Lee Knifton leads the Foundation’s work in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland. This includes managing a great senior team who cover research policy and programmes functions and maintaining strategic relationships with Governments.
Lee has held this role since 2015. Prior to this, Lee seconded into the foundation for four years in order to develop our national arts festival in 2007, a programme on race equality, and international research on stigma and workplace mental health.
Lee’s professional academic background is in public health and he worked in the NHS for 10 years in prison public health, mental health and inequalities. Prior to this he worked in a disability charity.
Lee also holds a senior academic role at Strathclyde University where he jointly developed an interdisciplinary Centre for Health Policy, lead a PhD Centre in mental health equality, and jointly lead a strategic partnership with New York University.
He is Editor of the international ‘Journal of Public Mental Health’ and of the book ‘Public Mental Health: Global Perspectives’.