The Team – You Okay, Doc?

Executive Team Trustees Ambassadors Patrons

You Okay, Doc?

The foundation is supported by three co-founding trustees of varying occupations, experience and background. As a group, we collectively bring together a wealth of knowledge that will help ensure the foundation achieves its vision.

Executive Team

Dr Daniel Gearon

Founder

Daniel is the founder of You Okay, Doc? and surgical trainee in the East of England Deanery, he is currently on a sabbatical having recently completed his Masters with the Cambridge University Judge Business School in Entrepreneurship. Prior to entering medical school in 2010 Dan was a decorated collegiate tennis athlete in the USA, where he also studied for his Bachelor of Arts degree in Communication with a Minor in PR and advertising.

Chris Cherry

Co-Founder & Therapist

Chris is a qualified integrative psychotherapist with over 30 years of experience. He is fully registered with the UK Council of Psychotherapy and has worked in a variety of clinical settings including the NHS, the Crown Prosecution Service, as well as founding and coordinating a number of organisations. His work has also extended to a variety of appearances on a wide range of TV and radio programmes including ‘The Truth About Men’ on ITV, Radio 4 and BBC Radio Berkshire. Chris has worked with a broad range of emotional issues ranging from anxiety to addictions and with these experiences he will provide valuable insight into tailoring specific products to support doctors’ mental health.

Dr Meenal Galal

Advisor

Dr Meenal Galal is currently an emergency medicine consultant at the John Radcliffe Hospital in Oxford. She has experience in the management of all medical emergencies, particularly high-impact trauma and has practiced in multiple settings across the world including at sea as a three-striped officer in the merchant navy and austere conditions of rural Africa. She also has an MBA with experience in corporate and investment banking managing highly-leveraged finance within a multi-million pound portfolio.

Julio Cervantes

Therapist

Julio is a registered psychotherapist in the U.K. with over 20 years of experience in the U.S. and international communities. He has worked across East Asia and Europe with the military to provide therapy and education on well-being. Currently, he provides counselling and psychotherapy to individuals in international companies, universities, and private practice. Julio is an integrative therapist meaning he blends several therapy styles to meet each client’s unique needs. Specifically, he uses a solution-focused approach to help clients reach their goals and create change that supports their mental health.

Trustees

Darren Lunz

Chair of Trustees

Darren is the founder of KNECCT Ltd, a company connecting charities and volunteers. He is a South African Chartered Accountant and holds an MBA from Spain. Based in London, Darren is a keen amateur triathlete, and in 2022 completed his first Half Iron-Man in Estonia and ran a full marathon to raise funds for charity. Darren is driven by the aim of achieving equality and respect within all communities and is extremely passionate about supporting the health and mental well-being of doctors and nurses who play such a pivotal role in our society.

Matthew Betts

Trustee

Matt has worked in the charity sector either as a volunteer or in paid employment for over twenty years. He currently works as Development Manager for a charitable trust based in the south east successfully developing and delivering a fundraising strategy over the last few years. Matt is originally from West Yorkshire and studied Classics at the University of Kent. He now lives in Dorset with his family and three pets.

Bjorn Ovar Johansson

Trustee

Bjorn Ovar is an independent advisor and interim CIO with significant experience operating at board level translating business needs into executable outcomes. He specialises in leading digital change towards excellence, whilst enhancing the customer experience and has worked for several international clients in multiple sectors including 15 years in life science and health care. He was appointed CIO|100 UK 2019. Bjorn Ovar was trustee and chairman of Stockholm’s largest youth ice hockey organisation before relocating back to the UK in 2014. He is passionate about physiology, mental health, and physical well-being, and, leading a healthy lifestyle.

Lucy Kopala

Trustee

Lucy has been with You Okay, Doc? since its inception and has brought both her industry experience as a chartered accountant and Director at Grant Thornton to YOD. Her work has helped curate the current YOD strategy and also directly contributed to the operational and financial work of the charity. Lucy’s area of expertise at Grant Thornton is litigation support with a focus on evidencing fraud and devising and implementing asset recovery strategies resulting from complex litigation, both in the UK and globally.

Dr Jonny Mutch

Trustee

Dr Jonny Mutch is a Paediatric Specialist Registrar, who joined You Okay, Doc? as a founding ambassador and in 2022 became a trustee. Jonny believes that doctors are often the best at looking after others but the worst at looking after themselves. You Okay Doc? raises awareness of this and the mental health pandemic we face within our profession. Prior to medicine Jonny completed the graduate leadership programme, Teach First, where he was involved with improving the attainment and aspirations of pupils in challenging schools, gaining a Masters in Educational Leadership. As a London paediatric GRID trainee Jonny has ongoing input as a royal college of paediatrics and child health ambassador, where he advocates for children’s health locally and nationally.

Louisa Pau

Trustee

Louisa is an experienced business owner, coach and mentor with experience in communications, marketing and healthcare. Louisa ran her first business, Woolley Pau, from 1993 to 2007, building it into a healthcare ad agency with an enviable reputation, both for its creative work and its quality as an employer. After selling the business, she took on a strategic role to pilot the company through change and growth. She founded Otherboard in 2013 to help other business owners grow a healthy business and have a healthy life. Otherboard provides coaching and mentoring programmes, workshops and training sessions. At the Institute for Practitioners in Advertising (IPA), Louisa chaired the inaugural Healthcare Group, was a member of Council for nine years and the Membership Committee for three. Her work was recognised when she was made a Fellow of the Institute of Practitioners in Advertising in 2010.

Iain Shoolbred

Trustee

Iain is a qualified solicitor who for the last 15 years has specialised in acting for claimants in personal injury claims for those with work-related illnesses. He is employed as a Senior Associate by Irwin Mitchell LLP, one of the country’s leading personal injury firms and is accredited by the Association of Personal Injury Lawyers. Based out of Irwin Mitchell’s Birmingham office, Iain has a national practice which involves acting for those who have suffered from stress related illnesses arising from their work. Through his work acting for doctors and other NHS staff in compensation claims, Iain has gained insight into the extreme pressures and challenges to mental health faced by clinicians in the current NHS.

Dr Jeremy Sizer

Trustee

Jeremy qualified as a doctor in 1985, has worked as a consultant in Bedford Hospital since 1996 and is now semi-retired. Jeremy is a visiting professor at Cranfield University at the Centre for Engineering Photonics. His interests are in medical engineering and he is a Bedford Blues rugby fan.

Ambassadors