The Chairman

Councillor Adam Parkes is the 2025/2026 Chairman for Staffordshire Moorlands.

Below is a short biography from Councillor Parkes.

I am an ex-Special Headteacher, having spent 25 years working with, supporting, and empowering some of the most vulnerable young people living within North Staffordshire. I now run my own educational consultancy, supporting schools around the country in all aspects of my passion; Social, Emotional and Mental Health. I created Taking off the Mask, in 2019, a non-profit organisation offering online support to over 10,000 members around the World, fighting the stigma of mental health in all its forms, and now working directly with communities to ensure wellbeing sits at the heart of their decision making. This will be central to the work I do in the Staffordshire Moorlands, and I became a District Councillor by standing on a mental health and wellbeing platform. 

My chosen charities for this year, which represent my two passions; mental health and young people, are the Leek and District Samaritans and Biddulph Youth and Community Zone.

As Chairman, I want to be an advocate for all the people of the Staffordshire Moorlands, regardless of political persuasion, as I am driven only by a passion to offer the very best of me to all the people in this wonderful district. 

It is a great honour to have been elected as First Citizen of the Moorlands and Katrina and I hope to meet as many of you, as possible, over the next 12 months.