Our Staff & Trustees

Nina joined the CJA as Director in July 2018. She was previously Head of Policy at Prisoners’ Education Trust, where she set up the Prisoner Learning Alliance. She began her career as a criminal defence solicitor and then ran various prevention, rehabilitation and resettlement projects for Catch22, the Prisons Advice and Care Trust and Women in Prison. In 2018, Nina was awarded a Winston Churchill Memorial Trust Fellowship and travelled to the United States and around Europe to research prison university partnerships and lived experience leadership.

Contact Nina at nina.champion@criminaljusticealliance.org.uk.

Annette joined the CJA as its first Deputy Director in May 2021. Annette was previously Deputy Director at The Death Penalty Project where she was responsible for organisational development including strategic planning, fundraising, financial management and charity governance, as well as leading on criminal justice reform projects across different jurisdictions. Annette started her career as a solicitor at Allen & Overy LLP and holds a Master of Laws from Columbia University, New York. She is a Clore Social Leadership Fellow and a Trustee of Hibiscus Initiatives, a member of the CJA.

Contact Annette at annette.so@criminaljusticealliance.org.uk.

Mark Blake has worked across the voluntary and community sector for more than three decades. He has a broad range of experience from both the Criminal Justice and Race Equality sectors. He was previously Criminal Justice Policy Officer at Action for Race Equality (formerly BTEG). More recently he has worked in police consultation as Project Manager for Camden Safer Neighbourhood Board and directly in two prisons as a consultant helping to progress the Lammy Recommendations. Contact Mark at mark.blake@criminaljusticealliance.org.uk.

Nola joined the CJA in May 2022. Nola is leading the CJA’s new 30-month pilot lived experience leadership programme, ELEVATE CJS. Nola has over ten years of management experience in the voluntary sector. She is a staunch advocate against racial inequalities within the criminal justice system and seeks policy reforms in rehabilitation specifically surrounding women who have been imprisoned. Nola is a Trustee of Clean Break and Women in Prison, both CJA members. She is completing a Sociology and Politics BA at Goldsmiths University and in her spare time, she also produces a podcast as a social commentator highlighting the issues affecting the African Diaspora.

Contact Nola at nola.sterling@criminaljusticealliance.org.uk.

Louise joined the CJA in June 2022. She is the Finance Administrator and works alongside the team in preparing and maintaining financial records. Most recently, Louise was the Administrator for Student Minds, a mental health charity for university students. In this role, she was responsible for the administration of recruitment, finance, and office management. She was also part of the People and Culture team that was responsible for the wellbeing of the team. Prior to this, Louise was a Law and Criminology teacher in various secondary schools in Yorkshire.

Contact Louise at louise.tighe@criminaljusticealliance.org.uk

Kevin was appointed as a trustee by the board in April 2019 and became Chair in September 2020.  Kevin is a Reader in Community Justice and Associate Director of Criminal Justice at the Policy and Evaluation Research Unit (PERU), Manchester Metropolitan University. He is Co-Editor of the British Journal of Community Justice and the founder and Director of the Manchester Crime and Justice Film Festival. He was formerly Assistant Director at Nacro, and a manager at Citizens Advice, developing services for Black, Asian and minority ethnic people.

CJ has been a trustee since 2018 and became Vice Chair in 2022. She also chairs the ELEVATE CJS advisory group. CJ currently works at the Mayor of London’s Violence Reduction Unit and leads on their Education and Parenting work. Previously CJ worked at St Giles Trust for over seven years, on the national SOS+ Service, aimed at preventing young people’s involvement in gangs and youth violence.  CJ is an award-winning ex-Longford Scholar who achieved a first-class honours law degree while in prison. She is also a Trustee of The Longford Trust.

Carol has been a trustee since January 2019 and was appointed as Treasurer in April 2020. Carol is an experienced finance director and company secretary with 30 years of experience in the charity sector, including at the Princes Trust, the Royal Voluntary Service and the United Nations Association UK. She has also been Treasurer of the Fawcett Society and Peace Direct.

Rachel joined the board of trustees in October 2021. Rachel works for Aviva Investors and leads on learning, talent and inclusion where she helps employees to develop their skills and knowledge and supports the organisation to become more diverse. She has a background in teaching adults and started her career training people in prison and those with convictions, working for organisations including Nacro and St Giles Trust. Rachel was previously trustee for Headway and two sexual health charities.

Nick was appointed as a trustee in October 2021. He is a finance leader with over 15 years’ experience in the film and television sector, having worked for Disney, Paramount Pictures and Universal. In his current role at Warner Media, Nick focuses on business performance, strategy and risk management. A qualified accountant, he originally trained with PricewaterhouseCoopers where his diverse client list included a number of national and local charities. Nick has also spent a year volunteering as a mentor with Chance UK, an early intervention children’s charity.

Lucy has been a trustee since 2018 and was Vice Chair until May 2022. She is the Director of Why me? the national charity established to make restorative justice available to all victims of crime. Lucy was on the Board of Directors of Whitespace Software and went on to run her own marketing and communications consultancy, prior to which she founded and ran Reunite, the National Council for Abducted Children.

Rod was appointed as a trustee by the board in January 2019. Rod is Professor Emeritus of Criminal Justice at the University of Bristol, Visiting Professor at the University of Sussex and an Associate of the Birkbeck University Centre for Prison Studies. He was formerly Chief Inspector of Probation and Chairman of the Youth Justice Board. He has also served on an IMB, as a magistrate, a Parole Board member and an advisor to the Council of Europe.

Lucie was appointed a trustee in October 2021. She has over 30 years’ experience of senior leadership in a range of third sector social justice organisations. She is currently the CEO of Street Doctors, empowering young people affected by violence with emergency first aid skills and increasing their understanding of the consequences of violence. Lucie is a qualified social worker, was one of the founders of the Big Issue, and set up its charity The Big Issue Foundation. She also has a range of senior level communications and campaigning expertise including in Director level positions at the Prison Reform Trust, YoungMinds, the Young Foundation and at The Barrow Cadbury Trust.