Here’s where you can find our staff and trustees.

Staff

Ali Harris

Ali joins us from Citizens Advice as our Chief Executive.  She brings twenty years of leadership experience from organisations like Oxfam and Stonewall. She’s fought homophobia, pioneered new ways to support domestic violence survivors, and championed disability rights in war-torn Bosnia.

Ali is just starting to figure out twitter. You can follow her at @alifharris.

Gay Moon

Gay Moon is our Legal Advisor. She’s a solicitor, independent advisor on equality law policy, Chair of UKREN and Director of the Discrimination Law Association.

Gay is also a rather good wildlife photographer.

Liz Shannon

A London native, Liz leads on all things policy and parliamentary. She has a strong campaigning background: from widening access to education at UCU, to getting Fair Trade off the ground at Oxfam.

Liz aims to make a difference in the world:  through policy, song and/or culinary exploration.

Kathryn Quinton

Kathryn is our Communications Director, leading our respected strategic communications programme to shift public opinion on social issues to influence policy. The programme comprises audience insight, frame and message development, content and campaign creation, and sector capacity-building.

Tracey Agyeman

Tracey joins us from the European Womens’ Lobby. She studied European Studies at Leicester University, before moving to Global Dialogue and UNESCO. Her work involves leading the network – events, communications and membership.

Her (current) favourite book is Homegoing, by Yaa Gyasi.

Katharine Knox

Katharine is the Head of Research and Policy Impact. She is responsible for managing our Research Network and associated events, as well as supporting other research and knowledge exchange activities connecting research, policy and practice affecting the equality and human rights sector.

Alice Jennings

Alice is our Head of Digital and Strategic Communications. She helps lead our strategic communications programme, working on audience insight, frame and message development, content and campaign creation, and sector capacity-building. She joins us from ActionAid UK.

Trustees

Asif Afridi

Asif is our Chair, joining us from the Birmingham think tank brap. His areas of expertise include deprivation; social networks and cohesion; inequalities in political representation, and human rights protection in the UK.

Sarah Veale, CBE

Sarah is our Vice-Chair. She was Head of the Equality and Employment Rights Department at the TUC, where she helped negotiate the basis of the Temporary Agency Work Directive with CBI and the Government.

Jean Scott

Jean is our Treasurer, and another TUC alumni as their Head of Finance. She’s worked with TUC Education Trust, Tolpuddle Memorial Trust and TUC Aid.

Julie Bishop

Julie is the Director of the Law Centres Network, working to defend the legal rights of people who can’t afford a lawyer. She’s also worked in IT, and taught philosophy at the University of Sydney, Australia.

David Cutler

David is Director of the Baring Foundation. He’s previously worked at the Carnegie UK Trust and the DIVERT Trust, and held trustee roles at Amnesty International and BIHR.

Dr Mike Nussbaum

Mike has over 40 years of community development experience. He’s Chair of the Royal National Institute of Blind People (RNIB) and the Expert Volunteers Initiative. He also received the national ‘Year of the Volunteer’ Award for services to volunteering in 2005.

Janet Veitch, OBE

Janet is also our Vice-Chair. She specialises in public policy on women’s rights. She’s one of the management committee members at the Women’s Budget Group and was awarded an OBE for services to women’s rights in 2011.

Chris Whitwell

Chris is the former Director of Friends, Families and Travellers. He’s dedicated to addressing the needs of those groups who are  ‘chronically excluded’ and who often remain untouched by mainstream initiatives.

Sam Smethers

Sam is Chief Executive of the Fawcett Society. She’s previously worked at Grandparents Plus, the Equal Opportunities Commission, and in Parliament.

Dr Wanda Wyporska, FRSA

Wanda is Executive Director of the Equality Trust and a Visiting Fellow at the University of York. She’s also a trustee of LGBT History Month.

Scarlet Harris

Scarlet is the head of Policy and Campaigns at Maternity Action. She is also a member of the Women’s Budget Group management committee.

Sophie Howes

Sophie is the Policy and Programmes Manager at the British Institute of Human Rights, and a Senior Research and Policy Officer at the Child Poverty Action Group.

Magdelene Davis

Magdelene is a corporate governance professional currently working for a listed technology company. She has worked in various industries including finance, corporate services and retail, mainly supporting boards with discharging their duties and responsibilities.

Debbie Weekes-Bernard

Debbie Weekes-Bernard became Deputy Mayor for Social Integration, Social Mobility and Community Engagement in November 2018.  Before her current role, she was the Policy and Research Manager at Joseph Rowntree Foundation.