The Staff Team

At BIHR we are proud that our team brings wide and varied experience to supporting our mission to achieve change through human rights. Our team includes specialists in law, education, advocacy, community engagement and arts, and a range of areas related to people’s everyday experiences of rights including health and social care, addressing violence against women, criminal law, immigration and asylum, as well as core organisational functions around finance, administration and governance operations.

As part of our relationship with QMUL School of Law, where BIHR is housed, we run a paid summer internship scheme for students, awarded through a competitive application process. You can read more about our Intern Alumni here. 

You can contact BIHR via our main email ([email protected])

Sanchita Hosali, Director

Sanchita is a recognised expert in human rights and equality law, policy and practice, with over fifteen years of working both in the UK and internationally. As Director at BIHR Sanchita provides strategic leadership and management, overseeing operations, with a lead role in policy and campaigning. Sanchita convenes an innovative new clinical module at QMUL School of Law, "Securing human rights" which provides undergraduate students with the opportunity to gain practical learning and experience of using human rights standards within the charity sector. Find out more about BIHR's relationship with QMUL here.

Sanchita has a particular expertise in addressing violence against women from a human rights perspective, having worked on a number of UK and international projects on these issues, including on "honour" crimes. She has been an academic researcher, worked as a freelance researcher, and lead policy and strategy development, in a variety of positions at organisations including Nottingham University, SOAS, Greater London Domestic Violence Project, Matrix Chambers, and Rights of Women. Sanchita has previously worked on human rights in the United Nations system, both at the Secretariat in New York and the World Health Organisation in Geneva. 

Sanchita has been recently appointed as a Trustee of the Centre for Women's Justice. She was previously the Chair of Rights of Women, a national legal organisation, overseeing the organisation's constitution as a charity. Sanchita holds an LLM Human Rights Law and an LLB in Law.

 @sfhosali

Carlyn Miller, Policy & Programmes Manager

Carlyn joined BIHR in June 2018 as a Human Rights Officer, progressing to a Senior Human Rights Officer in August 2019 and is now the Policy and Programmes Manager. 

Carlyn holds 8 years experience operationalising human rights in the health and social care sector. Beginning as a Human Rights Project Lead with Scottish Care, before taking on a role as a National Project Lead supporting the implementation of Self-directed Support across Scotland. Carlyn then moved to the Scottish Government working in the Care, Support and Rights Division for 18 months. Carlyn also has a passion for human rights internationally and has worked in Ghana, India, Nepal and Malawi. 

She holds a First Class MA Joint Honours in Politics and International Relations and an MSc in Human Rights and International Politics from the University of Glasgow, she wrote an award-winning thesis on the rights of marginalised groups in the UK. Her work for last 8 years has been practice -based, supporting people & their families/loved ones accessing services to know and claim their rights, public bodies to implement human rights and advocacy, campaigning and community organisations to use human rights law for social change.

Eilidh Turnbull, Human Rights Officer

Eilidh joined BIHR in March 2019 after six months as a project assistant in European Council on Refugees and Exiles. Prior to this she completed legal research internships at the Council of Europe and the International Bar Association’s Human Rights Institute. Eilidh also has a background in asylum support casework. She holds a LLB, a LLM in Human Rights and Migration Law and a Diploma in Professional Legal Practice.

Katrina Walcott, Human Rights Officer (video forthcoming!)

Katrina joined BIHR in October 2020 having previously worked at the Law Commission of England and Wales, specialising in criminal law reform. Katrina has previously worked with the law reform charity, JUSTICE and human rights organisation, ARTICLE 19, as well as volunteering as a social security caseworker and representative at the First-tier Tribunal. She holds an LLB in Law from the University of Birmingham, a Masters of Law from UCL, and has completed the BPTC at BPP Law School (BPTC).

Josephine Whitehouse, Research & Communications Assistant

Jo joined BIHR in April 2020 having previously worked with us as a QMUL intern in 2017. Prior to her current role, Jo has worked as a Parliamentary Assistant to an MP and volunteered as a welfare rights representative, representing people in appeals about their entitlement to benefits before the First-tier Tribunal. Jo holds an LLB in English and European Law and is currently studying for her Diploma in Legal Practice.

Phil Moore, Operations Coordinator

Phil joined BIHR as Operations Coordinator in September 2020 having previously been Operations Manager at OCD Action, the national mental health charity for people affected by Obsessive Compulsive Disorder. Prior to working in the charitable sector, Phil’s career had been in education and training, working as a teacher, administrator and, ultimately, as Director of Operations for a college of further and higher education. For several years Phil has also been a Trustee and Treasurer of The Latin Programme, a charity working within state primary schools to improve literacy levels. As Operations Coordinator at BIHR, Phil is responsible for the charity’s general and financial administration, providing the organisational support the charity needs to achieve change through human rights.

Katrin McEntee, Human Rights Officer (on Maternity leave)

Katrin joined BIHR in January 2019 after having previously coordinated Age UK’s Our Rights Our Voices programme which aimed to empower older people’s forums to understand and use human rights in their community. Katrin has also recently completed her studies in Dance Movement Psychotherapy at Goldsmiths University. As part of her course, Katrin worked closely with women fleeing domestic violence as well as women with alcohol addiction. Prior to this, Katrin established and ran an advocacy service for a disability rights charity in Camden, supporting people to be heard on key issues such as health, social care and housing.