The ACE Hub Wales team are passionate about the ACE agenda and supporting the nation to become ACE aware and trauma-informed in practice.
Joanne Hopkins is the Programme Director for Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs), Criminal Justice and Violence Prevention at Public Health Wales. A former UK government Senior Civil Servant, Jo worked for the Home Office for twenty years with responsibilities in Violent Crime, Violence Against Women, Immigration and seven years as head of Wales and Devolution, before joining Public Health Wales. In 2018 Jo became Director of the ACE Hub Wales and then took on the PHW lead for the Police and Partners Early Action Together Programme, transforming systems to prevent and mitigate ACEs and promote Tauma and ACE (TrACE)-informed practice in Wales. Her current role brings all these responsibilities together to develop a TrACE informed approach across public services, communities and society through the implementation of the Trauma-informed Wales Framework. Jo completed a PhD at Aberystwyth University on coercive control in conflict in 2023 and is a Visiting Professor at Wrexham University.
Natalie joined ACE Hub Wales in 2021 and is currently the Deputy Leader of ACE Hub Wales. Her role involves the strategic development and delivery of ACE Hub Wales priorities and is particularly passionate about supporting organisations to become trauma and ACE informed. Having spent 15 years in the third sector supporting women, children and young people who have experienced trauma and adversity, Natalie continues to ensure the voices of people with lived experience is prioritized and is equally passionate about challenging systemic issues that prevent lasting change.
Natalie is currently studying part time for an MSc in Crime and Justice to strengthen her academic understanding of issues affecting the criminal justice system with a particular research interest in the prevention of serious violence and homicide of women exploited by the sex industry.
Joe joined WHO CC in 2018 supporting the Early Action Together Programme and has extensive experience working with policing and criminal justice in Wales.
Joe provided project management support to the Expert Reference Group who developed the Trauma-Informed Wales Framework and since 2023 has been project managing its implementation and managing the TrACE team.
David is the Education and Engagement Lead at ACE Hub Wales, where he supports education settings across Wales to become more trauma and ACE informed through the implementation of the TrACE-informed Toolkit. He brings over 20 years of experience as a primary school teacher, during which he developed and embedded trauma-informed approaches to support learners impacted by adversity and trauma.
David is also a qualified Art Psychotherapist, working with individuals across the age range to support emotional wellbeing through creative expression. His practice involves helping clients explore and process their thoughts and emotions using visual media such as drawing, painting, sculpture, and collage.
A key focus of David’s work is supporting children and young people, both in private practice and educational settings. His therapeutic work addresses emotional regulation, trauma and grief processing, and mental health challenges including anxiety, depression, PTSD, eating disorders, and psychosis.
Lauren has worked within ACE Hub Wales for almost two years and is settling into her new role as the Communication and Engagement Officer for the Virtual Hub.
Throughout her role, Lauren leads on developing the communication and engagement for Trauma-Informed Wales, to prioritise collaboration and accessibility during the implementation of the Trauma-informed Wales Framework. Lauren is hopeful in creating new and enhanced ways to capture how our work has changed people’s lives and communities.
Whilst in university, Lauren was passionate about helping and hearing others. She facilitated training courses that were available to students, and secured a Wellbeing Officer role in the society that she was part of. This enabled her to advance skills in the area of supporting vulnerable people at a university that is now developing a trauma-informed approach. Following on from this, Lauren is now a wellbeing representative for the team. ACE Hub Wales demonstrates a message that along with the public, we can help make Wales a world lead in preventing, tackling, and mitigating the impacts of adverse childhood experiences and trauma, implying that wellbeing and communication is at the forefront of the teams’ objectives, not just professionally but also towards each other, as part of a team. This is something that Lauren is passionate about and will continue to pave throughout the post.
Lauren enjoys quiet evenings and visiting new places. She loves to read and try out new recipes.