Hannah Acido is responsible for overseeing the day-to-day financial administration, human resources policies and general operation of the Centre including managing and developing relationships. She also organises the internal and corporate events, and prior to working at the Centre, Hannah worked in property administration, event planning and as a private PA.
hacido@justiceinnovation.org | 020 3036 2884
Phil Bowen leads the organisation, setting and overseeing the implementation of its overarching strategy. Prior to being Director, Phil spent the majority of his career in the British civil service, working for the Home Office, Ministry of Justice, and as a delivery adviser to the Prime Minister on criminal justice reform.
pbowen@justiceinnovation.org | 07816 967361 | Twitter:@PhillipBowen45
Jenny works at Community Advice, a service based within Highbury Corner Magistrates Court. She provides a range of advice, information and support to court users. Jenny has a MSc in Psychology and as a qualified teacher, has considerable experience in the education sector.
Claire Ely is in charge of our innovative practice work. This currently involves areas of focus such as: youth diversion, problem solving courts, adult diversion, out of court disposals and community advice services. Claire has extensive frontline experience of the criminal justice system from her time as a probation officer.
Phillippa Heath-Philpotts is the Family Justice Manager at the Centre and leads on the Centre's family justice practice work, including overseeing Family Drug and Alcohol Courts (FDAC), an alternative court approach to care proceedings. Phillippa is a registered social worker and has extensive experience and understanding of working with vulnerable people through her previous roles in youth work and teaching, as well as through her work in our community advice service and Highbury Magistrates Court and a placement with CAFCASS.
Hannah leads the Centre's research work on women's contact with the justice system. This strand of work focuses on developing gender-sensitive approaches to working with women that seek to address the high prevalence of mental health issues, substance misuse, domestic abuse and trauma experienced within this population. Hannah conducts primary research across a range of projects, and reviews emerging evidence, policy and practice. Prior to working at the centre, Hannah worked on research projects within the public and third sector and gained experience in frontline roles.
As Innovative Practice Officer, Bami works collaboratively with practitioners to support and enhance innovations currently taking place within the Criminal Justice System, particularly in youth and adult diversion and out of court disposals. Bami has frontline experience working as a police officer for the Metropolitan Police and as a caseworker for a gangs and violence prevention charity
Clare is the Family Justice Coordinator and supports the Family Justice Manager to deliver the Centre's Family Justice programme of work. She is responsible for maintaining information systems and documentation, and coordinating training and events. Clare also provides support to Family Drug and Alcohol Courts by responding to practice queries. She has previous experience working for various organisations particularly in the healthcare field.
ckavanagh@justiceinnovation.org | 07496 874 553 (text only)
Jason strengthens partnerships across the criminal justice system, bringing together key stakeholders, including people with lived experience to develop quality diversionary practice. Using his knowledge and experience from a former career in Policing, Jason brings a unique blend of practical and evidence based experience gained from innovating policy design and its implementation throughout the UK.
Duncan heads up the Centre's policy, public affairs and comms work. He works across all of the organisation's areas of focus and has previously worked in health and early education policy.
dlugton@justiceinnovation.org | 020 3036 2882
Michelle manages Community Advice, a service based within Highbury Corner Magistrates Court which provides a range of advice, information and support to court users. Michelle holds a BSc in Social Work and has experience in the social work field.
mmcguire@justiceinnovation.org | 07941510242
As the Deputy Director, Vicki Morris oversees the project management of the Centre's practice and research work. This currently involves areas of focus such as: youth diversion, problem solving courts, adult diversion, community advice services and Family Drug and Alcohol Courts. Vicki has wide-ranging knowledge and experience of operations and practice in the criminal justice sector through her previous role as a senior education leader in a young offender institution and her degree in Youth Justice.
Carmen Robin-D’Cruz works to research, develop and test new approaches to justice system practice, particularly in the youth justice system. She is responsible for identifying evidence of effective practice and producing practical evidence-led recommendations for service delivery that can be implemented and evaluated. Carmen has previously worked as Research Advisor at the University of Edinburgh and Research Assistant at Reading University’s School of Law. She studied Law at University College London and has a Bachelor of Civil Law from the University of Oxford.
Lucy supports the Centre’s policy and influencing work, and helps to develop the thinking on how to make a fairer and more effective justice system. She also oversees the communications channels, which ensures that everyone from civil servants to frontline practitioners are aware of the work that the Centre is doing - and the system change that we want to see.
Lucy works across the organisation’s workstreams, lending expertise particularly to the Centre’s work on strengthening and expanding the use of pre-court disposals and diversion schemes. She has a particular interest promoting innovation and reform in areas where the justice system intersects with issues of social justice and human rights.
She has previous experience working in communications and event management in the third sector, including a period spent in Brussels where she combined her passion for cycling and policy at a European cycling network.
Suzanne leads the Centre's practice work on women in justice and court reform, including procedural fairness and criminal problem-solving courts. Previously, Suzanne worked as a frontline practitioner having worked in both the male and female prison estates and in youth justice, working with young people involved in or at risk of involvement in the criminal justice system.
As head of Evidence and Data, Stephen leads our research team, ensuring that our work is rigorous and provides insights that can have a real impact on the criminal justice system. He is particularly interested in the use of non custodial sentences and has worked on the role of the probation service and problem-solving courts. He is currently leading a project on the use of court fines as well as co-ordinating our use of research evidence around Family Drug and Alcohol Courts.