On 16th September 2011 the regulator in Engalnd and Wales granted The Life Story Network ltd, Community Interest Company status. The Network now operates under the name The Life Story Network C.I.C. The board members of which are:
Ruth Eley 
Ruth is a qualified social worker and has a background in
social care and the NHS. She is a Trustee of charitable organisation on
Merseyside providing residential, day and outreach support services to older
people, people with learning disabilities and people with dementia. In her former role as the national programme
lead for older people and dementia in the Department of Health, Ruth promoted
Life Story Work as part of the Dignity campaign and ensured it featured in the
National Dementia Strategy. She now works as an independent consultant and
remains passionate about the contribution of Life Story Work to health and
well-being, in particular for people with dementia or other mental health needs
who may not be able to tell their own stories easily. Our biographies are
essential components of our sense of self and Life Stories help us articulate
that through whatever means suits us best as individuals. Contact Ruth
Anna Gaughan
Anna has
a health and social care background with over twenty years experience of
working across these sectors. She
originally qualified as a nurse and holds a degree in Social Policy and a
Masters in Health & Social Care Leadership.
She has held a number of senior posts across health and social care,
latterly as Joint Director of Redesign across a PCT and Local Authority in
Greater Manchester. She
began to pursue independent consultancy, establishing her own company, Anna Gaughan Consulting (2004)
and had been commissioned to work at national, regional and local levels
(including as Lead for Dignity in the NW).
She works collaboratively with a range of partners and other
consultancies as well as national organisations and local academic
institutions. Anna also works as a coach and is a qualified NLP
Practitioner. She is a Visiting Fellow with Manchester
Business School and is a Director of the National Life Story Network. Anna is committed to developing the Life
Story Network because she is passionate about people and is a committed
champion of embedding a human - rights based approach. She believes that the
work on people's life stories will enable a return to relationship - based care
where an individual's unique personal identity and life experience will be
cherished and valued. Contact Anna
Polly Kaiser
Polly Kaiser has worked with people with a diagnosis of dementia for 27 years, first as a researcher around carer stress in England and France and then as a clinical psychologist in the north west of England. She teaches on the doctoral training programmes for clinical psychologists in the North West and was previously a lead in continuing professional development team within the North West SHA.
Polly was the National lead for Mental health in later life for the mental health equalities programme within the national mental health development unit (NMHDU) at the department of health promoting age equality (2009-2011) She has always worked to promote person centred approaches including life story work. Since 2003 she has been a member of the nationally recognised Oldham Life Story Group. She has been a member of the national life story steering group and supported and promoted the launch of the national life story network in February 2010. In her national role she has edited the Let's Respect for care home tool kit which has at its heart seeing the person. She is employed part time in Pennine care NHS foundation trust as the clinical lead for psychological therapies for older people and she sits on the national faculty of old age psychology PSIGE. Contact Polly
Jean Tottie 
Jean
is an Occupational Therapist by profession who progressed in to general
management in an acute hospital and then a health authority.
In
2001 she was seconded to the Northern & Yorkshire Regional Office of the
NHS Executive to manage implementation of the National Service Framework for
Older People and helped to set up the first Dementia Services Collaborative.
Jean
then moved to work in a PCT and local authority on re-design of older people's
services and as an independent consultant before becoming Network Director for
Older People's Services across Greater Manchester.
She
took early retirement in 2007 when her father needed more care and support as
his dementia advanced rapidly.
She
was a carer on one of the working groups of the External Reference Group developing
the National Dementia Strategy and is now a member of the Implementation
Reference Group.
Jean
is currently Chair of Uniting Carers at the charity Dementia UK and a trustee
of the charity.
She
is a carer on the steering group for the Kirklees Admiral Nursing Service and
the Royal College of Psychiatrists Memory Services Accreditation Programme. She
is also a Director of The Life Story Network Ltd. Contact Jean
Former Founding Board Members
Tony Jameson-Allen was one of the founding directors of The Life Story Network C.I.C before stepping down from the board in January 2012.
Chris Wilkins, also a founding director, resigned from the board on 31 March 2012