Our Team

Karen Haworth: Director Founder

Karen Haworth has a degree in adult education and professional development, and has spent 30 years in health and social care specialising in working with communities who may not otherwise access services.

Karen uses her lived experience of brain injury with a blend of therapeutic techniques to facilitate peer-to-peer support that enables the people she works with - from people with brain injuries to family carers - and individuals with long covid to develop self-management techniques and confidence to switch their mental and physical health and wellbeing into a positive direction.

Brain Health Breakthrough does not offer clinical guidance: read our full disclaimer here: Qualifications and scope of practice:

BA Hons Education and Professional Development

Rapid Transformational Therapist

Certificate in Education

A1 Assessors Award: Health and Social Care

Diploma in Rebirthing

Our Team

Hannah Beeko Non Executive Director

I provide corporate training on life skills such as stress management, efficiency, time and energy management as well as life/business success planning.
My mission is to enable as many people as possible to live a life they love.
I founded Authentically Speaking, a training and coaching business in 2016 and I am a certified leadership coach and trainer.
“It all starts with happiness for me. When we take care of our mental health and well-being, we are able to be the very best version of ourselves in our private lives and our business and career. Happiness has a big impact on productivity, effectiveness and profit!”
I have an open, honest and genuine approach which builds trust with people. My style is a mixture of coaching and training which helps people to make positive and lasting change to their life and business to create happiness.

Gaz Stanton: Mentor Co-ordinator

I'm passionate about helping people achieve their goals.
I was an Area System's Operator and Troop Leader in the British Army for 4 years. I had a severe, blunt force injury to the head on 20 April 2002. This left me in a coma for 6 weeks and I was told I wouldn't walk again.
However, I made such an outstanding recovery at DMRC Headley Court that I was invited to the Queens Garden Party. I met Bear Grylls, who inspired me to continue training and assured me that I would be amazed at how the body repairs itself. He was right and now I inspire others.
Not only did I walk again, I set up and chaired ‘The Big-S’ ( Brain Injury Group Support ) for 6 years to give people hope of recovery..
Gaz is now a Mentor Co-orinator at Brain Health Breakthrough and also a director of Daparian Foundation. He has recently completed his Mental Health First Aider Training , Gaz has delivered a number of PTSD and burn out presentations in the community.

Debra Parry MNCP: Director

Debra is an NCP Accredited Performance Coach with NLP (Level 5 Diploma) who trained with Derby based Simply Changing Ltd.. She is a Member of the National Council of Psychotherapists (MNCP).

Debra recently retired from education after almost 25 years. She spent approximately 10 years supporting students with Special Educational Needs across Primary and Secondary Education Debra holds HLTA Teaching & Learning Support Specialist: Mathematics professional status awarded by the Teacher Development Agency (TDA).

Before working in schools, Debra spent over 16 years with the Employment Service where her roles included Disablement Resettlement Officer, Job Club Leader, Jobcentre Manager, ASSET Centre Manager, Benefits Payment Manager & Employment Office Manager. As a job club leader she was particularly successful at helping older clients return to paid employment.

Debra is the Founder of online based Womb Cancer Info (WCI); she is also a Co-Founder of Leeds based Action on Womb Cancer (AWC) which she runs in collaboration with Dr Nic Orsi, Dr Michele Cummings & Mr Richard Hutson (Leeds University & St.James University Hospital, Leeds). Both WCI and AWC are members of Cancer52, the voice for rare and less common cancers. Debra also runs Scotland based Womb Cancer founded by Margaret MacGillivray, plus created and runs the online, peer-led Womb Cancer Private Support Group. Debra is a womb / uterine / endometrial cancer survivor and thriver since diagnosis in 2010.

Jane Colbourne Co-facilitator

Jane is a long-COVID survivor and co-facilitator for the Brain Health Breakthrough long-COVID support groups. She is also an events producer, performance poet, and freelance writer on science, nature & culture. She has past experience in complementary therapies, care work and tuition.

Admin Support

We're a small team and although we can get most of the work done in-house, we sometimes seek the help of freelance remote workers.
The virtual assistants we work with are highly qualified and hard working. Their part-time help with website copy, proofreading and formatting documents is integral to the running of Brain Health Breakthrough CIC and they are most certainly a really valued part of the team.
If you are looking for a Virtual Assistant and would like a recommendation, or would like to work with BHB, then please do get in touch with Karen.