Andrea Bennett worked as a Probation Service Officer in Inner London Probation Service in 1985 before completing a MA in Social Work Studies and Certificate of Qualification in Social Work at Hull University. She has subsequently worked for Greater Manchester Probation Service, Lancashire Probation Trust and London Probation Trust becoming an Assistant Chief Officer in 2004. During her time as a senior manager within Probation, Andrea has managed all aspects of operational delivery as well as leading on business development and stakeholder engagement. In 2012 Andrea was seconded to the Ministry of Justice to work in the central contract management team and in March 2020 took up her current role within His Majesty’s Prison and Probation Service as the Regional Probation Director for the North West.
Lol Burke is Professor in Criminal Justice at Liverpool John Moores University and specialises in the areas of probation research, policy and practice. He has a particular interest in the impact of marketization upon service delivery and way that occupational culture acts out in probation settings as well resettlement provision for released prisoners. As a former probation practitioner, he has experience working in both community and custodial settings. He has published over 30 articles on probation related issues and rehabilitation in general and is co-author of Redemption, Rehabilitation and Risk Management (Routledge 2012), Delivering Rehabilitation: The politics, governance and control of probation (Routledge 2015) and Reimagining Rehabilitation: Beyond the Individual (Routledge 2019).
Steve Collett has been a Trustee since 2014 and is currently the Board Chair. He worked for three North West probation areas over four decades, retiring from Cheshire Probation in December 2010 after ten years as its chief officer. He is an adjunct professor and honorary fellow at Liverpool John Moores University and holds an honoray fellowship at the University of Liverpool. Steve has published widely on probation and criminal justice matters. His most recent publication as a co-editor and chapter contributor is Reimagining Probation Practice: Reforming Rehabilitation in an age of Penal Excess, Abingdon: Routledge (2022)
John Eckersley is a former director of Manchester-based investment house Henry Cooke Group plc and of merchant and private bank, Brown Shipley & Co Ltd, where he was Chief Investment Officer. He has approaching 40 years of professional investment experience. In 2002 he founded Castlefield Investment Partners LLP, with the aim of continuing to specialise in investment for charities. Today, Castlefield is a champion of employee share ownership and manages money for private individuals and the numerous charitable organisations they help to found and run. A common theme is assisting clients to express their ethical principles in the way their money is managed. In his spare time, John is a trustee of a small number of other charities, including the endowment trust of the Halle orchestra, in which capacity he chairs the investment committee.
John Eckersley is a former director of Manchester-based investment house Henry Cooke Group plc and of merchant and private bank, Brown Shipley & Co Ltd, where he was Chief Investment Officer. He has approaching 40 years of professional investment experience. In 2002 he founded Castlefield Investment Partners LLP, with the aim of continuing to specialise in investment for charities. Today, Castlefield is a champion of employee share ownership and manages money for private individuals and the numerous charitable organisations they help to found and run. A common theme is assisting clients to express their ethical principles in the way their money is managed. In his spare time, John is a trustee of a small number of other charities, including the endowment trust of the Halle orchestra, in which capacity he chairs the investment committee.
Chris Edwards qualified as a probation officer in Cheshire in 1992, gaining experience in prison and community settings and developing an interest in delivering group work and the early development of Domestic Abuse interventions. Whilst in Cheshire he became an assistant chief officer with responsibility for, amongst other things, Partnerships and Approved Premises. A secondment to the then National Offender Management Service followed working across the North West to support the Probation Trust agenda. After this secondment, he took up a post as an assistant chief officer in Greater Manchester Probation Trust. At the time of Transforming Rehabilitation, he moved into Cheshire & Greater Manchester Community Rehabilitation Company (CRC) and progressed to the role of Chief Executive of Merseyside and Cheshire & Greater Manchester CRCs in June 2016. From April 2020 he has taken up a role within Her Majesty's Prison & Probation Service as the Regional Probation Director for Greater Manchester.
Roz Hamilton started her career in the Probation Service in 1976 as a volunteer in Bolton, Greater Manchester. Throughout her 41 years service Roz has remained committed to the rehabilitation of people who commit crime and to the protection of the public. Her current role is the Head of Courts for the National Probation Service. This includes working to improve sentencer confidence in the work of the NPS by ensuring the delivery of a quality and informed service to the Courts. Roz has been a trustee of the Rhodes Foundation for 11 years. She is interested in research and development and in particular the application to practice within the NPS.
Ester Ragonese is a National Teaching Fellow and the PQiP (Professional Qualification in Probation) Academic Lead at Liverpool John Moores University and has worked as an academic for over 20 years. Ester, however, started her professional career qualifying as a probation officer in 1990 and as a probation officer she worked in a variety of roles in both community and custodial settings. Throughout her career Ester has maintained a keen interest in the experiences of marginalised populations and has a strong commitment to social justice. She volunteers regularly with homeless people and has worked in a soup kitchen for over 20 years. Latterly her work in a criminal justice context has focussed on the resettlement experiences of those who are incarcerated and she works closely with local prison and community organisations in a research and consultancy capacity to develop practice in this area. Ester also works on projects to support the development and self efficacy of students and learners, to minimise disadvantage at all stages of their learning journey.
Rachel Reed joined the Probation Service in 2006 and has subsequently worked across the Wales, Greater Manchester and North West regions. She is currently the Deputy Head of Public Protection within the North West and holds specific responsibility for prison-based probation delivery. She has significant experience as a case manager and prior to her current role led specialist teams focussed on responding to personality disorder and improving outcomes for women in contact with the criminal justice system. She is a member of the Probation Journal editorial board and is a Griffins Society fellow. Rachel is particularly passionate about the role of research in raising the profile of probation work and the importance of practitioners feeling confident to both lead on and contribute to academic research in the field of criminal justice.
Katherine Self became a Probation Officer in 2001. She is an experienced Senior Probation Officer seconded from the Greater Manchester Community Integration Team into the Greater Manchester Combined Authority. She has a commitment to Public Protection and is interested in research and how this can be applied to the delivery of services to people on probation and the community in which she serves. Katherine was a 2018 Rhodes Scholar completing her scholarship on the Management of Young Offenders in Sweden. She was appointed the Trust's Honorary Secretary in September 2021 and in December 2025 became a trustee.
Cedric Fullwood CBE became a probation officer in Manchester in 1963. After five years working in the Scottish Office he returned to Greater Manchester in 1982 as Chief Probation Officer. It was during this latter period that, in 1989, he established the Rhodes Foundation Trust. He was a founding Member of the Criminal Justice Consultative Council and the Youth Justice Board for England and Wales and was also Chair of the Cheshire Probation Board for 6 years.
Cedric stepped down as a trustee after 30 years and at the invitation of the Board accepted a Life Presidency in recognition of his unique contribution to the work of the Trust including his commitment to setting up the Trust in recognition of the contribution of Lord Rhodes to public life and the work of probation in the North West of England.