
Louise Smith
Louise is the current Chair for our Advisory Board and Senior Adviser on Children’s Social Care for the Local Government Association. Louise works closely with local authorities and their partners to support, promote and improve children’s services, while working with central government to ensure the voice of local government is heard in national policy making.

Suzanne Taylor
Suzanne Taylor is the Assistant Director at Barnardo’s leading the Core Priority Programme for Child Sexual Abuse and Exploitation across the UK. Suzanne is a qualified Youth Worker with nearly 20 years’ experience working with children, young people, and families.

Zlakha Ahmed MBE
Zlakha Ahmed founded and is currently the CEO of Apna Haq, a survivor-led organisation that supports black and minority ethnic (BME) women and girls in Rotherham, South Yorkshire who are experiencing any form of violence. She has over 30 years of experience developing and overseeing violence against women support services at a local level, while influencing strategy, policy and procedure at a regional, national, European and global level.

Caroline Clunies-Ross
Caroline Clunies-Ross is a Principal Clinical Psychologist. She qualified as a Clinical Psychologist in 1992, but is also a trained Family Therapist, registered Cognitive-Behavioural Psychotherapist and a Clinical Supervisor. Her career to-date spans across the NHS, most prevalently in Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services (CAMHS), but also in Primary Care and within a Secure Children's Home.

Detective Inspector Catherine Cox
Detective Inspector Catherine Cox is staff officer for the National Police Chief’s Council Child Protection and Abuse Investigations Working Group, led by Deputy Chief Constable Ian Critchley. The group covers all aspects of Child Sexual Abuse and Exploitation across policing.

Anna Edmundson
Anna Edmundson is Head of Policy and Public Affairs at NSPCC, leading the charity’s policy and public affairs strategy across all aspects of child abuse and neglect in the UK; directly influencing parliament and policy makers, to ensure the NSPCC’s policy calls are sound and convert into real change to protect children from abuse.

Laura Gough
Laura Gough is Head of Service for Safeguarding, Quality and Learning, in CYPS at Rotherham Metropolitan Borough Council. She has been a children’s safeguarding social worker for over 20 years, with experience in all areas of local authority statutory safeguarding children’s social work, and over ten years in leadership including Service Manager, Principal Social Worker and Head of Service.

Prof Simon Hackett
Simon Hackett is Professor of Applied Social Sciences and Principal of St Mary’s College, Durham University. He has been involved in the field of safeguarding for 25 years as a practitioner, manager and researcher.

Prof Todd E Hogue
Professor Hogue is a registered Forensic and Clinical Psychologist. He started his career in the British Prison Service working mainly with sexual offenders.

Professor Liz Kelly
Professor Liz Kelly is a professor of sexualised violence and she is also director of the Child and Woman Abuse Studies Unit (CWASU) and holds the Roddick Chair on Violence Against Women.

Sonia Mahay
Sonia Mahay is the Service Manager for the Safeguarding and Exploitation service at the City of Wolverhampton Council. She is a qualified social worker with over ten years’ experience in the statutory and voluntary sector. During this time, she has occupied various roles including Support Worker, Social Worker, Team Manager, Principle Social Worker and Service Manager.

Daksha Mistry
Daksha Mistry is Learning & Development Manager for Kingston and Richmond Safeguarding Children Partnership. She is a skilled children’s safeguarding professional, trainer, and strategic manager with over 30 years’ experience working within children’s social care.

Jan Pickles OBE
Jan Pickles is an experienced social worker and has worked in the third sector, the probation service, the police, government and the NSPCC. Jan is a member of the National Independent Safeguarding Board of Wales and a non-executive Director for an NHS Trust.

Sharon Stratton
Sharon Stratton is the Policing Standards Manager for Vulnerability and Public Protection for the College of Policing, specialising in areas including rape, domestic violence, child sexual exploitation and abuse, stalking, trafficking, managing offenders, etc.

Prof Julie Taylor
Julie Taylor [PhD; FRCN; RN; MSc; BSc (Hons)] is a nurse scientist specialising in child maltreatment. She is Professor of Child Protection in the School of Nursing at the University of Birmingham, in partnership with Birmingham Women’s and Children’s Hospital NHS Foundation Trust.

Dianne Whitfield
Dianne Whitfield is the Co-Chair of Rape Crisis England and Wales (RCEW), and is the Chief Officer of Coventry Rape and Sexual Abuse Centre (CRASAC) which is one of the largest Rape Crisis centres in the country. She also sits as a Non-Executive Director on Coventry and Warwickshire Partnership NHS Trust.

Rebecca Wilshire
Rebecca Wilshire is the Strategic Lead for Help and Protection at Coventry City Council covering Early Help, Family Hubs, MASH, EDT, and Area Social Work Teams which cover all CIN, CP and court work, Child Exploitation Team and Youth Offending Service.