing throughout her career. Since 2000, she has worked in public health in England and Wales in the NHS, local government and third sector with a focus on promoting mental health and well-being and reducing health inequalities. This has included work on suicide prevention, promoting mental well-being across the life course, nature based interventions, social prescribing, climate change, COVID-19 response, spatial planning, and Health Impact Assessment. She is an author of the Mental Well-being Impact Assessment Toolkit (2011) and has working with a number of arts organisations to asses their impact on mental wellbeing. Over the last two years Nerys has been working with local partners in Neath and Port Talbot on a Health Impact Assessment of the Tata Steel Transition, examining the impact on community health, wellbeing, and inequalities.
Rhian Rees, Registered Senior Public Health Practitioner, Hywel Dda University Health Board
Rhian has over 35 years of experience working across organisations to develop and deliver programmes to targeted groups. Her areas of work are Social Model for Health and Wellbeing, Arts and Health and working with Ceredigion GP Clusters and PSB sub-groups. She is interested in behavioural science, equity, and all things involvement and integration for effectiveness and efficiency.
Rosie Dow, Head of Arts, Health & Wellbeing at the Arts Council of Wales
Since November 2025, Rosie has been overseeing a diverse national programme of funding and support for the sector in Wales. She has a rich background in senior leadership roles, including Engagement Manager and Strategic Lead for the Social Behavioural Research Group at UCL, a WHO Collaborating Centre for Arts & Health; Programme Manager (Arts and Health) at Nesta, leading the £1m HARP (Health Arts Research People) research and innovation programme and Interim Director at Breathe Arts Health Research.
Sarah Griffith, Art Psychotherapist, Swansea Bay Child and Adolescent Mental Health Service (CAMHS)
Sarah works with children, young people and their families to help them overcome distress and find new ways of coping. In sessions with children and young people, Sarah uses art making alongside talking. She works with children and young people to use art to express their thoughts and feelings. This might be following difficult experiences that are hard to talk about. Sarah has a keen interest in developing Arts in Health practice and more opportunities for children, young people & adults to experience the benefits of engaging in the arts as part of recovery and promoting lifelong healthy lifestyles.
Jacob Rees Davies, Research Officer, Centre for Health Economics and Medicines Evaluation (CHEME)
Jacob is a Research Officer at the Centre for Health Economics and Medicines Evaluation (CHEME), Bangor University. Jacob holds a First Class Honours degree in Economics from Cardiff University. He is currently working towards a PhD in Health Economics, assessing the impact of rationing by waiting in the NHS on economic performance in the South Wales health economy.
Amy Davies, Principal Public Health Practitioner, Public Health Wales
Amy brings expertise and insight into public health approaches that support wellbeing, prevention and community resilience. Her contribution helps shape conversations around responding to trauma, suicide and bereavements, and strengthening compassionate communities.
Rosie Dow, Head of Arts & Health, Arts Council Wales
Nerys Evans, Deputy Minister for Public & Preventative Health
Hamaad Kahn International Development Associate at the National Academy for Social Prescribing (a WHO Collaborating Centre)
Chair: Rosie Dow
Panellists:
- Marie Brousseau Navarro, Deputy Commissioner and Director for Health, Wellbeing of Future Generations Office
- Jacob Rees Davies, Health Researcher, Bangor University
- Nerys Edmonds, Swansea Bay University Health Board
- Amy Davies, Principal Public Health Practitioner, Public Health Wales
HARP (Hywel Dda Arts on Referral Programme) Kathryn Lambert, Arts Lead, HDUHB and Rhian Rees, Senior Public Health Practitioner HDUHB
Dance to Health!/Iechyd Da-wns! Short film introduced by Eleri D’Arcy
Ffynny / Thrive – Arts & Minds Johan Skre, Arts Lead, Swansea Bay University Health Board and Sarah Griffith, Art Psychotherapist, CAHMS
Chris Ryan, Arts Care/Gofal Celf
Eleanor Shaw, People Speak Up
Johan Skre, Swansea Bay University Health Board
Led by Emily van de Venter, Public Health Wales and Rob Ashelford