From uniformed services to civilian life,
we provide help and advice
we provide help and advice
Call us: 01772 894039
The College of Military Veterans and Emergency Services (CMVES) is overseen by a steering group whose members represent the military, academia, 42 Brigade Headquarters North West (HQNW) and the CMVES project team. Everyone involved in CMVES has strong ties to the military and expertise in helping ex-service personnel make a successful transition to civilian life.
Professor Mike Thomas served as a submariner in the Royal Navy prior to qualifying as a mental health nurse. Previously the Vice-Chancellor and Professor of Organisational Leadership at the University of Central Lancashire in Preston, England. His research interests are leadership and kindness during periods of uncertainty, mental health trauma and promoting mental health wellbeing. In a career spanning over thirty years in mental health care he has served as a Pro Vice-Chancellor, Dean of two different Faculties and held three previous Professorships in different universities. Mike has numerous publications, presents papers across the world, continues to maintain a clinical provision and currently supervises twelve doctoral students. He co-founded the Centre for Veterans' Wellbeing in North-West England and founded the College for Military Veterans and Emergency Services with academic and service colleagues.
Colonel Finnegan was commissioned into the British Army in 1987. His clinical background is in Mental Health. He has deployed to Iraq, the Balkans, Northern Ireland, South Africa and Afghanistan. He has served as a Nurse Consultant in Military Mental Health and the Ministry of Defence (MoD) Specialist Nursing Advisor in Mental Health. He is currently serving as the UK MoD Professor of Nursing. His research interests are military mental health and defence nursing. He was pivotal to the establishment of the Royal College of Nursing Defence Forum, and then served as Chairman from 2004 until 2011. He is a member of the RCN International Committee and Chairman of the British Army Nursing Research Professoriate. Alan is Visiting Professor of Army Nursing at Birmingham City University, Honorary Professor in Mental Health at the University of Central Lancashire and University of Chester, and Full Professor of Nursing at the University of South Florida. Alan is a Committee Member of the Nurse Education Today Editorial Board. Awards include: Professional Nurse of the Year – Mental Health Award 1998; British Journal of Nursing – Nurse of the Year Award (Defence Nursing Category) 2011; RCN Research Society Akinsanya Award for Excellence in Doctrinal Research Studies – Runner Up in 2012.
Jenny is an associate lecturer in Further Education and Training at Edge Hill University. She is a member of the Army Reserves, serving with 156 Regiment RLC and has 14 years regular army experience where she served with both the Royal Logistic Corps and the Educational and Training Services Branch of the Adjutant Generals Corps. As well as military service Jenny has also worked in the charity sector in a senior management position, overseeing commissioned and voluntary projects throughout the UK. She is passionate about helping veterans and has recently developed an app to help with the transition into civilian-street.
Celia grew up within a military family and chose a career in Nursing. Following her specialist practice in children’s intensive care she entered nurse education in 1988 as a lecturer/practitioner becoming a full-time lecturer in Children’s nursing in 1990. She progressed to hold senior positions within the School of Nursing, Midwifery, Social Work and Social Sciences at the University of Salford, including Associate Head of Teaching and Learning and two Director Roles across Adult nursing and Post Graduate studies before returning to a senior lecturer role that then enabled her to focus more closely on working with the ex-service personnel and their families. She has effectively led the programme of transition for military service personnel and their families formally for the last five years being co-founder of the initial Centre for Veterans' Wellbeing in the North West of England and is now one of the founders of the College for Military Veterans and Emergency services. Her research interest is in human relationships and psychoanalytic work especially relating to leadership and management. She supervises five PhD students with studies in similar fields. She has a variety of publications and presentations at a national and international level.
Stuart has worked for the Deparment of Work and Pensions (DWP) since 1987 undertaking a wide range of roles including benefit administration, front line customer facing services (with many years as a visiting officer), performance measurement, project management and managerial duties.
He currently works in LEAN/ Continuous Improvement within DWP and across other government departments undertaking business process improvement activity and delivering LEAN training to civil servants. Stuart is a qualified LEAN Expert accredited by Cardiff University.
Stuart’s passion lies in sport. He has represented the civil service regionally and nationally at rugby league and union also playing for a local club to a high amateur level until recurrent shoulder injuries forced him into retirement in 2005.
Now a keen endurance athlete, Stuart has completed numerous Triathlons, Duathlons, cycling and running challenges including Tour de Forces, Paras 10 and The Army Challenge events to raise finances and awareness of military veterans.
Stuart assists his local council voluntarily in his marginal time to run the Couch to 5K incentive- a nine week programme supporting local residents to improve their health and fitness. He has coached over three hundred people including a number of military veterans through the scheme since it began.
He has a strong understanding to the connection that health, fitness and sport can play a vital role in increasing an individual’s self-worth and build confidence. These are necessary to ensure effective transition into civilian life especially for injured service personnel.
Stuart is interested in the rehabilitation area of military veterans for example Team True Spirit and the Battle Back initiatives.
