Associates

Nisha das, associate

Nisha is a passionate and highly accomplished Gender Equality Specialist with over a decade of experience supporting survivors of domestic abuse, safeguarding vulnerable children and driving social change through innovative strategies. Fluent in Hindi, Gujarati and Bengali, Nisha’s experience encompasses providing support to individuals facing multiple disadvantages, including cases of honour-based violence and those with No Recourse to Public Funds (NRPF). Her expertise encompasses strategic leadership, service commissioning, building safer communities and delivering transformative education on diversity, equity and inclusion.

Cindy gilmore

Cindy has a background in working with children and families with extensive experience in domestic abuse, both working within frontline perpetrator and victim services as a service manager. Cindy has achieved a Certificate in Education and is a skilled trainer with roles with NSPCC, SafeLives and Local Authorities. She is skilled in writing accredited training packages and delivers a range of training committed to safeguarding and improving outcomes for children. Cindy is skilled in assessment, risk management and staff supervision and support. Committed to working through a trauma informed lens, she enjoys supporting people and services to develop strengthen practice. Cindy is currently studying a master’s degree in understanding domestic and sexual violence to enhance her theoretical knowledge in line with her extensive professional experience.

andy ryan

Andy has worked in the social care and charity sector for over 17 years, with experience in mental health services, learning disability services, domestic abuse services and homelessness services. Having worked across the frontline, directly supporting individuals experiencing complex vulnerabilities, he has set up and managed supported housing schemes and floating support services. Since moving away from frontline delivery, he has supported local authorities in the development and implementation of best practice in the multi-agency response to domestic abuse working with the national domestic abuse charity SafeLives. His role within the practice team included conducting Multi Agency Risk Assessment Conference (MARAC) reviews to strengthen responses to the identification and response of high risk domestic abuse. Andy has significant experience in the design and delivery of training, having delivered hundreds of sessions to thousands of attendees over the last seven years.

naomi macmeekin, associate consultant

lucy giles, associate consultant

Lucy has previously worked to set up and manage substance misuse organisations and complex needs services . Lucy brings 30 years of experience in the social welfare sector both frontline and strategically; primarily in mental health, homelessness/housing, substance misuse, complex needs, domestic abuse and sexual violence and was previously Chair of the board of trustees for Somerset and Avon Rape and Sexual Abuse Services (SARSAS) and oversaw its implementation . She is an accredited trainer who has previously delivered numerous training sessions on substance misuse and complex needs as well as writing an OCN accredited course for substance misuse practitioners. She has also got an  MA in ethics of Social welfare.

She has worked for SafeLives since 2010, initially as part of the team delivering the Multi Agency Risk Assessment Conference (MARAC) implementation programme across the UK and abroad, later becoming Marac development officer for the South West and Wales including as the programme lead for Wales for the organisation. She has implemented safeguarding pilots commissioned by Local Authorities and worked with the Wales and Northern Ireland Government to implement good practices in domestic abuse and child protection. Lucy continues to write and develop domestic abuse safeguarding policy and guidance for the voluntary and statutory sector and has delivered training to numerous agencies including; police, health, children’s social care, adult safeguarding amongst others as well as delivering regularly at conferences across the UK.

One of Lucy’s key achievements has been her work developing an accredited course on older people and domestic abuse commissioned by the Home Office and developing a package of work for Bermuda police and health bodies in strengthening their response to domestic abuse and safeguarding. She is currently developing work for the sector on counter allegations and parental alienation. She is a member of the expert advisory group for Pegs which is a national organisation working and researching around young people who cause harm.