Trust Staff
DIRECTORS
Jonathan Heawood is the Trust's Director of Programmes. He takes overall leadership of the Trust’s programmes, with particular responsibility for the free expression portfolio. He joined the Trust in June 2012 after more than six years as Director of English PEN, where he led successful campaigns against the Religious Hatred Act and the laws of blasphemy, obscenity and seditious libel, and co-founded the Libel Reform Campaign, which caused the UK Government to publish a Defamation Bill to protect free expression. He also launched programmes empowering members of socially-excluded communities in the UK to enjoy their free expression, and promoted international literature. Jonathan was invited by the Secretary of State for Justice to join the Ministry of Justice working group on libel in 2010; he was a member of the Human Rights Network at the University of Stirling; and he is an Advisor to Free Speech Debate at the University of Oxford. He is currently a Visiting Senior Research Fellow in the English department at King's College London. He is a Trustee of West London Churches Homeless Concern, and Deputy Chair of Governors at an inner London primary school. He has previously worked as Editorial Director of the Fabian Society and Deputy Literary Editor of The Observer newspaper. He has a PhD from Cambridge University.
Elizabeth Wedmore is the Trust’s Administrative Director. She came to the Trust from Bexley Heritage Trust, where she was Director, responsible for two Grade I listed houses and the museum collection. Previously she was bursar of a leading independent school in London, and Assistant Director of Dulwich Picture Gallery. She holds an M.A. in French and Russian from Oxford University and is a member of the Institute of Chartered Accountants.
PROGRAMME STAFF
Julie Broome is the Head of Human Rights. She came to the Trust from the CEELI Institute in Prague, where she was the Programme Director responsible for conducting rule of law-related trainings for judges and lawyers from countries undergoing transition. Previously, she was a Programme Manager for Central and Eastern Europe with the American Bar Association’s technical legal assistance programme, based in Washington, DC, and a Programme Associate at the Henry M. Jackson Foundation in Seattle. She holds an M.A. in International Studies from the University of Washington and an LL.M. in International Human Rights Law from the University of Essex.
Liz McArthur is Programme Officer for Human Rights. She holds an M.A. in Human Rights and Democratisation from the European Inter-University Centre in Venice and has a joint honours degree in Law and French from the University of Glasgow. Prior to joining the Trust she worked as Research Assistant to the United Nations Special Rapporteur on Torture, Manfred Nowak, accompanying him on fact-finding missions to Mongolia and China. She is the co-author of “The United Nations Convention Against Torture, A Commentary” which was published by Oxford University Press in March 2008. She was also a human rights officer with the OSCE’s Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights in Warsaw and has worked at the Ministry of Justice in London.
Kate Levine is Programme Officer for Human Rights. She holds an LLM in Public International Law from the London School of Economics and Political Science with a focus on international human rights law, an LLB (Hons) from City University, and a joint honours degree in Politics and Philosophy from the University of Durham. She is a qualified lawyer and, prior to joining the Trust, worked in the dispute resolution practice of an international law firm in London for several years. Her work there included representing individuals in complaints to the United Nations Human Rights Committee, and assisting NGOs in preparing amici curiae submissions to the Inter-American Court of Human Rights and the European Court of Human Rights. She has also conducted research for and volunteered with human rights organisations in London, New York, Madrid and Cape Town.
Kelly Ann Quinn is Programme Director for Women's Rights. She was the Deputy Director for the Empowerment & Civic Engagement unit of Winrock International prior to joining the Trust. She implemented programmes to increase opportunities for women and girls - urban and rural, students and professionals, politicians and lay advocates – throughout Africa and the former Soviet Union. She also spent three years in the Russian Far East directing a project to prevent trafficking in women. Kelly holds a BA in International Studies from the American University and did graduate studies in Development Anthropology at George Washington University.
Radha Wickremasinghe is Programme Officer for Women's Rights. She was the Programme Manager for Asia at Womankind Worldwide prior to joining the Trust. Previously, she was a Programme Manager at Christian Aid, managing their partnerships in Sri Lanka, India, Burma, Thailand and Cambodia. She was the Coordinator of the Dalit Solidarity Network UK, and a freelance consultant conducting research and evaluations of humanitarian and development programmes. She holds a BSc honours degree in Economics (Trade & Development) from the London School of Economics, and a post-graduate Diploma in Development Management from the Open University.
Beth Fernandez is Programme Officer for LGBTI Rights/Xenophobia and Intolerance. She has worked within human rights civil society organisations for ten years and has managed numerous human rights capacity-building projects in the Western Balkans, Eastern Europe and former Soviet Union. She joined the Trust from ILGA-Europe where she worked to support LGBTI organisations in conducting strategic human rights advocacy, monitoring and documenting violations, and planning for strategic litigation. Prior to that she worked for Interights where she managed training projects for lawyers on international human rights standards. She has also volunteered for refugee service and policy organisations. She holds a Masters degree from University College London in Human Rights, and a BA in Politics and Russian from the University of Leeds.
Tom Lee is Programme Officer for Transparency and Accountability. He was a Research Assistant in the strategy division of the British Red Cross, where he was involved in the implementation of an innovative research agenda. Tom holds a BA in History from the University of Bristol and an MA in East Asian Regional Development from the University of Leeds.
Eleanor Bell is the Trust’s Researcher. She previously worked for The Carter Center as an Election Observer in Egypt during the 2011-2012 elections, and in Sudan during the 2011 Southern Sudan Referendum on Independence and the Popular Consultation process in Southern Kordofan. She holds a BA in Social Anthropology from The School of Oriental and African Studies and an MA in International Journalism from City University, London.
ADMINISTRATIVE STAFF
Sheetal Patel, the Major Grants Administrator & Finance Officer, previously worked at the emergency healthcare organisation MERLIN, where her job involved travelling to various conflict zones to train staff and evaluate Merlin's financial systems. Before that she worked at Imperial College, London. She holds a qualification from the Association of Accounting Technicians.
Lucy Doig is the Trust’s Office Manager. Before coming to the Trust she spent five years as Senior Caseworker and Office Manager for Joan Ruddock, the Member of Parliament for Lewisham Deptford and a former Climate Change Minister. Lucy holds a BA (Hons) in Combined Arts from Durham University.