Andrea Walters - ex-officio (Council member)

Andrea is RCN Council's Honorary Treasurer, representing the Northern region on the College's national governing body.

She is also an executive committee member of the RCN Tees Valley Branch.

She is a steward at South Tees Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust and has worked in neurosurgery at James Cook University Hospital since qualifying as an adult nurse.

She loves her job and is passionate about patient safety, the professional recognition of nurses, and the unfair treatment of international nursing staff.

Her board term will last from 1 January 2025 until 31 January 2028. 

Tim Grace - Professional Nursing Committee member

Tim Grace works in the leadership team of a community mental health service as a psychological therapist. An independent prescriber and a specialist mindfulness-based cognitive therapy practitioner, his main professional interests relate to working with people with voice-hearing experiences, service development, teaching, supervision and research. 

He provides clinical supervision for a range of professionals and has supervised postgraduate students. Tim also works together with people with lived experience of mental health problems, developing workshops, delivering training to staff, and working on service development. The clinical leadership aspect of his role allows him to influence patient care across services while retaining the individual clinical work that he enjoys.

The RCN has been a part of Tim’s professional life for most of his career, which included a 15-month secondment with the College. He finds being on the Northern Board and the RCN Professional Nursing Committee very rewarding. 

Roaqah Shaher - ex-officio (Trade Union Committee member)

Roaqah is the chair of the RCN Tees Valley Branch, having previously been vice chair and secretary.  She was accredited as an RCN steward in 2007 and joined the South Tees Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust Joint Partnership Committee soon afterwards in 2008. After being elected to Vice Chair of the Staff Side Committee for two years, she was elected to Staff Side Chair in 2015 and has remained in that position since. Within the RCN Tees Valley Branch she has held the positions of vice chair and secretary. She has been the treasurer of the branch for the last three years.

She has worked for James Cook University Hospital in Middlesbrough since she qualified as an adult nurse in 2004. She is currently a clinical sister in the Cardiothoracic High Dependency Unit and also has experience as a ward manager in general medicine.

Jane Hamilton

Jane Hamilton is the treasurer and former chair of the RCN Northumberland, Tyne and Wear Branch.

She works at South Tyneside District Hospital as an operating theatre sister / team leader and is an active RCN steward.

She was elected onto the Northern Board in 2023. Her current term lasts until 31 December 2026.

Stewart Keenan

Stewart Keenan is a Nurse Practitioner in Cardiothoracic Surgery at  Newcastle Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust and was elected unopposed to the Board for a term lasting four years until 31 December 2028. He wants to help achieve fair pay, safe staffing, an end to corridor care and care in unsafe locations, an end to student tuition fees, and guard against inappropriate substitution of RNs. He's acutely aware that we can only succeed in achieving these goals if we work together and explore all voices in the RCN membership, including the silent majority, to ensure the whole community of nursing is represented. 

Lovemore Mahachi

Lovemore is a steward at South Tees Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust.

He is secretary of the RCN Tees Valley Branch.

He was elected onto the board in 2024 and his term finishes on 31 December 2026.

Andrew Moore

Andrew became an RCN Northern Board member in 2020 after being elected to represent members in the region. He is currently serving his second term on the board which ends on 31 December 2026. He has held various RCN positions including being the former treasurer for the Northumberland, Tyne and Wear branch, along with being an active steward involved in casework with members and promoting the RCN in the workplace. He has many years' experience in the NHS, initially working in the community delivering care in patients’ houses. He currently works for NHS North East and North Cumbria ICB. He is passionate about his board and steward work, recognising the importance of professional nursing work, and is determined to do everything in his power to help to deliver an improved pay deal for nursing staff.

Carolyn Mason

Carolyn currently works for County Durham and Darlington NHS Foundation Trust, where she has worked predominantly in the community setting (for 20 years). More recently, Carolyn has worked in a corporate nursing role in safer staffing across acute and community services.

Carolyn is an experienced RCN steward who took time to raise her family before becoming involved again through her passionate advocacy for our nursing profession during the pandemic and subsequent RCN industrial action.

Carolyn is very passionate about supporting RCN members in the workplace and promoting the RCN's work. She is also an RCN changemaker.

This is Carolyn’s first term on the RCN Northern Board; however, she has significant experience in governance roles in her personal life. 

Danielle Ralton

Danielle is an Advanced Paediatric Nurse Practitioner for children and young people at County Durham and Darlington NHS Foundation Trust. She is team leader for the ANPs across the University Hospital of North Durham and Darlington Memorial Hospital sites, championing the ANP role within child health. She is passionate about being a voice for the nursing profession, and has been elected to the RCN Northern Board for her first term, starting 1 January 2025 and ending on 31 December 2028. 

Gillian Webster

Gillian Webster works for North Cumbria Integrated Care NHS Foundation Trust as a clinical research nurse at the Carleton Clinic. She is a safety rep for the Cumbria Branch and has just been elected for her first term of office on the RCN Northern region board, which runs from 1 January 2025 to 31 December 2028.

Steven Yull

Steven Yull is the former Chair of the Tees Valley Branch. He has held several RCN positions including health and safety representative and steward and he is now a member of the RCN Northern Board, elected to serve for a second term which runs from 1 January 2025 to 31 December 2028. 

Born in Middlesbrough, Steven trained in adult nursing at Teesside University. He has worked in intermediate care, community nursing, clinical education and he is currently an organisation development lead at the University Hospital of North Tees, North Tees and Hartlepool NHS Foundation Trust.