Naomi Fergus and Clare Walsby explore the external mentoring scheme at McPin Foundation, a mental health research charity. They discuss the reasons behind its inception, the benefits it brings, and potential areas for future improvement, all from the perspective of their roles in operations and HR.

Naomi Fergus joined McPin in 2021 having worked as a medical recruitment officer in the NHS for adolescents with gender identity disorder and autism. During this time she developed an interest in the mental health service for young people living with neurodiversity.

She is a former teacher, where she advocated for and delivered art and textiles workshops as therapy for young people living with anxiety. Naomi hopes to support McPin’s mission and core values whilst promoting the benefits of diversity and inclusion in the workplace. She is also a member of a community support group for parents and carers of children with autistic spectrum disorder.

Since arriving in 2019, Clare Walsby has developed her skills to give everyone at McPin kind, fair and respectful operational and wellbeing support. Clare finds her work experience in dance, theatre, education and administration to be a helpful and unique platform for working in Ops. Her work at an educational charity for women, where she supported students to overcome their fear of exams and provide equitable spaces for them to achieve, ignited a passion for using admin for good! Clare really values being part of the team that supports everyone at McPin to do their work and hopes to continue finding ways to improve and provide even better support.