Ravi Gurumurthy

He/Him

Ravi Gurumurthy is Group Chief Executive Officer, joining Nesta as Chief Executive in December 2019. Ravi was previously responsible for the International Rescue Committee’s work in designing, testing and scaling products and services for people affected by crisis in over 40 countries - from reducing acute malnutrition and intimate partner violence, to expanding employment for Syrian refugees. Prior to joining the International Rescue Committee in 2013, Ravi held a number of roles in the UK Government, including Director of Strategy at the UK’s Department of Energy and Climate Change and as a strategic advisor to the Foreign Secretary. Across many departments, Ravi led a number of major social and environmental reforms including the development of the world’s first legally-binding carbon emissions targets and the integration of children’s services. Ravi has also worked as a researcher at the think-tank Demos and in local government in London. Ravi writes a fortnightly substack on policy innovation.

Jon Collins

Jon joined Prisoners’ Education Trust as Chief Executive in April 2021, having previously been chief executive of the Magistrates Association. Prior to that, Jon was chief executive of the Restorative Justice Council and he has previously worked at the Police Foundation, the Criminal Justice Alliance, the Fawcett Society and Nacro. Jon is a member of the Victims’ Commissioner Advisory Group and the Commission on Crime and Problem Gambling. He is also a governor of a London primary school.

Surini Ranawake

Surini Ranawake is the Head of Innovation at New Futures Network, part of HMPPS. She leads national initiatives to improve employment outcomes for prison leavers. A specialist in transformation and policy reform, she has successfully delivered major projects, including development of a digital job-matching platform and increasing essential access to banking and ID for prison leavers. She continues to lead high-level engagement with Government Ministers and partnerships with Government departments to shape justice reform. She is a passionate advocate for inclusive leadership and social impact, having begun her career in the charity sector at Comic Relief and BBC Children In Need, before moving to the Civil Service 10 years ago.

Max Dubiel

Max Dubiel Co-founded Redemption Roasters in 2016 with Ted Rosner after they were approached by the Ministry of Justice about setting up a roastery in a prison to train residents and reduce reoffending rates. With twelve coffee shops across London, a roastery in HMP The Mount and barista and technician training academies in HMP Pentonville and HMP Highdown, Redemption Roasters is on a mission to reduce reoffending through coffee. Max oversees the coffee, wholesale and impact teams, working closely with these departments to further the scale of Redemption’s impact and increase sales. He led the recent fundraise in 2024 securing investment from Macquarie, Rothschild & Co and Barrow Cadbury trust.

Nick Hadris

I've been at COOK for 3 and a half years, after coming through the RAW Talent programme, designed for people with barriers to employment, to help them find sustained employment at COOK. My barriers to work included mental health diagnosis', a criminal record including a custodial sentence and homelessness. I had a strong work background including being a regional manager and part of an SLT. I had to rebuild myself emotionally, mentally and physically from the ground up, but since joining COOK, have had 4 promotions in this time and my time is shared between the RAW Talent team, training, coaching, mentoring and buddying new RAW Talents. The reason for my success has been the support given along with inclusive hiring.

Penelope Gibbs

Penelope Gibbs worked in radio production and at the BBC before being inspired to influence social change in the third sector. She set up the Voluntary Action Media Unit at TimeBank before joining the Prison Reform Trust to run the Out of Trouble – a five year campaign to reduce child and youth imprisonment. Under her watch the number of children (under 18 year olds) in prison in the UK fell by a third. Penelope also sat as a magistrate. She set up Transform Justice in 2012. The organisation works to create a fairer, more effective, and more transparent justice system. Furthering this mission, Transform Justice is a co-founder of the FairChecks movement, which campaigns for the urgent reform of the criminal records disclosure system in the UK. In her spare time she enjoys listening to political podcasts and hiking.