Liberty team

Akiko joined Liberty in 2023.

She is a trustee of Pro Bono Economics and the Chair of the Centre for Knowledge Equity. She is also a Professor in Practice at the Institute for Medical Humanities at the University of Durham.

She has a background in rights-based campaigning and policy work in mental health, racial justice and criminal justice, and has written widely on these issues. Previous roles include CEO of NSUN, the National Survivor User Network, Director of Mental Health Europe, and leading a service at Mind in Camden for people who hear voices, working in the community, youth services, forensic settings, and Immigration Removal Centres.

Sam joined Liberty at the start of 2018 as a Policy and Campaigns Officer and was Head of Policy and Campaigns until October 2022. He has worked on ending immigration detention, protecting the Human Rights Act, reforming mental health law and the criminalisation of poverty among other Liberty projects.

Before joining Liberty, Sam was Campaigns Manager at René Cassin where he engaged and mobilised the British Jewish community on a range of human rights issues. He was a founding trustee of the Advocacy Academy in South London and holds a Masters in Human Rights from the LSE.

Sam joined Liberty because he wanted to play his role in trying to make society a more fair and just place.

Louise joined Liberty in June 2020, having practised as a solicitor in the NGO sector and in private practice for over 20 years.  Previously she worked at the Public Law Project, and Deighton Pierce Glynn, specialising in judicial review and discrimination cases. She is one of the leading practitioners on the public sector equality duty and has worked closely with the women’s sector and Deaf and Disabled People’s Organisations on a number of human rights issues affecting them and their service-users.

Louise joined Liberty to help lead their strategic litigation working collaboratively across the organisation, and to build relationships with other organisations using the law to speak truth to power.

Katy returned to Liberty in August 2020, having previously worked as an Advice and Information Officer in 2013. In between, she qualified and practised as a solicitor at the Public Law Project, where she specialised in strategic judicial review litigation concerning access to justice and migrants’ rights.

At Liberty, Katy’s work focuses on technology, privacy and protest.

Katy joined Liberty in order to be part of a multidisciplinary organisation protecting human rights and holding the government to account.

Poppy joined Liberty’s legal team as a locum lawyer in November 2025 to cover our litigation in privacy and technology.

Previously she worked at a Law Centre, specialising in social welfare law. She has volunteered for the Cambodian Centre for Human Rights and London South Bank University’s Legal Advice Clinic.

Poppy joined Liberty to protect human rights and challenge unjust laws.

Meg returned to Liberty in April 2018, having worked here during 2016 and 2017. Meg is a lawyer in Liberty’s Legal team, running our litigation in privacy and technology.

Previously, Meg worked as a solicitor in private practice. She has also volunteered with The AIRE Centre, The Connection, and a children’s charity, and is determined to continue to work with the more vulnerable groups in our society.

Meg joined Liberty to use the law to strengthen and protect vital rights and freedoms.

Chanel joined Liberty in January 2025, having been a solicitor in private practice for over 14 years. Before joining Liberty, Chanel practiced at Deighton Pierce Glynn and Bhatt Murphy Solicitors, with a specialism private and public law claims for discrimination and abuse of power by state bodies. She has a particular interest in the over policing of young people and marginalised groups.

​Chanel joined Liberty to bring about real and impactful legal change in a holistic way.

Nazmul works with the legal team to provide legal information and deliver projects to empower members of the public and community organisations on their human rights and civil liberties.

Before joining Liberty, Nazmul trained as a solicitor at Bhatt Murphy where he worked on a number of public inquiries, inquests and private and public law claims involving domestic and overseas state violence, and breaches of the Human Rights Act.

Nazmul also worked as a youth worker and project co-ordinator at Shadow Youth Alliance, where he planned and delivered educational and recreational provisions for at-risk young people in Tower Hamlets.

Nazmul joined Liberty to contribute to its work to stand up for marginalised and overlooked communities, and fight for a fairer society built on solidarity.

Nikki is a LLB Law with a Year Abroad graduate. After graduating, Nikki worked at Duncan Lewis Solicitors. She has also done a variety of voluntary work, including for SIFA Fireside, Birmingham Pro Bono and Shelter, and has volunteered in Ghana. She has been awarded a Scholarship from Middle Temple to fund her Bar Course.

Nikki first joined Liberty as an Advice and Information Intern and then went on to become Liberty’s Legal Team Paralegal. Nikki came to Liberty because of her commitment to protecting human rights and combating inequality and discrimination, and Liberty’s dedication to this.

Stephanie is an LLB and LLM graduate, with special interest in social welfare law, including racial discrimination, policing in communities and more!

After graduating, Stephanie has done a lot of community organising work with The Advocacy Academy and is also an alumnus of their social justice flagship fellowship programme, graduating in 2016. She is the co-founder The Halo Collective, a social justice campaign which aims to dismantle the problematic attitudes toward Black hair and styles, tackling the issue of racialised hair discrimination – since launching the campaign in 2020, her team have influenced the creation of guidance formed by the Equality and Human Rights Commission concerning hair discrimination in school’s dress code policies, in October 2022. Stephanie is also a 2022 graduate of the UN Fellowship for People of African Descent, where she gained an interest in international human rights mechanisms and applying this to the concept of community lawyering in grassroots spaces.

Stephanie came to Liberty based on her long-founded passions towards how Liberty does its work and what it has been founded on – ordinary people, standing up to power. Stephanie feels Liberty’s work is incredibly necessary in order to protect the human rights of those whose voices are often ignored or more vulnerable in such spaces and would like to use and challenge the law as a resource for the better and to create a more understanding and equitable society.

Ruth is the Head of Policy & Campaigns at Liberty and supports the team to deliver their work across all our campaigning and policy areas.

Before joining Liberty in November 2022, Ruth was a Policy Manager at housing and homelessness charity Shelter, where she led on private renting policy. Prior to this, she worked in frontline housing services, supporting households who were facing homelessness.

She joined Liberty to fight back against the erosion of our human rights and to campaign for a more just and equitable society.

Charlie is a Policy and Campaigns Officer. He co-leads Liberty’s campaign to protect the Human Rights Act, while also focusing on labour rights, military accountability, disability, judicial review, human rights frameworks and the constitution.

Charlie came to Liberty in September 2019, most recently from a background in theatre production in London and New York, having previously spent time at human rights and criminal justice organisations in the UK. He holds a Masters in US History & Politics from UCL.

Victoria Tecca is a Policy and Campaigns Officer working across policies related to policing, extremism and counter-terror.

Her background is in research and policy in the fields of structural violence, migration and bordering, and exploitation. Before joining Liberty, she worked in policy influencing, knowledge exchange, casework, and frontline response roles in the migrants’ rights, health, and modern slavery sectors.

She holds a PhD in Anthropology, an MSc in Global Migration, and a BSc in Anthropology, all from University College London (UCL). She conducted her research with people living street homeless and undocumented in a tent settlement on the France-UK border, investigating smuggling practices, police violence, and border death.

Lyle is a Policy and Campaigns Officer, leading Liberty’s work on the criminalisation of poverty.

With a background in research and advocacy on the intersection of economic, social, and cultural rights and poverty, he has previously worked at the University of Essex Human Rights Centre, Just Fair, and The Children’s Society.

Passionate about the real-world impact of human rights, Lyle believes in their power to shape everyday lives. As Eleanor Roosevelt famously said, “Where, after all, do universal human rights begin? In small places, close to home—so close and so small that they cannot be seen on any maps of the world.”

Anna Cardoso is a Policy and Campaigns Officer leading Liberty’s tech, surveillance, and privacy campaigning.

Before joining Liberty in February 2025, Anna worked in equalities policy and campaigning at Kaleidoscope Trust and Stonewall. Prior to this, she worked for a public affairs agency, where she specialised in tech policy. She holds an MPhil in American History from the University of Cambridge.

Anna joined Liberty to campaign for a more just, fair society and to defend our hard-won human rights and freedoms.

After volunteering with Liberty in several roles, Dave joined the Operations team in 2013 before moving into the Communications team a year later.

Dave previously worked in careers education in East London. He joined Liberty to play his part in a human rights NGO with a long track-record of achieving real, lasting change across society.

Polly joined Liberty’s media team in 2019 after holding a similar role at the Green Party of England and Wales. Before that Polly trained and worked as a local journalist.

She came to Liberty to be part of an organisation with a track record of defending human rights and holding those in power to account.

Quinn joined Liberty in November 2023. As Comms and Engagement Officer, he produces content across our social media channels to help reach and empower communities affected by our work. He previously worked at Stonewall, Europe’s leading LGBT charity, where he developed digital campaigns for Rainbow Laces and Ban Conversion Therapy.

Farheen joined Liberty’s Communications team in 2022, working on the digital side of the team to help create content for Liberty’s social media channels and website.

Previously Farheen worked in digital communications for Greenpeace and Shelter, as well as interning with Liberty’s Advocacy and Policy team in 2019.

Naveena joined Liberty as Individual Giving Manager in September 2025. She is responsible for the acquisition and retention of our members and individual donors. Before this, she worked in various fundraising and digital marketing roles at Cancer Research UK, Amnesty International UK, Mencap and John Lewis.

Jessica joined Liberty in 2021 as a Development Assistant, handling all things membership. Before this, she worked in Communications at the Royal Society of Literature after finishing her Politics degree.

Jessica came to Liberty to join a team of like-minded people, committed to holding those in power to account and standing up for those most marginalized in society.

Jen is Liberty’s Finance and Operations Director and joined Liberty in Spring 2024. Jen is a qualified chartered accountant who has worked in senior Finance and Operations roles in membership organisations across the not-for-profit sector over the last 17 years, in organisations focusing on disability, mental health and racial justice.  Jen has held trustee treasurer roles across her career and is shortly due to join the board of You Make It, a race and inclusion charity based in London, which she has worked alongside for a number of years.

John joined Liberty in November 2021. As the Head of Finance, John is responsible for financial management, reporting and the development of finance systems and procedures at Liberty.  He is a member of the Chartered Institute of Management Accountants and has a long career background in senior financial management roles, mainly at organisations operating in health & disability and education.

Sylvia joined Liberty in 2022 as a HR and Operations Assistant and is responsible for Liberty’s recruitment, onboarding, HR admin and assisting the wider Ops Team.

She previously studied International Human Rights Law at university and joined Liberty to combine her passion for defending our crucial rights with her HR expertise.

Meriel joined Liberty at the start of 2025 as the Operations Assistant and supports the whole Operations Team as well as the wider Liberty team in administration, facilities, IT, and events.

Meriel has worked in the charity sector for some time in a variety of roles, and she is committed to upholding civil liberties in the UK and promoting human rights. She firmly believes that a workforce who feel supported and valued will work together to create the create best results.

Sam Gelder joined Liberty Investigates in October 2025. He previously worked as an editor at Dialogue Earth, openDemocracy, The Big Issue and HuffPost UK, and as a reporter at local papers across London, including the Hackney Gazette.

He has a track record of working on social justice issues and is passionate about highlighting the real-world impact of human rights abuses.

Aaron was previously the news editor at independent media outlet EachOther, helping shape its coverage of UK human rights issues ranging from systemic racism to school exclusions. He was also a freelance reporter for the Guardian and the Observer, covering national news and producing exclusive stories on homelessness and disability rights.

In 2019, he won a Google News Initiative-sponsored award for his work leading a year-long newspaper campaign focussing on rough sleeping in while at east London’s Ilford Recorder.

The campaign crowdfunded more than £21,000 for local homelessness services. In coordination with the Bureau Local’s Dying Homeless project, he revealed that at least 10 people had died homeless in the borough of Redbridge in the year to October 2018, six of whom were undocumented Indian migrants stuck in a bureaucratic limbo.

Aaron has a keen interest in migration, homelessness and policing.

Mark joined Liberty Investigates in January 2023 after more than a decade as a freelance investigative reporter, covering issues including criminal justice, drugs policy, migrants’ rights and homelessness.

For eight years he worked as a freelance correspondent for VICE, producing news exclusives, long-form investigations and television documentaries. This work included a long-running series about councils using anti-social behaviour legislation to target rough sleepers, which helped secure a government intervention to prevent the practice and an investigation into the origins of synthetic cannabis that was shortlisted for a Criminal Justice Alliance award for outstanding journalism. His coverage of the UK government’s failure to assist child refugees was prominently cited in an inquiry report produced by the Human Trafficking Foundation.

Mark’s other work has included news exclusives for the Guardian and the Daily Mirror. He has investigated the UK’s flat earth movement for Esquire, marathon cheats for the Observer Magazine, and performance-enhancing drugs for Men’s Health.

Charlotte joined Liberty in May 2025, and is responsible for building and maintaining relationships with Liberty’s valued grants funders.

Before joining Liberty, she worked in fundraising and project coordination roles in the VAWG and refugee rights sectors. She holds an MA in Human Rights and Social Justice.

Charlotte came to Liberty to be a part of an organisation that fights for equity, rights and justice for every member of our society.