People
Melinda Letts – Senior Associate
Melinda Letts is Chair of Parkinson's UK and strategic consultant working with voluntary, public and private sector clients. She chaired the Long-term Conditions Alliance (now National Voices) from 1998-2004, having been a trustee from 1996, and was chief executive of Asthma UK from 1992 to 1998. Melinda is also a patron of the Men's Health Forum, a senior associate consultant with Compass Partnership, and has her own executive coaching practice.
From 2003 to 2009 Melinda was a founding Director of Ask About Medicines, the independent campaign to increase people's involvement in decisions about their use of medicines.
From 2006-2010 she chaired a monthly series of Third Sector Learning Events for the Department of Health, having originally initiated the idea. She chaired the Committee on Safety of Medicines Working Group on Patient Information 2003-2005, was a member of the Third Sector Commissioning Taskforce 2005/06, a commissioner with the Commission for Health Improvement and its successor body the Healthcare Commission 1999-2004, a member of the NHS Modernisation Board 2000-2003, and a signatory to the Core Principles of the NHS Plan in 2000.
Former appointments also include six years as deputy chair of trustees of the General Practice Airways Group, membership of the board of the New Opportunities Fund, and trusteeship of the National Council for Voluntary Organisations (NCVO) and Comic Relief.
Melinda was appointed OBE in 2003 for her services to the NHS Modernisation Board. She was awarded a first class degree in classics at Oxford University in 1978, graduated from the Coaching Academy with distinction in 2004, and is currently studying for an MSt in Greek Literature at Oxford University.