Regional Board
Our South East Board advises and supports our South East regional director in setting and delivering priorities in the South East, in line with the ÂÌñ»»ÆÞ's overall aims and objectives.
Board members are elected by members in the South East, and they represent all our members in the region.
The South East Regional Director is Ellen McNicholas - ellen.mcnicholas@rcn.org.uk.
How to contact us
To contact a board member, or for more information on meetings and minutes from previous meetings, please email jackie.brooker@rcn.org.uk.
Meetings
Our South East Board meets three times each year.
2025 meeting dates:
- Wednesday 19 February
- Wednesday 11 June
- Wednesday 10 September
How to attend a board meeting as an observer
As a member you are welcome to request to attend and observe an open session of the board's meetings.
If you would like to attend a future open session, please contact jackie.brooker@rcn.org.uk.
Board minutes
Our board members
You are invited to contact any of your board members if you have questions. Each board member has a link to a branch aimed to foster closing working relationship between the board and branch (these are listed below).

Sally Bassett (Council Member)
Sally is the ÂÌñ»»ÆÞ Council South East member and Secretary ÂÌñ»»ÆÞ Oxfordshire Branch. Sally has held positions at PwC as a Director and Nurse Advisor, at the DoH in England as a Nurse Advisor, as a Regional Deputy Chief Nurse, PCT Director of Nursing and Therapies and as Chief Nurse at Marie Stopes International. Sally is a senior lecturer in leadership and professional practice and a Masters subject coordinator at Oxford Brookes University. Sally was awarded a doctorate in nursing for research into the perspectives and explanations of successful executive nurse leadership on English NHS Provider Trust Boards.
You can contact Sally by emailing: sally.bassett@reps.rcn.org.uk

Michael Fanning (Board Chair)
Michael has held a number of senior leadership and board roles in settings across the NHS, government and the independent sector. He is a Public Governor (Rest of England) for a mental health trust and a panel member for misconduct hearings with a public sector organisation. Michael was appointed as a magistrate in July 2025. He has been Chair of the Oxfordshire Branch since 2023.
You can contact Michael by emailing: michael.fanning@reps.rcn.org.uk
Michael is the link Board member for Milton Keynes.

Rosemary Gorvin (Board Vice Chair)
Rosemary completed her state registered nurse training at St Mary’s Hospital, Paddington in 1978. The majority of her nursing career has been undertaken at her family’s nursing home in Hampshire which was owned by her mother, who was also a registered nurse. She inherited the nursing home and managed the day to day organisation and care of the residents. This involved the organising and clinical care of the residents, the organising and care of the staff, and the support of residents' families. Importantly she was also responsible for the financial viability of the home to ensure that residents received the level of care that allowed them to lead a good quality of life. Rosemary has recently retired from her position at the nursing home and can offer an important insight into the role of nurses in the care home sector, including the excellent care that they deliver and the difficulties they encounter.
You can contact Rosemary by emailing: rosemary.gorvin@reps.rcn.org.uk
Rosemary is the link Board member for Portsmouth, Hampshire. and Surrey.

Tina Charlton (Board Member)
Tina has enjoyed a career in nursing for over 40 years. She has undertaken clinical roles in hospital, ICU and community roles with adults and children, management, commissioning, safeguarding and education. She leads with the ethos of creating common purpose with colleagues both internally and externally. Compassionate leadership underpins her leadership style and she had the opportunity to explore this in depth at Kings Fund the Top Managers Programme. Tina is delighted to serve the ÂÌñ»»ÆÞ regional board. She believes there has never been a time when the psychological safety of nurses has been more important for nurses, nursing and patient safety and that the ÂÌñ»»ÆÞ has a vital role and opportunity in achieving this for our profession.
You can contact Tina by emailing: tina.charlton@reps.rcn.org.uk
Tina is the link Board member for Buckinghamshire.

Mary Codling (Ex Officio Professional Nursing Committee)
Mary has worked in the NHS since qualifying. Over the years Mary has trained and worked as an Epilepsy Nurse Specialist, Independent Nurse Prescriber, Best Interest Assessor, and an Associate Lecturer. Mary has also conducted several research projects in practice, carried out audits that facilitated changes in service delivery, as well as publishing several papers, and developed national training and clinical resources. Mary works in her current role as Primary Health Care Lead for Learning Disabilities and acts as an advisor for several other organisations on areas such as epilepsy, learning disabilities and best interests. She has also been a peer reviewer for NIHR. Mary is the South East representative for the ÂÌñ»»ÆÞ Professional Nursing Committee and is also a Queens Nurse.
You can contact Mary by emailing: mary.codling@reps.rcn.org.uk
Mary is the link Board member for Berkshire

Morgan Cole Iguodala (Board Member)
You can contact Morgan by emailing: morgan.coleiguodala@reps.rcn.org.uk
Morgan is the link Board member for Jersey and Guernsey.
Catherine Coppard (Board Member)
You can contact Catherine by emailing: catherine.coppard@reps.rcn.org.uk
Catherine is the link Board member for West Sussex.

Cyzel Gomes e Coelho (Board Member)
Cyzel is a registered adult nurse who works as a staff nurse in Hampshire Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust. She has a keen interest in women's health and ED&I (equity, diversity and inclusion). Cyzel has only been qualified for 3 years but has been involved in the ÂÌñ»»ÆÞ right from her first year of university as a young student nurse. From being on the Student Commitee in 2019 to having spent a year on the Women's Health Forum Commitee in 2024 and now elected to the South East Board. Cyzel also enjoys sharing her experiences and stories from her times spent at ÂÌñ»»ÆÞ Congress in the previous years - she has been every year since 2022. In her free time, she loves spending time with her family in London and friends all over. She loves socialising and is an ambivert, who wants the world to be one big happy place for all, everywhere we go.
You can contact Cyzel by emailing: cyzel.gomes@reps.rcn.org.uk
Cyzel is the link Board member for Southampton and Isle of Wight.
Paul Lambirth (Board Member)
Paul is a highly experienced nurse with over 30 years in the NHS, including the past five years in general practice as the Lead Nurse in Eastbourne. His diverse career spans roles in critical care, infection control, and frailty, alongside leadership positions across primary and secondary care. Paul is a passionate advocate for nursing, and has served as an ÂÌñ»»ÆÞ steward and as Communications Officer for the ÂÌñ»»ÆÞ East Sussex Branch. He has participated as a voting member at Congress and attended numerous ÂÌñ»»ÆÞ events nationwide, engaging with members and championing their voices.
He is dedicated to representing the interests of nurses across the South East and driving positive change for our members.
You can contact Paul by emailing: paul.lambirth@reps.rcn.org.uk
Paul is the link Board member East Sussex.

Anita McBride (Board Member)
Anita qualified as a registered nurse in London in 1986 and has since been employed by both the NHS and universities. She was a Director of a Research Unit at Oxford University, focusing on health promotion in its widest sense, and writing a textbook to assist health care professionals. She has a doctorate from Oxford and has published in several journals. She has also been the lead on behalf of the DoH in identifying and prioritising topics for NHS research funding, and the Head of R&D for a large NHS Trust. She spent several years in Tanzania as a volunteer where she was also honoured to be able to lead the development of nurse training throughout the country. She has been an active member of St John Ambulance for many years and wrote the very first ambulance aid training manual. She has substantial experience in EDs and has always combined her academia-based posts with working in ED. Currently, she works for South Central Ambulance Service as a clinical manager for 111/Integrated Urgent Care. She is an ÂÌñ»»ÆÞ Steward and the Chair for the Hampshire Branch.
You can contact Anita by emailing: anita.mcbride@reps.rcn.org.uk
Anita is the link Board member for Oxfordshire.

Nicole Forbes (Ex Officio - Trade Union Committee)
Nicole is the South East TUC Committee Member, elected in April 2025. Since January 2022, she has also been Chair of the Southampton and Isle of Wight ÂÌñ»»ÆÞ Branch.
Nicole qualified as a nurse at Queen’s University Belfast before relocating to England as a newly qualified nurse. Her clinical background includes experience in general surgery, intensive care, and national cancer screening programmes. She now works as a nurse endoscopist at University Hospital Southampton (UHS), where she also serves as the Lead ÂÌñ»»ÆÞ Representative for the Trust.
Nicole is deeply committed to the future of nursing and to improving patient care. She is passionate about empowering members to raise their voices and build a stronger, more united ÂÌñ»»ÆÞ.
You can contact Nicole by emailing: nicole.forbes@reps.rcn.org.uk
Nicole is the link Board member for Brighton and Hove and East Kent.

Wendy Phillips (Board Member)
Wendy qualified as a nurse in 1983 and has undertaken many roles within the NHS, Marie Curie, home care services and interim/temporary posts. She has been part of the development of new NHS services, private sector services and worked with colleagues to produce a sharing platform for health and social care workforce development.
As a South East Board Member, ÂÌñ»»ÆÞ Steward and former Hampshire Branch Executive, Wendy is looking forward to new opportunities to learn and support colleagues and ÂÌñ»»ÆÞ members.
You can contact Wendy by emailing: wendy.phillips@reps.rcn.org.uk
Wendy is the link Board member for West Kent and Medway.
Elections and appointments
You can get more involved in the ÂÌñ»»ÆÞ by putting yourself forward as a candidate for ÂÌñ»»ÆÞ Council or a committee, board or forum. As a member, it's important to make your voice heard by voting in ÂÌñ»»ÆÞ elections. Â

How we're governed
