Our People
Elaine Harvey - Director
Elaine is the founding director of Moving Minds. She has over 25 years of professional experience as a dance and theatre artist, university lecturer and community practitioner.
Elaine has devised and directed arts projects in a diverse range of settings; more recently her work has focused on dance in relation to health conditions classed as chronic and/or degenerative.
Elaine founded Moving Minds on the core principle that people are experts in their own lived experience. She believes firmly that dance is not only a healing (or healthy) activity, but that it is also a radical act; one which allows for a more holistic approach to health and well-being.
Rachel Conlon - Director
With a career spanning over 30 years, Rachel has worked professionally as a qualified Drama therapist and as a community drama practitioner.
She has a specific expertise working within the arts and criminal justice sector, delivering high quality relational trauma informed drama provision in the female prison estate and with women who are criminal justice experienced living in the community.
Rachel writes and creates Theatre in Education plays which tour nationally and also adapts theatre into film for national digital platforms. She is passionate about collaborative arts practice and believes whole heartedly in the value of arts and the power of theatre for social change.
Hilary Conroy - Director
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Hilary is a disability rights activist, decolonising academic and registered social worker.
She is involved in numerous community-focused activities across the city including York Together and York Disability Rights Forum.
Hilary brings expertise in safeguarding and community collaborations as well as connections to a network of systems changers seeking to make the world we live in better for everyone.
Stephen Wey - Facilitator
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Stephen is a state registered occupational therapist with over 35 year experience in working with people with dementia, learning disabilities, children and adults with mental health issues. Much of that time his practice has incorporated dance, music and creative arts, and he has been a part of Moving Minds since its inception.
He is also a senior lecturer in occupational therapy at York St John University and in his teaching, therapy practice and research his passion has been for developing ways of meaningfully connecting with, empowering and enabling people who have dementia and carers. Stephen is a Dementia Friends Ambassador.
Siân Whitley - Facilitator
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Siân is a freelance dance practitioner working with people aged 4 to 104, in a variety of settings. She has been part of Moving Minds for three years and delivers most of Moving Minds satellite projects in different hospitals around North Yorkshire.
Siân also works with adults with additional needs delivering sensory drama and dance. She believes that dance and movement transcends barriers, allowing us to connect with other people, but most importantly, ourselves.