Our Team
Meet the Team
Dr Alastair Dobbin, MB BS
Co-founder and Medical Director
After qualifying as a doctor in London, Alastair worked in Australia before coming to Edinburgh to work in General Practice. As a busy GP he was always interested in helping his emotionally distressed patients. This led him to study the use of an elite Olympic sports psychology programme in Sweden and to develop the Positive Mental Training programme as a treatment for depression. Along with Edinburgh University, he researched into the use of relaxation and mental skills training and his interest in research continues. He is an honorary fellow at the School of Clinical Sciences and Community Health, University of Edinburgh.
Dr Sheila Ross, PhD
Co-founder and Managing Director
She has collaborated with Alastair on the Positive Mental Training programme, used in the Sorted App, since its inception. With over 35 years experience in promoting health, she has worked in health promotion and health education and founded a successful organic food company. She is a health psychologist and a UKCP accredited psychotherapist and embraces a public health perspective that everyone can learn the skills necessary for good mental health.
Sheila is the Operational Director of the charity arm Foundation for Positive Mental Health, which is active in research, education and training in positive mental health.
Becky Tapper
School Liaison Officer
Becky has been teaching since 2011, gaining a Distinction in her PGCE in Secondary English in 2012 having completed her training as part of the Teach First programme. She taught in a mixed comprehensive in London for 3 years before returning to NW England to take up a Lead Practitioner role in a mixed comprehensive in Greater Manchester. As well as working as the Schools Liaison Officer for FPMH, Becky teaches English in an SEMH school part-time. Before teaching, she completed her LLB(Hons) Law with French and worked in a range of settings supporting young people, including young people at risk of offending.
Serena Steptoe
Schools Project Officer and Evaluation lead
After graduating with first class honours in Psychology (MA) at The University of Edinburgh, Serena helped to run therapeutic activities for individuals in Psychiatric facilities, community and geriatric settings in Sri Lanka, as well as teaching English to young people. She leads evaluation research for the Sorted for Schools programme. She is experienced in qualitative research, and in R, and brings her own unique personal insights from her recovery from Obsessive Compulsive Disorder (OCD) as a teenager. Serena also volunteers for The Spit it Out project, an art collective that aims to empower and heal through creativity.
Dr Pawel Orzechowski, PhD
Team and Tech Lead, CTO
Spearheading the development of the Sorted App, Pawel brings joyful enthusiasm and impressive expertise from over 10 years of working in mobile app development, computer interface, user experience and business development. He is currently Senior Teaching Fellow at the University of Edinburgh Business School, previously being an Instructor at the award winning CodeClan and gaining a PhD from Heriot Watt University.
Jen Proctor
Senior Software Developer
Having worked on a variety of cross-platform mobile apps at different companies, Jen brings her experience to the Sorted App to deliver new features and user-friendly interfaces. As an advocate for mental health, she is dedicated to creating accessible tech that can have a positive impact in the real world. She loves to try out new things and enjoys working on personal projects, all while looking after her new puppy Tali.
Dr Jo Gardiner, MBChB, MRCP, MRCGP
Foundation for Positive Mental Health Trustee
Jo joined the board of FPMH on its inception in 2010, bringing her positive energy & 23+ years experience as a GP & GP Trainer/ Course Organiser in Edinburgh. Using Positive Mental Training with patients for 15+ years to treat anxiety, depression, physical symptoms of stress & chronic pain, she saw the potential of the Sorted App to help colleagues. As Leith GP Cluster lead, she created innovative ways to improve well-being & resilience both in primary care teams and the local population, now adopted throughout NHS Lothian.
Karen Clark
Foundation for Positive Mental Health Trustee
Karen brings to the board her considerable experience in business and financial management gained from over 30 years of working with Halifax bank. She brings a valuable, non-medical, perspective along with insights into mental trauma inflicted from social disruption and war, from living in Northern Ireland during 'the troubles'.
Mark McLauchlan
Foundation for Positive Mental Health Trustee
Mark is an experienced transformation architect. He recently joined the board and brings his considerable expertise from start-up CTO and Transformational Change Leader - helping to translate strategy into practical technology architecture and delivery plans, making complexity easy to understand. A wealth of experience from over 20 years in Financial Services, working in both large and challenger banks.
Karen Jacques
Business Development Manager
Karen is a highly experienced sales and marketing professional with over 20 years experience working with a number of businesses across a variety of sectors.
Karen launched her own sales & marketing consultancy business in 2011. Initially working primarily within the travel and tourism sector, Karen now works with a number of different organisations across the hospitality, travel, tourism and technology sectors helping them to develop their business and offering sales and marketing support. Karen joined the Sorted App in 2021 and is working alongside the team to help them grow their business. She is always on the lookout for new business development opportunities!
A people person, Karen really enjoys working with the variety of clients that her jobs bring her into contact with and has developed great relationships with many of them over the years.
Karen is also a Board member of Women in Tourism, an advisory Board member of Springboard and is also a mentor for students at Napier University.
Deepali Kansal
Communications Manager
Since graduating with a first class honours in Media Production (BSc), Deepali has worked within a range of roles covering various areas of marketing and digital content production. She now brings her expertise to the team to help deliver the marketing and communications across Sorted. As someone passionate about health and fitness, Deepali uses her personal training and nutrition qualification which she completed more recently to help others achieve their fitness and lifestyle goals
Weronika Harlos
Software Development Intern
Weronika is a new member of our team. She is a 3rd year Web Design and Development student at Napier University. Her interest in accessibility and user centred design began last year. When she had the opportunity to join Story Valley - Design Sprint in Slovenia. She learned about the importance of diversity and inclusivity in web design.