Our Core Team
Meet the passionate individuals who lead Overcome's mission to make mental health support accessible to everyone, everywhere.
John Salter
Founder
He got suicidally depressed while studying neuroscience at UCL. Rather than do something sensible like talk to a therapist, he read a bunch of science papers and used their findings to treat himself. Did it spark his passion for mental health? Perhaps so. Is this an effective way to treat yourself? Definitely not.
John has led Overcome from just an idea, to where it is today. He's responsible for our big-picture strategy, and forming partnerships with other orgs.
Helen Hayward
Head of Operations
Helen is a management wizard; she single-handedly managed 65 volunteers to conduct 10 systematic reviews over just 4 months. She graduated top of her class in Psychology from Loughborough University. Her dissertation was so good it was considered publishable without even needing edits. Her supervisor offered her a PhD Studentship on the spot. She turned down this and several job offers from other prestigious organisations to work at Overcome (a decision she regrets to this day).
She's responsible for designing and maintaining the systems that keep Overcome, and its studies, running smoothly.
Chimango Chirwa
Internal Clinical Supervisor
Chimango is a licensed Counselling Psychologist in Kenya (Kenya Psychological Association). She holds a Bachelor's degree in Psychology and a Master's degree in Counselling Psychology, and is currently pursuing a PhD in Clinical Psychology.
In addition, she runs a private practice specialising in child and adolescent therapy (@chimangochirwatherapy). After completing our training programme in 2023, Chimango chose to continue as a facilitator, sharing her extensive experience with future coaches.
Alongside providing internal clinical supervision and facilitating mentorships and partnerships, she supports our triaging process and collaborates with clients to develop tailored support plans.
Kishah Nyambura
Training Lead
Kishah is a registered psychologist in Kenya (Counsellors and Psychologists Board, Ministry of Health). She holds a Bachelor's degree in Psychology and plays a key role in coordinating training and delivering workshops for our trainee coaches, ensuring they receive both expert guidance and a supportive environment.
After completing our training programme in 2023, she not only excelled as a participant but also went on to master workshop facilitation and now leads many of our training sessions.
With her strong growth mindset, Kishah consistently earns praise for her friendly and helpful approach, creating a positive atmosphere that encourages trainees to learn and thrive.
Angel Au
Co-Founder
Angel somehow graduated with a first-class MSci in Psychology from UCL while also being the youngest crisis support team manager at Mind, and chairing multiple organisations including the BPS Student Committee, UCL Psychology Society, and UCL Mental Health Society. How she managed all that is unclear. Our best guess is identical triplets passing as one person.
At Overcome, Angel does a bit of everything, from strategy to marketing to client management. She also oversees our merit-based scholarship, awarding tens of thousands of pounds in fee waivers to exceptional people who wouldn't otherwise be able to access our part-time course.
Outside of Overcome, Angel is an EMCC-accredited coach, focusing on career coaching and supporting early-stage entrepreneurs. She brings both science and compassion to her work, driven by the belief that good mental health care shouldn't be a privilege for the few, but a right for everyone.
Blasts from The Past
Key contributors who helped shape Overcome into what it is today.
Dominic Oliver-Ray
Co-Founder
Dominic co-founded Overcome and was instrumental in establishing our foundational partnerships with major international organisations.
Among his many contributions, he created partnerships between Overcome and huge organisations like the WHO and UN, helping establish our credibility and reach on a global scale.
Salman Maqbool
Strategic Planner
Salman was instrumental in our big-picture strategic planning during Overcome's early development phase.
He worked on the prototype counselling model that evolved into what we do today, helping lay the groundwork for our current approach to mental health support.
Vincent Shaw
Management Advisor
Overcome's "resident Boomer", Vince's interest in mental health developed through years of supporting family, friends and colleagues struggling with stress and mental illness.
He's managed people at BMW, Rolls Royce, and Eon. He's probably quite good at it as he was named a Chartered Fellow of the Institute of Management.
Vince helped us develop our skills and make tough decisions under challenging circumstances, bringing decades of management expertise to our growing organisation.
Want to Join Our Team?
We're always looking for passionate individuals who want to make a difference in mental health.