BIHR Staff

BIHR has ten staff, and is also supported by interns and volunteers. We have eleven trustees, and more than twenty members on our advisory board. We have over two hundred Friends who support us in financial and other ways. See BIHR's organisational map here.

Director: Stephen Bowen

Stephen joined BIHR in November 2010. Stephen is a human rights lawyer with 20 years experience of human rights work globally and here in the UK, where he was Campaigns Director of Amnesty International UK (2001 to 2006) and External Affairs Director of Scope (2006 to 2009).
 
Stephen has held various posts with the United Nations, including in the former Yugoslavia where he served as Chief Human Rights Officer to the United Nations Mission to Bosnia and Herzegovina, and as Chief of Staff of the United Nations Special Coordinator for Sarajevo. He also acted as Chief Counsel to the Election Appeals Sub-Commission, the OSCE body responsible for supervising the first democratic elections in Bosnia after the Dayton peace accords. Other appointments include Legal Officer for the Gaza Centre for Rights and Law (1993 to 1995) and Programme Director, International Human Rights Law Group (1996 to 1998).
 
Stephen holds academic degrees from Oxford University, the Polytechnic of Central London and the London School of Economics. Called to the Bar in 1990, he practiced at the criminal bar for 5 years at the Chambers of Michael Mansfield QC. He is now a Senior Lecturer in Human Rights at the University of Kingston and a regular contributor to their Master’s programme in Human Rights theory and practice.
 

Head of Policy and Public Affairs: Jean Candler

Jean has been working at BIHR since April 2008. She is taking forward a new strategy for increasing BIHR's influence and communicating to a wider public the immense scope and value of human rights for all people in the UK.

Jean has recently returned to the UK after working on human rights for development in Ethiopia. She worked to empower and give voice to poor and marginalised communities, through raising awareness of human rights and developing Human Rights Based Approaches to Development. 

Prior to working in Ethiopia, Jean worked for six years in the advocacy team of the Refugee Council, campaigning for rights for refugees and asylum seekers.

She has a MA in Human Rights from the Institute of Commonwealth Studies, based in the University of London. 

 jcandler@bihr.org.uk

PA/Office Co-ordinator: Amy Barrick

Amy joined BIHR in April 2006. She has worked in the charity sector for a number of years, working as administrator at Alcohol Concern, volunteering as fundraising and financial assistant at Childhope UK and fundraising for Amnesty International. Amy works as PA for the Director and is also responsible for the administration and office management of BIHR.
 

Acting Policy and Public Affairs Manager: Sanchita Hosali

Sanchita joined BIHR in October 2008 as Policy Officer and as of Feb 2010 is our Acting Policy and Public Affairs Manger. Together with the Director, she is responsible for developing and delivering BIHR's growing portfolio of policy activities and public affairs work.
 
Sanchita completed an LLB in Law in 2001 and a LLM in Human Rights Law in 2002, during which she interned with the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights in New York and the World Health Organisation in Geneva. Sanchita has a background in human rights research, policy and strategy development, with a particular emphasis on women's rights and Black and Minority Ethnic communities. Before joining BIHR Sanchita worked in academic institutions on multi-country projects, national and pan-regional organisations and as a freelance researcher. She has been involved in the research, drafting and editing of a number of publications and campaigned for legal reforms on a number of human rights issues, including asylum and immigration, domestic violence, sexual violence, forced marriage, discrimination and equality, access to justice and human rights monitoring. Sanchita is currently Chair of the Management Committee of Rights of Women, a national women’s organisation.
 

shosali@bihr.org.uk

Health and Human Rights Officer: Ellie Keen

Ellie joined BIHR in July 2009 as Training and Consultancy Officer. Her experience prior to this included work at international level, as project manager, trainer and consultant on human rights advocacy and education. She lived and worked in Russia for several years and was engaged in long-term projects throughout Europe for Amnesty International, Conciliation Resources and the Council of Europe.

Ellie has experience of working with a wide range of clients in both the public and voluntary sectors, particularly in the field of education. She has authored various training manuals and awareness raising publications on human rights at national and at international level. At BIHR, Ellie is responsible for the third sector health and human rights project.

ekeen@bihr.org.uk

Training and Consultancy Coordinator: Ed Wilcox

Ed joined BIHR in March 2010 and is responsible for the coordination of BIHR's training and consultancy work. Prior to joining BIHR, Ed completed an MA in Diplomacy at the University of Nottingham, studied peace and human rights, and the UN system, at the United Nations University, Tokyo, and studied Psychology as an undergraduate at the University of Manchester. Ed also taught English in rural Japan for two years, as part of the Japan Exchange and Teaching (JET) Programme.