Staff biographies
Clive Martin, Director
Prior to joining Clinks Clive was a Senior Lecturer in Community Education. He has worked in Offender Education for many years as well as having managed various initiatives, including European and national projects aimed at the social inclusion of offenders.
His current roles include being a member of the Ministry of Justice 3rd Sector Advisory Group; Chair of ACEVO Special Interest Group on Crime; a trustee of various voluntary organisations and a Board Member of the newly formed 3SC (Third Sector Consortium). Additionally, he sits on the Skills for Justice Council and the Social Investment Partnership Advisory Group.
Clive conducted the pilot study "Community Organisations and Four Prisons in England" . He is also the author of The Good Practice Guide: Prisons and the Voluntary and Community-based Sector published jointly by Clinks and HM Prison Service. Along with Bryans and Walker he edited ‘A Bridge into the Community’ published by Waterside Press. He writes and speaks regularly on the topic of the Voluntary and Community Sector and criminal justice both in this country and more widely in other European countries.
Clive has been Director of Clinks since it's formation in 1997.
Richard Nicholls, Programme Manager
Richard first began working in the Criminal Justice System as a Volunteer Director on the Young Offenders Programme for Community Service Volunteers. He moved to the Ormiston Children & Families Trust in 1989, initially working as the Manager of Norwich Prison Visitors' Centre, then taking a lead role in developing services to children and families of prisoners across the Eastern Region in both prison and community based settings.
In 2005 Richard published "Dads & Kids: the inside story" which looked at how fathers serving a prison sentence maintain the relationship with their children.
Richard moved to Clinks in August 2008 to work as a Programme Director on the infrastructure programme. He is leading on the volunteering strand of the infrastructure work and has responsibility for setting up the Reducing Re-offending Volunteering and Mentoring Network.
Richard is responsible for:
- Leading on the Volunteering and Mentoring network
- Overseeing Clinks internal organisational development
- Line manage specific project activities within Clinks
Kate Aldous, Communications & Partnership Manager
Kate has been involved in the non-profit sector for more than 20 years, over ten years of which has been spent in infrastructure organisations. She has been a staff member, volunteer and Management Committee member. She worked for Councils for Voluntary Service (CVS) for five years, as Director of Kensington and Chelsea, and Assistant Director of Lewisham. Before this she was Communications Manager at an environmental mediation organisation.
Kate joined Clinks in August 2008. Prior to this, Kate set up and managed NCVO’s Collaborative Working Unit for four years. The Unit promoted and supported collaboration in the Sector. Over this period the awareness and practice of collaboration increased considerably.
As Communications & Partnerships Manager at Clinks, Kate
- manages Communications and Membership
- leads on women’s issues
- leads on partnerships
Lesley Frazer, Policy Manager
Lesley started her career as a Probation Officer in England and Wales and as a Social Worker with adult offenders in Scotland. She then moved into the voluntary sector, joining Voluntary Service Aberdeen where she managed both a range of children’s services and Aberdeen Volunteer Centre. In this capacity she chaired the Scottish Volunteer Centre Network for two years.
After moving back south, Lesley project managed a multi-agency, user-led strategy for older people’s care in Wiltshire, and later joined Age Concern England as a Regional Development Officer covering the South West region. In 2002 she completed an MSc in Policy Research at the University of Bristol, and published her dissertation research into older prisoners, 'Ageing Inside', in 2003. Lesley then joined the School for Policy Studies at the University of Bristol as a Research Fellow, researching outcomes for looked after and adopted children.
In 2005 Lesley went freelance and undertook a range of evaluations in association with The Evaluation Trust. Lesley joined Clinks in 2008 as South West VCS Development Manager, and has been Policy Manager since 2010.
In this capacity Lesley is responsible for:
- Managing Clinks’ national policy work
- Leading on specific policy and partnership initiatives
- Overseeing the work of Clinks’ Localism Team
Joe Gardham, Communications Coordinator
Joe joined Clinks in February 2006. He has worked in the private sector in telecommunications and recruitment, and studied Sports Pedagogy at University. Joe is a Director of Community Furniture Stores Ltd (York & Selby), Elected Chair of a local sports club, and was previously a Professional Advisor to the National Body of Black Prisoners Support Groups. He is currently undertaking a part-time degree in Criminal Justice through the University of Essex. Joe is best known within the Criminal Justice System for producing the popular weekly ebulletin, Clinks Light Lunch.
Joe is responsible for:
- Media/Press enquiries
- Marketing, branding and promotions
- Website, social media and publications
Jean Coates, Office Manager
Jean has a background in administration and has worked for Clinks since 2002 as the office manager in York. She has a degree in Sociology – the subject of her dissertation being women in prison. Her interests include walking and badminton.
Main responsibilities:
- HR / assisting with Finance
- Event organisation
- Central reference point for Clinks staff
Anne Taiwo, Finance Manager
Anne is a professional Accountant qualified as ACCA in 2003, and became a Fellow of the Institute in 2010. She has worked with various organisations including the Princes Trust, Commission for Racial Equality (now known as the Equality and Human Rights Commission) and The British Royal Legion. She attended South Bank University for her professional examination and later worked as a consultant for the Independent Police Complaints Commission. Anne joined Clinks in 2011 on a part time basis. Anne spends the other half of her time working from home in her private Practice.
Responsibilities include:
- General Accounting
- Treasury Management
- Statutory Compliance
Nathan Dick, Local Development Team Leader
Nathan joined Clinks in March 2006. After studying Politics at the University of York, Nathan went on to work in the statutory sector for the Commission for Social Care Inspection (now The Care Quality Commission) as well as in the voluntary sector as a healthcare advocate for York Citizens Advice Bureau.
At Clinks Nathan started out supporting faith based organisations working with offenders and has gone on to work alongside the Transition to Adulthood campaign which supports young adult offenders, the Race for Justice campaign tackling discrimination in the CJS, the Gatemate campaign to increase through the gate mentoring services, and the Arts Alliance to make the case for the creative arts in our Criminal Justice System.
Nathan is currently leading Clinks' Local Development team.
Louise Clark, South West Development Officer
Louise's previous roles have included deputy manager at Eden House in Bristol supporting women offenders; Bristol Compact Liaison Officer (Voscur); managed Sex Workers in Prison (SWIP); and VCS co-ordinator at HMP Eastwood Park (Nacro).
She is currently conducting participatory action research into sex work in Wales, is a member of the UK Network of Sex Work Projects (UK NSWP) Policy Committee, British Association for Counselling and Psychotherapy's (BACP) Criminal Justice Forum, Howard League for Penal Reform, and a volunteer with One25 in Bristol.
Louise has had her work published in the Prison Service Journal and has presented papers in Australia alongside Angela Davis. She has an Interactive Arts degree, sings in a rock band and spends weekends at her allotment. Louise plans to move to Bolivia in 2011 to volunteer with prison/sex work projects.
Louise is responsible for:
- Working with the counties in the South West of England
- Improving links between the VCS and the statutory sector who work with offenders and their families
- Providing training
- Leading on Clinks’ regional work in respect of women offenders.
Hazel Alcraft, Database & Events Administrator
Hazel joined Clinks in December 2010, having worked in the voluntary sector for 6 years. Most recently she managed the New Wine Network for church leaders, and prior to this worked for the Charities Advisory Trust fundraising trust. She feels as though most of her working life has been spent with her head stuck in a database! Before this, she studied Geography at Durham University.
Hazel is also actively involved in her local church, St Gabriel’s Cricklewood, and in her local community development forum.
Hazel is responsible for:
- Membership
- Events
- Working with Offenders Directory
Clare Hayes, Policy Officer
Clare joined
Clinks in July 2010. Following a degree at the University of Bristol in
Politics & Philosophy, Clare studied for a Graduate Diploma in Law. While
in her final year at Bristol, Clare was elected the President of the University
Amnesty International Society. Prior to this post, Clare had campaign and
research experience with a variety of human rights and community-based
organisations in the UK and abroad, as well as volunteering with the human
rights organisation Reprieve and the National Centre for Domestic Violence. Alongside her role
in Clinks, in September 2011 Clare will be commencing a part-time LLM in Human
Rights, Conflict and Justice at the School of Oriental and African Studies.
Clare's responsibilities at Clinks include:
- monitoring and interpreting new Government policies by researching topics of relevance to the VCS working with offenders
- writing policy briefings, discussion papers and case studies
- summarising and disseminating research that is relevant to the sector
Stephen Nash
Stephen joined Clinks in August 2011 as the manager of the Arts Alliance. Stephen came from pact – the Prison Advice and Care Trust – where he was Communications Manager. Previously, Stephen spent six years at Prisoners Abroad, where he led on communications, set up a Monitoring and Evaluation programme, and increased the involvement of service users in the work of the organisation.
In his role at Clinks Stephen will be working with the 250+ members of the Arts Alliance to make the case for the use of arts interventions in the criminal justice system.
Jilly Vickers, Localism Development Officer for London
Jilly joined Clinks in August 2011, having previously worked for the National Homeless Advice Service project with Shelter, firstly as a Fieldworker and then, as a Development Officer. Previously, Jilly worked as a housing caseworker for Shelter, as an information officer for Citizens Advice and for the CAB in Newcastle, where she served on the management committees of two community groups.
Jilly’s responsibilities at Clinks include:
• Working with LDSOs to increase awareness of CJS work to their members
• Increase engagement of the VCS with statutory agencies and CJS structures
• Develop and support local partnership working
Ben Jarman
Ben joined Clinks in October 2011. Following a degree in History and Theology at the University of Cambridge, Ben spent a year and a half conducting investigations at the Advertising Standards Authority, and five years working as a secondary school teacher. In 2010, he moved to Brussels to work for the Quaker Council for European Affairs, focusing on their prison reform programme. While in Brussels Ben co-authored a survey of prisoner resettlement policy in 18 European countries, as well as working with other NGOs to try and persuade European policy-makers to set common EU-wide standards for pre-trial detention, and to offer greater financial support to national prison inspectorates. Ben is involved in his own Quaker meeting, and volunteers with London Citizens and in the creation of a new community chaplaincy service at HMP Wandsworth.
In his role at Clinks, Ben will be working on policy and best practice in volunteering. He is currently developing tools for the sector to use to evaluate the contribution of volunteers, and has worked on a series of case studies on volunteer engagement and retention.
Katie O'Donoghue
Katie joined Clinks as Policy Intern in October 2011. Prior to this, she studied History at Cambridge University, where she was Secretary of a student-run overseas education charity. She has also been involved with various community projects in Belfast and spent some time as a volunteer at Law Centre NI. This is Katie’s first experience of working with a criminal justice organisation and she is really enjoying getting to grips with the interesting and challenging policy landscape for VCS organisations in the CJS. In her spare time, Katie sings with the City of London Choir and can often be found badgering other staff members to come and listen to their concerts!
Katie assists Lesley and Clare in the policy team, where her responsibilities include:
- Analysing new policy developments which are relevant to the VCS
- Writing members’ briefings and Clinks responses to various aspects of government policy
- Liaising with government officials and providing administrative support for the Ministry of Justice’s Third Sector Advisory Group
- Conducting research and producing written documents on other topics likely to be of interest to Clinks members e.g. desistance
Isabel Livingstone
Isabel joined Clinks in April 2012, having worked in various roles supporting voluntary organisations for nine years. Most recently at South West Forum she led a project helping voluntary organisations to influence decision makers, and supporting marginalised groups to get their voices heard. Before that she worked at Women’s Resource Centre as Policy Officer advocating on behalf of women’s voluntary and community organisations, and then as Head of National Equality Partnership leading a programme supporting the voluntary sector on equality and human rights. Isabel has also worked as a researcher at 1990 Trust on various projects including police stop and search, and for a Disability Rights Commissioner. She lives in Liskeard, Cornwall, and in her spare time is a trustee of Liskerrett Community Centre.
At Clinks Isabel is responsible for:
- Providing direct support to voluntary organisations in the South West to help them collaborate and thrive
- Finding and sharing good practice on partnership working in the criminal justice sector
- Researching the role and impact of voluntary sector services in the Criminal Justice System to inform Clinks’ national policy work.
