Board & Staff

As one of the founders of the A B Charitable Trust, Anne has taken an active part in its work since inception, helping to guide its ethos and development over the years. Anne regularly visits the charities the Trust works with.

Philippe started his career working for a leading firm of immigration solicitors in London. In 2008 he was called to the bar, where he held a mixed common-law practice, often working in the criminal courts. He subsequently specialised in immigration and asylum law and built a practice focused on representing unaccompanied minors and victims of trafficking. He has represented politicians, professional sportsmen, former diplomats, and high-profile political activists.

Philippe has been a barrister since 2008, specialising in immigration and asylum law. He has been the chair of ABCT since July 2023, having chaired our grants committee since 2020.

TJ was called to the bar in 1994 and has worked with people seeking asylum and refugees for more than 25 years, both legally and clinically. She was the Executive Director of the Helen Bamber Foundation and served as an Advisory Panel Member to the UK's first Anti-Slavery Commissioner. She joined the ABCT Board in 2019.

Olly is a financial services entrepreneur and investor. Although work and study took him variously to Germany, New York and Singapore, Olly is firmly settled in his home town, London, with his wife, a palliative care consultant at a central London hospital, and their two young children.

Athol has been a life-long advocate of human rights as well as enjoying a successful business career in the UK and abroad. Athol brings special expertise in corporate finance, strategic planning and corporate responsibility to his role as a trustee as well as extensive experience as a director and trustee of a major corporate trust. Prior to retiring from business life he was Global Head of Corporate Responsibility for a large, international financial services business based in the City of London.

Claire has been an NHS midwife since 2002, working in South London. She has worked in a variety of roles, including antenatal, community and Labour ward. She has a particular interest in women’s issues.

Juliet was Director of the Prison Reform Trust for 16 years and is a former Secretary General of Penal Reform International. Currently Juliet is the Chair of the Independent Advisory Panel on Deaths in Custody and a Visiting Professor of the School of Law, Birkbeck at the University of London. She joined the A B Charitable Trust Board in July 2019.

Sophie has held various business-related roles over the course of her career, and is now involved in real estate related investments. Sophie recently relocated to the UK after spending 25 years abroad, in France and The Netherlands.

James is a founding co-director of FairSquare, a human rights organisation focused on migrant worker rights, sport and authoritarianism. He previously carried out human rights research on the Middle East region for Amnesty International and prior to that worked for the UK Foreign Office. He writes about human rights and western foreign policy, including for the European Council on Foreign Relations.

Alex joined A B Charitable Trust as Director in 2025. He was previously Director of Grants at Trust for London and Head of the Migration Programme at Paul Hamlyn Foundation. Alex started his career as a youth worker, before working in the areas of homelessness and community development. He then moved into the migration sector working with Praxis, based in London, for over nine years starting as a youth and community development worker before going on to become their Deputy Chief Executive.

Emma joined the Trust in February 2020 as Grants Manager. She has worked in a number of roles in the charity sector in the UK and abroad, with a focus on grantmaking in London since 2014. Emma works across all of A B Charitable Trust’s priority areas and has a keen interest in the migration programme and the role of funding in creating a fairer system for migrants, refugees and people seeking asylum.

Hannah is the Grants Coordinator at the AB Charitable Trust, initially joining as the Grants Administrator in 2023. She has an LLB in European and International Law and an MA in Social Policy, and works across all of AB Charitable Trust's priority areas. With previous experience in the charity sector, Hannah has a keen interest in Human Rights and Access to Justice.

Havva joined the Trust in October 2019. She is the main point of call and provides administrative and organisational support for the grants team and oversees the grants process. Havva has a degree in Sociology and has a keen interest in the Justice System and Penal Reform.

Ihsaan joined the Trust in August 2022 as Grants Manager. He has experience of working in community organisations and teaching English abroad, as well as working in grantmaking in his previous role at the Tudor Trust. Having studied Law at undergraduate level, Ihsaan completed an MA in Migration Studies at the University of Sussex. He is interested in the law’s role in defending the rights of migrants, and in organisations led by people with direct experience of what they work on. Ihsaan works across of all of A B Charitable Trust’s priority areas.

Jessica joined the Trust as a Grants Manager in November 2023. She has worked in various roles across the charity sector covering legal education, volunteer management and a range of jobs in grant making. She studied Criminal Justice and Criminology and has a postgrad degree in Psychology. Jessica works across all of A B Charitable Trust's priority areas.

Laura joined the Trust as a Grants Manager in August 2020. She has experience working in various organisations both in the NGO sector and in philanthropy. This has included working on Human Rights issues across the UK and internationally. Laura works across all of A B Charitable Trust’s priority areas, and began leading the development of new initiatives within the Trust in October 2023. Laura then became Programmes Lead in June 2025.

Rebecca is the Head of Programmes at the A B Charitable Trust, initially joining the Trust as Grants Manager in 2017. Rebecca has worked in grantmaking in the UK’s charitable sector since 2013. Her current role includes managing the grantmaking process at the Trust as well as developing relationships with new and existing partner grantees. Rebecca works across all of A B Charitable Trust’s priority areas, in particular, the criminal justice and penal reform priority.