Michael MacKay

Michael's values and experience

What skills and experience do you bring to your Trustee role?

I have post-graduate qualifications in Social Work, Counselling & Psychotherapy, and in the practice education of social work students. I have frontline and leadership experience in a range of areas including safeguarding, mental health, LGBTQ+ health, youth justice and domestic abuse prevention. I bring my clinical expertise, knowledge of the health and social care sectors, and strategic experience in service development and delivery to my role as a Trustee. I am passionate about utilising my knowledge and skills to help YoungMinds in its mission to improve young people’s access to mental health support.

Which of our values do you relate to most, and why do you think it’s an important value for us?

The value I relate most to is 'we celebrate what makes you, you.'

Working in the mental health sector, I all too often see the impact of stigma, discrimination and exclusion on mental health. In the absence of feeling valued, appreciated, supported and, yes, celebrated, there is a risk young people may feel the need to hide aspects of themselves. I think that when we find ourselves in affirming spaces that celebrate us, we can come to realise that aspects of ourselves we may not have felt safe enough to express, can become a superpower.

What do you do to switch off and take care of your mental health?

I switch off by doing pilates and yoga, taking care of friends’ dogs whenever I can, hanging out by the seaside and seeing friends.

We celebrate what makes you, you. What three words describe you best?

Curious
Collaborative
Reflective

Meet more of our Trustees

Our Board is made up of 12 amazing volunteers who bring a huge commitment to our cause, some with own and family lived experiences of mental health needs, as well as a wealth and diversity of experiences and skills. They expertly oversee the charity under the leadership of Caroline Hope, our Chair of the Board.

The role of trustees is to share their knowledge, skills and expertise, as well as give up some of their time unpaid as volunteers, to help us achieve our mission: to make sure all young people get the mental health support they need when they need it, no matter what.

They help us to enhance our three main strategic programmes:

Never alone: Helping young people to look after their own mental health.
Someone to turn to: Making sure young people have adults around them who can really help.
Powerful young voices: Building a youth-led movement to make sure mental health support is there for anyone that needs it.

Our Trustees oversee everything we do, from setting our strategy to being responsible for our work and finances, in line with the key duties as set out by the Charity Commission. They empower our CEO and Senior Leadership Team to take responsibility for the day-to-day running of YoungMinds, but they are the final decision-makers with ultimate responsibility for our success or failure. The Board are supported by the Senior Leadership Team, our wider Leadership Group and our Youth Panel; a group of 14 young people directly involved in our governance and strategy.