Our people

Sir Nicolas is the former President of the European Court of Human Rights, where he was a judge for over 14 years, elected in respect of the UK. Sir Nicolas was in private practice at the Bar of England and Wales from 1969 until 1998, specialising in commercial law, public law and human rights law. Sir Nicolas’ incomparable human rights experience and expertise is an invaluable source of advice, guidance and inspiration for BIHR.

Mark is an independent management consultant, specialising in strategy and operational development across the charity and public sectors. Mark has a BSc in International Relations and MScs in International Development Management and Charity Accounting and Financial Management.

Tanni is a crossbench peer; appointed in 2010 her parliamentary work has a special focus on disabled people’s rights, welfare, access to justice, youth development and sports. She is well known for her success as a Paralympic athlete, winning 16 medals in 5 Paralympic Games. Retiring from competition in 2007, Tanni still plays an active role in the sports field through administration, commentary, and charitable activities.

Imran is one of the Founding members of Imran Khan and Partners, and is Head of the Criminal Defence, Actions Against the Police and Public Law Departments. He is well known for his representation of the family of Stephen Lawrence during the private prosecution, inquest, and public inquiry into Stephen’s murder. Imran was appointed Queen's Counsel in 2018 having been a Higher Rights Advocate for many years.

Edith is the Director of Advancement for the University of Nottingham. Prior to this she was the Director of Development for The Elders. Her previous roles include Director of Development at the Open University and a Deputy Director of the Ashmolean Museum. Edith has had an extensive career in fundraising and international development. A Dutch national, Edith gained her Masters in Economics at the University of Amsterdam.

Joe was appointed the National Director (now Chief Executive) of All Wales People First in 2012 as part of a nationwide recruitment campaign to appoint someone with lived experience of living in learning disability services to head the organisation. Prior to this Joe had lived in autism care services for eleven years and had to fight to get out of a system that defined him as being limited because of disability. With a more enlightened social model approach, he no longer needs support, has a job, his own house in the community and is a contributing tax-payer.

Stephen Pittam retired as the Trust Secretary of the Joseph Rowntree Charitable Trust in 2012. Before joining JRCT, Stephen spent 10 years in local government in London focused on voluntary sector liaison and community development, having previously worked on community development in Ireland, Jordan and in the UK. Stephen is a Board member and advisor for several local, national and international rights-based initiatives.

Sanchita is a recognised expert in human rights and equality law, policy and practice, with over twenty years of working both in the UK and internationally.

Carlyn is a human rights policy professional with over 10 years’ experience operationalising human rights in the commissioning, planning and delivery of public services across the UK.

Phil is a highly experienced general / operations management professional and is responsible at BIHR for all aspects of the charity’s financial and administrative management.

Katrin has a background in advocacy and support work. She has significant experience of working together with disabled people, older adults, and women who have experienced domestic violence.

Charlotte has previously worked as an advocate for survivors of modern slavery and human trafficking within the National Referral Mechanism and has an academic background in Law.

Annie is an experienced social worker, specialising in mental capacity practice and community mental health support and also leads on workshop delivery on NDTi's Community Led Support programme.

Phoebe has a background in advice, advocacy, and casework in the third sector with particular focus on SEND law (Special Educational Needs and Disability). Phoebe also has academic human rights experience.

Jacob has a background in human rights legal research and consultancy, and experience in the public sector through administering welfare benefits.

Helen has a professional background in both communications and casework as well as an academic background in Law.

Valentina has a background in Admin and Operations Management in both retail and service sector, and non-profit sector. 

Charli is an autistic and neuro-divergent person who was admitted to Inpatient CAMHS (Children's Mental Health Services) aged 15.

Over the past 6 years I've had a lot of experience with both CAMHS and adult mental health services as both an inpatient and in the community

Kirsten is a single parent of an autistic son who, from the ages of 14-18, was held in mental health hospitals and subjected to restrictive practices.