Rachel joined Samaritans as Executive Director for Scotland in January 2020 and leads the organisations’ influencing on self-harm, suicide prevention and distress in Scotland. She is a member of the National Suicide Prevention Leadership Group and of the Scottish Government’s Mental Health Stakeholder Group, among other national forums. She has a particular interest in addressing inequality and exclusion and their impacts on mental health and wellbeing.
After completing degrees in Cambridge and London, Rachel worked in policy and campaigns for Shelter Scotland, WRVS and latterly, in the Royal College of Nursing, where she worked for 12 years before moving to Samaritans. She lives in the hills near Edinburgh and is very much looking forward to bike-packing, island hopping and hugging her friends again, post-COVID.