Speaker Profiles
Speakers subject to change.
Carolyn Taylor BSc(hons), RD, MSc
Specialist Dietitian for Spinal Cord Injuries, NIHR Clinical Doctoral Fellow
Carolyn has worked as a Specialist Dietitian for Spinal Cord Injuries for nearly 30 years. She has extensive experience of working with people who have sustained a spinal cord injury, including during their acute admission, long term care and those requiring support for pressure ulcer management. During this time, she has been involved in guideline development, notably including the MASCIP bowel management guidelines and the NICE guidelines for pressure ulcer prevention and development. She has also contributed to educational resources for staff and spoken at national and international conferences on nutritional aspects affecting people living with a spinal cord injury. She has also had work published on nutritional requirements for spinal cord injury and a review of literature around weight management practices. Currently, Carolyn is undertaking a PhD looking co-designing a weight management service for people living with a spinal cord injury. Carolyn believes that those with lived experience are best placed to help design an acceptable and appropriate weight management service for this population.
Stephen Brookes
Counselling and Wellbeing Coordinator, Spinal Injuries Association
Stephen is a BACP-accredited psychotherapist, COSRT-registered psychosexual therapist, and Counselling and Wellbeing Coordinator with the Spinal Injuries Association. Following a C4/5 spinal cord injury in 2008, which ended his Royal Navy career, Stephen combined his lived experience with professional training to support individuals and families affected by spinal cord injury.
With specialist training in psychosexual therapy, Stephen has a particular interest in the psychological, relational, and sexual consequences of life-changing injuries and disability. His work focuses on adjustment, identity, resilience, intimacy, sexuality, and relationships, areas which are often overlooked despite their profound impact on wellbeing and quality of life.
As a military veteran, psychotherapist, psychosexual practitioner, and person living with SCI, Stephen offers a unique and authentic perspective that bridges clinical practice and lived experience. He is passionate about challenging stigma, improving healthcare professionals’ confidence in addressing psychosexual issues, and advocating for a more holistic approach to patient care that places mental health and sexual wellbeing as part of the rehabilitation process.
Susie Turnbull
Specialist Therapist, Spinal Injuries Association
Susie qualified as an occupational therapist (OT) in 2000, and joined SIA in 2024 as part of the Travel with Confidence project. She began her career with a junior rotation across many areas of clinical practice, and worked at the NSIC as an Advanced OT for 15 years, where she developed extensive experience working with patients with acute and established SCI, and initiated service developments in ageing and SCI. Later, her career and passion for working in the SCI community evolved into working as a product of clinical specialist and also as an independent OT in rehabilitation for clients with SCI.
Dr. Sankaranarayanan Hariharan MRCP(UK), FEBPRM, DGM.
Consultant, National Spinal Injuries Centre (NSIC), Stoke Mandeville Hospital
His clinical practice focuses on the lifelong management of spinal cord injuries, bridging the gap between chronic neurological rehabilitation and the physiology of ageing.
With a specialist focus on intrathecal drug delivery and complex spasticity management at the NSIC, his work is dedicated to proactively managing long-term complications, maximizing independence, and optimizing quality of life for individuals as they age with an SCI.
Gary Dawson
Support Network Manager, Spinal Injuries Association
Gary oversees the SIA Support Coordinators based on the West side of the UK. His team provide specialist support and advice for life after injury. He sustained his SCI in a motorcycle accident at 19 years old and has openly talked about his struggles before he found the right support. He first joined SIA in 2008 as a volunteer, and in 2012 as part of the Support Network team. Gary often appears on TV as a representative of the charity, co-hosted the ‘I Didn’t Plan on This’ podcast and regularly fundraises through cycling events.
Sian Rodger
Spinal Cord Injury, Nurse Specialist, Spinal Injuries Association
Sian Rodger is a Spinal Cord Injury Nurse Specialist with extensive experience in spinal cord injury care, patient education, health coaching, and nursing leadership. She currently works with the Spinal Injuries Association and has previously held senior clinical and leadership roles at the Royal National Orthopaedic Hospital NHS Trust, including Lead Nurse for Patient Experience and Clinical Nurse Specialist at the London Spinal Cord Injury Centre.
Sian is a published author, researcher, and regular contributor to Nursing Times, with numerous articles on spinal cord injury care, patient education, health coaching, and service improvement. She has presented her work at national and international conferences and contributed a chapter on spinal cord injury care to an evidence-based orthopaedic and trauma nursing textbook.
She is passionate about improving patient experience, empowering people to self-manage their health, and advancing evidence-based practice within specialist rehabilitation and spinal cord injury services.
Kerryn Pratt
Head of Academy, Spinal Injuries Association
Kerryn is the Head of the Frank Williams Academy and has worked in health information, education and service delivery for over 20 years, with people-centred causes always close to her heart.
Beginning her career within the ambulance service, Kerryn is familiar with the broad array of services and settings where healthcare occurs. She then went onto join St John Ambulance as Head of Education and Quality. Kerryn delivered their covid vaccine programme, whereby she guided the recruitment and mobilisation of 30,000 volunteers in 7 months to NHS quality standards. During 2022 she worked at Prostate Cancer UK to manage and implement their improvement programmes for over 150 clinicians. In that time, she secured funding to make the programme self-sustaining. Which ultimately led to the improved care for more than 40,000 men across the UK.
She joined the SIA in 2023. In her role she is eager to continue improving the knowledge surrounding spinal cord injury, for all healthcare professionals across the different settings and disciplines of treatment and care.
