Our staff are what make LFF the amazing place it is. Around 140 people from various backgrounds and disciplines with a range of knowledge and abilities make up our diverse and skilled workforce, all dedicated to making a difference.
Our UK-wide practitioner team consists of psychologists, former probation officers and police officers, social workers and those with specialist experience working with children and young people. Our Stop It Now helpline is staffed by a team of dedicated advisors with diverse backgrounds, including teaching, working with children with disabilities and counselling. Our administrative teams provide unwavering support to all.
The team are led by our executive directors, under the leadership of Deborah Denis, our CEO.
We recognise our primary assets are our committed and hardworking staff and volunteers and we’re proud of all they achieve.
As CEO, Deborah is focused on advancing the Foundation’s vision of a world free from child sexual abuse. Deborah plays a key role in advocating for a greater focus on preventing abuse before it occurs, and sits on a variety of boards and groups.
Deborah has 20 years’ experience in leadership, strategy, communications and fundraising – and has secured and grown support for many for the Foundation’s projects and services, including the Stop It Now UK and Ireland helpline – the largest of its kind in the world – and Shore – one of few global resources for teenagers worried about sexual behaviour.
Deborah began her career as a journalist working in local radio before taking on a media and communications role with Hampshire Constabulary. Following this, she worked for four years for the Royal Cayman Islands Police Service, where she handled all media relations including for serious crimes and hurricane threat situations.
Deborah first came to The Lucy Faithfull Foundation in 2009 when she joined as the media and communications manager. After 18 months away, she re-joined the Foundation in 2016 as head of fundraising and external relations. In 2018, Deborah became the Foundation’s first director of fundraising and external relations, leading a larger communications and fundraising team, and became the Foundation’s CEO in 2020.
Stuart Allardyce qualified as a social worker in 1998. As a director at The Lucy Faithfull Foundation, he has responsibilities for Stop It Now! services in Scotland as well as research across the whole organisation.
He has worked with young people who have displayed harmful sexual behaviour for over 20 years. He is currently chair of the National Organisation for the Treatment of Abuse (NOTA) in the UK and Ireland and was formerly chair of NOTA Scotland.
He is a visiting researcher at Strathclyde University, an associate at the Centre for Youth and Criminal Justice and a trustee at White Ribbon Scotland. He is co-author of ‘Working with Children and Young People Who Have Displayed Harmful Sexual Behaviour’ (Dunedin Press, 2018) as well as several peer-reviewed papers and book chapters on child sexual abuse and sexual offending.
He was a member of the Scottish government’s expert working group on preventing sexual offending amongst children and young people.
Annabel Kroeger B.Acc CA (SA) trained and qualified as a chartered accountant with Deloittes in South Africa.
With a business degree from Natal University, she left Deloittes after qualifying and spent the next seven years in marketing, training with Unilever as a product manager at Elida Gibbs, South Africa. On her return to the UK, she worked first for Nielsen Market Research in Oxford and then for Jenks Brokerage in High Wycombe, handling a wide range of well-known brands.
Balancing family demands, Annabel took up accountancy work again on a part-time basis four years later and gained experience in a variety of sectors including the computer industry, education, tourism and most recently for charities. Annabel worked as the accountant for Warwickshire Association for the Blind for 6 years, until joining LFF in April 2008 as Director of Finance.
Adrian has over 30 years’ experience in the criminal justice sector. A qualified probation officer and social worker, Adrian has operated as both a practitioner and manager in a variety of settings.
He has worked in youth justice, case management and accredited programmes as well as being the senior lead on substance misuse and evidence informed practice. He has a history of leading projects and operations that drive community outcomes and is looking forward to working with LFF colleagues across all its prevention work.
Adrian is from Birmingham and is married with two grown up sons.
Frances joined the Lucy Faithfull Foundation in July 2022, in the new role of Director of Policy and Advocacy. Frances began her career in policy and research, working on legal reform at the Law Commission. After qualifying as a solicitor, Frances spent 20 years in private practice specialising in human rights. Over her legal career, Frances built up a long track record of successful cases upholding the rights of victims. Frances has represented victims and survivors of child sexual abuse in both civil litigation and criminal injuries compensation claims. Frances understands the devastating life-long impact that child sexual abuse has. She is committed to driving forward the Foundation’s advocacy work so that everyone understands that child sexual abuse is preventable not inevitable, that we all have a part to play and by working together we can prevent it.
Alison joined the Lucy Faithfull Foundation in February 2024, in the new role of Director of People Services. Alison began her career in Catering and Retail after gaining an HND in Hotel and Catering. She worked for 20 plus years for Compass Group in various roles before taking the opportunity to move into their HR and Development team and qualified with the CIPD.
Alison worked for Pearson as Head of People for 8 years and led the merger of two organisations together in their retail arm of work-based learning (BTEC). Before joining the Lucy Faithfull Foundation, Alison worked for 8 years at a large complex charity based in Northamptonshire as Deputy Director of HR.
Alison has had a rewarding career where she has been impactful in the workplace, having the ability to engage with employees to help them with any situations that may arise. As a qualified Coach and Mentor, she uses these skills to help build a solid foundation, allowing people to make their own decisions that are in line with their value structure and help to bring clarity and direction to short-term or long-term goals. The profession is ever-changing and constantly growing so there is always something new to learn, including changes in laws and regulations, which Alison has the knowledge and skills to translate them into everyday practice.
Our strategy and long-term objectives are overseen by our Board of Trustees.
We have 14 trustees, all committed to helping us achieve the biggest impacts for children. They each bring their own skills and experience and collectively make up a diverse and effective board.
Jane is a chartered accountant and senior advisor at the Bank of England and has been a trustee of Lucy Faithfull Foundation since 2013, and our Chair since the end of 2023. She has over 30 years’ experience in finance and leadership, and spent much of her career at KPMG, where she qualified as an accountant and was a partner for 12 years. She was part of the global finance leadership at HSBC before taking on a strategic change program there. Following HSBC, Jane joined The Bank of England as Senior Advisor, leveraging her finance skills to support the financial health of the UK. She has significant commercial board and leadership experience and was a member of the Board of Trustees at HSBC’s pension fund. Alongside her Bank of England role and chairing LFF, she is also on the Board of asset manager JO Hambro Capital Management, and chairs Jupiter Asset Management’s main fund manager Jupiter Unit Trust Managers.
“It is an absolute privilege to chair this wonderful organisation. I never cease to be inspired by the people at Lucy Faithful who bring such energy, commitment, bravery, and research based depth of understanding to tackling the tragedy of child sexual abuse. They work tirelessly in often painfully difficult circumstances to make change happen, whilst getting the maximum from every penny provided by our funders. As a longstanding Trustee I have seen the growing impact that the Foundation has, as well as seeing that there is so much more to be done.”
Joy is a qualified Chartered Accountant. She has previously worked at PWC, later specialising in healthcare and moved to Partnerships in care in 1997. Since that time she took over as CEO in 2011 and led the sale of 22 hospitals from Partnerships in Care and Priory in 2016, thus forming Elysium Healthcare where she was appointed CEO. Having worked in healthcare for the last 20 years, Joy is passionately engaged in delivering great quality mental health services
“In the past few years since being a Trustee, I have seen The Foundation grow stronger, its strategy and leadership empowering the organisation to do everything they need to do in order to keep children safe and eradicate this social problem. ”
Dr Harris is a Consultant in general and forensic psychiatry, having worked in high, medium and low secure services and the community. He has previously been a Medical Director, Operational Executive Director and Chief Executive in the NHS and the independent sector. He was a Prison Psychiatrist for 10 years, a member of the Nottinghamshire Probation Committee, Chair of Nottingham MIND, a Sub-Dean of the Royal College of Psychiatrists and Treasurer of the International Association for Forensic Mental Health Services. He was the visiting Psychiatrist to the Gracewell Clinic, the forerunner to LFF. He is currently Chair of Improving Lives, a Nottingham based mental health charity, and a Trustee and NonExecutive Director of St. Andrews Healthcare. He is a Trustee of two Jewish charities.
“It is a real privilege to be a trustee of this amazing organisation. The fantastic staff, led by an inspirational group of directors work with some of the most troubled people in the country, hearing their stories every day. They do this with grace, dignity and enthusiasm helping through their work to keep young people safe from sexual abuse”
Fred is Director of Trust and Safety Technology at UK Communications Regulator Ofcom, a Visiting Professor at the University of Suffolk and a member of the REPHRAIN (Bristol University) and INHOPE (International Hotline Association) Advisory Boards. He’s also a Non-Exec Director of the Games Rating Authority.
Previously, as Deputy CEO/CTO of the Internet Watch Foundation (IWF) and President of INHOPE, Fred focused on Internet Policy, Cybersecurity, Child Protection, and Online Technologies. With 30 years of experience in Commercial, CSO’s, Military, and Regulatory sectors, he has developed services to reduce the risk of illegal content online for billions of internet users. Fred has held leadership roles in various organizations, including Former Chair of the UK Council for Internet Safety and a Board Member of the UK Home Office Child Abuse Image Database Strategic Group. He serves as an expert advisor to governments, parliamentarians, law enforcement, and NGOs.
David is the founder of Consistency Partners Ltd, a consultancy working with digital finance, insurance, price comparison, private equity, reinsurance and start-up clients. David was formerly Director, Group Corporate Development, at BGL Group Ltd, owners of comparethemarket.com and lesfurets.com. Prior to that, David spent eight years at Aviva PLC in UK general management roles, after 10 years working in business development and marketing for PepsiCo Restaurants and Yum Brands across Europe. David has an MBA from London Business School.
“The work of the Foundation has never been more important. I’m delighted to be able to contribute to the essential work that the Foundation conducts in preventing and responding to child sexual abuse and exploitation.”
Dr Michael Marett-Crosby leads a group of healthcare and education charities that work in and around Myanmar (Burma) to deliver front-line delivery of relief, long-term rebuilding of hospitals and universities and a wide range of other projects. His international and Burmese teams support scholarships, access to learning and mobile health units across the country. He was previously a Catholic priest and worked with young people in prison settings.
“The Lucy Faithfull Foundation has a huge ambition – to see a world in which young people can live without fear of abuse. To do this, our extraordinary staff show innovation and daily commitment to keep children safe, and to work with those who threaten young people’s safety. The charity remains a remarkable force for good, and it is all the more important in today’s world. It remains a great privilege to be a trustee.”
Jill is a partner and head of the Health and Care sector at national law firm, Mills & Reeve LLP. She is a healthcare lawyer with over 25 years’ experience advising NHS and independent sector organisations on all aspects of the law relating to the care of patients, particularly with regard to the Mental Health Act, Mental Capacity Act, Inquests and risk management. Jill also sits on the Audit, Governance and Oversight panel at Mills & Reeve. Outside of work, she is on the Zero Suicide Alliance Governance Board.
“This is my third year as a trustee. I have been so impressed by the dedication of all the staff. Such vital work is undertaken by the Foundation. You can easily take for granted growing up without fear or exploitation, but one shouldn’t….”
Dr Paul Monks is a consultant in general and forensic psychiatry. He has worked in low and medium secure inpatient settings as well as prisons, treating adult and adolescent patient groups, including mentally disordered offenders. He currently works solely with young people, many of whom have suffered serious psychological trauma. He has been clinical director responsible for child and adolescent mental health services for two independent sector mental healthcare providers.
“I am inspired by the Foundation’s overarching purpose of preventing child sexual abuse and the dedication and resilience of its staff in pursuit of it, particularly over recent years. The foresight and expertise of the team mean that the Foundation is very much at the forefront of tracking and tackling new challenges posed by digital technology.”
John joined the civil service in July 2002 as Director of the Criminal Records Bureau. In 2006, he moved to the Home Office to lead the response to the Bichard Inquiry and subsequently as Director of Safeguarding. In this role, he was responsible for policy on safeguarding and public protection, public order and the sponsorship of the Disclosure and Barring Service and the Security Industry Authority. He was seconded, as Secretary, to the Independent Inquiry into Child Sexual Abuse on its establishment as a statutory inquiry in 2015. In this role, he was responsible for the effective management of the Inquiry and acted as the main contact between the Inquiry and the Home Office as the sponsor department. He also established the Truth Project to enable victims and survivors of child sexual abuse to share their experiences with the Inquiry and put forward suggestions for change.
“Having been involved in public protection policy for many years and hearing first-hand the accounts of victims and survivors during the Inquiry I have seen the lifelong impact of child sexual abuse. I have seen the work of the Foundation during my time in the civil service and its preventative work is critical to delivering a world free of such abuse. I am delighted to be able to support it in achieving this goal.”
Dr Perkins is a Clinical and Forensic Psychologist with West London Mental Health NHS Trust, and Professor of Forensic Psychology at Royal Holloway University of London. Prof Perkins was Head of Psychological Services at Broadmoor Hospital (high secure psychiatric service for the South of England) from 1986-2013, having previously worked in the UK Prison Service and Midland Centre for Forensic Psychiatry. He is the co-director of the onlineProtect research group on internet-related sexual offending. He has carried out clinical work and research on the assessment and treatment of sex offenders, including the interface between personality disorders and sexual offending, psychophysiological and other lab-based assessments of sexual interest, internet related sexual offending, child sexual abuse and sexual homicide.
“I have a long history with LFF, dating back to the 1980s with the establishment of the Gracewell Clinic, and then the Wolvercote Clinic – the only full-time residential facility for the treatment of sexual offenders in the UK. From then the Foundation has developed into a multifaceted and pioneering organisation at the cutting edge of child protection through the assessment and treatment of perpetrators, public information campaigns and most importantly its work on the prevention of child sexual abuse nationally and internationally.”
Lynn is a Professor of Applied Criminology at the University of Derby. She previously worked in the criminal justice system for 35 years, most recently as the Governor of HMP Whatton. She qualified as a Probation Officer in 1986 and has a degree in Applied Social Sciences, an MA in Criminology, and a PhD from the University of Nottingham. She co-founded the Safer Living Foundation in 2014, a charity that helps prevent sexual offending, and chairs its board.
Lynn was awarded honorary doctorates from Nottingham Trent University in 2015 and Keele University in 2018 in recognition of her work with people with sexual convictions both nationally and internationally, and to the ultimate aim of a reduction in victims. She was also awarded an OBE in the 2017 New Year’s honours list and received the Guardian Public Leadership award in 2018.
“The Lucy Faithfull Foundation has a long history in the research and treatment of child sexual abuse and is recognised as a world leader in this area of work. Its initiatives in sexual harm prevention, the development of the research base and initiatives to support practitioners working in this area are often considered to be best practice.”
Alec is a former Prison Governor who established the first intervention programme for sexual offenders in Scottish Prisons (STOP). He later served as Director of Rehabilitation and Care and was a member of the Scottish Prison Service Board. He was Chairman of the Scottish Accreditation Panel for Offender Programmes, an Adviser to the Justice Committee of the Scottish Parliament on their Inquiry into Child Sexual Offending and, for a temporary period, Chief Officer of a Community Justice Authority. He has published a book on working with sex offenders, and was a member of The National Organisation for the Treatment of Abusers and The Association for the Treatment of Sexual Abusers. He founded and chaired a charity to support families of prisoners, now called ‘Families Outside’; he was Vice Chair and Chair of Includem, a Scottish Charity working with youngsters in trouble; he was Chair of the Scottish Association for the Study of Offending and Convener of the Scottish Consortium of Crime and Criminal Justice. He is an Honorary Professor at the University of Stirling.
“My own links with the Foundation go back to 1992, the year LFF began. Since then, The Lucy Faithfull Foundation has built an enviable record in the research and treatment of child sexual abuse. In particular The Stop It Now helpline attempts to be proactive and help prevent child sexual abuse by reaching out to those worried about what they might do.”
Paul has 32 years of policing experience, including 13 years as a Chief Officer and eight years as the Chief Constable of West Mercia Police. He led nationally for the police service throughout England and Wales on all matters concerning the Management of Sexual Offenders and Violent Offenders from 2007 until his retirement in 2011. Later that year he was made joint Director of the Indian Police Service Mid-Career Training Programme Phase IV, based at the National Police Academy in Hyderabad, India.
Paul has been an independent member of the Judicial Appointments Commission since 2012 and a member of the Prison Service Pay Review Body since 2016. Paul is an honorary Fellow of the University of Worcester, where he previously was a Member and Vice-Chair of the Board of Governors.
“I have valued deeply my association with LFF throughout the last eleven years. Not only has it provided me with the opportunity to maintain an involvement in sexual offender management beyond the end of my police service, but in recent years it has also enabled me to apply the learning I have gained from experts in the field to help safeguard children in a wide range of educational settings. The Foundation really can and does make a huge and positive difference in so many young people’s lives.”
Dr Arnon Bentovim is a Consultant Child, Adolescent and Family Psychiatrist, Psychoanalyst and Family Therapist. In 1994, upon retirement from Great Ormond Street Hospital, he founded the Child and Family Practice with Mrs Marianne Bentovim. This is an independent practice which has now grown considerably with a faculty of Consultant Paediatricians, Child & Adolescent Psychiatrists, Adult Psychiatrists, Clinical and Educational Psychologists, Individual and Family Therapists and Speech and Language Therapists. It provides an extensive range of services to children and family members referred for diagnosis, assessment and treatment.
Dr Bentovim has conducted extensive research, training and consultation and has been involved with a number of organisations including; President of Relate 2001 until 2009; Chair of the Institute of Family Therapy, and the International Family Therapy Association 2004-2007 and Professional Advisor to ChildLine to 1990 to 2000.
Martin is a retired solicitor who now sits as a judge in both the Employment Tribunals and the Immigration and Asylum Tribunal. As a solicitor Martin specialised in employment law and practice and acted for a wide range of employers in both the public and private sectors including a number of large NHS Trusts and Foundation Trusts. Martin is a published author on various aspects of employment law.
Hilary was Chief Executive of the Lucy Faithfull Foundation until she retired in 2015. She began working with sex offenders and their families after qualifying as a probation officer in 1975. In 1988 she co-founded a residential assessment and treatment centre for sex offenders, which was superseded by Lucy Faithfull Foundation in 1992, when she became its clinical director, later becoming overall director and chief executive.
She co-authored and monitored the charity’s assessment and intervention programmes for adult male and female offenders and for young people engaging in harmful sexual behaviours and for their families. With colleagues she introduced and facilitated the development of Stop it Now! and its child protection Helpline in the UK. She also co-chaired a pan-European group to develop work with young people and collaborated with Child and Family Training to develop ‘Hope for Children and Families’: a modular evidence-based resource for practitioners.
Hilary has consulted to and trained a wide range of agencies nationally and internationally, including probation and prisons and has served on HM Government panels on programme development and advisory groups on prevention of sexual violence. She has authored peer-reviewed articles, numerous book chapters and a book regarding sexual abuse. She has written extensively about women who have sexually abused children. She has been an Honorary Lecturer at the Centre for Forensic and Criminological Psychology, University of Birmingham and a Visiting Lecturer at the University of Surrey and Royal Holloway, University of London.
Until July 2001, Valerie was the Chief Executive of the charity ChildLine. Under her leadership, ChildLine counselled over one million children and young people and it grew from a small London based project to the national service it is today. A social worker by background, she worked in the Family Welfare Association in Lambeth and Brent and rose to become Director of Social Services.
As a member of the House of Lords, Valerie works to represent the needs of disabled and vulnerable children; she is currently Secretary to the All Parliamentary Group for Children and works on a number of European union issues.
Richard Monk CMG OBE QPM was a founder trustee of the Foundation and succeeded Baroness Faithfull as Chair of the Foundation’s trustees in 1996 until appointed by Kofi Annan to be the Police Commissioner of the UN International Police Task Force in Bosnia in 1998.
Previously, a Commander at New Scotland Yard, he created the first Paedophile Squad in the UK and his dramatic speech to journalists at the 1990 annual conference of the Association of Chief Police Officers on the extent of sexual abuse of children being uncovered by investigators and clinicians marked a watershed in the ability of victims to be heard, the extent of offending to be more publicly known and led to the formal training of dedicated police and social workers. He subsequently worked for both the United Nations and the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe overseeing police assistance programmes in the former Balkans and in the Soviet countries of Central Asia and the Caucasus, a frequent aim of which was to prevent the trafficking of females for sexual crime.
After taking a Postgraduate Diploma in Personnel from Cardiff University, Mel worked in Personnel for a string of British companies. In 1978 he moved into General Management with GKN as its Sector Chairman. In 1984 he was appointed as the first Regional Director of Personnel with the West Midlands Regional Health Authority, and over the next five years was given the additional responsibility for the region for legal and public relations together with adding on the Chairmanship of the Regional Blood Transfusion Service Services and West Midlands Ambulance Service. In 1988 he was also given lead Regional responsibility for bringing out the 54 hospitals as independent Trusts. In 1994 Mel moved into the charitable sector on a voluntary basis after taking retirement. In addition to being a trustee of The Lucy Faithfull Foundation, Mel has served Victim Support, HMP Long Lartin (Vice Chair of the Independent Monitoring Board), as well as being a member of the Lord Lieutenant’s Advisory Panel for South Worcestershire and the Chairman of EIL Charity.
He has been made an O.B.E. for his services to Victim Support and the people of Worcestershire.
Annie Shepperd is the Chief Executive of Salix Finance, a not-for-profit company funded by Government to reduce carbon emissions in the public sector by funding energy efficiency. Prior to this role Annie was the Chief Executive of Southwark Council and Annie has worked in local government for the majority of her career. Annie’s career included being a director of social services in Bath and in Liverpool. Annie’s career in social work has resulted in her lifelong commitment to supporting organisations which promote the welfare and wellbeing of children and hence her support for The Lucy Faithfull Foundation. Annie was a trustee of LFF for seven years. Annie supports other voluntary organisations.
Following a period teaching in Stockholm and Nottingham, Sir Richard started his career in the Prison Service as Assistant Governor in 1966. He was Governor of a number of prisons including Bedford and Gartree rising to Director General of the Prison Service in 1995. Sir Richard retired from the Prison Service in 1999 and in the same year was appointed a Knight Bachelor.
From 1999 – 2000, he was Chairman of Kettering General Hospital NHS Trust, prior to taking up post as Chairman of Northamptonshire Health Authority in April 2000. In 2002 he was appointed chairman of Leicestershire, Northamptonshire and Rutland Strategic Health Authority. He left this post in 2006. He was a member of the Sentencing Advisory Panel from 1999 – 2002. In December 2000 Sir Richard was appointed as Social Fund Commissioner for Great Britain and Northern Ireland. He held this post until 2009. Between 2001 and 2010 he was a Governor of De Montfort University. He is also Chair of the Social Security Advisory Committee and Chairman of the Portman Group’s Independent Complaints Panel. Sir Richard was appointed Independent of IWF Chair in January 2012.
John is a consultant solicitor in London with Bates Wells Braithwaite London LLP, where he has been the senior partner and head of public and regulatory law. John has represented the British Association of Social Workers since the 1970s and for many years he represented its members in numerous cases. In particular, John represented social workers and the profession of social work in many child death and child abuse inquiries such as the inquiries into the deaths of Darren Clark, Paul Brown, Jasmine Beckford, Kimberly Carlisle, The Cleveland Inquiry, Victoria Climbie and others. John also represented ChildLine for many years and other organisations concerned with the safety and welfare of children.
Our Stop It Now helpline, self help and programmes are there to help anyone concerned about child sexual abuse. Shore is for teenagers worried about sexual behaviour.
Our helpline 0808 1000 900
2 Birch House, Harris Business Park, Hanbury Road
Stoke Prior, Bromsgrove, B60 4DJ
Lucy Faithfull Foundation is a Registered Charity No. 1013025, and is a company limited by guarantee, Registered in England No. 2729957.
As you may have noticed, our website looks a little different now. We’ve restructured and redesigned the site to be more accessible to you, so we’d love to know what you think. All feedback will remain anonymous; we do not collect any personal identifying information.
As you may have noticed, our website looks a little different now. We’ve restructured and redesigned the site to be more accessible to you, so we’d love to know what you think. All feedback will remain anonymous; we do not collect any personal identifying information.