Board members

The AYM board members meet every six weeks and are made up of representatives from across the country. It comprises the following people:

Adrian Quinn

Adrian Quinn, AYM Treasurer has managed Youth Offending teams in three different areas - Solihull and Manchester, and since 2005 has managed Bristol YOT. With a background in both the Probation and Prison Services, Adrian has a strong belief in value of the distinctive multi agency contribution that YOTs have brought to the criminal justice system and to prevention work over the last decade which is now being replicated in adult services. An original member of AYM, and a former executive rep for the West Midlands, Adrian has a strong commitment to AYM as the unique voice representing both YOT managers and local YOT partnership boards at national level. Adrian took over as treasurer in May 2011 and wants to contribute to ensuring that AYM is guided by members interests and wishes and meets the best standards in meeting those needs and representing the membership.

Life Member

Amrik Panaser

Additional Executive Member
Oxfordshire

Andy Peaden

Andy Peaden
Head of Service, Leeds Youth Offending Service

Andy started his career working as a volunteer with Northumberland Probation Service in 1987. He became an Intermediate Treatment worker with Blyth Valley Juvenile Justice team in 1988 and qualified as a Probation Officer in 1991 working in a range of different locations for both Greater Manchester and West Yorkshire Probation services, including 3 years as manager of St John’s Voluntary Probation Hostel in Leeds.

Andy left Probation to go back to the world of Youth Justice in 2003 becoming the South Yorkshire ISSP consortium manager. He became Sheffield YOT manager in 2005 and Assistant Director for Youth Services in Sheffield 2010. In 2011 Andy was seconded into Sheffield Futures (an independent charity delivering Youth services and Connexions) as Chief Executive where he remains a trustee. He moved to Leeds to take up his present position in 2012

Andy’s interests are family, sport, music and travelling; he is desperately clinging onto his 5 a side career and probably spends far too much time watching football and cricket.

Yorkshire & Humberside

Charlie Spencer

My career in youth justice started in 1994 when I was employed as a bail support worker in Birmingham. Having spent 18 months in this role, I was successful in becoming a youth justice social worker; progressing to senior social worker within 13 months. I have predominately worked throughout my career in diversely populated deprived areas, that has fed my passions to address the over representation of blacxk youth within the criminal justice.

In 1999, I was successful in obtaining funding from the YJB to set up the Black Young Persons initiative across Birmingham to seek to address these issues in partnership with west midlands Police and the Association of black lawyers. I combined the role of project manager, with the Deputy team manager’s role within one of Birmingham’s 5 YOTS. I then subsequently progressed to become the Project Development Manager for Birmingham YOS, which was subsequently regarded to Preventions and Development Manager. I held a number of responsibilities within this role including; setting up and managing the Pilot youth inclusion and support panels, Anti-social behaviour, Gang related violence and gun crime, plus the YOTS diversionary activity programme.

I left my most recent role in Birmingham Youth Offending Service, as Prevention’s Development Manger in February 2006 to take up the role of Youth Offending Service Manager in Sandwell to improve the YOTs overall performance. I am an elected committee member of the National Association for Youth Justice, where we set up the Black Youth Justice forum, and a member of the Association of YOT managers. I still maintain links with the voluntary and community sector, assisting where I can to ensure that collectively as a community we can address the over-representation of black youth in the criminal justice system, and tackle the issues of guns and gangs in our community.

Additional Executive Member
Sandwell

David Stonehouse

David was one of the founders of the AYM and served as its Secretary for the first five years until he retired in 2005. David was the first Yot Manager in the London Borough of Havering and prior to that was an Inspector in the Metropolitan Police.

Hon Life Member

Gareth Jones

Gareth started his career working with offenders in the early 80s, in the voluntary sector. He qualified as a Probation Officer in 1990 and worked in various locations across Manchester and Salford, particularly specialising in multi-agency crime prevention initiatives. He joined the fledgling Manchester YOT in February 2000 and developed Restorative Justice and Referral Panels across Manchester. He joined Lancashire YOT in 2003 as Deputy Head of Service before taking the helm at Halton and Warrington in 2005.

Outside of work, his passions are family, football and fast motorcycles. He also indulges his interest for travel and good food and wine. Extremely occasionally all those passions coincide!! Happy days!

Head of Cheshire West
Halton/Warrington

Hannah Doughty

North West

Hazel Williamson

started my career working as a detached youth worker within Staffordshire. I then qualified as a social worker in 2000 and began working for Birmingham Youth Offending Service as part of the court team. I joined Stoke-on-Trent Youth Offending Service in 2001 and developed the Intensive Supervision and Surveillance Programme. During my time in Stoke-on-Trent I have been a case manager, team manager and gained the Head of Service role in 2010. I am often heard to say “it’s time for a new challenge” but I still have a strong passion for youth offending and in particular the city of Stoke-on-Trent.

Outside of work my passion apart from my family is dancing! I teach Latin dance and I am a keen salsa dancer. My other weakness is good food and wine and I’m a sucker for a fancy wine bottle.

West Midlands

Ian Langley

Ian is a qualified Social Worker, who started his career in 1982 working in a variety of residential settings with young people until 1995. Since then he has respectively worked as a Child Protection Social Worker, Probation Officer and Youth Justice Worker. The latter with the Wessex Youth Offending Team, where he eventually became the Area Manager for North Hampshire.
In 2001 he took up a secondment to the Youth Justice Board as performance monitor to the SE and Eastern Regions, before returning to the Wessex Yot 18 months later as their Performance and Information Manager. In June 2004 Ian became Head of Wiltshire Youth Offending Service and in 2009 he returned to head up Wessex Yot.

In April 2012 following the disaggregation of Wessex Yot Ian became the Head of the new Hampshire Yot. In July 2012 he took up a three year secondment from that role to lead the new Supporting Troubled Families Programme in Hampshire. Ian is a self-confessed sports nut, football, cycling and table-tennis are sports he still participates in or at the very least spectates.

Secretary - Hampshire

Joel Hanna

Joel has worked within the youth justice system since 1992, initially starting as a volunteer Appropriate Adult. Since that time he has undertaken a variety of roles including residential work, various case management roles within youth justice and worked as a Children's Rights and Advocacy worker. Since 2003 Joel has progressed through different management and leadership roles whilst moving between authorities until being appointed as the Head of Service for Sheffield YJS in 2010. Joel holds a Professional Social Work Qualification, Qualifying Law Degree LLB (Hons) and a Diploma in Management undertaken throughout his career through part time study. He is an active member of the Youth Justice Sector Improvement Group and a trained peer reviewer having both led and participated in peer reviews of Youth Offending Services across the country.

Assistant Secretary

John Drew CBE

Retired as the Chief Executive of the Youth Justice Board in April 2013. John was the first non Yot Manager to be made an Honorary Life Member of the AYM in recognition of his support of the AYM whilst in that role.

The AYM was delighted to learn that John Drew was made an Honourary Life Member of the AYM in April this year has been awarded a CBE in this years Queens Birthday Honours for his services to youth justice. John retired as the Chief Executive of the Youth Justice Board in March 2013 and was very supportive of the AYM whilst in that role. His award is well deserved.

Hon Life Member

Jon O'Byrne

Jon has a wide experience of criminal justice since 1984, having worked in London as a police officer, Wales and Norfolk as a probation officer and senior probation officer, including a prison secondment. He joined Luton Youth Offending Service as Deputy Head before becoming the Head of the Youth Offending Service in Northamptonshire in 2009. He has an MA in Social Work and an MBA. He is also chair and trustee of a small housing charity for ex-offenders.

East and East Midlands

Lesley Tregear

Vice Chair

Lorna Hadley

Further details to follow

Life Member

Louise Hill

I am a qualified Social worker and worked for the probation service for 20 years, starting my career in Inner London as an assistant probation officer. I qualified in Leicester and then went on to work for Cleveland and Northumbria Probation Trusts. I worked in all areas of the service including courts, prison, group work, case management, quality assurance and management. In 2009 I left to join the PCT and set up the Integrated offender management unit in Sunderland. I have been working for Sunderland Youth Offending Service as Head of Service since November 2011.

Outside work I enjoy squash and running, and have recently completed my first marathon. In 2011 I also climbed Kilimanjaro.

Sunderland YOT

Mike Rees

Mike has been the North Somerset YOS Manager since October 1999 – leading in the development of a multi-agency Service which encompasses statutory and early prevention targeted projects.

Mike has many years – and still counting ! – experience in management, practitioner and support worker roles in a variety of Probation, including Family Court Welfare, and youth justice settings. He has held branch/executive roles in trade union, professional associations and charities.

Mike is committed to the concept of YOTs holding the tension between child/family welfare and public protection, and contributing to a range of partnerships including the current development of integrated youth support services.

Mike is convinced of the value of AYM providing another significant voice in the market place of ideas and practice development.

Tel: 01275 888360

South West

Nick Wilkinson

Nick is assistant head of integrated youth services for Kent County Council, heading up one of the largest youth justice teams in England. He has extensive experience in criminal justice and partnership working. He is currently the vice chair of the Kent Criminal Justice Board and co-chair of the Kent Prevent Board. He was previously a police officer for over 30 years, retiring as an Assistant Chief Constable with Sussex Police. Nick was a member of the Association of Chief Police Officers (ACPO) Children and Young Persons Group and ACPO Drugs Committee undertaking national responsibilities in these areas, including being the ACPO member of the Children's Interagency Group and National Participation Forum. In 2010 Nick had chief officer responsibility for introducing and implementing community resolutions, a restorative approach for Sussex Police. He is a Fellow of the Chartered Management Institute and chair of governors at a large East Sussex primary school. And a disillusioned Arsenal supporter!

South East

Pam Vedhara

North East

Pat Jennings

Pat Jennings has worked within local authority youth/children services for the last twenty years and is currently the Head of Tameside Youth Offending Team, having moved there in February 2009 from his former post as Head of Walsall Youth Offending Service.


Previous to working within youth justice system, Pat was a Senior Youth and Community worker, who specialised in International Youth exchanges and the development of intercultural learning materials for European youth workers, sports, and youth crime diversion programmes.

Pat has also sat on the national executive of his former union the Community and Youth Workers Union as the black caucus representative and was an active local member.

Tel. No. 0161 342 7680

North West

Pete Dennis

Pete has been a social worker for over 25 years and spent the last 18-years specialising in youth justice. He has vast experience of working with children/young people and family services across the whole spectrum of social care in both the UK and Australia. He is especially interested in trying to reduce custodial sentences for young people, particularly amongst young women, minority ethnic groups and care leavers.

Pete is clear about the value of the Association’s role in youth justice. He says: “It provides a real opportunity to influence policy-making decisions and ensure the service views young offenders as young people first. It is important to help inform the public on all aspects of youth justice and the contribution communities can make locally.”

Away from his work Pete has plenty of interests including: classic cars, flying, sailing, walking, gardening, music and supporting Lincoln City FC as An ardent “Red Imp”.

Hon Life Member

Stuart Johnson

Stuart qualified as CQSW/MA in Applied Social science in 1982 at Warwick University, having studied Sociology (BA Hons) at Newcastle upon Tyne Polytechnic.

He began his career as a residential social worker in Oxfordshire between times and had worked in the voluntary sector and in Industry ICI, British Steel) before gaining his degree.

Since 1982 he has worked for several North East London Boroughs always holding youth justice cases and became manager of Newham’s Court Team, and subsequently Youth Justice team, between 1990 and 1999 before becoming Tower Hamlets first YOT manager, a position he still holds

London

Terry Gibson

Treasurer
Devon