Deborah Coles Executive Director Expand Deborah is the executive director of INQUEST, and has worked for the charity since 1989. She has a long track record of championing social justice and equality issues. She leads INQUEST's strategic policy, legal and parliamentary work and has considerable expertise in working to prevent death and ill treatment in all forms of detention and for more effective accountable learning after state related deaths. She has been an independent expert advisor to numerous committees and inquiries and was the special advisor to Dame Elish Angiolini, the chair of the Independent Review of Deaths and Serious Incidents in Police Custody. Deborah is a regular media commentator, delivers conference papers nationally and internationally and is author of numerous articles and publications. She represents INQUEST as a member of the Ministerial Board on Deaths in Custody and is a member of the Independent Advisory Panel on Deaths in Custody; she is also on the board of trustees of Clean Break Theatre Company and an advisor to Women in Prison.
Arnaud Vervoitte Operations and Development Director Expand Arnaud joined INQUEST in 2017. Born in France, he came to the UK in 1993 and graduated in politics, global politics and race relations. Arnaud has worked in social care since 1995, in a variety of roles, including casework and support work and, later on, in management and leadership positions in the charity sector. He worked in HIV/AIDS for eight years and with asylum seekers and refugees for 12 and has also been the managing director of Just for Kids Law, a legal charity supporting young people. Arnaud is a passionate campaigner on social justice issues, including anti-racism and the rights of refugees and migrants. He is a Trustee of the Separated Child Foundation.
Louise Finer Head of Policy Expand Louise came to INQUEST from HM Inspectorate of Prisons where she worked as Head of Secretariat for the National Preventive Mechanism. Louise worked with 21 independent detention monitoring and inspection bodies around the UK to strengthen their efforts to meet international obligations for preventing the ill treatment of detainees. For HMIP she also developed policy and parliamentary work and advised on human rights. Prior to these roles Louise worked in international NGOs, including Amnesty International and the Centre for Reproductive Rights, in a range of research and advocacy roles. Louise spent several years living and working in South America, working with human rights organisations and supporting the prisons team of the Peruvian Truth and Reconciliation Commission. Louise is a visiting fellow at the Human Rights Centre at the University of Essex.
Anita Sharma Head of Casework Expand Anita joined INQUEST as a caseworker in October 2010. Her interest in human rights and social justice led her to work as a legal advisor at the Coventry Law Centre for six years, while also volunteering at a women’s refuge. Anita then spent some time travelling before working as a special educational needs (SEN) teaching assistant in a secondary school. Prior to joining INQUEST, Anita worked at Refugee and Migrant Justice for ten years as a caseworker and team leader, supporting clients through the asylum process.
Lucy McKay Media and Communications Manager Expand Lucy has worked with INQUEST since 2017 in roles across communications, media and policy. With a background in journalism, she has a degree in Sociology and Politics and was an editor and organiser at STRIKE! Magazine. It was through a 2014 STRIKE! campaign on policing that Lucy came across INQUEST. She previously worked as a policy officer at HM Inspectorate of Prisons and assisted in the co-ordination of the UK National Preventive Mechanism. She is also a trustee of the Independent Custody Visiting Association, and freelance communications and campaigns consultant, supporting small and grassroots organisations to push for social justice and change.
Rosanna Ellul Senior Policy and Parliamentary Officer Expand Rosanna joined INQUEST in 2021. She holds an MA in Human Rights from Goldsmiths, University of London and most recently worked at HM Inspectorate of Prisons where she worked to coordinate independent detention monitoring bodies to prevent ill-treatment in detention. Over the previous five years Rosanna worked with several other human rights organisations including Liberty and Project 17. From 2017 to 2020 she also worked as a voluntary researcher with the Refugee Council and University of Bradford on a project exploring the experiences of migrant women facing destitution while pregnant.
Natasha Thompson Grenfell Project Coordinator and Senior Caseworker Expand Natasha joined INQUEST as a volunteer in 2014, becoming a casework assistant the following year and a caseworker in 2016. She became interested in human rights law whilst studying law at university. Her interest in the legal process following a death in custody developed when she began following a number of individual and joint family campaigns like the United Families and Friends Campaign (UFFC) and 4Wardeva. Through hearing the experience of families and friends affected and wanting to contribute she began following the work of INQUEST.
Selen Cavcav Senior Caseworker Expand Selen joined INQUEST as a caseworker in 2010. She was born in Turkey and lived there until 1990. She graduated in Sociology and Law and then worked at the Refugee Legal Centre for ten years, representing asylum seekers and refugees at Immigration Tribunals. Selen has a special focus on deaths of women in prison and is fully committed to women's issues. She is trustee of Imece Women’s Centre. She has two children and lives in North London.
Tanya Karastoyanova Finance Officer Expand Tanya joined INQUEST as Finance Officer in June 2017. She holds an AAT Accounting Qualification (MAAT) and has previously worked for accountancy practices and SME businesses. Tanya is also currently working for Learning on Screen . She joined INQUEST as an opportunity to do finance work which supports social justice.
Mo Mansfield Family Participation Officer Expand Mo Mansfield join INQUEST in April 2019. She is a community organiser, advocate and feminist campaigner for prison abolition. Mo has more than 15 years experience working in the voluntary sector in both front-line and management positions at organisations such as Women at WISH, Women In Prison and the Women’s Resource Centre. Much of her work has focused on providing independent support to criminalised women from a social justice perspective. She is member of the Reclaim Justice Network; Reclaim Holloway; and is co-founder of the Holloway Prison Stories website. Mo was also part of the organising committee for Abolitionist Futures: the International Conference on Penal Abolition held in London in June 2018. Mo recently completed a MSc focused on improving services for people with personality disorders. She is also a Visiting Research Fellow with the Harm and Evidence Research Collaborative at the Open University
Rob Styles Casework and Administrative Assistant Expand Rob joined INQUEST in 2011 and provides administrative support to the casework team, wider office, and to the INQUEST Lawyers Group. He is also a first point of contact for bereaved people getting in touch with INQUEST. He has previously worked in industry and as a paralegal in the field of human rights and is a committed trade unionist.
Yohanah Rodney Casework Assistant Expand Yohanah joined INQUEST in 2018 as a Casework Volunteer. In the same year she became a Project Assistant working on the INQUEST Library Online and is currently a Casework Assistant. She became interested in the inquest process, in particular actions against the police, after the death of a family friend in police custody. She has always had an interest in human rights law but officially started to look into at depth whilst studying law at University. As a volunteer at INQUEST her interests broadened, and she is looking to get more involved with deaths involving Children and Young People in Mental Health settings.
Jodie Anderson Senior Caseworker Expand Jodie joined INQUEST as a Caseworker in June 2020. Prior to this, she practiced as a criminal defence barrister at Garden Court Chambers and then in police complaints at Harrow Law Centre. She worked on death row in Texas in 2014 and has been involved in the criminal justice system ever since, with particular focus on youth justice and accountability. Jodie has followed INQUEST's work throughout her career, but became particularly invested following the death of a family member in prison. She is an active campaigner for refugee and migrant rights and volunteered as a lawyer in the Greek refugee camps in 2018.
Nancy Kelehar Caseworker Expand Nancy is an INQUEST Caseworker. She previously worked as a paralegal at Hickman & Rose, assisting clients in relation to the Grenfell Tower Inquiry as well as working on inquests and other actions against state bodies. She studied Law at the University of Leeds, where she founded an initiative to help female law students build connections with successful women in the legal sector. As a volunteer at a homeless shelter, she is passionate about working with marginalised groups and helping vulnerable people access their rights.
Raekha Prasad Research and Policy Officer Expand Raekha Prasad is a research and policy officer at INQUEST with a specialist focus on state violence and structural racism. Raekha has worked as a journalist specialising in social rights issues for over two decades. She edited the women’s page in the Guardian and broke a number of stories on race, asylum, the criminal justice system and welfare rights. She was part of the Guardian/London School of Economics Reading the Riots project. She began her career at The Big Issue and spent five years as a foreign correspondent in Asia working for The Guardian, The Times and the BBC where she focused on gender discrimination, child labour and climate change. She is also a lecturer in journalism at Goldsmiths University.
Caroline Finney Caseworker Expand Caroline is an INQUEST Caseworker. She previously worked as a caseworker at the charity Advocate, where she assisted on cases covering all areas of law, developing her understanding of social welfare and public law. Having also worked for the anti-slavery organisation, International Justice Mission, and spent her childhood in Northern Ireland, Caroline is particularly interested in the mechanisms which aim to hold the state accountable.
Jemmar Samuels Communications and Media Intern Expand Jemmar has a degree in Politics and Sociology and is currently pursuing a master’s degree in International Relations of the Americas at University College London. They previously worked as a Youth Worker and Community Organiser for CHIPS Peace. She is a freelance writer, public speaker and filmmaker. She is a 2019 Diana Awardee, and a documentary about her life was the first to win then new category, “Content for Change” at the Children’s BAFTAs. Jemmar is an alum of The Advocacy Academy which began her career as an activist and social justice campaigner. She joined INQUEST in October 2021 as the Communications and Media intern.