Parents & Carers Members

Information on the members of the Parents and Carers subgroup

Maylani Appasamy (Staff)

Maylani started working at UCL in March 2020 but joined the UCL Medical School (UCLMS) in October 2021. She is currently the Staffing and Module Coordinator in the Clinical and Professional Practice (CPP) Unit. Her previous roles in the UCLMS include CPP Staffing Administrator and CPP Timetabling Coordinator.

Maylani has 2 children: one daughter aged 12 and one son aged 10. When she is not working, she spends time with her children. She also enjoys cooking, baking, reading and going on long walks.

Kerry Boardman (staff)

Kerry is an Associate Professor (teaching) in the Postgraduate Medical Education Team (PGME). She co-leads the Masters programme in Health Professions Education and is a Personal Tutor. She was previously a GP and has academic interests in student support, neurodiversity, inclusive pedagogy and flexible working and study.

She has experienced balancing work and study with being the sole carer for a terminally ill husband and parent to a toddler; being a single parent with two jobs; and now being part of a neurodiverse blended family.

She is passionate about finding solutions with flexible working and study, to allow parents and carers to balance work, study and home commitments, whilst still finding time for themselves!

Lisa Gould (Staff)

I am a lecturer on the Master's in Health Professions Education and a Graduate Tutor for PGT programmes at UCL Medical School. My teaching and research work focus on postgraduate teaching and learning, with the aim of empowering healthcare professionals to engage with and understand medical education and MedED research. I also have an interest in clinical workplaces as learning environments, student co-design, student/HCP wellbeing, inequalities in health, and mental health.

I'm a mum of two girls, and thanks to my many years as a single academic mummy I'm used to spinning lots of plates! I have a little one with a chronic condition, so I'm very supportive of working parents and those with caring responsibilities, and I'm passionate about making sure those of us with caring commitments are represented in the workplace. In my spare time I love reading, walking on the beach where I live and any travel I'm able to fit in!

Jenny Meredith (Staff)

Jenny is the Placement Coordinator for all Year 5 Medical Students based at UCLH and manages the day-to-day timetabling of the Paediatric placement. Her primary focus is to liaise with speciality site leads to ensure high quality student experience and the delivery of expert clinical training aligned with the curriculum.

She balances working full-time with being a single parent to two daughters and has experience in problem solving and finding solutions to the various challenges this brings. She is happy to share her experience of pregnancy, childcare and navigating through a difficult divorce.

Carla Sanches (Staff)

Carla has recently joined UCL Medical School as an Admissions & Visiting Electives Administrator. Her responsibilities include coordinating the Multiple Mini Interviews for prospective medical students and managing the Visiting Electives programme at UCL.
With many years of experience in higher education, Carla takes great pleasure in connecting with students and helping them achieve the best university experience possible.

As a first-time mother to an energetic 1-year-old boy, she is navigating the rewarding but challenging balance of work and motherhood.

Rowena Viney (Staff)

Rowena is an Associate Professor in Medical Education in the Research Department of Medical Education (RDME). The main focus of her work is research on clinical communication, postgraduate medical training and assessment, and practitioner and medical student wellbeing. She also supervises postgraduate students’ masters and PhD research, and teaches qualitative research methods on postgraduate taught programmes.

She balances working full-time with being an adoptive parent to her two daughters. She brings to the parents and carers sub-group her experience of adopting, navigating the support available for children with special educational needs (SEN), and parenting in a same-sex family. Managing work, parenting, and caring can be difficult but there is support out there!