Dr Julie Aiken is Regional Manager with Samaritans in Northern Ireland since 2014. During this time she has developed the presence of the organisation in NI, led on establishing relationships with key marginalised groups and had responsibility for the delivery of Samaritans best practice media guidelines for reporting suicide.

She has worked in the community and voluntary sector for nearly 15 years including at the Red Cross where she undertook research on humanitarian crises. In 2013, she was part of the team that delivered the World Police and Fire Games in NI and Giro d’Italia Big Start in 2014.

Julie is a Non-Executive Director with the Police Rehabilitation and Retraining Trust. She has a primary degree in Psychology (BSc Hons) and a PhD set within a human rights framework. She has spent the last 10 years working in the field of mental health and wellbeing across the UK and Republic of Ireland.