Global Talent Local Impact – Project Steering Committee

Jennifer Allison is an Associate Director of Nursing and Midwifery at the National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR), inspiring others to support, deliver and lead research to improve health and care outcomes.

She remains a Lead Matron for R&D at the University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust. Based initially in the NIHR Southampton Clinical Research Facility, she was a founding member of the Senior Management Team of the UK Clinical Research Facility Network. As Lead for Workforce Development, she and colleagues supported all staff in over 60 CRFs across the UK and Ireland.

She was an early member and past president of the International Association of Clinical Research Nurses. She continues to articulate the unique contribution that clinical research nurses and their teams make to global healthcare, while developing innovations and equitable opportunities for a diverse research workforce to reach underserved communities.

Jennifer is an Associate Director of Nursing and Midwifery at the National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR), inspiring others to support, deliver and lead research to improve health and care outcomes. She remains a Lead Matron for R&D at the University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust. She works with colleagues to articulate the unique contribution that clinical research nurses and their teams make to global healthcare, while developing innovations and equitable opportunities for a diverse research workforce to reach underserved communities.

Nurjahan Ali Arobi works in Adult Social Care as Workforce Delivery Lead for Individual Employers and Personal Assistants. She is also co-leading the production by the Royal Society of Public Health of a Behaviour Change Framework for the Adult Social Care workforce. In addition, Nurjahan established and leads the Global Majority Nursing Network in relation to which she recently published a blog about Achieving culture change: growing positive working teams.   

Nurjahan has 20 years’ NHS experience. In Bradford, she led Walk Leaders, Health Trainers and Social Prescribing, Champions Show the Way, and Bradford Beating Diabetes. At NHS England, she improved policy and practice across public participation, youth volunteering and workforce improvement. Nurjahan has worked across a range of areas from community development, prevention and health improvement, peer support and supported self-management, psycho-social support, VCFSE and charities partnership working, co-production, volunteering across the life course, recruiting and retaining people with lived experiences, and equity, equality, diversity and inclusion. In her most recent previous role, Nurjahan focused on co-designed social prescribing services to support older people experiencing financial hardship. She felt strongly about the need for co-design and shared leadership she co-authored a blog for the King’s Fund. 

Nurjahan holds an MSc in Public Health / Health Promotion and an MSc in Health Policy. She has been volunteering as a secondary School Governor for over 20 years and as a Trustee for a Multi-Academies Trust for 10 years.  

Details to follow.

Details to follow.

Estefania Costa has over 22 years of nursing experience, has worked across both Primary and Secondary Care and has held senior roles in management, leadership, and academia. She also led early digital innovations, including EPR pilots in the early 2000s. Her career spans education, workforce development, research, scientific peer review, and strategic decision making, with significant contributions to Higher Education both nationally and internationally, including liaison work with the European Commission. She is passionate about future proofing nursing education and the workforce, and is committed to building sustainable, collaborative models that support and advance Nursing as a profession and as part of a multidisciplinary team. 

Roxanne Crosby-Nwaobi is a clinical academic ophthalmic nurse, Professor of Ophthalmic Health and Care at University College London Institute of Ophthalmology, an NIHR Clinical Lecturer, and the Programme Director for the NIHR Senior Research Leader programme. She has a particular interest in population health for underserved communities. She is the recipient of numerous national and international awards including the RCN Researcher of the year 2023, ARVO Advocacy in Eyes and Vision research and Fellow of the RCN.

Details to follow.

Details to follow.

Jincy Labade, Registered Adult Nurse, Independent Prescriber and current FNF Scholar (Emerging leaders), is a senior nurse practitioner, clinical leader, and workforce development advocate with over 25 years of experience across healthcare systems in the UK and India. She holds a Postgraduate Specialist Nursing qualification in Adult Nursing. She has extensive clinical expertise in emergency and acute care, including roles as an Emergency Nurse Practitioner and Fracture Liaison Nurse Practitioner.

Jincy has over 5 years of experience in senior management, where she played a key role in establishing new services, improving performance, and delivering measurable improvements in patient outcomes. Her leadership experience is underpinned by a strong focus on quality improvement, patient safety, and sustainable service delivery.

A committed advocate for equity, diversity, and inclusion, Jincy has served as a Professional Officer for Ethnic Diversity and Inclusion within the Northern Ireland Practice and Education Council (NIPEC), contributing to strategic initiatives that support the education and career progression of Internationally Educated Nursing and Midwifery (IENM) professionals. She brings both professional expertise and lived experience of global healthcare systems, offering valuable insight into the strengths and challenges of an internationally diverse workforce.

As a member of the FNF Global Talent Steering Group, Jincy is passionate about retaining excellence, developing future leaders, and learning from the IENM workforce to create inclusive, resilient, and high-performing healthcare organisations.

Ariel Lanada recently completed the taught component of his Doctor of Education at Oxford Brookes University (awaiting Thesis final result), where he also earned an MSc in Nursing Education. He is a registered Nurse and Teacher with the Nursing and Midwifery Council and a Senior Fellow of the Higher Education Academy.

Ariel serves as Divisional Lead for Practice Development and Education at Oxford University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust. He lectures on master’s programmes at Oxford Brookes University and is an External Examiner at the University of West London. Internationally, he is an Assistant Professor of Nursing at Central Philippine University, where he teaches Transcultural Nursing.

He has published in the British Journal of Nursing on topics including the experiences of internationally educated nurses in the NHS and the standardisation of clinical educator job titles. His latest article, on the experiences of BAME staff during the COVID-19 vaccination rollout, appeared in the Journal of Hospital Management and Health Policy (May 2025).

A sought-after international speaker, Ariel addressed WHO member states in Geneva (May 2024) on sustaining the global healthcare workforce, co-presented research at the International Congress of Nursing Education and Practice in Prague (June 2024) and spoke to 300 nursing deans in Manila (October 2024) on advancing nursing practice. In June 2025, he presented his doctoral thesis at the International Nurses Conference in Helsinki.

He is Chairman of the Filipino Community of Oxfordshire, re-elected President of the Filipino Nurses Association UK, and newly elected National Chair of the Alliance of International Nurses and Midwives Diasporas in the UK.

Ariel is the Vice President and Chief Commercial Officer of the Royal Filipino Resources Incorporated, an International Recruitment Agency duly licenced by the Department of Migrant Workers, recruiting Nurses and Doctors for the United Kingdom.

Details to follow.

Cathy McCusker is a Senior Professional Officer at NIPEC.

Cathy was appointed to her current post in 2006 and leads on a wide range of projects. Cathy’s specialist interests are in the development of career pathways, competency frameworks, self-assessment tools and using quality improvement methodologies to improve care and services.

Cathy qualified as an RGN in 1985 and RM in 1987. Prior to joining NIPEC, Cathy worked as a Senior Manager in the Royal Victoria Hospital and as a Management Development Consultant in Beeches Management Centre. She was also seconded to NIPEC as Project Manager for the Development Framework Project from 2004-2006.

Cathy has a B.Sc.(Hons) Professional Development in Nursing and a Masters in Business Administration from the University of Ulster. Cathy has undertaken additional development in Quality Improvement completing the South Eastern Trust SQE Programme and the Institute for Healthcare Improvement (IHI), Improvement Advisor Programme (Wave 46). Cathy is also a member of Q (Health Foundation).

Leena Vinod is an accomplished educator and clinical practitioner with three decades of experience in nursing, underpinned by deep professional knowledge and rich lived experience. Her career has been defined by a steadfast commitment to improving safety, quality, and efficiency in healthcare while ensuring compassionate care remains central to every endeavour. She currently serves as Senior Lecturer and Employability Lead for Nursing and Midwifery at Edge Hill University.

Leena began her nursing journey with a B.Sc in Nursing from PGIMER, Chandigarh, India, in 1997. She went on to gain extensive clinical experience in Emergency Medicine and the Coronary Care Unit. After migrating to the United Kingdom in 2002, she quickly progressed to become the Care Home Manager of an EMI home within just one year. In this role, she led significant improvements in care delivery, management structures and organisational policy development.

Following substantial experience within the NHS, Leena transitioned into nurse education, where she has made a lasting impact on the development and implementation of highquality educational initiatives. Her contributions include curriculum design, securing NMC approval for a range of nursing programmes and effective programme leadership. She also serves as the External Assessor for the ACP Apprenticeship at Anglia Ruskin University and as External Examiner for their CPD courses.

Leena is the founding Chair of the Alliance of Senior Kerala Nurses (ASKeN), where she played an instrumental role in establishing the organisation and advocating for senior Keralite nurses working at Band 8a or equivalent across sectors. Her collaborative work with NHSE, FNF, NMC, RCN, and other strategic bodies has strengthened professional visibility and leadership opportunities for this community.

Leena’s leadership and influence have been recognised nationally. She has received multiple awards, including the INMA (International Nursing and Midwifery Associations) Leader of the Year Award (2024), endorsed by the Florence Nightingale Foundation (FNF) and NHS England. She currently serves as a Steering Group member for FNF’s policy project focused on workforce development and the retention of internationally educated nurses and midwives. Leena also contributes to the Nursing and Midwifery Council as part of the ‘Breadth of Practice Group’, supporting the review of the NMC Code and Revalidation.

In addition to her policy and regulatory work, Leena coauthored the Arrive and Thrive Transition Toolkit alongside 11 academics from 10 Higher Education Institutions. This resource provides structured, tailored support to international nursing students to help them integrate and thrive within UK universities and the wider health and social care sector. Leena launched the Toolkit in November 2025 at the RCNi Live event and it is currently being disseminated through the Council of Deans of Health, NHS England and other platforms.

Leena is also a proud FNF Strategic Leadership Scholar and a Windsor Leadership Alumna.

Details to follow.