Carolyne Willow – National co-ordinator

Carolyne has been a children’s rights advocate for over 25 years and became CRAE’s national co-ordinator in 2000. She started her career as a child protection social worker where she helped children establish the Nottinghamshire branch of NAYPIC (National Association of Young People in Care). She then became a children’s rights officer for looked after children and young people, and was Chair of CROA for several years. Whilst heading up the National Children’s Bureau’s children’s rights and participation programme, she helped establish A National Voice. She was adult support worker for Article 12, a children's rights organisation run by under 18s.

Carolyne has contributed to two national inquiries: in 1997, she consulted young disabled people living away from home as part of the Children’s Safeguards Review led by Sir William Utting; and, in 2005, she interviewed children in secure training centres as part of Lord Carlile’s inquiry into the use of restraint, segregation and strip-searching in child custody. She was a member of the reference group for the Government's discrimination law review and Trevor Phillips’ equalities review.

Carolyne is Vice-Chair of the Council of Europe’s Ad Hoc Advisory Group on Child and Youth Participation. She has written and edited a wide range of children's rights publications, including “Children’s right to be heard and effective child protection”, published by Save the Children Sweden in 2010.

Carolyne has two children, aged 11 and 7.

Policy and public affairs

Carla Garnelas – Senior policy and change officer (equality)

Carla is CRAE's senior policy and change officer focusing on equality and non-discrimination. She joined CRAE in October 2005. Since graduating from Edinburgh University with a degree in Social Anthropology in 2002, Carla has worked in the voluntary sector in London. In 2006, she received an MSc from Birkbeck College in Race and Ethnic Relations, focusing on issues of gender, ethnicity and identity. She worked for a number of years in the Jewish community as a youth worker and informal educator and spent a year in Nairobi, Kenya with VSO working with street children projects. Carla is a trustee of Gulan, a charity that promotes Kurdish arts and culture.

Catherine Hodder – Parliamentary adviser

As CRAE's Parliamentary Adviser, Catherine communicates children's rights issues to members of the House of Commons and the House of Lords, so that they can ask questions of the Government, debate particular issues and amend laws to improve children's human rights protection. Before joining CRAE, Catherine worked for a Member of Parliament and completed a Masters degree in human rights. She has been a human rights campaigner since the age of 15.

Krishna Maroo – Children's rights communications officer

Krishna encourages children and young people from all over England to get involved in children's rights advocacy. She delivers outreach and training, and tries to get positive children's rights messages in the media. Krishna has a degree in journalism, and has been working with children since she was a young person herself. She is really interested in how new media can support young people's activism, and enjoys using photography and film. Krishna finds the work she does with young people very inspiring. Before joining CRAE, Krishna was the student voice co-ordinator at a West London school. 

Sam Dimmock – Head of policy and public affairs

Sam Dimmock is CRAE's Head of Policy and Public Affairs. She is responsible for ensuring CRAE's human rights advocacy is focused on achieving the fullest possible implementation of the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child in England, and that children and young people are supported to engage in human rights monitoring and activism. Sam began her career working in communications at the Imperial War Museum, after which she became the Education Co-ordinator at The Who Cares? Trust, a charity working with children in care. Prior to taking up her post at CRAE, Sam was the Regional Development Manager at Partnership for Young London, providing strategic development advice to youth services and organisations across the capital. Sam has a Masters degree in Medieval History.

Legal

Katy Swaine – Legal director

Katy qualified as a solicitor in 2000 and started her career acting for individuals and businesses in commercial and employment disputes.  In 2003 she moved into the voluntary sector, joining the national drugs charity Release where she provided legal services for those affected by drug use.  Katy joined CRAE in 2007 to set up our new legal department, with the remit of using legal advocacy to help CRAE achieve its aims.  Katy leads on CRAE's strategic litigation work, co-ordinates the campaign for the incorporation of the UNCRC into UK law and runs our advice service for children on human rights and equality law.

Sabeena Kistnah – Legal policy and membership officer

Sabeena supports CRAE's legal advocacy and is responsible for expanding CRAE's membership. Before joining CRAE in 2007, she worked for the Foreign and Commonwealth Office. Sabeena has a degree in Politics and International Relations.

Susie Talbot – Legal officer

Susie is CRAE’s legal officer and focuses on strategic litigation, the provision of advice for children on human rights and equality law, and other legal advocacy connected with children’s rights. After qualifying as a solicitor in Australia, Susie began her career in intellectual property/general commercial litigation before completing an LLM in International Development and Human Rights in 2007. Since that time, Susie has worked with various NGOs that act on behalf of individuals experiencing human rights violations, with a particular focus on the use of international human rights norms to effect change at a local level.  

Office management and administration

Safiyyah Muhammad – Campaigns administrator

After leaving school, I embarked upon my journey in higher education, where I began studying Psychology at the University of Warwick. After just a year, I felt that this particular line of study wasn’t one I wished to pursue. During a year out, I was made aware of the opportunity to work with the Children’s Rights Alliance for England. The role called to mind some volunteering activities that I had taken part in at 6th form, such as peer mentoring and organising activities to help make learning an exciting experience for children.

I was interested in working for CRAE because, as a young person, I was previously unaware that children had specific rights as outlined in the UN Convention. CRAE is on the front line lobbying government, ensuring that rights are not breached. I also believe that the participation aspect of getting children directly involved in decisions that affect them is pivotal to their protection and allowing them to have confidence and opportunities to learn and gain a brighter future.

Sue Marris – Office manager

Sue started at CRAE in 2006 and is responsible for the organisation's finances, office administration and for personnel matters. Her previous jobs include working as an actuarial officer at the Government Actuary's Department and as the statistician at the Arts Council of Great Britain before she moved to work in the charity sector. She then worked as centre manager of a community centre, as tenant liaison officer for a housing association and then as office manager at a drop-in centre for families of children with disabilities. She has a degree in Economics with Econometrics and an MA in Arts Administration.

You can email individual staff using the follow format:
initial and surname@crae.org.uk
Example: hcampbell@crae.org.uk

Volunteers

CRAE's work is supported by policy and legal volunteers who help with our campaigns, research. administration and advice service.  Read our volunteer policy.  CRAE is an equal opportunities employer.

CRAE is not currently recruiting volunteers.  Please contact Katy Swaine if you would like to be added to our mailing list to receive information about future volunteering opportunities.