Our people
Our staff team and board have a wide range of skills and experiences, but what brings us together is an absolute dedication to our mission, and a belief in the potential of the women we seek to support. Here's where you can meet our people

Staff
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Chief Executive
Natasha Finlayson OBE
Natasha has extensive leadership, policy and communications experience in the charity sector, having originally trained and worked as a journalist. She spent 11 years as Chief Executive of Become, the national charity for children in care and care leavers. She has served as an advisor to two Children's Commissioners and on several inquiries into the criminalisation of young people in care and on government taskforces.
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Head of Employability
Helen Sweet
Helen has 16 years’ teaching, training and programme management experience in the education and charity sectors. Before joining Working Chance she managed wellbeing programmes for care leavers and other vulnerable groups and has worked in youth offending and prison settings.
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Strategy and Impact Manager
Mandy Mahil
Mandy ensures that we are measuring our impact and communicating it effectively, and that we are making consistent progress on achieving our strategic goals. Her personal experience of the criminal justice system convinced her of the need for women with convictions to have greater support and opportunities. She is a trustee of Unlock, Prisoners’ Advice Service and Prisoners’ Education Trust.
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Employability Support Officer
Vanisha Smith
Vanisha has a degree in criminology and has worked on national projects for care leavers. She acts as an initial point of contact for the women who come to us, making sure that we understand their aspirations, skills and any challenges they face, so that we can give them the right support.
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Service Development Co-ordinator
Joanne Keane
Jo focuses on finding opportunities for women to undertake volunteering, work experience, internships and apprenticeships. She links with organisations to find out what they have on offer and then matches women with these opportunities. She is also developing support and resources for women who want to start their own business.
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Policy and Research Officer
Olivia Dehnavi
Olivia advocates for changes to policy and practice that will improve rehabilitation and employment outcomes for women with convictions. Before joining Working Chance she worked in human rights in Cambodia, where she scrutinised prison conditions and women's rights.
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Communications Officer
Aria Danaparamita
Mita is a storyteller and activist passionate about transformative justice. She previously worked as a journalist for international publications including Al Jazeera, Foreign Policy, and The Cambodia Daily, and as a public affairs and communications consultant for governments, IGOs, and non-profit organisations.
Board of Trustees
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Chair
Lin Hinnigan
After spending her early career working as a teacher and social worker, Lin trained as an educational psychologist and was principal educational psychologist at Coventry City Council. Since then, she has held many senior roles in government and public bodies including at the Ministry of Justice and as Chief Executive of the Youth Justice Board. Lin is also Chair of Make-A-Wish UK.
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Vice Chair and Treasurer
Ciara Plunkett
Ciara trained as a chartered accountant with PwC and has 30 years’ experience working and volunteering in finance roles in the UK, Europe, Africa and Australia. After PwC, Ciara worked at Lloyd’s Banking Group, latterly leading the Group Tax Reporting function and had a two-year secondment as Chief Financial and Operating Officer at The Lloyd’s Bank Foundation for England & Wales.
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Trustee
Erica Handling
Erica is an executive coach and a non-executive on the board of the Government Legal Department. Her other criminal justice governance roles are as Chair of Trustees at Spark Inside and trustee of St. Giles. Previously Erica was Managing Director and General Counsel for Europe, the Middle East and Africa for the investment management company BlackRock.
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Trustee
Tijs Broeke CC
Tijs is a communications and government affairs expert who has worked for public, private and not-for-profit organisations. In 2017 he was elected as Councillor representing the City of London Corporation, where he serves on several committees. Tijs is deputy chair of the board of governors of The City Academy, Hackney and a governor at the Museum of London.
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Trustee
Lady Emma Hood
Emma founded and took public an online financial information service covering all the quoted companies in Europe that was acquired by Bloomberg in 1991. She followed this with 15 years' running a London restaurant and working with young offenders. During this time she completed several high altitude treks and in 1993 she was one of the organisers behind the 40th Anniversary British Expedition to Everest.
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Trustee
Caroline Bald
Caroline is a social worker and lecturer at the University of Essex where she researches critical approaches to framing social work education in public policy. An experienced criminal justice social worker, she is passionate about addressing social exclusion of women with lived experience of the criminal justice system.