Meet the people who are here to help you

Frances McMenemy

Fran is our friendly voice at the end of the telephone and ensures that everything goes smoothly in the run up to an assessment and during the day. She is happy to find answers to any queries that you may have. Fran joined the team in September 2007. She has enjoyed working at the Burwood Centre so much that she is currently taking an evening course in BSL.

Tracy Draper

Tracy qualified in 2003 with an MSc in Audiology at Southampton University. She completed her Certificate in Audiological Competence in 2005 and became registered with the Health Professional Council in 2007 as a Clinical Scientist in Audiology. Tracy gained extensive experience as a Paediatric Audiologist at the Royal Sussex County Hospital in Brighton, a tertiary audiology clinic dealing with audiological assessment, including those with special needs. Tracy has trained up to BSL Level 1 . She is also involved in delivering the NSA Certificate in otoscopy and Impression taking. Tracy is Programme Director of the MSc in Educational Audiology.

Lorna Gravenstede

Lorna qualified as a speech and language therapist in 1998 with a first class degree in Speech Psychology from the University of Newcastle-upon-Tyne. She worked with hearing children in community clinics, before specialising in work with hearing impaired children. Lorna has worked with hearing impaired children in both mainstream schools with resource bases and in Mary Hare Schools (primary and secondary specialist oral schools for deaf children). Lorna has completed an Advanced Clinical Skills Diploma in Speech and Language Therapy with Hearing Impaired Clients and in 2005 she completed an MSc in Human Communication, with a content that is relevant to hearing impairment.

Lorna has a Level 2 Certificate in BSL from CACPD and has worked with children who use British Sign Language, Sign Supported English and those who communicate orally. In addition to her involvement in the assessments at the Burwood Centre, Lorna is also involved in lecturing on courses to trainee Teachers of the Deaf and Educational Audiologists, as well as providing short courses for professionals who work with hearing impaired children.

Robin Bartlett

Robin is a Chartered Educational Psychologist, registered with the Health Professions Council (Registration Number: PYL02333), who is employed on a sessional basis at the Burwood Centre. Robin was formerly an Educational Psychologist in Oxfordshire before becoming the Principal Educational Psychologist in West Berkshire.

In addition to his work at the Burwood Centre, Robin is the owner and Principal Educational Psychologist of the Oxford Educational Assessment Centre (OEAC). Robin has been an Associate Lecturer in inclusive education with the Open University since 1982.

For 15 years Robin was a Specialist Member of the Special Education Needs and Disability Tribunal. He retired from this post in April 2009.

Robin began his career as a teacher and he was Head of Science, in a comprehensive school for 12 years, before training as a psychologist.

Dr Bridget Waites PhD

Bridget joined the team at the Burwood Centre in March 2009, as our information officer. Previously, Bridget spent seven years conducting research at universities and hospitals in the UK and over eleven years working as a scientific information officer and editor.

She will be busy compiling our new on-line directory of resources, related to deafness, for parents of deaf children. As a deaf person herself and as the mother of a child with a moderate hearing loss, Bridget has a strong interest in all aspects of childhood deafness and is particulalry keen to help other parents of deaf children to find the information they need.

Joy Rosenberg

Joy has been at the Burwood Centre since March 2007. She is a Teacher of the Deaf and a clinical scientist in audiology who sometimes contributes to Burwood assessments in either capacity. Over the span of nearly three decades in the USA, Philippines and in the UK, she has worked in classroom, clinic, research and higher education venues.

As a Teacher of the Deaf, she has supported children and families:

from infants to secondary school
in mainstream, resource units, special schools and individual therapy
using oral/aural, cued speech, total communication and sign bilingual methods

Clinically, Joy has worked with neonates through all ages to the elderly in diagnostic and rehabilitative audiology. Joy is also involved in lecturing on postgraduate courses to trainees Teachers of the Deaf and Educational Audiologists, providing short courses for continuing professional development and quality assurance consultancy for the Newborn Hearing Screening Programme.

Neil Roberts

Neil is our media technician. He helps with the production of promotional materials and technical support for clinicians.

Dr Janette Willis PhD

Pictured here with our occasional feline visitor, Kitty, Dr Willis became the manager of the Burwood Centre in September 2008.

Dr Willis has a background in nursing and health education. Her own daughter was completely deafened by meningitis and became a cochlear implant recipient in 1992. Dr Willis is now involved in training and research related to the field of audiology and education of the deaf.