Nick Prettejohn - Chair Expand Nick first became aware of Prisoners Abroad in 2017 after completing his training as a mentor for the homelessness charity House of St Barnabas. He started to mentor someone who had been a service user of Prisoners Abroad's. Nick has been involved in several charities over the last 15 years, particularly focussing on musical causes, and has just stepped down after 9 years as Chair of the Royal Northern College of Music. In his ‘day jobs’, Nick chairs Reach plc and TSB Banking Group plc.
Prof Nick Hardwick CBE - Vice Chair Expand Nick has led UK-based charities and criminal justice organisations throughout his career. Most recently he was Chair of the Parole Board for England and Wales from March 2016 until March 2018. From 2010 to 2016 he was HM Chief Inspector of Prisons responsible for reporting on the treatment of prisoners and the conditions in prisons, immigration detention, police custody and other forms of detention throughout England and Wales. From 2003 to 2010 Nick set up and was the first Chair of the Independent Police Complaints Commission. The first half of his career was in the voluntary sector working with young offenders for the National Association for the Care and Resettlement of Offenders (NACRO), young homeless people for Centrepoint and refugees and asylum seekers for the Refugee Council. Nick is a part-time Professor in Criminal Justice at the School of Law, Royal Holloway University of London. He is a Trustee at the London Housing Foundation, a board member of the Independent Custody Visitors Association and Patron for the Zahid Mubarek Trust and Unlock. He was awarded a CBE in 2010 and his work has been recognised through honorary doctorates from the universities of Leeds Beckett, Hull and Wolverhampton. He is also an Honorary Bencher of the Middle Temple.
Martin Atkinson MA FCA - Treasurer Expand Martin trained as an accountant in London, initially working in the city before moving to the voluntary sector in 1995. He has been Finance Director for several medium size charities, most recently Ambitious About Autism, and currently combines working as a charities finance consultant with a second career as an artist. He travels extensively and has lived and worked in Zambia, where he managed a honey factory, and India. Martin became treasurer for Prisoners Abroad in 2018.
Christine Ashley Expand Chrissie used our services when her son was in prison in 2008 in Spain. Chrissie works as an Office Manager for Goldsmiths College. She has experience of event management, HR, training and compliance and is a trained Workplace Mediator amongst other skills. In her spare time she is currently Chair of Trustees for the Archway Project, a charity that seeks to enrich the lives of young people living in London, which is taking up a fair amount of her time. Chrissie has spoken at several Prisoners Abroad events and is passionate about our work and the positive impact it makes to people’s lives.
Emma Douglas Expand Emma has worked on justice, security and human rights issues for 15 years, mostly for the UK Foreign Office and Ministry of Justice. Prison matters have been central to her work, particularly for the UK’s Overseas Territories and in fragile or conflict affected states including Afghanistan and Mali. She has a degree in law with law studies in Europe (French law) and a master’s in public, international and human rights law.
Tim Hailes Expand Tim became an Alderman for the Ward of Bassishaw in the City of London in 2013 and became interested in our work when he was Aldermanic Sheriff of London in 2017. As an Alderman he is an active member of The Common Council and is appointed to Bridewell Royal Hospital. He serves on the Policy and Resources Committee, Standards Appeals Committee and the City Grants Education Spending Working Party and is a Director of the Lord Mayor’s Show Ltd. Tim is a Non-Executive Director of a number of private equity firms and Senior Adviser to the Group Chairman of Templar Corporation Limited. From 1999-2019 he was a Managing Director & Associate General Counsel in the Legal Department of JPMorgan Chase & Company based in London. Prior to joining JPMorgan in 1999 he was a Solicitor in private practice for 7 years specialising in derivatives, structured products and financial markets law. Tim was ‘In House Finance Lawyer of the Year’ 2014, in The Legal 500 and ‘Regulatory (Financial Services) Lawyer of the Year’ 2017, at the European Counsel Awards. He continues to be a JP at Central London Magistrates where he has served since 2013. He is a long standing supporter of Stonewall and The Human Dignity Trust. He is a Life Governor of the RNLI.
Phil Maguire OBE Expand Phil worked in the fields of social work and education before following his passion for radio. After gaining a master’s degree in broadcast journalism he worked as a radio producer, reporter and project manager for the BBC. In 2006 Phil became the founding Chief Executive of the Prison Radio Association (PRA) – a national, award-winning charity that uses radio to support prisoner rehabilitation. In 2016 the PRA was named Charity of the Year at the Third Sector Awards. In 2009 Phil launched National Prison Radio, the world’s first national radio station for prisoners. This by prisoner - for prisoner radio station has a large, loyal and growing audience – with 86% of prisoners in England and Wales tuning in for around 10 hours each week. He also runs PRA Productions (2017 Audio Production Awards Independent Production Company of the Year) and is setting up Prison Radio International, which aims to support the development of prison radio globally. He is a self-declared podcast addict and loves judging the British Podcast Awards. Phil is a trustee of the Charles Parker Trust and is also very proud to sit on the board of Manchester’s Reform Radio.
The Right Hon. Lord Neuberger Expand Lord Neuberger’s legal career started in 1974. His work in criminal justice and law include his appointment of Lord Justice of Appeal and a member of the Privy Council. Lord Neuberger’s rise to the Court of Appeal and then to the House of Lords was one of the quickest in recent times. Some of his notable achievements include his lead in an investigation for the Bar Council into widening access to the Bar, and serving on the Panel on Fair Access to the Professions. He retired from President of the Supreme Court in the summer of 2017, after a five year service. Read about Lord Neuberger joining Prisoners Abroad in December 2017.
Nick Smart Expand Nick has worked in the criminal justice system since 1979. He was Chair and CEO of the London Community Rehabilitation Company, delivering probation services to 30,000 service users across the capital, from its inception in 2014 through its sale to private owners. He was previously CEO of Surrey & Sussex Probation Trust (SSPT). In this role, he led a pioneering project that resulted in a radical revision of National Standards for the supervision of offenders. He also chaired the Sussex Criminal Justice Board. Nick was a front-line Probation Officer for 15 years. He taught social work students up to post graduate level. He then held a series of senior management roles including a period on secondment at the Ministry of Justice Throughout his career, he has always been committed to the importance of the relationship between providers and service users at individual, family, group and community level, as a key factor in promoting positive change. Since stepping down from LCRC in 2016, Nick has continued to contribute to the sector. He is a Trustee of PACT (Prisoners Families) and is also a Fellow and Acting Chair of the Probation Institute and he mentors third sector leaders in his home city of Brighton.
Naetha Uren Expand Naetha is a Recovery and Resilience coach & trainer, who has recently joined HumanKind to develop Recovery in the Community. Naetha previously worked in the USA as a Licensed Chemical Dependency Counsellor with the criminal justice system and private facilities; along with having a second career in hospitality and university accommodation management. Naetha is passionate about supporting individuals and families in order to overcome their obstacles; in order to find hope and achieve goals and aspirations in their lives.
Desmond Skyers Expand Desmond Skyers is a published author, motivational speaker, and accomplished Team Leader at the remarkable St Giles charity. Desmond leads a team of Mentors and Facilitators as part of the SOS+ Service. SOS+ is a preventative and early intervention service that puts lived experience at the heart of the solution in combating child criminal exploitation, gang involvement and serious youth violence. Desmond has been instrumental in the development of the highly impactful SOS+ mentoring programme which provides 1-2-1 support to children and young people vulnerable to criminal exploitation. Desmond is passionate about this work due to his own lived experiences and constant desire to want to give back.