CIEH Public Health Protection Conference

Alison Guscott, Senior Smoke-Free Advisor, Change Grow Live (CGL). Alison is a Senior Smokefree Advisor at CGL (Change Grow Live), where she has led the design, delivery and evaluation of a smoking cessation programme tailored to people with complex needs. By embedding this service within a drug and alcohol setting, she has significantly improved access for those who need it most. Co-production and collaboration sit at the heart of Alison's approach to reducing health inequality. She holds a first-class degree in Psychology and brings a diverse professional background spanning finance and public health. She is committed to building a career where evidence-based practice and compassion go hand in hand.

Professor Dominic Mellon, Deputy Director for Health Protection in Regions, UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA). Dominic is a public health specialist, Senior Civil Servant, and Visiting Professor at the University of the West of England.  He is a dynamic national system leader who enjoys working across strategic, tactical and operational tiers, and at the interface between sectors, organisations and disciplines. 

Following an early career in emergency preparedness, response and recovery working in both local government and the NHS, Dominic completed public health specialty training and then held various Consultant in Public Health and Health Protection roles in both local government and Public Health England.  Dominic is currently the UK Health Security Agency Deputy Director for Health Protection in Regions, with oversight of the Office for Regions and Borders (ORB) and portfolio leadership for pandemic preparedness. 

Dominic graduated from Coventry University with a first-class honours degree in Development and Health in Disaster Management and now combines both public health and emergency management disciplines as a national lead for regional preparedness and response.  Dominic is an active Fellow of the Faculty of Public Health, chairing the Health Protection Committee and overseeing the work of three Special Interest Groups.

Dominic has experience of leading high-profile, complex and sensitive incidents at local, regional, and national levels.  He has been awarded two special service medals by the Faculty of Public Health - one for his role in supporting the local response to the Novichok incident in Salisbury, Wiltshire, the other for his regional leadership during the COVID pandemic.  He lives in Berkeley, Gloucestershire, where he is a Trustee of the Jenner Trust – a charity with custodianship of Dr Jenner’s House, Museum and Garden and the preservation of his global public health legacy.

Femi Varudi, Senior Public Health Officer, Peterborough City Council. Femi Varudi is a Senior Public Health Officer at Peterborough City Council, leading the commissioning and strategic delivery of prevention services, including smoking cessation, NHS Health Checks, and weight management. She specialises in tackling health inequalities and improving access for underserved populations through system-wide approaches. Femi has led the integration of smoking cessation support within drug and alcohol services and works closely with primary care networks, including Greater Peterborough Network, to strengthen prevention pathways and support weight management delivery. She uses data-driven insights to inform commissioning and service improvement. Femi is currently undertaking the UKPHR Practitioner Scheme and has a strong interest in population health and behaviour change.

Julia Weldon, Julia Weldon Executive Leadership Ltd. Julia was Director of Public Health at Hull City Council for 12 years and was one of the first Directors of Public Health to become Deputy CE in England.   She was appointed as a Non-Executive Director for Harrogate and District NHS Foundation Trust in October 2022.

Julia has held several regional and national roles including chair of the Yorkshire and Humber Association of Directors of Public health (YHADPH) during the pandemic response, and regional advisor and assessor for the Faculty of Public Health. Julia was elected to the UK ADPH Board in 2023. She was one of the founding members of the Centre of Excellence for Tobacco Control for HNY ICB.

Julia continues to contribute to regional and national public health leadership and to supporting personal and organisational change and improvement in the public sector. Julia will take up a role as a Trustee for ASH UK in June of this year and is proud to be working as an expert advisor to the LGA for the Public Health Improvement Programme.

Kate McPhedran, Principle Health Protection Practitioner, UKHSA South East Public Health Protection Team. Kate is a Principal Health Protection Practitioner at UKHSA South East Region. Kate has worked in health protection for UKHSA and its predecessors since 2006. Prior to working in Health Protection, Kate worked as an Environmental Health Practitioner in Local Authorities as well as in the private sector specialising in food and water audits and outbreaks in the UK and abroad.

Kay Burkett, Programme Lead - Public Health, Local Government Association (LGA). Kay is currently Programme Lead - Public Health at the Local Government Association (LGA) and is responsible for the delivery of the DHSC funded Public Health Peer Review and External Support programme – now known as the Public Health Improvement Programme.

Kay has held various director roles in county, unitary and district councils and became the LGA’s improvement lead for public health and leadership of healthier places - including Health & Wellbeing Boards - in 2013, when public health returned to local government.  During this time, she has led on a number of national improvement programmes including Leading Integration Peer Support Programme, Shaping Places for Healthier Lives, Childhood Obesity, Suicide Prevention and Prevention at Scale.

In previous roles Kay has managed transformation and improvement programmes globally and across Europe in the private sector and led on delivery of care & support services in London and the East of England for the housing and charity sectors.

Her career in local government started in training before moving to leadership & organisational development, adult social, housing, corporate services and then working nationally, specialising in supporting councils through transformation and improvement programmes.

The Public Health Improvement Programme is operational from July 2026 with three years of funding and will include the delivery of 90 public health peer reviews, targeted support and a universal offer. The Programme is co-designed with the sector and involve public health peers in the delivery.

Dr Megan Corder, Consultant in Public Health, NHS England National Public Health Team. Dr Megan Corder is a Consultant in Public Health at NHS England, working within the national public health team to improve and protect population health. Her work focuses on health protection in the NHS, including pandemic preparedness and outbreak response, where she has led the development and implementation of outbreak guidance for local health systems. She works closely with the UKHSA Future Health Protection System Co-Design Group to represent the NHS in national planning and response to health protection threats. Megan has also previously worked as a Consultant in Health Protection in the North West of England, where she led responses to outbreaks and environmental hazards in partnership with local systems. She is particularly interested in strengthening system resilience and translating evidence into practice.

Natalie Bandoo, Leading Senior Assessor in BRE for GLP-1 RA Medicines, Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA). Natalie has a background in biochemistry and has 12 years of experience at MHRA working in various areas of the Safety and Surveillance Group on Yellow Card report processing and detecting and managing safety signals. She is currently a Leading Senior Assessor in the Benefit Risk Evaluation Team where she performs risk management planning for medicines as they come through the authorisation process and pharmacovigilance post-authorisation. She works in the therapeutic area that covers GLP1-receptor agonists and immunotherapies for inflammatory bowel disease. She is also principal assessor for MHRA's Gastroenterology, Rheumatology, Immunology and Dermatology Expert Advisory Group.

Sterling Crew, Public Health Advocate. Sterling is a food safety advocate with 40 years’ experience working in food safety, security, authenticity and global supply chain governance. He is a trustee of CIEH and sits on the CIEH Food Advisory Panel. He also chairs The Food Authenticity Network, and is Immediate Past President of the Institute of Food Science and Technology. And has recently joined the board of the Saudis Food and Drink Administration. Sterling holds a number of food related board positions, and acts as an independent scientific and regulatory advisor. Sterling started his career in government before a successful track history in retail, manufacturing and the branded world. His experience as a regulator, retailer, brand owner and food manufacturer has given him a unique perspective on the challenges of the global food supply system.

Wendy Osmond, Environmental Health Practitioner, Canterbury City Council. Wendy has worked at Canterbury City Council for 25 years. She is Lead Food Officer at Canterbury and manages a small team of food officers.  She has a particular interest in infectious disease. Wendy has worked closely with UKHSA over the years, in particular on Part 2A orders for a TB case and was seconded, to what was then PHE, during COVID to help with the response working mainly with schools and care homes during that time.

Osborne Richardson are the market leading provider of professional Environmental Health recruitment services throughout the UK and have been providing services to Local Authorities and the private sector for 30 years.

They offer a range of staffing solutions from short term contract to longer term consultancy services, from 1 member of temporary staff to a whole team of Consultants or permanent appointments.

Clients value their honesty and integrity, and they have worked in partnership to develop long standing relationships across their network that allows them to deliver a professional and reliable service.

For job seekers, their unrivalled technical knowledge and long standing connections to the environmental health profession allows them to offer unbiased and informed advice to those at all stages of their career whether working on a contract or permanent basis.

For more information about how they can help and to see all of their current opportunities please visit www.osbornerichardson.com