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Our Team

Executive Team:

Adrienne Arthurs (she/her) - Chief Executive Officer

Adrienne joined The Living Room in October 2016 after leading a varied and successful career within Hertfordshire's non-profit sector, commercial sector and education sector. Adrienne is keen to work in partnership to support all generations to achieve their potential.  She is committed to people achieving sustained recovery from all addictions, becoming contributing citizens in society and helping families to break the cycle of addiction.  She is passionate about increasing positive outcomes for children of those living with an addiction, so the cycle stops there.
Adrienne also provides training for Hertfordshire Community Foundation.
~
[email protected] 

Rita Cooper - Operations Director

Rita has project managed teams across the South East of England, specifically supporting people with disabilities. Joining The Living Room in 2017. she line manages the Clinical team of counsellors and liaises with the local community, building partnerships and referral pathways for clients. Rita is very passionate about equal opportunities, outcomes for people accessing The Living Room services and celebrating community diversity.

[email protected]

Mark Wiseman - External Relations Director

Mark has a background in publishing, has lived experience of addiction and The Living Room services. He has secured funds for The Living Room from grants, trusts, foundations and community events and manages our website content.

[email protected]

Susan Hudson - Administration Services Director

Susan joined The Living Room in June 2016, having already managed the finances for numerous charities within Stevenage. Previously from a Corporate Accounts background, Susan found this move to Charity Finance within the local community highly rewarding. Susan leads the support team across the organisation, working closely with the Executive Team to provide up-to-date data, reports and forecasts to assist Fundraising, Monitoring and Business Planning. Susan is also part of the Equality and Diversity group which monitors and finds solutions to integrate into our working practices.

Additionally, Susan is our appointed Data Protection Officer (DPO) to oversee compliance with our privacy notice and GDPR. If you have any questions regarding privacy and how we hold information, please contact Susan. 

[email protected] 

Counselling Staff:

Treatment services at The Living Room are facilitated by 18 counsellors, all of whom are accredited by FDAP (Federation of Drug & Alcohol Practitioners) or BACP (British Association for Counselling & Psychotherapy). We are unique as all of our counsellors have their own lived experience of recovery from addiction.

Board Trustees:

Daniel Marshall - Chair

Daniel grew up in Stevenage and studied Law with a post-graduate qualification in Project Management, studying whilst volunteering at the local Citizens Advice Bureau, before becoming the youngest Chief Executive in the network of Citizens Advice offices.

He now works as Director of Business Development for Citizens Advice nationally, responsible for the Finance and Funding strategy of the service comprising more than 240 offices, and £320m of income.

In his spare time, Daniel enjoys most sports, particularly running.

Daniel joined the Living Room as a Trustee in July 2017, took on the Chair role in 2022, and lives within a short walk of the Stevenage hub.

Eddie Mills - Vice Chair

After graduating from university with a degree in Business Studies, he has worked in marketing all of his career to date.  Sport is a huge passion, and he captains the 1st XI at Hatfield Hyde Cricket Club.  Eddie spends his winter weekends on the football terraces at Spurs.

Following the death of his younger brother from a brain tumour, he set up the Oli Mills Foundation, which has raised more than £295,000 for Teenage Cancer Trust to date. He joined The Living Room as a trustee in July 2017 after graduating previously from our services.  He took on the Vice-Chair role in 2022.

Danny McGovern - Treasurer

Danny joined the board in 2022 as a young trustee and became Treasurer. He has a degree in Medical Biochemistry and a career background in finance and pensions.  Danny teaches Maths in a Hertfordshire Secondary School.

Charles King - Trustee

Charles is the vicar of St Martin’s Church, Knebworth. Having originally studied French and German, Charles worked for over ten years in transport planning, both in consultancy and in university research. He enjoys travel, hill walking, the sea, music – especially playing the piano - and cooking. Charles has been a trustee since January 2018.

Jenny Brace - Trustee

Jenny has worked within the charity and public sectors since 1999. Having worked with a range of charitable organisations, she has experience in strategic planning, project management, change management, stakeholder management and communications. Since 2012, she has focused more specifically on working with vulnerable people, in particular those in recovery from drug and alcohol addiction and has managed the setting up and implementation of a number of new addiction treatment services. Jenny holds a Masters of Research in Public Policy and Management and lives in St Albans with her husband, 3 children and dog. She joined as a trustee in March 2018.

Ramesh Summan - Trustee

Ramesh after University works as a Teacher and Tutor. He has taught Mathematics, Business Studies and Computer Science in Schools and Colleges. His work as a Tutor has seen him working with students and parents who have been ambassadors of countries, top fashion designers, business owners and sports personalities. His keen interest in working and supporting individuals has meant him coach individuals and teach courses using his experiences and qualifications in Mindfulness, Neuro-Linguistic Programming, Life Coaching, Cognitive Behavioural Therapy, Mental Health and Wellness. He set up a support group called Pathway With Stuttering during the pandemic to help people who have a stutter – this attracted members from across the globe. Ramesh has worked with individuals to overcome all kinds of difficulties these include stuttering, mental health problems and addiction. He enjoys travelling, going for walks, cooking and music. He joined as a trustee in 2022.

We are looking to expand our Board of Trustees.

If you are interested in joining our Board, we are looking for people who have knowledge of the Watford area, any clinical or counselling knowledge or experience, or legal.  However, if you feel you have skills that would benefit the charity, we would love to hear from you.  Please contact our CEO Adrienne [email protected] 

The Living Room Founder:

Founder and Honorary Life President:  Mrs Janis Feely MBE

In the late nineties Janis Feely, worked as an addiction worker at a residential rehab project. It was during this time that Janis had a vision for a unique new day recovery treatment centre.

In May 2000 after a year of fundraising and lobbying Janis achieved her vision and established The Living Room; supporting many people to achieve recovery from their addictions. Janis retired in 2016 but has remained passionate about the work we do. 

Since her retirement the Trustee Board, the CEO, staff, volunteers, partners, clients and supporters in the community have worked hard to ensure her vision remains a reality.

Patrons

We are honoured to have:

Lady Dione Verulam (Countess and retired Lord Lieutenant of Hertfordshire) and

Mr Stuart Lewis DL as our patrons.

Published: 29th November, 2017

Updated: 24th November, 2022

Author: Mark Wiseman

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The Living Room trading as The Living Room Hertfordshire is a registered charity registered in England and Wales number 1080634 and registered as a Charity Incorporated Organisation number 1175541

Registered office 8-10 The Glebe, Chells Way, Stevenage, Hertfordshire, SG2 0DJ

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