Our people

Staff

• 
  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.
• 
  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.
• 
  Head of Employment

  Katy Doolan

  Katy has extensive experience both as a recruitment consultant and in the charity sector, and specific expertise around supporting women with convictions into sustainable employment.
• 
  Head of Finance and Resources

  Ruth Daniells

  Ruth is a qualified accountant who has worked in a range of finance roles in charities including The Prince's Trust and the Paul Hamlyn Foundation. She completed her accountancy training at KPMG in the not for profit sector.
• 
  Head of Communications and Engagement

  Lizzy Jewell

  Lizzy has led on communications and marketing for a range of not-for-profits and social justice causes. Before joining Working Chance, she was Head of Strategic Communications at STOP THE TRAFFIK, a charity disrupting global human trafficking.
• 
  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.
• 
  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.
• 
  Employability Support Officer

  Gemma Wisdom

  Before joining us, Gemma specialised in theatrical interventions for people in prison. Now she designs and delivers our employability workshops and works with our clients to make sure they have all the skills they need to prepare for successful employment.
• 
  Employability Support Officer

  Nina George

  Nina joined Working Chance after using the service herself, so she knows first-hand what prejudices women can face looking for work after their conviction. She has facilitated recovery groups in prison and acted as a peer support mentor. 
• 
  Employment Advisor

  Helen Lyman

  Helen has a background in sales and business development and has worked across a wide range of sectors. As well as supporting clients to find employment, Helen helps to bring on board new employers.
• 
  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.
• 
  Employment Advisor

  Julia Neckles

  Before joining Working Chance, Julia worked for the Royal Bank of Canada specialising in project and client management. She joined Working Chance in 2017 and works directly with clients and with employers.
• 
  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.
• 
  External Affairs Officer

  Leila Hagmann

  Leila looks after our relationships with a range of stakeholders, in particular grant-making trusts. She also works on our external communications.
• 
  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

• 
  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.
• 
  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.
• 
  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.

• 
  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.
• 
  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.
• 
  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.