Austerity & Advice Conference Hull

Debra has been the Chief Executive of the Directory of Social Change (DSC) since 2001. She is a trustee of In-Kind Direct, a patron of the Charity Staff Foundation and Vice Chair of Governors of WhiteKnights Primary School. She was a member of the Charity Commission's SORP Committee and is a Fellow of the Royal Society for the encouragement of Arts, Manufactures & Commerce (FRSA). She is also a member of the Royal Institution and Liberty. She was the founder Chair of the Small Charities Coalition.

After a brief stint in the private sector Debra has spent most of her career in the charitable sectors, carrying out a range of roles at all levels, including campaigning, policy development, sales, product development, media relations and training. She spent some 14 years as a voluntary Trade Union Officer, a year working with Youth at Risk - an organisation that works to rehabilitate young people who suffer severe social disadvantages - and was the first female Programme Director of the Runge Effective Leadership programme.

Damon Gibbons is the Director of the Centre for Responsible Credit, a dedicated policy unit focused on credit regulation, over-indebtedness, and financial inclusion issues within the Centre for Economic and Social Inclusion ('Inclusion').

Damon has more than twenty years experience of providing, designing, and commissioning services to meet the needs of disadvantaged groups and communities and has been involved in consumer campaigns at the national level on issues of credit, debt, and financial exclusion for well over a decade. His book, 'Britain's personal debt crisis: how we got here and what to do about it', has recently been published by Searching Finance.

Colin Low - Lord Low of Dalston, CBE. Former Chair, now Vice President of RNIB, and President of ICEVI (International Council for Education of People with Visual Impairment), Colin Low (CBE) taught Law and Criminology at Leeds University, before becoming Director of the GLC's Disability Resource Team. He then carried out research into theories of disability as Senior Research Fellow at City University, and was appointed to the House of Lords in 2006.

He was a member of the Special Educational Needs and Disability Tribunal (1994-2007); the Disability Rights Task Force (1997-1999); and the Disability Rights Commission (2000-2002), and now chairs the Low Commission on the future of advice and legal support on social welfare law.

Dr Mick Wilkinson, Lecturer in Social Justice in the School of Social Sciences, Hull University.

At the national level, Dr Wilkinson has researched anti-poverty strategies, youth homelessness, the impact of the Social Fund and The Children's Fund, and the economic and social impacts of immigration. His most recent work, undertaken as a Permanent Associate of the Wilberforce Institute for the study of Slavery and Emancipation, has focused on contemporary slavery, gangmasters and worker exploitation.

Regionally, he has contributed to research into devolving local governance, refugees, asylum seekers and migrants in Yorkshire & The Humber, service provision for Traveller communities and the economic and social contribution of the voluntary sector. He has undertaken research locally into neighbourhood management and the local area committees, the role of elected members in the democratic process, and the voluntary sector and local compact. He also collaborated on a study of 'race' relations in the City. Mick is a regular contributor to media discussions on social justice issues

Karl Turner MP for Hull East

Karl was born and bred in Hull and is proud to be the first Hull born MP to represent the city since William Wilberforce. He completed his Legal education by obtaining a Bar Vocational Qualification which allowed him to be called to the Bar in 2005. He joined Wilberforce Chambers and worked as a Barrister prior to being elected to Parliament in 2010.

Since being elected Karl has served on the Justice Select Committee and the Home Affairs Select Committee. Having formerly been the Opposition Assistant Whip, Karl now holds the post of Shadow Solicitor General. Karl has campaigned heavily to stop the Government's cuts to Legal Aid and is the Chair of the All Party Parliamentary Group for Legal Aid.

Alan Moore, Author and Activist

Alan was born in Northampton in 1953, in an area known as The Burroughs. Now, well known for his writing, he is an outspoken advocate for the working classes. The image of Guy Fawkes (illustrated by David Lloyd) taken from his graphic novel V for Vendetta has been widely used by both the Occupy and Anonymous movements, becoming a symbol of a desire for political change worldwide.

Working locally with campaigners in relation to cuts in housing, services, and support for people in his home town, Alan often uses the platform provided by his prominence in his chosen field to call for changes in how poverty and the working classes are treated by local and national government. He has also collaborated with Occupy, contributing to both their magazine and records.

Dr Dan Roper GP & Chair Hull Clinical Commissioning Group

Dan was born in Hull. After graduating at Edinburgh University he completed his GP training in Hull. He has been a local GP for 27 years and is currently GP Principal at Springhead Medical Centre.

Dan cares deeply about improving the city's health and has a long history of working with local organisations to promote health issues and equality of opportunity.

His areas of clinical specialty are cardio-vascular and minor surgery. He has been involved in medical education for many years, particularly in the area of sports medicine, and has a long association with the local amateur boxing scene.

Mike Dixon, Assistant Chief Executive of Citizens Advice

Mike is Assistant Chief Executive at Citizens Advice, where he leads on policy research and campaigns, news, strategy, data, digital, communications and fundraising.

Mike has previously worked in the Prime Minister's Strategy Unit, as Special Adviser to the Secretary of State in two Whitehall departments, and in senior roles in the charity and private sectors.

You can follow Mike on twitter @mikedixonCABce.

Lesley Thornley is the Chief Executive of the Hull and East Riding Citizens Advice Bureau - a Bureau serving the communities in an area spanning almost 1000 square miles. The Bureau operates from 4 permanent offices across Hull and the East Riding and a further 32 outreach venues. The CAB employs 66 staff and has over 190 volunteers.

Prior to joining the CAB, Lesley was a Director of two national charities - the Refugee Legal Centre and The Industrial Society. Lesley is a Trustee of the Directory of Social Change and is on the Advisory Panel for the University of Hull's Legal Advice Centre

Kate Winstanley, Project Manager, Quids In Project, Hull & East Riding Citizens Advice Bureau

Kate started with the CAB as a volunteer at the Withernsea Bureau in the late 90s, after looking for an escape from the restrictions of a life on benefits that would also fit in with two small boys. The opportunities for training and personal development that CAB provided, led to paid employment. From 2000 - 2013 Kate worked in the field of asylum and immigration law, first at Hull CAB and later as supervisor of the Immigration Law Department at Hull Community Legal Aid Centre.

Kate recently returned to the Bureau to lead the Quids In Project, working with communities to build financial resilience and reduce financial exclusion. Kate is particularly interested in building capacity within the NfP sector, especially in working together to face the challenges of austerity measures.

Find local information and advice providers

Events

Austerity & Advice, How the advice sector can positively impact on poverty and wellbeing

6th August 2015

Hosted by Hull & East Riding Citizens Advice Bureau, for and on behalf of the Advice Forward Partnership Hull and East Riding.