International Committee

As an RCN member, you can use this page to keep up to date with the International Committee's activity. Just log in to see the agendas and summaries from previous or upcoming International Committee meetings.

The RCN International Committee advises Council on issues that affect nurses around the world. You can find out more about the role and remit of the International Committee by reading the terms of reference or read more about the RCN's international work. 

Sheilabye Sobrany, Chair

January 2023 - December 2024

Sheila trained and worked in the National Health Service (NHS) and has almost three decades of experience in the NHS, the independent sector and social care. She is passionate about effective and safe patient care, championing nurses and nursing. She has been a committed, loyal member of the Royal College of Nursing since 1999 and completed her term of office on the RCN London Board as a North East London Inner member at the end of 2022. 

With 30 years of nursing experience in various clinical settings and academia, Sheila has transferable skills and experience in organisational development and leadership. She is acutely aware of the current challenges facing the NHS, social care and independent sector, which have impacted the effective delivery of patient/client care. 

Working with the RCN and other stakeholders, Sheila's key priorities as president are:

• Fair Pay significantly above inflation rate
• Protecting the ‘Nurse’ title
• Reducing economic, social, and psychological pressures on nurses post-pandemic era
• Reducing racism, misogyny, bullying, harassment, and discrimination of healthcare workers.

Sheila's leadership qualities –
She is a skilled strategic influencer, a good communicator and an educator. As a senior lecturer at the University of East London, Sheila works with nurse academics and NHS stakeholders to promote an excellent learning experience for aspirant nurses.

As an RCN Board member, Sheila continuously raised issues on behalf of nurse members with the Mayor of London and NHS Trusts in partnership with other board members. She founded networks for nurse academics, students, and nursing alumni in London (HAREDIN), to support nurses and students to thrive and improve their well-being when they wanted to leave nursing; this work led Sheila to receive the Vice-Chancellor and President Award for Inclusive Practice at the University of East London 2022. Sheila reverse mentored high-profile stakeholders to create a positive, long-lasting, safe working culture for nurses and students.

Professor Judith Ellis OBE, Vice Chair

February 2022 - December 2025

Professor Judith Ellis OBE has been a member of the RCN for 44 year and has held various senior nursing positions in the UK, including as Director of Nursing and Workforce Development at Great Ormond Street Children’s Hospital, Dean/ Pro Vice Chancellor for Health at London South Bank University and Nursing Officer for Quality at the UK Department of Health. She has been involved for 22 years in the improvement of nurse education and multidisciplinary paediatric care in low-income countries, and when a Council member and then Interim Chair of the Nursing and Midwifery Council played a vital role in considering the international need for nursing regulation and the transferability of nursing registration. Judith retired from her role as Chief Executive of the medical Royal College of Paediatrics and Child Health (RCPCH) in 1998 to allow her to concentrate on her role as Chair of the Tropical Health and Education Trust (THET), a charity that establishes partnerships between health workers around the world, recognizing the mutual benefit to health workers and health systems of engaging in international activity. Her 6 year tenure as Chair of THET ended in December 2021, but as an Honorary Advisor for THET and Honorary Fellow of the RCPCH, Judith is continuing to advise on international nursing issues and to actively engage each week in supporting beleaguered nursing colleagues in Myanmar and to support paediatric leadership development in Africa. 

Sunday Babanumi, Nursing Support Worker member

February 2022 - December 2025

Sunday attended the Polytechnic Ibadan in Nigeria where he studied marketing. He has a lot of experience in team building, and has worked with a number of agencies including Meridian Healthcare Ltd. Sunday completed in-house training with Greater Manchester Mental Health NHS Foundation Trust in July 2019 with a certificate in Health and Social Care. Sunday has been an RCN member since 2016 and a member of the UK Nursing Support Workers Committee since January 2021. He is also an accredited Safety Rep and Steward. Sunday is also an activist and campaigner for the RCN. 

Sue Campbell

February 2022 - December 2025

Sue first worked overseas as a Clinical Nurse Tutor in a rural training school in The Gambia. After returning and studying for a Masters in Public Health, Sue went to work in Khartoum, Sudan. Here she managed community health worker community programmes and ensured health centres had the resources and personnel to provide good quality services. In 1999 Sue started a country programme for GOAL in Uganda, whilst here she also responded to the volcanic eruption in Goma, DRC. Since her return to the UK in 2012, Sue has been working with The Open University as as Associate Lecturer teaching public health and international development courses.

Professor Daniel Kelly OBE FRCN

February 2022 - December 2025

Professor Kelly has been a member of the Board of the European Oncology Nursing Society (EONS) for several year and was elected President 2015 - 2017. He has gained international experience of nursing and healthcare in India, Canada, Australia and the US, as well as building networks from travelling widely in Europe as part of his EONS role. Recent experience has also been gained in cancer and palliative care education at Bethlehem University in Palestine. He was awarded a Winston Churchill Fellowship in 2013 and was made an RCN Fellow in 2016.

Felicia Kwaku OBE

February 2022 - December 2025

Felicia has over 30 years' experience as a cardiothoracic/intensive care nurse. She has been a member of several committees and groups including the Nigerian Nurses Association UK and the NMC Professional Standards Advisory Group. She is deputy chair of the CNO (England)'s BME Strategic Advisory Group. She has previously traveled to St Kitts on a study tour and Enugu State, Nigeria to educate and deliver cardiac surgery. 

Chijioke Nwasike, Student member

February 2022 - December 2023

Chijioke (CJ) is a Mental Health Student Nurse at the University of Derby. Currently in his 2nd year, CJ is passionate about a number of issues including global health, health policy, health informatics and patient safety. He has lived extensively in Europe and Africa, having previously studied International Relations in Geneva, Switzerland as well as Business Management in Montpellier, France. He volunteers as a member of the NuRS & AmRes Joint Steering Committee, in conjunction with The Health Foundation and Staffordshire University, studying the relationship between nurse retention and patient outcomes. He is an avid researcher, who is passionate about the implementation of sustainable health systems in low-resource settings, and advocates for an equitable health ecosystem. 

Megan Parry

February 2022 - December 2025

Megan is an experienced Paediatric Nurse and has a wealth of international experience in global health, community engagement and nursing education. She has worked across five continents and lived in five countries over the last decade equipping her with cultural competence. Megan is also a member of GLoMHI (Global Health and Migration Initiative) which is committed to informed and critical action to promote social justice and health equity. She is currently based in Toronto, Canada and manages projects that aim to strengthen nurse capacity across the continents of Africa and Asia. 

Trevor Peel

February 2022 - December 2025

Trevor qualified as a nurse in 1973, worked in health services until 1987, then joined RCN staff for 12 years. His career then covered posts in the Cabinet Office and as a prison governor. Trevor served previously on RCN Council, and represented the RCN on the National Pensioners Convention executive committee. He has also held a number of charity trustee positions.