Advisory Board

Sarah Beazley

Sarah has a MA in Law from the University of Oxford and a PGCE from the University of Hertfordshire. She is a qualified solicitor who has worked in the City, in industry and for Cambridge University colleges. She is also a qualified teacher and has worked as a volunteer in local schools and in museum education in Hertford and Cambridge. She has studied History of Art and Creative Writing at Cambridge University Institute of Continuing Education and also spent a year studying Jewish Muslim relations at the Woolf Institute.

Sarah is the Chair of UCSA, a collaboration between The University of Hertfordshire and Oaklands College, and also a member of the Professional Advisory Group supporting the work of the Hertfordshire Law School at the University. She works with a number of groups across Hertfordshire focussing on diversity, inclusion and equalities and has acted as independent chair of the Hertfordshire Hate Crime Partnership Board. Sarah is an Ambassador for the Hertfordshire Community Foundation, patron of the Herts Domestic Abuse Helpline and a trustee of One Vision, Watford. She is also a voluntary bereavement supporter for Cruse Bereavement Care and served for many years as a school safeguarding governor.

Sarah was born and brought up in Hertfordshire. She served as High Sheriff of Hertfordshire from 2019 to 2020 and sits on the Council of the High Sheriffs Association. In 2021 she was awarded an Honorary Doctor of Laws by the University of Hertfordshire. She has four children and enjoys travel, walking, tennis and visiting galleries and museums.

Michael Dragoyevich

Michael was raised and educated in Melbourne, Australia. He started his career in the media industry with News Corporation, and thereafter worked for the Fairfax Group. Michael relocated to the United Kingdom in 1990 to join Euromoney Institutional Investor, having developed an interest in international banking, finance, and the capital markets.

In 2009, building on contacts in the corporate and financial sector, Michael founded Temple, a niche corporate advisory firm, catering to small to medium sized companies. Michael has a BSc in Applied Science from Victoria University, Australia.

Gurch Randhawa

Professor of Diversity in Public Health and Director of the Institute for Health Research at the University of Bedfordshire. The Institute for Health Research hosts a thriving health research programme, examining issues throughout the whole of the life-course from pre-conception to end-of-life care and He was the Research Lead for the Unit of Assessment 3
(Health) for the REF2021 and REF2014.

Daksha Trivedi

Professor Daksha Trivedi trained as a scientist and obtained her Ph.D(King’s College, London) and M.Sc, Faculty of Medicine, University of London and an M. Phil in Epidemiology at the University of Cambridge. She has an interest and expertise in Evidence Based Practice, Epidemiology, Quantitative and Qualitative designs, Mixed Methods, Clinical Trials and evaluation of complex interventions.

She has led the Clinical Trials Design and Management module for Masters in Clinical Research. Daksha has led systematic reviews using mixed methods of both quantitative and qualitative literature commissioned by the National Institute for Clinical Excellence and the National Institute for Health Research (NIHR).

She is an editor for the Cochrane Injuries Group, Associate Editor for Primary Health Care Research & Development, Co-editor of Covid-19 issue, member of the Cochrane Nursing Care Research Network and member of the NIHR Research for Patient Benefit Regional Advisory Committee. She is a peer reviewer for NIHR funding bodies, and journals.

She has led NIHR funded projects (see Research interests, outputs and activities) and has an established record of conducting interdisciplinary research which spans across various public health areas including mental health, prevention and early detection.

Sally Hopper

Sally is the Director of Human Resources at Hertfordshire County Council, with a workforce of over 8,000 staff, working everyday to contribute to the vision and priorities centred around four key areas: improving the health and wellbeing of our people, protecting, and improving our environment, supporting the sustainable and responsible growth of our county, and providing excellent services that are accessible for all.

Geoff Brown

Chief Executive of Healthwatch Hertfordshire since it began in 2013, Geoff has shaped and developed a successful organisation with a strong reputation. His work as a consultant advising Councils and the NHS, following a career in local government, gives him the strategic insight and vision to lead on a challenging agenda in health and social care. His career experience is significant and includes corporate leadership roles in areas such as performance, policy, equalities communications and community engagement.