Senior Leadership
Carl Bailey
Chief Executive
Carl is the founder and Chief Executive of Challenging Perceptions, a charity he established a decade ago after recognising significant gaps in mental health and autism support while receiving treatment for PTSD through IAPT. Carl is autistic and a parent to a child with non-verbal autism, a learning disability, Epilepsy and a chromosome deletion, who attends a local special school—lived experiences that continue to shape his leadership and advocacy.
As Chief Executive, Carl oversees the charity’s day-to-day operations, staff team, and strategic direction, ensuring all activities align with governance standards and best practice.
In addition to his work at Challenging Perceptions, Carl actively contributes to the wider system through several voluntary roles, including:
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Governor at both an NHS Trust and The Bridge Special School
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Education Appeal Panel Member for Telford & Wrekin Council
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Chair of the force wide Disability Independent Advisory Group for West Mercia Police
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Independent Custody Vistitor for West Mercia Police and Crime Commissioner
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Co-chair and CYP Lead for the Telford Mental Health Forum
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Sits on The Shrewsbury and Telford Hospital NHS Trust, PACE, PAF and LD& A improvement board.
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Sits on a number of NHS strategic boards
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Chair of Park Lane Centre
These roles have provided Carl with extensive experience in policy review, strategic challenge, and ensuring legal and regulatory compliance, strengthening his ability to influence meaningful change.
Award-Winning Leadership
Carl’s dedication to improving services and outcomes for neurodivergent children, young people, and families has been formally recognised through multiple awards. His work at Challenging Perceptions has earned him both local and regional recognition, celebrating his innovative approaches, impactful leadership, and unwavering commitment to inclusion and lived experience-led support.
Throughout his career, Carl has demonstrated strong strategic thinking, leadership, and a deep-rooted commitment to improving systems. His ability to evaluate and improve service performance, combined with his passion for equity and inclusion, continues to drive positive change across the sector.
Fiona Doran
Chair
Fiona is Chair of Trustees at Challenging Perceptions, bringing extensive experience in community leadership, governance and health and wellbeing. She is a Borough Councillor at Telford & Wrekin Council and Chair of Donnington and Muxton Parish Council, giving her a strong understanding of local communities and the issues affecting children, young people and families. Fiona is also a Governor at Midlands Partnership University NHS Foundation Trust (MPFT) and has previously served as Lead Governor. She is Co-Chair of the Telford Mental Health Forum and was previously a Trustee of the Carers Partnership Board. Alongside her professional and voluntary experience, Fiona brings valuable lived experience as a carer, helping ensure that the voices and experiences of carers and families remain central to her approach. As Chair of Trustees, Fiona provides leadership to the Board and supports strong governance, accountability and strategic direction as Challenging Perceptions continues to develop its support for children, young people and families
Janet Smith
Trustee
20 years’ experience of third sectors board management and community work
Dave Gill
Trustee
Currently retired from paid employment and engaged in various voluntary roles.My professional background included senior posts in education including, Secondary, Adult , Community and Further Education. Also involvement in international projects linked to vocational and higher education.My qualifications include an MBA, Cert. Ed and post graduate qualification in Leadership and Management. I have planned, directed and managed multimillion pound vocational training projects for overseas clients and participated in several oversea projects. During my time in Adult and FE in Telford, I developed a significant community based learning curriculum involving thousands of students, many of whom resided in areas with multiple indicators of deprivation.Over 37 years in my spare time, I have worked in the Telford voluntary sector, initially as a hands on grass roots volunteer. More latterly, I have chaired boards of several successful charities including Park Lane Centre, Mediation Works, Community Health Enterprise Centre and trustee/director of other charities including Challenging Perception. I have supported carers and service users of mental health services as Governor Member/Lead Governor of SSSFT NHS FT, and was instrumental in establishing Telford Mental Health Forum which helped forged closer communication links between service users, carers, public and voluntary sectorsIn 2017, I was made a Freeman of The Borough of Telford & Wrekin Council and received a Lifetime Achievement Award from Telford and Shropshire Care Commissioning Group in recognition of my voluntary contribution to the local community.As for my own experience of mental health, I was in a relationship spanning several years during my twenties with someone who I later discovered suffered from paranoid schizophrenia, and ended had been confined to a secure forensic ward.
David Brown
Trustee
David had a full career in the Military, retiring as a Colonel in 1999. He went on to become a Managing Director in Tarmac and eventually being headhunted to become CEO in the Fire & Rescue Service before retiring for a second time. That retirement lasted all of 2 months and David took on the Management of two Engineering/Oil & Gas businesses in the North West and East of England for the German Industrial Services enterprise Germanischer Lloyd (GL). The company asked him to take over as Country Manager in South America, based in Brazil specialising in Oil & Gas and Maritime Operations and managing the integration of the GL businesses into a new entity, DNV GL.
David returned to the UK in 2015 and has since devoted his time to a number of non-executive roles in Engineering SMEs and the NHS, where was a Board Member of the Shrewsbury & Telford NHS Hospital Trust until Dec 2024. David is the current Chair of New Road Academy, Telford with a particular interest in SEND and has also returned to Healthwatch as an Independent Board Advisor.
David is also working with a Nigerian company to develop a Petroleum refinery in the country and his commercial interests are in Strategy, Profit and Loss, Audit and Risk and the Management of Change.
CYP - Vacant
Trustee
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Parent Carer - Vacant
Trustee
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