GLE welcomes new members to Lived Experience Council

GLE warmly welcomes new members appointed to our Lived Experience Council. We are grateful to have  Cameron McDonald-Smith (Scotland), Cheryl Webster Pollard (Canada), Isha Garg (Australia), and Michael Ryan (Ireland) join us. A Pacific region LEC member will be appointed soon.

President and CEO Steve Appleton says: “I am delighted by the appointment of the new members to the LEC. They will carry forward the great work initiated by the inaugural members. I look forward to working closely with them and supporting their connection with the GLE Board.”

Find out more about Cameron, Cheryl, Isha and Michael below.

Cameron McDonald-Smith

Cameron McDonald-Smith is a leader in Scotland who advocates for people with
learning disabilities. He has worked for the Scottish Commission for People with
Learning Disabilities for the past 12 years. Cameron provides talks about his lived
experience in many forums, including the Scottish Parliament. Cameron has been a
member of GLE for six years.

Cheryl Webster Pollard
Cheryl Webster Pollard is a member of the Mētis Nation of Alberta, within Canada.
Cheryl’s lived and living experience is both personal mental health living experience and caring for a family member with experience of trauma. She is a Professor of Nursing at the University of Regina and is an active member on the Mental Health Commission of Canada Hallway Group. Cheryl has been a member of GLE for six years.

Isha Garg
Isha Garg is based in Melbourne. She describes her mental health lived experience
journey as being shaped by cultural transition, identity, and belonging, having originally migrated from India to Australia. Isha currently works as a Training Coordinator at Victorian Mental Illness Awareness Council (VMIAC), where she coordinates sector training programs including Alternatives to Suicide and Emotional CPR. She also contributes to the Lived Experience Consumer Partnership Group and the National Suicide Prevention Office.

A particular area of interest for Isha is her volunteer work with the alumni community at The University of Melbourne, where she supports international and newly arrived students as they navigate their transition to life and study in Australia. Isha has been a member of GLE for one year.

Michael Ryan
Michael Ryan from Ireland is widely known and regarded as a person of Lived
experience recovering from Mental Health and Addiction Challenges. He is the head of the national office of Mental Health Engagement and Recovery in Ireland. Michael
is chair of the WHO taskforce that drafted the WHO EU Roadmap on lived
experience “Transforming mental health through lived experience: roadmap for
integrating lived and living experience practitioners into policy, services and
community”.  He has been a member of GLE for nine years.