RJC - Key Persons
Job Titles:
- Restorative Standards Officer
Aisa has been working within the field of Restorative Justice for 6 years and is an advanced level practitioner, with the last 3 years, being her role as Service coordinator then operational lead for Make Amends, the commissioned service in Devon and Cornwall.
Her background is working with young people who have emotional and behavioural challenges, and she has also volunteered for the youth justice service as a referral panel member for the last 8 years. She has an honours degree in Psychology and is currently working towards an MSc in Business and management with both undergraduate dissertation and Masters capstone projects focusing on Restorative Practice. Aisa also has a level 3 teaching and assessment qualification.
Job Titles:
- Adviser
- Policy and Communications Officer
David Smith was Third Sector Adviser then Victims Adviser to the West Yorkshire Police and Crime Commissioner and more recently the Mayor and Deputy Mayor (Policing and Crime).
He led on the development of West Yorkshire's Restorative Justice Services and advised on the commissioning of the first ever West Yorkshire wide restorative justice service in 2017/18. He has considerable experience at national level, having represented West Yorkshire within the Association of Police and Crime Commissioners, and advised the Victims Commissioner Dame Vera Baird on the impact of Covid on victims and survivors.
David has extensive experience of working in the voluntary sector and in local government. He has a lifelong commitment to equality, diversity and inclusion as an LGBT+ community activist; his first full time job was with the Anti-Apartheid Movement campaigning for the liberation of Southern Africa. He has a PhD in applied social sciences.
Debbie is the founder member and Co-Director of Northern Ireland Alternatives, a community based restorative programme based in Belfast and accredited by the Department of Justice. She has 28 years' experience in restorative work having spent 5 years managing a restorative programme in the USA and then moving home to Belfast to start Northern Ireland Alternatives as part of the wider peacebuilding process. She is a former Vice-Chair of the Northern Ireland Policing Board and a visiting Professor at Ulster University. Debbie has trained and taught extensively in restorative justice both at an academic and community level.
Debbie has been to the forefront of the development of restorative justice in Northern Ireland including the introduction of restorative justice in arenas other than justice such as schools; churches, welfare, care and youth sectors. She also has a wide range of international experience in South America, South Africa, Israel/Palestine and the USA where she currently advise at Boston University on issues related to policing, conflict resolution, restorative and criminal justice. She developed a training programme and trained every probation officer in Northern Ireland in restorative justice.
Dr. Jon Hobson is a senior academic at the University of Gloucestershire where he teaches and researches in issues around restorative justice restorative practice. Jon has been involved in restorative justice in various capacities for around ten years, working to help demonstrate the benefits and impacts it can have for victims, offenders, and for organisations. This includes work across a range of sectors, including work with the police, in supported housing, in prisons, in schools and education, and restorative justice in countries struggling with the impacts of war and conflict. Jon sits on of the board for Restorative Gloucestershire, supporting organisation in its work across a broad range of statutory and community groups.
Job Titles:
- Clinical Psychologist
- Consultant
- Trustee
- Chairman - Council Trustee
- Chairman of the Board of Trustees
Dr. Gerard Drennan Ph.D. became the Chair of the Board of Trustees in June 2021. Gerard is a Consultant Clinical Psychologist in the NHS and Psychoanalytic Psychotherapist, who holds the post of Lead Consultant in Forensic and Offender Health, and Head of Psychology & Psychotherapy in the Behavioural & Developmental Psychiatric Operations Directorate of the South London & Maudsley Mental Health Foundation Trust. Gerard holds degrees from the Universities of South Africa and the University of Cape Town. He has published widely on mental health topics, including on the role of language and cultural diversity and recovery-oriented practice in forensic mental health settings. Over the past decade Gerard has led projects to introduce restorative justice practice into mental health services, and has published book chapters and journal articles on how health services can do more to recognise and address harm in the recovery journeys of all who are affected by trauma and adversity.
Hardyal was Derbyshire's Police and Crime Commissioner (PCC) up to May 2021. Nationally, leading for the Association of Police and Crime Commissioners (APCC) on 2 portfolios - alcohol and substance misuse, as well as equality, diversity, and human rights (EDHR), focussing especially on hate crime, stop and search, Workforce Diversity and Policing Diverse Communities. Prior to this as Deputy PCC (2013-16), he led on setting up Derbyshire PCC's commissioned Victims Support Services, including the first Restorative Justice Practitioner Service, one of the biggest in the country. He is a strong advocate for an accredited restorative justice service to be available for all victims of crime and championed it's use for all crimes and stages in the criminal justice process.
His passion for supportive victims and diverting offenders from crime is built on working over 30 years in the criminal justice sector; including managing Nottinghamshire's victims' Liaison team, mostly in strategic management roles for the probation service. He has been a Derby City Councillor since 1993, currently representing the inner-city ward of Normanton. He as held Cabinet posts in social care and health, education, planning and leisure; and Scrutiny Lead roles for Communities and Neighbourhoods.
Job Titles:
- Consultant
- Trainer
- Membership Trustee
Janet became a membership trustee in July 2018. Involved in restorative practice since 2001, Janet is an experienced trainer, consultant, practitioner, assessor and published author in restorative practice. Janet is an Accredited Practitioner with the RJC and an A1 Assessor for restorative practice. Janet managed the award-winning Restorative Approaches in Schools (RAiS) project in Bristol and has supported a number of schools, education and youth settings, and other agencies in implementing restorative approaches. Janet delivers training, consultancy and facilitation in a wide variety of settings, including youth offending services, the police, probation, educational settings and community mediation. As a volunteer practitioner, Janet brings an extensive background of hands on experience to the Board.
Jim joined the RJC as chief executive in April 2019, having been an RJC assessor since 2014. He is an experienced head teacher with 21 years' service within education. Alongside this he has worked closely with youth offending services and the police force in developing restorative practices within educational and youth settings.
He is an experienced practitioner and trainer within restorative practices and has led the strategic development and implementation of these services within educational and youth settings. His academic studies have focused on education and his Master's degree, specifically focused on equality and diversity, researching the impact of restorative practices on providing a fair and equitable service to those involved within the process.
Kira has been a restorative practitioner for 15 years and brings a wealth of restorative practice knowledge and experience in education, youth justice, social care and mental health, complimented by her cultural knowledge of the international restorative community. She prides over well-tailored, solution focused evidence-based restorative practice interventions and creative implementation of restorative principles.
In Hungary Kira was the restorative Supervisor and Trainer for the MH Lyceum Foundation Secondary School for Mental Health and managed the successful ‘Year Zero' restorative programme for at risk young people. Kira has worked with numerous schools, delivered facilitator training and providing consultancy on embedding restorative practices. In the UK Kira is a restorative practitioner at Brent Youth Offending Service where she has been involved in reviewing and implementing restorative processes and training. She facilitates complex and sensitive cases and ensures that victims of youth crime have access to restorative justice.
Job Titles:
- Trustee
- Vice Chair - Council Trustee
Becky joined the RJC as a membership trustee in July 2018. She has been a restorative practitioner for ten years, working on cases from low level antisocial behaviour and criminal damage to cases involving death or harmful sexual behaviour. Becky ran Restorative Gloucestershire, a multi-agency partnership that provides the restorative justice service for Gloucestershire, for six years and is the vice-chair of the RJC Standards Committee. Becky is now a criminal justice policy officer for the Gloucestershire Police and Crime Commissioner. This involves managing the Local Criminal Justice Board and supporting a number of work streams and priorities. This includes reducing re-offending, supporting victims & witnesses and various commissioning projects.
Phil was elected as a membership trustee in November 2020. After teaching in Chester for 2 years, Phil joined the Lancashire Constabulary in January 1982 and he served with them until his retirement in October 2011. He rejoined as a member of police staff in the role of restorative justice co-ordinator. Phil was instrumental in the expansion of the Lancashire police RJ team which also runs victim awareness courses in Lancashire prisons and he later became the manager of a number of co-ordinators and volunteers. Phil is the lead RJ trainer and since November 2017, his role is to promote RJ across Lancashire Police and with other agencies and partners.
Rebecca was re-elected as membership trustee in November 2020. A qualified and accredited restorative practitioner with 13 years' experience working across a range of criminal justice, community and social care settings. Rebecca is currently the Restorative Practice lead in the Learning Academy for Torbay Council with a remit of embedding restorative practice across children's social care. Rebecca brings a wealth of front line practitioner and trainer experience to the board, and continues to volunteer for Make Amends the PCC commissioned Restorative Justice Service for Devon and Cornwall. Rebecca has a particular interest in facilitating complex and sensitive cases.
Sarah became a Membership Trustee in November 2020. A qualified and accredited practitioner she has facilitated interventions across a range of criminal justice, community and education settings over the last 11 years. Specialising in complex and sensitive casework involving harmful sexual behaviour, homicide and arson Sarah brings a wealth of practitioner experience to the Board. Sarah continues to volunteer for Restorative Gloucestershire, a multi-agency partnership, and is also an experienced trainer and mentor with a particular interest in supporting multi-agency professionals to work restoratively with vulnerable children and families to improve outcomes.