Paul Kelly
Chair
Paul Kelly joined PET as Chair in February 2024. He has a background in the private sector, including as Vice-President (Corporate Affairs) at Asda Walmart and Group Corporate Affairs Director at Compass Group.
He has previously been a Trustee of The Lowry in Salford, a Board Member at the School Food Trust and Chair of Phoenix Dance Theatre.
More recently, Paul has managed the Ministry of Justice-funded Engaging People on Probation project and volunteered for St Giles Trust. Paul has lived experience of the criminal justice system.
Sally Burnell
Sally is the Director of Communications for the Bar Council – the representative body for the barrister profession in England and Wales.
Sally has communications and campaigning experience across the membership, charity, and not-for-profit sectors. She previously worked for Nacro, the social and criminal justice charity and, during that time, volunteered as a prison visitor.
Sally studied politics and parliamentary studies at the University of Leeds and later completed the NCTJ certificate in newspaper journalism. She has worked in Westminster, the Senedd, and local government.
Ola Daniel
Ola is a former solicitor and a trained counsellor who currently works as a certified project manager specialising in business and organisational change management.
Due to her personal experience, Ola developed a passion for rehabilitation having realised that a lot of people in prison, especially women, had little or no education, training or literacy skills.
Ola strongly believes that education is the key that opens the golden door of freedom – emotional, psychological, financial and physical – and effectively reduces reoffending.
She was the first member of the PET Trustee Development Programme and became a full member of the board in 2022.
Jo Easton
Jo has worked in policy, communications and research roles for various charities in the justice and human rights sectors, including INQUEST, the Human Rights Clinic at Essex University, the Magistrates Association, the Independent Monitoring Board and Lay Observer (IMB/LO) Secretariat and Unlock.
She completed a PhD in Human Rights Law, which looked at the participation of bereaved families in investigations following deaths in custody. Her thesis was published as a book. She currently works as a consultant and career coach.
She is very excited to be on the PET board as she knows how transformative education can be for people facing discrimination due to their criminal record.
Judith Feline
Having spent most of her career in local government and the third sector, Judith joined the Prison Service in 2009. She worked in five prisons, in various roles, before becoming Governing Governor of HMP Maidstone. Judith has seen first hand the positive change that the opportunity to learn new skills can have on those in custody. Retiring from the Prison Service in April 2022 gives Judith the chance to pursue particular interests and she is delighted to be able to work with PET as a trustee.
Emily Giles
Emily leads the Criminal Justice Programme at The Bell Foundation, working to remove barriers to justice and rehabilitation for speakers of English as an additional language. Before this she oversaw the MOJ Covid-19 response grants programme at Clinks, led the policy and communications team at Adfam UK, and worked as Voluntary Sector Coordinator at HMP Wandsworth.
She has an MSt in Criminology, Penology, and Management from Cambridge University, and an MSc in Politics and Communication from LSE. During the Covid pandemic she has been learning Spanish, and hopes to one day work in the Mexican criminal justice system.
James Killen
James is a doctoral researcher in mental health and human rights issues and holds an LLM in International Human Rights Law. Previously he served in the armed forces, has deployed on operations in a mental health support role and has experience of working with literacy mentors and adult learners.
Simon Mellor
Honorary Treasurer
Simon Mellor
Honorary Treasurer
Simon is a Chartered Accountant and Corporate Treasurer who has worked for several years in housing, care and support in senior management roles, primarily in finance and treasury. Prior to joining the housing sector, Simon worked in accountancy practice in audit and corporate finance. Simon is currently Executive Director – Finance and Development for Rochdale Boroughwide Housing who own and manage over 12,000 homes in the borough of Rochdale, Greater Manchester with responsibility for finance, procurement and the delivery of regeneration plans.
Ken Merry
Ken is currently principal and chief executive at York College, with responsibility for leading the largest college in North Yorkshire, working closely with businesses and civic partners to drive forward the local skills agenda.
He was previously the deputy principal and deputy chief executive at York College with responsibility for curriculum, quality, and student experience. Before joining his current college, he was the vice principal for quality at Barnsley College and one of Her Majesty’s Inspectors for Ofsted, inspecting a wide range of providers including the education provision in Prisons.
It was during prison inspections he developed his interest in ensuring that the most vulnerable people in our society have access to high quality learning opportunities and recognised the importance of the role that PET have in the prison education landscape.
Vicki Mulligan
Vicki is the Deputy Director of the Centre for Justice Innovation, a not-for-profit organisation that champions innovative practice and reform across both criminal and family justice. Prior to this role, Vicki started her career as an English teacher in mainstream secondary education and, after undertaking various senior leadership positions in this setting, she moved into offender learning where she managed the education provision at Wetherby Young Offender Institution.
Vicki also gained experience of education service delivery in adult custodial settings through her secondment to HMP Newhall, a closed women’s prison in Wakefield.
Oluseun Sowole
Oluseun is a dedicated community advocate with a sound understanding of the criminal justice system and extensive experience supporting vulnerable individuals.
At St Giles Trust, a nationwide charity known for supporting vulnerable people, Oluseun has held various roles, from caseworker to Team Leader. He has worked alongside NHS teams and school mentors to support young people affected by exploitation, mental health issues and serious violence. He has trained professionals in safeguarding, spoken at the Home Office on youth violence, contributed to police training on gang-related crime, and continues to volunteer in his local community.
A recent participant in the ELEVATE CJS leadership programme, Oluseun continues to champion education, justice and positive change. He completed the PET Trustee Development Programme and became a full board member in 2025.
Richard Ward OBE
Deputy Chair
Richard Ward OBE
Deputy Chair
Richard retired from the Civil Service in 2019 having spent his last 14 years working on prison education policy. He was involved heavily in the 2011 John Hayes/Crispin Blunt review of prison education and a member of Dame Sally Coates’ team during her 2016 review. Richard’s policy responsibilities also included learning difficulty and disability, and disadvantaged learners in general. Prior to this Richard had a variety of finance and procurement roles in the Department for Education. His career began in customer-facing roles in the Employment Department. Richard has other trustee roles and is a school governor.
