Janine McDowell joined the Prison Service in England and Wales in 1989 as a Prison Officer at HMP Holloway and over the next 10 years worked at a number of establishments and in various roles before her appointment as Deputy Governor at HMP & YOI Feltham in 1999.

In 2001 Janine left the Prison Service and joined Sodexo Justice Services as Deputy Centre Manager at Harmondsworth Immigration Removal Centre before appointment as Director – HM Prison Bronzefield in 2003. Janine was responsible for the start up and operation of this brand new prison for women from the opening of the establishment until taking up post as the SJS Operations Director, England & Wales in November 2007.

In January 2010 Janine was appointed Deputy Managing Director for Sodexo Justice Services in the UK with responsibility for operations and business development. Janine was appointed as CEO Justice UK & Ireland in August 2015. In addition she is the chair of the Sodexo UK & Ireland Diversity Council and is a trustee of Safer London and the Employers Network for Equality and Inclusion.

Sally is a member of the House of Lords (appointed as a Liberal Democrat working peer in 1991). She has led for the Lib Dems on Local Government and Home Affairs, including Immigration. She has been a member of the Joint Committee on Human Rights, and is Chair of the Lords Justice and Home Affairs Select Committee.

Her political background is in local and London government; she was a councillor in the London Borough of Richmond upon Thames for 20 years and a member of the Greater London Authority for its first eight years, much of that time chairing the London Assembly. By profession a solicitor, she was a partner in the London firm Clintons which specialises in the creative industries. Theatre has always been a passion (she remains a stagestruck 18 year old at heart) and she is also a trustee of the Rose Theatre, Kingston. Sally has been a trustee since 2014.

Tim is a solicitor who worked at the international law firm Freshfields, Bruckhaus, Deringer for over 30 years and held a number of senior positions including Managing Partner of the London office. Between 1994 and 2000 he worked in Madrid.

He is Trustee of a number of other charities including Access Sport and Connection at St Martins. For a number of years he chaired the London Steering Group of Business Action on Homelessness and in recognition of that work was appointed by HRH Prince Charles as his Ambassador for Responsible Business in London 2010-2012. Tim has been a Trustee since 2013.

Dr Anthony Gunter is Programme Lead for Childhood and Youth Studies at the Open University in the School of Education, Childhood, Youth & Sport (ECYS). Previously, he worked as Principal Lecturer in Criminology and Criminal Justice at the University of East London.

Before embarking on a career in academia he worked for over 14 years in South and East London, firstly as a detached community and youth worker before taking on Project and Area Manager roles. His research interests and expertise are in the areas of: Black young people; youth cultures and transitions; serious youth violence and gangs; race/ethnicity, crime and justice; and policing multi-ethnic urban neighbourhoods. During the past two decades he’s carried out a number of ethnographic research studies examining and exploring contemporary urban youth subculture(s) and alternative youth transitions. More recently, his work has focused on serious youth violence with regard to: (i) current policy, policing and preventative practice aimed at tackling ‘street gangs’ and; (ii) youth led and community-based/ driven solutions and interventions.

Val has worked in the voluntary sector for over 25 years, both at grassroots level and as a senior leader. The majority of this time has been spent in the children and young people’s sector, working in communities that have often been left behind in terms of service provision, and with cohorts of young people whose needs and ambitions have not been understood by policy makers and those providing services.

Val has extensive experience of the charity sector from a variety of perspectives including service delivery, safeguarding, quality assurance and operational oversight. In addition to being a trustee with Safer London Val has been a trustee for an international anti-slavery charity and more recently in a lottery funded heritage start-up organisation.

Val is committed to working in partnership and has been able to develop some really strong, mutually beneficial partnerships in both her current and previous roles.

Vaneesha Bailey is chief financial officer of cyber and intelligence solutions for Mastercard, a global payment technology company. She oversees the finances including financial planning and analysis, business development and strategy of the business unit that develops product solutions to ensure the safety, security and experience for consumers, merchants, partners and governments around the world. Prior to this role, Vaneesha relocated to Canada as chief finance officer of MasterCard Canada.

Before joining Mastercard in 2010, she held finance positions at HSBC as Senior Pricing Analyst and Cards Business Partner at HSBC Retail Banking division, based in the UK. She received a bachelor’s degree from Aston University in Accounting and Management, and qualified ACMA from the Chartered Institute of Management Accountants.

Born in London and living in Essex with her husband and son, she enjoys the best of both city and coastal life.

Gemma Bailey is a HR senior leader and business partner who has worked in the payments and financial services sector for over 20 years. Gemma has been at Mastercard for 14 of those years and, during her tenure, has held a number of senior global, regional and UK positions.

Gemma is married with two children and lives in Essex. Safer London is Gemma’s first Trustee position

Carrie Timms is Director of Customer Marketing EMEA at Facebook and is responsible for leading a c100 strong team tasked with creating business marketing programmes aimed at audiences such as advertising clients, media and creative agencies, publishers, developers, gamers, and all businesses large and small.

Prior to this, she was Vice President of Global Media, Categories and Partnerships at Unilever, and was primarily responsible for the strategic articulation of multi-market media channel plans for the world’s second biggest advertiser, as well as leading Joint Business Plans in the marketing arena, for Unilever’s key global partners. She additionally contributed to the diversity and inclusion agenda in Unilever, by leading the global strategy for race equity.

Carrie was born in Ghana and moved to the UK when she was 3 years old and completed her formal education by attaining a BA honours degree in Jurisprudence from Oxford University. She started her career with Carlton TV (now ITV) in 2002, before moving to Mindshare as an investment planner working her way up to group director before departure. Subsequent roles have included media positions in blue chip companies such as Nestle and Reckitt Benckiser, ultimately culminating in her current position.

Carrie is extremely passionate about promoting gender and race diversity in the workplace, and along with mentoring young career women, has also just launched a podcast aimed at young black women in the marketing industry.

She is married with two young daughters and in her spare time, when not discussing Disney characters, can be found circuit training or enjoying her husband’s great cooking.

Gemma Perolls is currently a senior leader in the National Health Service (NHS) and is driven by making a difference. Previous to this, Gemma has held a range of roles across government. These included several senior and leadership roles across national security and technology, working closely with Ministers and senior officials.

Living in London, she feels passionately about the city and in particular improving the chances of children and young people. In her spare time, she enjoys reading and finding new music.

Helga Swidenbank is a senior strategic leader with extensive experience across justice, youth services and the private sector. She has held major operational and executive roles, overseeing high-value contracted services and leading improvements that strengthen safeguarding, outcomes and service quality for children and young people.

Helga’s interest in Safer London’s work is rooted in both her professional background and her commitment to ensuring that young people feel safe, supported and able to fulfil their potential. She brings a clear focus on collaboration, accountability and effective delivery.

Outside of her professional life, Helga enjoys outdoor swimming, coastal walks and travelling with her family.

Nikki Marcel is a Director in the Cabinet Office, with over 20 years of experience in the UK Civil Service and the charity sector. She brings a strong background in transformational change, risk assessment, governance and cross-departmental collaboration, having chaired multiple senior cross-government boards and serving as a Professional Head of Analysis for HMG.

Nikki previously worked closely with a charity's Board and Executive Team, spearheading a national change programme and strengthening governance frameworks. She is passionate about driving positive change and ensuring robust oversight to support Safer London’s mission.

Outside of work she is a keen traveller - trying to pack in as many adventures as possible!

Tobi Odetoyinbo is a Solicitor Advocate and Associate General Counsel at the Serious Fraud Office, with extensive experience across the criminal justice system as a defence solicitor, prosecutor and Magistrate. She brings a strong track record in policy, risk, governance, and leadership and is deeply committed to advancing diversity and embedding inclusive practice within her work.

Tobi has spent much of her career witnessing how easily young people can be drawn into cycles of vulnerability. Safer London’s mission to provide safe spaces, trusted relationships, and holistic support strongly resonates with her and she is motivated to use her expertise to help strengthen the charity’s foundations so more young Londoners can thrive.

Beyond her professional roles, Tobi enjoys travelling, reading, and coaching, interests that reflect her curiosity, commitment to lifelong learning and passion for empowering others.