Sarah Hughes is to become chief executive of Mind, the mental health charity, in January 2023.
She takes on the role from Paul Farmer, who is to leave the charity after 16 years to take up the same position at Age UK.
Hughes is currently chief executive at the Centre for Mental Health, and will be leaving the charity at the end of the year. She became chief executive of the Centre in 2017, and led the organisation through the Covid-19 pandemic.
Before joining the Centre, Hughes was chief executive of Cambridgeshire, Peterborough and South Lincolnshire (CPSL) Mind. Hughes initially trained as a social worker.
'Sarah will be leading Mind at this crucial time for mental health'
Hughes said it is a “huge honour” to be appointed as the new chief executive at Mind, an organisation she has “loved and supported for more than 30 years”.
“I want to thank Paul Farmer for his leadership and inspiration over the years and I look forward to building our partnership with his new organisation, Age UK.
“I also want to thank my colleagues at Centre for Mental Health, we have done some extraordinary work together over the last six years, fighting for mental health equality, I know we will remain strong allies going forward.”
Hughes added: “Now is the time for a brave step into the challenges we all face, including our commitment to becoming truly anti-racist. We are stronger together.”
Stevie Spring, chair at Mind, said: “Paul Farmer is a tough act to follow but I'm truly delighted that Sarah will be leading Mind at this crucial time for mental health. Her commitment to bringing to the fore issues that have historically been ignored - including her work around race equity and poverty - will make her a passionate spokesperson for our sector.
“We're in the midst of a mental health crisis, where the work we do at Mind has never had more importance, particularly amongst those hardest hit by the pandemic. Sarah brings with her the vision, authenticity and leadership style we'll need to continue to meet the challenges ahead."
Hughes led the Centre 'through some of the toughest times'
Hughes said she was leaving the Centre “with a heavy heart, but with pride at what we have achieved with such a small but mighty organisation”.
“We have spoken out for mental health equality, for racial justice, and for better mental health services. We have trained hundreds of employment workers to enable people with mental health difficulties to fulfil their potential in work.
“We have led the way in peer research and in creating platforms for lived experience and creative expression such as our writer-in-residence programme and our unique A Year in Our Lives project. And we have highlighted the impacts of the Covid-19 pandemic on the nation’s mental health and the need for systemic change to address inequity and injustice throughout the mental health system,” she added.
Sue Bailey, chair at the Centre for Mental Health, said: “Sarah Hughes has led the Centre through some of the toughest times any of us have witnessed. Thanks to her principled leadership and vision, the Centre has championed mental health equality consistently and fearlessly throughout the last five years. Sarah’s leadership has challenged established notions of what a charity chief executive can and should do.
“The Centre has worked alongside our colleagues at Mind for many years, and I know we will continue to do so in the future in partnership with Sarah. The Centre is in a strong position thanks to Sarah’s leadership and its brilliant staff team. We will continue to thrive and make a difference to people’s lives through the quality of the Centre’s work and its unstinting commitment to social justice and better mental health for all.”
