Two health experts, a nurse and a local entrepreneur are among hundreds of people who have been named in the Queen’s Birthdays Honours List released at the weekend.
Professor Helen Cross from St Albans and Dr Fiona Sim from Radlett have each received an OBE and Nicola Bennett-Rees and Zoe Jackson, both from St Albans, are recipients of an MBE.
Professor Cross is a childhood epilepsy expert who has published widely on seizure, neuropsychological and behavioural outcomes in children who have undergone surgical resection for treatment of their epilepsy.
Her research has focused on improving outcomes for children with early onset epilepsy.
She is chair of Childhood Epilepsy and deputy head of the Developmental Neurosciences Programme at the UCL Institute of Child Health. Her OBE was awarded for services to children with epilepsy.
Dr Fiona Sim is chair of the Royal Society for Public Health and joint editor of the journal Public Health.
She is a part-time GP in a deprived urban area in Luton and is also an accredited public health consultant and trainer. Until November last year she was clinical director of Luton Clinical Commissioning Group and is an adviser to NHS England Central Midlands.
Her main research interest is in building capacity and capability across all sectors, to deliver better health and reduce health inequalities. Recent research has included tackling child obesity through building capacity in communities and families as well as among health professionals.
She has a long-standing interest in health ethics and law and received hser OBE for services to public health.
Entrepreneur Zoe Jackson, 25, director of St Albans-based Living the Dream performing arts company, will be making her second trip to Buckingham Palace this year when she receives her MBE.
She was awarded the honour for services to young entrepreneurs and the performing arts.
Earlier this year the former Beaumont School pupil became one of the first recipients of the Queen’s Young Leaders Awards, for inspiring and empowering young people to live their dreams and championing young talent through the arts.
She set up Living the Dream at the age of 16 in 2006 to inspire young people and to subsidise her own performing arts education. Over the past nine years the company has expanded to include a school of performing arts, a professional dance company and talent agency.
She also launched a charity, the Dream Foundation, which supports disadvantaged young people, giving them access to the arts.
Completing the local honours is Nicola Bennett-Rees, a clinical nurse specialist at Great Ormond Street Hospital who was awarded an MBE for services to nursing but was not available this week.
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