Hannah Smithson - Chair
Hannah Smithson is the Chair of SCYJ. She is a Professor of Criminology and Youth Justice at Manchester Metropolitan University. Hannah is a key authority in her field, combining academic rigour and applied expertise that influence national youth justice policy and have real world impact.Hannah is passionate about advocating for the rights of children and young people, in particular those in the youth justice system. She has spent the past five years developing the Manchester Centre for Youth Studies (MCYS) at Manchester Met. MCYS is a research centre underpinned by the ethos of creating youth informed and youth led research and policy. The work of the Centre is in the main, with marginalised and vulnerable children and young people.
Lesley Tregear - Secretary
Lesley Tregear has been actively involved in youth justice since 1992 when she joined the Warwickshire Juvenile Justice Team as a social worker, later becoming the operations manager in this and then the Warwickshire Youth Offending Team. She contributed to many national developments in youth justice during this time including work with the Youth Justice Board on a number of secondments and project management of a national project on behalf of the ODPM.In 2009 she became the Warwickshire YOT Manager which became one of the highest performing YOTs; reducing first time entrants, re-offending rates and custody for children in Warwickshire. Due to her commitment and skill in partnership working Lesley was responsible for developing the Family Intervention Service in Warwickshire which later became the foundation of the Troubled Families programme in Warwickshire. In 2016 she implemented the Multi-Agency Safeguarding Hub for children and adults in Warwickshire.Committed to ongoing professional development for herself and others, Lesley became a LGA accredited peer coach and a peer review team leader.Lesley was Chair of the Association of YOT Managers (AYM) from 2016 until her retirement from Warwickshire Youth Justice Service in July 2018, actively working to improve policy development and practice for children involved with the criminal justice system and challenging national developments in youth justice that did not seek to support the needs of children.
Tony Book - Treasurer
For the past 29 years, Tony Book has served as a magistrate at Brighton magistrates’ court where he chaired both Adult and Youth sittings and for many years has been an appraiser helping to maintain high standards throughout both East and West Sussex.More recently was he was a Youth Panel Vice Chair and Appraisal Coordinator for the Central Sussex Bench. He has extensive experience in the private sector, including at Lever Brothers and American Express. He was founder and chief executive of Compass Consultancy, specialising in Database marketing techniques and has held a variety of senior positions at Riomay Ltd – a renewable energy company. In a number of other roles, Tony has worked to promote renewable energy, including Chairing the UK section of the International Solar Energy Society (ISES) and sitting on its World Board. He has longstanding experience of community service, including working as a Science, Technology, Engineering and Maths (STEM) Ambassador, a school governor, a gateway assessor at the Citizens’ Advice Bureau, a magistrate, and being a member of the University of Brighton’s Medical School Fitness to Practice committee.
John Drew
John Drew was Chief Executive of the Youth Justice Board for England and Wales from 2009 to 2013 and prior to that had spent a decade as a Director of Social Services and Housing in the east London borough of Redbridge. John had worked as a children’s social work, principally in the areas of children in care, in need of protection, or who were offending, since 1974, qualifying as a social worker at the University of Sheffield in 1978. John was appointed a C.B.E. for services to youth justice in the Queen’s Birthday Honours in 2013.During John’s period as the Chief Executive of the YJB, he led (with the Chair, Frances Done) a repositioning of the YJB that amongst other things contributed significantly to the reduction, (by 55%) of the number of children held in custody in that time.Since retiring in 2013, John has taken on a number of non-executive and part-time roles. He is, currently, a Visiting Professor at the University of Bedfordshire; chairs the Medway Safeguarding Children’s Board; co-chairs the North East London Children’s Resettlement Consortia; is a Board member of East Thames Housing Association; and works with the Prison Reform Trust as a Senior Associate. John is a trustee of the Social Research Unit at Dartington and Deputy Chair (and chair elect) of the Criminal Justice Alliance.In 2015/16, John led the Independent Review of South Yorkshire Police’s response to child sexual exploitation, and was Secretary to the Independent Review of the criminalisation of looked after children, the Laming Review.
Ali Wigzell
Ali Wigzell is a Research Fellow at the Institute for Criminal Policy Research (ICPR) at Birkbeck, University of London. She joined ICPR in 2012 having spent three years as a senior researcher at the think tank the Centre for Social Justice (CSJ), leading their work on youth justice.Youth justice is Ali's area of research specialism. Her work in the field includes a major review of youth justice at the CSJ, and the report of the Parliamentarians’ Inquiry into the Operation and Effectiveness of the Youth Court, which was chaired by Lord Carlile.Ali is currently studying for a Ph.D in Criminology at the University of Cambridge. Her PhD is an ethnography of youth justice supervision and the role of young person-worker relationships in facilitating desistance. She is a guest lecturer on youth justice at Birkbeck, University of London. Ali is also a Trustee of the National Association of Youth Justice, a Fellow of the CSJ and an Advisory Board Member of Peer Power UK.
Joanne Cecil
Joanne Cecil is a barrister and combines serious crime and public law practice with criminal justice related judicial reviews and civil litigation in the civil liberties sphere. She has a strong appellate practice both domestically and internationally, appearing at all levels including the Supreme Court. Most recently she was instructed by Just For Kids Law in the joint enterprise case of Jogee before the Supreme Court. Joanne has developed an expertise in strategic litigation and acting for intervenors. She has been instructed in every significant test case at the appellate levels concerning juvenile justice in recent years, resulting in significant changes to the law. She is currently instructed by the FCO and separately the EU and Council of Europe in two seminal US Supreme Court criminal cases. Previously instructed by the EU, Council of Europe in Roper v. Simmons, 543 U.S. 551 (Juvenile death penalty ruled unconstitutional)Her expertise in criminal justice can be seen in her appointment as an Independent Commissioner on the Legal Aid Review Commission (the Bach Commission). She is also as an elected member of the Criminal Bar Association, Bar Human Rights Commission and has been appointed to the FCO Consular Panel for expert assistance in criminal cases in overseas jurisdictions. Prior to being called to the Bar of England and Wales, she worked for several years in Washington, DC. and has extensive experience in international human rights cases. She continues to consult on human rights issues to governments, international organisations (e.g. EU, UNICEF, UN) and NGOs.
Di Hart
Di Hart worked for many years as a social worker and manager in children’s services before moving into a research and development post with the National Children’s Bureau. In that role, Di was responsible for the development of better practice with children involved in both the welfare and justice system. Projects included a study of looked after children in custody, the approach to children in breach of their order and managing the transition from secure care. These resulted in a number of publications designed to influence policy and front-line practice.Di now works on a freelance and voluntary basis focussing particularly on secure care and recently undertook a Winston Churchill Travel Fellowship to see what could be learned from other countries about the treatment of children in custody. Di is a long-standing member of the NAYJ and has an ongoing commitment to a ‘child first’ response to children in trouble.
Gess Aird
As a youth worker and youth work manager and leader Gess Aird has contributed significantly to young people’s lives in her career spanning over 20 years. Specialising in youth participation Gess campaigned for the voice of children and young people to be heard in the development and delivery of services. Over the last ten years Gess also specialised in the delivery of youth work within youth justice, including the development of children and young people’s participation. Gess has worked in more than 15 local authorities across the country working with professionals within youth work and youth justice to improve their offer to and involvement of children and young people.Gess now runs a national social enterprise (Kinetic Youth Ltd) delivering youth work services to young people housed within the secure estate. Having done this for almost ten years, Gess, and her fellow Director colleague, have increased the organisation from delivering a small project in a YOI, to delivering large services, within multiple contracts, to all YOI’s, and a number of STC’s, SCH’s and into the adult estate working with young offenders.As part of her work as a national champion for youth work, youth participation and the importance of these within youth justice, Gess has worked with colleagues from the YJB, MoJ, NOMS and the new Youth Custody Service. Her work as not only supported the implemented of systems to enable children and young people to improve front line services, it has also been instrumental in the development of youth work within the secure estate and in improving the value of youth work within youth justice.
Shadae Cazeau
Shadae Cazeau has several years’ experience in providing leadership and policy advice on discrimination, advancing equality and the youth justice system (YJS), including four years at the Independent Office for Police Conduct (IOPC). As a qualified Barrister with a focus on crime, Shadae is well versed with the issues that face young people in the criminal justice system. As a public facing legal consultant, Shadae worked regularly with children and young people who had been directly impacted by the YJS, providing her with a frontline picture of the issues young people were facing, including the overuse of stop and search, lack of legal understanding, and the cycle of reoffending. Shadae is currently the Head of Policy for EQUAL, which has a particular focus on addressing the poorer outcomes experienced by BAME communities and Muslims, using policy and influence to do so. Shadae has a lifelong commitment and passion for tackling inequality (in any form), born from both her lived experience as a black woman growing up in poverty and her personal values. Shadae works to maintain and improve her knowledge and awareness of the challenges facing the YJS which includes examining her own attitudes and biases.
Gavin McKenna
Gavin McKenna has numerous years’ experience working within the youth justice sector, with many different roles. Passion, determination, and empathy place Gavin in a strong position for effecting change and leaving a legacy for the next generation. Gavin has founded and established his own company to support marginalized young people involved in or at risk of criminal exploitation, serious violence, and crime, with the belief that it is paramount to not only offer hope and opportunity to the young people directly, but also empower and equip professionals that work with such young people daily. Through training professionals with bespoke awareness and practical approaches training, establishing grass root coaching projects to directly reach the young people that need support, partnering with other organisations, and being a member of networks on policy reform, Gavin is constantly working towards his goal and aim of offering hope and opportunity to those that would otherwise be stuck in cycles of negativity, not able to reach their full potential in society.
Ebinehita Iyere
Young people have often described Ebinehita Iyere as the bridge between them and the systems and services they access or cannot access, which has always encouraged her to continue working at different levels to support, understand and advocate for young people. Ebinehita works to ensure that young people and grass roots organisations feel heard and supported. Ebinehita has been involved with the SCYJ from a grassroots level for as long as she can remember and has always been committed to the organisation and its values. As someone who has worked her way up from a youth worker to a Therapeutic youth practitioner, positive change for young people has been Ebinehita’s drive because she know what it feels like to have no one by your side at the toughest times in your life growing up. Through working with and for young people she has been able to co-create and embed participation in the way she works and encouraging young people to also be part of the social justice issues that affect them. All Ebinehita’s roles have included her engaging with young people from a range of backgrounds and understanding them for who they are rather than what they are.
Hannah Couchman
Hannah Couchman is a barrister with a background in social justice and a career spanning legal, policy and campaigning work. After she left University, Hannah became the Assistant Director of a small children’s rights organisation, working with young people to run their own campaigns, before qualifying and practising as a barrister, including criminal defence work in the youth courts. Hannah left the Bar to pursue policy and campaigning roles in human rights and is currently leading a campaign stream at Liberty. Hannah will soon move on from this role and take up the position of Senior Legal Officer at Rights of Women, specialising in criminal law. Hannah has worked with the SCYJ in previous roles, including as a Policy Officer specialising in youth court matters at the Magistrates’ Association, and she knows first-hand the value of collaborative working across the sector, bringing together the expertise required for complex and multidisciplinary insight. Hannah has worked specifically on the issues of racial and ethnic disparities in the youth justice system, leading the Magistrates’ Association’s engagement with the Lammy Review. Hannah met with David Lammy and his staff and consulted with judicial office holders on issues surrounding the enquiry, facilitating challenging conversations around discriminatory decision making in our court systems. Hannah is also a volunteer children’s session supervisor at Akwaaba, a social centre for migrants, where she works to create a non-hierarchical, anti-racist space for activism, but also rest and relaxation.
Anne-Marie Day
Anne-Marie Day has many years’ experience within youth justice as a practitioner, policy adviser and researcher/ lecturer. She has been an associate member of the SCYJ for several years during which she has engaged with various issues facing children and young people in the youth justice system; including contributing to written submissions on children in custody, and children in care. Upon qualifying as a Probation Officer in 2002, AnneMarie worked in the community, before moving to HMP Risley for 2 years, providing a real insight into the challenges faced within custody. Anne-Marie commenced working in youth justice in 2007 as a Senior Practitioner and Resettlement Manager, and then moved to the Youth Justice Board as a Senior Policy Adviser in 2012. During this time, Anne-Marie advised senior ministers and civil servants on key issues within youth justice, including preventing violent extremism, anti social behaviour, domestic abuse, and children in care. Following this, Anne-Marie moved into academia in 2014, commencing her PhD on the pathways into offending for children in care. More recently, she has completed research with John Pitts and Tim Bateman on the pathways of incarcerated children in care. All her research to date has been focused on the voices and perspectives of the children themselves, which has formed the basis of key recommendations to reform the youth justice system. Anne-Marie’s unique mix of experiences as a practitioner, policy adviser and researcher have given her an understanding of the issues affecting children in the youth justice system. Importantly, this understanding has been gained from a range of perspectives.
Ahmed Ibrahim
Ahmed passionately believes in effective and proactive youth representation and at present he sits on the national youth panel of the Independent Office of Police Conduct (IOPC) as the London panellist, advising the Director and policing chiefs on the issue of ‘improving trust and confidence in the criminal justice system for young people’. This work has enabled Ahmed to engage with over 800 young people across England and Wales, in finding solutions that work and sharing these with the most senior politicians including the Shadow Home Secretary and senior policing staff. Working with the IOPC has given Ahmed the platform to diversify the conversation in policing especially ensuring the voices of those that are often marginalised, specifically from the BAME community, are heard in tackling the issues of the criminal justice system. Ahmed’s personal commitment in bettering trust, confidence, and the criminal justice system as whole comes down to his own personal experience of policing, specifically Stop and Search, that still occurs against him till this day. Ahmed’s hope is that the work that others and I do in engaging with policing and criminal justice stakeholders will lead to progressive and meaningful change, that will see a transformation in the relationship with young people and the institution and the system that exist to protect them.
Nadine Smith
Nadine Smith has a very strong passion for criminal justice reform. Since 2013, Nadine has worked on projects both regionally and nationally that call for change and accountability in the justice system and in local policing. Nadine has worked with HMPPS, Police and Crime Commissioners, MPs and an abundance of decision/policy makers across a wide range of projects, all with elevated youth voice being the main objective, from those that don’t usually have the opportunity to be heard. Nadine has a genuine interest and understanding of the issues affecting children in the youth justice system and has done lots of work with 15 – 25 year olds in YOIs, prisons and the community. Nadine is able to draw on her collective experiences to represent a diverse range of children and young people, with most of her work being within the BAME community. Nadine enjoys developing strategies, especially around engagement and reform and for the past 3 years, Nadine has helped develop initiatives for the young advisors on criminal justice projects with Leaders Unlocked.
