Meet our public and community partnership (PCP) Advisory Board co-chairs  

Samina Begum, Co-Chair 

Samina hales from West Yorkshire and has worked in various roles, including administration in both the NHS and Charity’s, she then went on to have a career in Mental Health Social Work. Samina’s journey into health research began after having her daughter. She was involved as a parent in a 10-year project looking at health inequalities in the early years in Bradford, part of the Born in Bradford study. Parents were involved in governance, and decision making, around how the 22 projects would be delivered. It was a co-production from the beginning. 

Samina said: “Having been involved in the Born in Bradford study, I gained skills in co-chairing the Partnership Board Meetings, which made me apply to be a Co-Chair. From the onset, I have been impressed by the varied skills the whole PCP Advisory Board brings from their work and volunteering roles, I believe everyone has something significant to offer.” 

Since becoming a Co-Chair, Samina has been involved in the People and Community Partnership Funding Award scoping and development sessions, where some public contributors from the Advisory Board attended with local authority colleagues.  

Rosemary Nicholls, Co-Chair  

Rosemary Nicholls is from Saltburn, in North East of England, and brings a wealth of experience to the Advisory Board, having been an active public contributor for over 10 years. Rosemary has been involved in reviewing plain English summaries, participated in mock interviews, and acted as a public co-applicant on of the UNFAIR research study which gave her valuable insight into health inequalities and different perspectives. 

Rosemary said: “I applied to join the PCP Advisory Board and then to become a Co-Chair because I want to explore opportunities to learn and further ways to contribute to public health research.  

“I’m very impressed by the diverse experiences that the newer members are bringing to the PCP Advisory Board and look forward to working with everyone to extend our positive impact on public health concerns.”  

Since becoming a Co-Chair, Rosemary has attended all of the PCP Advisory Board meetings and also represented the PCP Advisory Board in London at the annual NIHR RSS SCPH Advisory Board. 

Rosemary also Chairs her local committee of Befrienders of Asylum Seekers and Refugees, interviews and writes articles for Saltburn’s community magazine ‘Talk of the Town’, and has occasional jobs as an Election Poll Clerk and a College Exams Invigilator – she's always on the go!