SHIFT ORGANISATION - Key Persons
Job Titles:
- Research & Evaluation Committee Member
Cheryl is Evaluation Lead for the Maths Excellence Fund at Purposeful Ventures. Cheryl has over 15 years of research experience, specialising in evaluation of programmes to improve education outcomes, support families, children and young people. Cheryl was previously Group Director of Policy and Research at the London South East Education Group, and a Programme Head at the Nuffield Foundation, where she managed the research portfolio relating to secondary, further and higher education and the teaching workforce.
Job Titles:
- Chief Executive
- Researcher
Dr Amy Ludlow is an accomplished researcher and educator. Having studied, taught and researched at the University of Cambridge for 16 years, Amy has wide-ranging and award-winning expertise in law and criminal justice. Amy's particular strengths and passions lie in bringing together policy, practice and research to generate positive systematic impact. Her work has been especially leading in the field of prison reform and especially in questions of cultural improvement and prison education. At home, Amy is mum to two daughters and wife to a busy NHS doctor.
Job Titles:
- Trustee and Research & Evaluation Committee Chair
Dr Luke Roberts has spent over 20 years in the conflict resolution and restorative practice field working with schools, prisons, police, charities, and communities to address conflict and bullying situations. This led him to create Resolve Consultants Limited to explore how to transform conflict into peace. During this time, he became increasingly concerned that many projects/pilots were not providing long-term benefits to communities. His PhD focused on Complex Adaptive Systems and how innovation can be sustained in organisations and communities. Since his PhD he has been working with government policy advisors and agencies such as the Prison Service, NHS Leadership Academy and St John Ambulance on how to scale innovation within and across systems. He is proud of the work with the Care Leaver Covenant in 2022 on the experiences of those with care experience in the criminal justice system. This combined his ability to show how systems reproduce inequality with his passion for changing the lived experience of those in the system.
In 2023, he began work in the USA and has become Founder and Chief Innovation Officer, for Highfive Schools to address violence and increase connection to school communities.
Luke is a visiting lecturer at Cambridge University and the Royal College of Art.
He is author of Leading Schools and Sustaining Innovation: How to Think Big and Differently in Complex Systems (Routledge, 2024).
Job Titles:
- Head of Evidence
- Research & Evaluation Committee Member
Dr Paul Dawson is Head of Evidence and Insight within the Mayor's Office for Policing and Crime - the body that has statutory responsibility over the Metropolitan Police. Paul leads an eclectic mixture of more than 20 psychologists, crime analysts and others to use evidence to improve crime, justice, and policy-making in London.
Eve is a psychology graduate with experience working as a Social Researcher for the Civil Service. Her research focused on policing, crime reduction and ethical decision making. She is a passionate advocate for a holistic approach to crime and drug use, which tackles the root causes and focuses on prevention rather than punishment.
Outside of work, Eve is in volved in activism and supports other young people to become politically engaged and make meaningful change towards achieving climate and social justice.
Job Titles:
- Henry Oldfield Trust / I.G.Y Foundation
Job Titles:
- Henry Oldfield Trust / I.G.Y Foundation
Job Titles:
- Director of Practice and Learning
- Head of Practice & Learning
Hilary joined SHiFT as Head of Practice & Learning in May. Most recently, Hilary has been working in Youth Custody Services, supporting children in YOIs to maintain meaningful family ties whilst in custody.
Job Titles:
- Chief Operating Officer
- Leader
James Preston is an experienced operational leader within the youth sector, with 10 years of experience delivering national government-funded youth contracts. Prior to this, James worked at an international university leading on the accreditation of their courses to enable them to deliver BA (Hons) qualifications. James also brings to SHiFT a wealth of knowledge of the Criminal Justice system having been a Police Officer for five years in Essex, experiencing first hand the issues of repeat offending and the vicious cycle that children can enter into. Outside of work, James is a dad to five children and coaches his youngest son's local football team.
Job Titles:
- Independent Consultant
- Partnership Consultant
Jeanne is an independent consultant who has worked in, and in partnership with, the private, voluntary and community sectors as well as local authority Children's Services for over twenty five years. In that time, she has been lucky enough to work with a number of talented and inspirational people who were committed to making systems and services responsive to the individual needs of each child. She likes to believe that some of her work may have helped to make a difference in the lives of some children.
Job Titles:
- Director of External Affairs & Influencing
Jo is currently a Visiting Scholar at the Centre for the Future of Intelligence at Cambridge and has recently completed a Churchill Fellowship in New Zealand, looking at support services for those affected by sexual violence. She was previously a Policy Fellow at the Royal Academy of Engineering, looking at how to apply systems thinking to tackling child criminal exploitation, and a Policy Fellow at Cambridge's Centre for Science and Policy looking at Serious and Organised Crime. Her previous roles include Head of the Serious Organised Crime Unit in His Majesty's Prison and Probation Service, Senior Adviser in the Prime Minister's Implementation Unit, and Public Affairs Adviser to the Archbishop of Canterbury.
Job Titles:
- Co - Founder
- Trustee
- Executive Chair of Foundations
Josh is the Executive Chair of Foundations. He led the English Care Review in 2022, and founded and was formerly Chief Executive of Frontline, which has been responsible for bringing 1,400 people into social work, and which works with over half of all Children's Services departments in England. His work has been acknowledged through numerous accolades including Charity Chief Executive of the Year 2018.
Job Titles:
- National Team Coordinator
Lucy joined SHiFT in January 2023, as National Team Coordinator. Having lived in the Netherlands for 12 years, she moved back to London in 2020 and started working at St Christopher's Hospice not long thereafter. Before bringing up her 3 daughters, Lucy worked in the Arts and as an equity research editor.
Job Titles:
- Deputy Chief Executive
- Director
- Trustee, Co - Founder and Finance Committee Chair
Michael is Deputy Chief Executive of Ark and Director of Ark Ventures. Ark runs a network of 37 schools across the UK and supports a range of other social enterprise ventures designed to improve education systems or children's lives. Michael was previously a junior partner at McKinsey and co-led its education practice which helped reform the public sector. He has been responsible for Ark's growth and raising more than £100m over the past eight years.
Nadia Galvani is a qualified family and systemic psychotherapist, social worker, practice educator, clinical supervisor and trainer. She has over 20 years' experience of working with children, young people and their families and has worked in various social care settings including youth justice, education welfare, and children's social care. She is currently employed in a London borough in a frontline child protection service. She has supported the learning and development of student social workers and newly qualified social workers in child protection teams. Nadia offers high quality clinical interventions for families, delivers systemic training to local authorities and offers clinical supervision in various capacities. Nadia also has a private practice where she offers therapy to clients with a wide range support needs.
Nadia has a specific interest in linking systemic ideas to social work practice. After noticing there was a gap in the market for resources that did this in an accessible way, along with two other systemically trained social worker friends, Fran and Eugene, she co-created and co-hosts The Social Matters Podcast. Along with Fran and Eugene, Nadia is one of the directors of Social Matters, an organisation whose business is supporting companies to improve diversity, inclusion and belonging in their systems.
Job Titles:
- Senior Executive
- Chairman, Board of Trustees
Pam is an experienced senior executive, with an extensive track record of delivering measurable success at some of the most challenging and ambitious local authorities in Central and Greater London. After a successful interim consultancy career supporting the achievement of business priorities in a range of public sector, SME and not-for-profit organisations, she is currently based at Essex County Council as their Director Organisation Development & People and Service Transformation since 2017.
Job Titles:
- Creative Communications Lead
Phoebe Minson is a multi-faceted professional and creative with a particular passion for communications. Her journey encompasses diverse roles, from Creative Director at a Central London commercial gallery to Head of Communications at an art-tech start-up. With a profound passion for the arts and a deep commitment to addressing societal issues, Phoebe's own projects have been strongly influenced by contemporary politics and social injustices, particularly those affecting women. Drawing from her experiences as an artist, writer, and gallery professional, Phoebe brings a unique perspective to communication and information accessibility. Raised in a family with a background in Family and Criminal Law, with a focus on children's rights, she carries a strong interest in child safety and protection, believing that a safe environment is essential for individuals, especially children, to fulfil their potential. Phoebe's career path represents an exploration of creativity, social justice, and communication, all reflecting her commitment to driving positive change across various aspects of society. Her spare time is spent in museums and galleries around London, reading non-fiction, finding anyone with a dog that she can borrow and watching RuPaul's Drag Race.
Job Titles:
- Deputy Director of Children 's Services at Wandsworth Borough Council
- Trustee and Practice Committee Chair
Rasheed is Deputy Director of Children's Services at Wandsworth Borough Council and is a social worker and a family and systemic psychotherapist who has worked across local authority and CAMHS settings. Rasheed is passionate about using systemic ideas and practices to support change with children, young people, and families. He is married with two teenage children and lives in Southeast London.
Rebecca is Chief Executive of Reach Academy Trust and Co-Founder, Reach Academy Feltham, the first all-through free school rated outstanding by Ofsted. The school's complex intake prioritises children from poorer backgrounds and includes those who have been excluded from previous schools. Founding Co-Chair of Teach First Headteacher's Group, Rebecca also co-developed Reach Children's Hub, designed to disrupt and improve the education and health care system. In 2018, Rebecca was voted one of the 50 best teachers in the world.
Rebecca is currently supporting SHiFT as its Finance Manager. She is a graduate from Teesside University with 20+ years' experience as a Finance Manager, working within both the private and charity sectors. Her main role is at Pause.
Rebecca has long supported charities, offering practical support as well as financial guidance; from being a Home Start volunteer in the 1990s, to her current role as Trustee/Treasurer for Age UK in Darlington.
Rebecca is a keen walker, often spending her weekends on the Fells and in the Dales, preferring the sky as her ceiling!
Sally is an independent consultant with over 25 years experience of working in Local Authority Children's Services, predominantly in the field of Youth Justice. Sally is passionate about trying to change the negative narrative that she has often seen exist around young people, particularly those involved with the justice system and wants to ensure that young people are not defined by their behaviour or circumstance, but seen as children first and foremost, with the capacity to learn and grow. Sally would like to see a society that tries to understand a child's journey and values and encourages them to reach their potential and does not judge or condemn them. Outside of work, Sally has a teenage son and enjoys taking her dog for walks and riding horses.
Sarah is a Senior Executive at a global consulting firm, currently working in Financial Services Technology Consulting.
With 24 years' experience in shaping and leading transformational programs for global organisations, she has a proven track record of establishing successful new teams and capabilities, and fostering enduring client relationships. Her passion for scaling and improving the operations, performance and effectiveness of organisations has equipped her with valuable skills in strategic planning, financial oversight and effective governance.
As a care experienced person, Sarah is passionate about improving outcomes for young people.
Job Titles:
- Practice Development Lead
Sophie is a child protection expert and the founder of Pause, a national charity that has enabled vulnerable women to take control of their lives and saved millions of pounds by preventing children being taken into care. Pause has grown to work across 30 local authorities in the UK. Sophie is the creator of Breaking Cycles - an approach to breaking entrenched patterns of harm - on which the SHiFT Programme is based. She was SHiFT Chair from inception until September 2022.
Job Titles:
- Member of SHiFT 's Research & Evaluation Committee
Professor Stephen Morris is a member of SHiFT's Research & Evaluation Committee. He is Professor of Evaluation at the Policy Evaluation and Research Unit, Department of Sociology, Manchester Metropolitan University. Stephen has been conducting quantitative impact evaluations for more than 20 years, in areas including children and youth services, education, welfare reform and crime and justice.
Job Titles:
- Practice Development Lead