Who we are
- Steering Group
- Service Manager
- Research and Performance Assistant
- Training and Volunteering Supervisor
- Counselling Co-ordinator
- Counselling Team Leaders
- Mentor Supervisor
- Health Training Supervisor
- Health Trainers
You can also contact us for more information and an informal chat by:
or email the service provider directly, at:
Steering Group members
Karen Randall
Karen has worked in the field of HIV for the last 15 years. She came to the West London Gay Men's Project from the HIV voluntary sector where she spent several years with the National AIDS Trust and the International Community of Women Living with HIV. Prior to that she worked in Greece for 4 years, after graduating with a BA (Hons) in Philosophy.
David Naylor
David joined the GMI Partnership in May 2008 as the Service Manager where he lead on the strategic development of GMI services as well as managing and supporting staff to plan, implement and evaluate our services. David is now Acting Director, Partnerships and Collaboration at the Metro Centre and sits as a member of the GMI Partnership Steering Group. Before joining the GMI Partnership David worked for The Metro Centre across a number of roles in the field of sexual health and HIV prevention. David previously worked in the field of international relocation for a multinational company.
Steve Worrall
Steve is the Deputy Director of Positive East and sits on the GMI Partnership Steering Group. Having grown up in Zimbabwe, Steve has been involved in the field of HIV inside and outside of the UK for the last 20 yrs both in terms of service delivery and prevention work. He has an active interest in Human Rights and campaigning issues especially around asylum and gay issues.
Service Manager
Rob Wardle
Rob joined the GMI Partnership in November 2009 as the GMI Mentoring Programme Supervisor. Rob is now the Services Manager for GMI where he leads on strategic development and manages and supports staff to plan, implement and evaluate our services. He graduated from the University of Surrey in 2004 with a BSC Honours in Psychology and went on to complete a Masters Degree in Social Work in 2009 at the University of Southampton – he is a qualified social worker with the General Social Care Council (GSCC). Over the last 10 years he has worked in a multitude of settings including HIV support, learning disabilities, mental health, youth offending and within drug and alcohol community and probation services. Aside from his career in the social sector he is also a qualified English as a second language teacher and has lived and taught in Greece and Hong Kong.
Research & Performance Assistant
Dee Wang
Dee recently joined the team where she monitors the programmes across all of the GMI pan-London work-streams and provides feedback to inform future programme direction. She completed her M.Phil in Evidence Based Social Intervention at the University of Oxford before joining the team. Prior to her study, Dee worked as a Programme Manager with the China CDC on one of the biggest HIV/AIDS control programmes in China, supported by the Global Fund to fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria. During her work in China, Dee worked with gay men, sex workers and HIV positive patients.
Training and Volunteer Supervisor
Ibrahim Ismail
Ibrahim has come to the Partnership from the Naz Project London. He was the sexual health officer for South Asian and Muslim Men who have Sex with Men while working a session outreach worker for the West London Gay Men's Project. Previously he was a volunteer at Positive East and London Friend while he worked as a National Make-up Artist in based in London.
Counselling Coordinator
Vacant
Counselling Team Leaders
Sona Barbosa
Sona joined the GMI Partnership in September 2008 and is African born, Portuguese raised.
She qualified as a Clinical Psychologist in Portugal, mainly focused in Psychodynamic and Person Centred Models. In Portugal she worked primarily with terminally ill children and their families as well as with drug and alcohol addiction within the community. She came to London in 1998 and completed an MSc in Counselling Psychology as well as a qualification in Cognitive Behaviour Therapy. In 2000 Sona set up a Portuguese/Spanish speaking counselling service that provided counselling for different GPs and health centres and alongside this was also providing therapy to refugees and asylum seekers across Lambeth. Prior to joining GMI Sona worked within the private sector as a Senior Psychologist in a medium secure adolescent unit. Although Sona misses Portugal terribly, London has become a comfortable home and GMI a family.
Esther Samson
Esther joined the GMI Partnership in February 2009 a Counselling Team Leader.
She qualified as a secondary school teacher and worked in that field for some time going on to train as a Registered Mental Health Nurse during which time she qualified in Cognative Behavioural Therapy (CBT).She then moved on to be the first Black woman to train at the Nightingale School of Nursing , where she qualified as a Registered General Nurse and a Registered Midwife. From there she set up the Community Mental Health Nursing Services in South East London where she was responsible for supporting long term mental health patients from Bexley Hospital into community living and work.
After this, Esther moved on to be Senior Principal Sister at the Home Office, with responsibilities for re-organising health needs and services for all female and youth prisons in England and Wales. After 10 years in this role she moved on to the post of Specialist Nurse counsellor for 3 London Boroughs, setting up support services for pregnant women who where HIV Positive and had substance misuse problems. Prior to coming the GMI Partnership Esther worked as a counsellor with Gambling Addiction.
She is qualified as a Clinical Supervisor and has experience in Integrative Behavioural Models, Person Centred Models and Psychodynamics Models of counselling.
Mentor Supervisor
Rob Wardle
Rob joined the GMI Partnership in November 2009 as the Mentoring Programme Supervisor. In July 2011, Rob became the new GMI Services Manager but continues to also work as the Mentoring Programme Lead. He graduated from the University of Surrey in 2004 with a BSC Honours in Psychology and went on to complete a Masters Degree in Social Work in 2009 at the University of Southampton – he is a qualified social worker with the General Social Care Council (GSCC). Over the last 10 years he has worked in a multitude of settings including HIV support, learning disabilities, mental health, youth offending and within drug and alcohol community and probation services. Aside from his career in the social sector he is also a qualified English as a second language teacher and has lived and taught in Greece and Hong Kong.
Health Trainer Supervisor
Michael Mancinelli
Prior to joining the GMI Partnership as the Health Trainer Supervisor, Michael lived in Vancouver, Canada, where he worked as an HIV Educator for several years. Michael's work as an Educator focused on the development and delivery of specialised curriculum on HIV/AIDS, sexual health and related issues. He facilitated workshops with a range of audiences, including those recovering from addiction, gay men and MSM, other service providers, and university and college students. Michael's main areas of work included drug use and harm reduction and gay men's sexual health. In addition to these, his current interests include international HIV policy and broader health promotion issues.
Michael previously lived in London where he completed his MSc in Health Promotion at King's College London. He is excited to return to the UK, and looks forward to his work with the GMI Partnership.
Health Trainers
Matthew Walters
Matthew started volunteering for GMI Partnership in July 2008 and has been working as a full time Health Trainer since August 2009. He started his working life as an Actor and a Health Care Support Worker caring for adults and children in a range of hospitals and residential care home settings. He also spent 2 and a half years touring as a Children's Entertainer called 'Super Duperman'! He has been supporting communities and people living with and affected by HIV since March 2006 and Matthew continues, working as a volunteer, to support Positive East and the GMI Partnership Mentoring Programme in his spare time. Outside of work his favourite pastimes are going to the cinema and visiting the theatre.
Norman Gillard
Norman had come to the GMI Partnership as a Health Trainer in June this year from the Metro Centre in Greenwich. While working for Metro he worked on several projects including Greenwich Gay men's outreach and continues to his involvement by running Metro's 50+ group for older LGBT people. Previous to this he has 8 years of experience of community mental health service in Lewisham.
