Pia joined the Prison Service in 1999 as a Higher Psychologist at HMP & YOI Holloway. After joining HMP Wandsworth as a Senior Psychologist, she took up the post of Head of Safer Prisons, followed... by Head of Reducing Re-offending at HMP Wormwood Scrubs. She then took up her first Deputy Governor role at HMP Send, and subsequently Downview and Liverpool. In 2013 Pia was appointed to her first Governing role at HMP & YOI Thorn Cross, going on to govern at both Risley and Liverpool. In 2020 she became Acting Deputy Director Probation Reform Programme, then the Workforce Programme, before becoming Director of Women in November 2021. Pia’s vision for the Women’s Directorate was to enable safe, compassionate and individualised care for women. In April 2023 Pia became the CEO of the Prison Reform Trust.
Mark Day is Deputy Director at the Prison Reform Trust. He began his career at PRT in 2010 as the charity’s Head of Policy and Communications. Previously he was deputy director of the centre-lef...t thinktank Progress and also deputy editor of Progress Magazine. Before that he was head of communications at the international thinktank Policy Network. Mark has worked in Parliament as a researcher for a Labour MP and also in the parliamentary office of the lobby group Stonewall. He is also Clerk to the All-Party Parliamentary Group on Penal Affairs.
Alex GuthrieOperations Coordinator and Executive Assistant to the CEO
Alex joined PRT in the summer of 2024, and has been handling recruitment processes, data management systems, and office administration alongside his role as Executive Assistant to the CEO. Alex has gr...eat experience in challenging processes, fostering collaboration and working with high-profile clients, charities, and corporate organisations. A skilled problem solver, they are dedicated to delivering exceptional support and ensuring organisational efficiency at all levels. Alex completed their degree in Psychology w/ Criminology at the University of Sussex in 2020.
Edward has been involved in the criminal justice sector for 10 years, and took up the role of Head of Development at PRT in 2024. He is a published editor and writer on issues of criminal justice (esp...ecially as they intersect with faith), a trustee of the Welcome Directory, and the Chair of Sing Inside. Before joining PRT Edward spent a number of years in the Business Development team at The Forward Trust, moving to become Head of Philanthropy at St James’s Church, Piccadilly, working on a £20m capital campaign. He holds an MSc in Criminology and Criminal Justice from Oxford and an MA in Theology from Durham.
Alice is an experienced Trust Fundraiser who has worked with multiple charities in the health and social welfare sector. Prior to her start in fundraising, Alice volunteered with various non-profit or...ganisations as a student at the University of Nottingham where she obtained a BA in Religion, Philosophy and Ethics.
Charlotte Story is the Head of Operations at PRT. Her role includes the oversight of governance, HR, finance and IT and office facilities. Prior to this role, Charlotte was Senior Fundraising Manager ...at PRT, responsible for income generation, relationship management and impact reporting. Charlotte also has experience of working on the advice and information service at PRT, responding to queries from and advocating on behalf of prisoners. Charlotte has over 20 years experience of working in the voluntary sector with a focus on criminal justice, with previous roles at Prisoners’ Families and Friends Service, managing volunteers supporting families at courts and running the Witness Service in a magistrates’ court for Victim Support. Charlotte volunteered as an appropriate adult for seven years and has been secretary of her local residents’ association and school PTA. She currently sits on the executive committee of her local residents’ association with a focus on voluntary fundraising and events planning.
Alex Hewson is Policy and Communications Manager at the Prison Reform Trust. He has previously worked in the Ministry of Justice’s Women’s Policy Team and in Parliament. He has responsibil...ity for producing the Prison Reform Trust’s Bromley Briefings Prison Factfile, and supporting work with the media and policy development.
Emily EvisonSenior Policy and Communications Officer (women's programme lead)
Emily previously worked on the Transforming Lives, reducing women’s imprisonment programme and is now the policy lead for women at PRT.
Sophie Ellis is the Research Manager at the Prison Reform Trust. Sophie has held various academic research roles and prior to that, she worked for almost a decade in HM Prison and Probation Service Ps...ychology Services. After leaving the prison service, Sophie was active in the campaign to reform the IPP sentence, alongside the families of people serving IPP sentences. Her interests are in the moral and ethical landscape of prison establishments, forms of indefinite sentencing, the role of risk management in prisons, and the impact of prison law, policy and professional culture on prisoners’ experiences.
Lottie graduated in 2026 with an MPhil in Criminology from the University of Cambridge, following a BA in Human, Social, and Political Sciences specialising in Criminology and Sociology. She is intere...sted in the personal and political legitimacy of imprisonment, and wrote her postgraduate thesis on prisoners’ experiences seeking accountability from and within the prison system. This research focused on experiences of injustice as they are self-defined, which is reflective of Lottie’s belief in the importance of prioritising the faithful representation of prisoners’ lived experiences in both prison research and policy.
Grace BarryHead of Practitioner and Prisoner Engagement
Grace Barry is Head of Practitioner and Prisoner Engagement at the Prison Reform Trust. Grace holds extensive experience in lived experience engagement and co-production, built through leadership role...s at national charities and her own consultancy. She has worked across a broad range of groups with diverse lived experiences including, homelessness, addiction, mental ill health, food poverty, abuse and involvement with the criminal justice system. Grace’s approach is grounded in her passion for learning and connection and her belief that meaningful engagement — with practitioners and prisoners — should be seen, not as a ‘nice to have’, but a responsibility.
Ryan manages the Prison Reform Trust’s Advice and Information team, which is a small service for prisoners to access information on prison rules, prison conditions and life in prison. Prior to joini...ng PRT in 2015 Ryan managed the delivery of resettlement services in prisons for St Giles Trust, including the Housing Information and Advice Service (HIAS) in HMP Wandsworth as well as some services implemented under the Transforming Rehabilitation agenda. Ryan also spent about 5 years working for frontline homeless services in London, offering advice and support for vulnerable people looking for accommodation and employment.
Laura is a PRT fellow assisting the charity in responding to developments in youth justice policy. She also provides ad hoc support to PRT in its wider work on criminal justice policy and legislation....
Laura is a solicitor specialising in prison law, criminal appeals, community care, mental health and public law. She has particular expertise in representing children, young adults and vulnerable people in detention in both penal and mental health settings. She was appointed an Honorary KC in March 2025.
Laura is a consultant solicitor at Scott-Moncrieff & Associates Ltd and GT Stewart Solicitors & Advocates.
Laura is a visiting academic at South Bank University in the law department. She has a professional doctorate in youth justice.
Laura is a board member the Legal Aid Practitioners’ Group and a trustee of Hammersmith and Fulham Law Centre in her capacity as a councillor in Hammersmith and Fulham. She is also a trustee of the National Association for Youth Justice.
She is the chair of the Association of Prison Lawyers. She is also a committee member for the Mental Health Lawyers’ Association, the Criminal Appeal Lawyers’ Association and the Law Society’s Criminal Law Committee.
Laura founded Young Legal Aid Lawyers in 2005 and she received both the 2010 Liberty Human Rights Young Person of the Year award and the 2009 Young Legal Aid Lawyer of the year award on behalf of the group. In 2006 she was named Young Legal Aid Solicitor of the year. In 2012 she was listed by the Guardian as a lawyer to watch. In 2019, Laura was awarded Solicitor of the Year by the First 100 Years’ Inspirational Women in Law Awards. Laura worked at the Howard League for Penal Reform from 2005 to 2022 and was its legal director from 2017 to 2022.
