Meet the Speakers

Roxanne Lashley Allen – Impetus

Roxanne Lashley Allen is an Investment Director at Impetus and currently leads the Impetus Leadership Academy, which is a development programme that supports talent from racialised backgrounds to progress into senior leadership positions in the youth sector. 

Prior to joining Impetus, Roxanne spent over 19 years in the education sector. During this time, she acquired over 10 years of leadership experience including the roles of Deputy Headteacher and Acting Headteacher, and was responsible for leading strategic direction, staff development and whole-school operations.  She has also made a significant contribution to the educational field with the publication of a report investigating the factors influencing the departure of Black and Ethnic Minority senior leaders from schools, thereby elevating the discourse surrounding diversity and representation in education leadership. 

Roxanne is also serving as a Trustee at Education Support, the only UK charity dedicated to supporting the mental health and wellbeing of teachers and education staff in schools, colleges and universities. 

Simon Jones – Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government

Simon Jones has been a career civil servant for 25 years working in the DTI and its predecessors for 16 years. During that time working predominantly on economic development, primarily EU Cohesion Policy, although with periods working on the domestic agenda. Simon moved over to his current department, MHCLG, in 2016 to work on the delivery of the England European Regional Development Fund. In 2023, Simon was asked to set up the Community Cohesion Unit and is the Head of the Unit’s Area Teams, his portfolio includes the co-ordination of HMG’s policies that impact on the Gypsey, Roma and Traveller communities.  

Simon has a BA in Philosophy from UCL and is currently studying for an MA in Systems Thinking at Exeter University. 

Katharine Quarmby – Investigative Journallist

Katharine Quarmby is an investigative journalist, producer and editor, with a keen interest in the environment, environmental injustice and climate change. Over the last five years she has worked with a European journalism team on environmental investigations on subjects including pesticides, asbestos and flood preparedness.

Katharine also writes books ranging from fiction to non-fiction and books for children. Her non-fiction works include Scapegoat: Why We Are Failing Disabled People (Portobello Books, 2011) and No Place to Call Home: Inside the Real Lives of Gypsies and Travellers (Oneworld, 2013), which looked at the wider human rights context that led up to the eviction of Dale Farm in 2011. Since then Katharine has also written about the poor location of authorised sites in the UK and how that has an impact on residents and their health. 

Daniel Balaz – Connecting Roma CIC

Daniel was born in the Czech Republic, where he experienced firsthand the harsh realities of life as a Roma child. Fleeing persecution in the Czech Republic, Daniel moved to England with his mother and brother as a refugee, eventually settling in Bradford.  Despite this history of persecution, Daniel’s family continues to play an active role in Roma advocacy and culture in the Czech Republic and throughout Europe. 

After college, Daniel worked as an NHS Patient Administration Clerk and later held key roles including Customer Service Manager for Santander, Housing Officer for Incommunities, and one of the UK’s leading Roma interpreters, working closely with Children’s Social Care.  

Daniel Balaz is a visionary Roma leader, advocate, and social entrepreneur dedicated to transforming the lives of Roma families across the UK. Drawing from his own heritage and lived experience, Daniel founded Connecting Roma C.I.C. to provide culturally sensitive support and challenge the systemic barriers faced by Roma communities. 

Jabeer Butt – Race Equality Foundation

Jabeer is Chief Executive of the Race Equality Foundation. He has gained an international reputation for groundbreaking work on racism and its impact on health and care inequalities and using evidence to deliver change in systems and the support available to individuals and their families from Black, Asian and minoritised ethnic backgrounds. 

His current work includes being Co-Investigator on NIHR funded randomised control trial of Strengthening Families, Strengthening Communities parenting programme, as well as leading the development of the London Anti-racism Collaboration for Health. 

Meet your Speakers for Panel Two here.

Michael Reilly – Outdoor Sports and Diversity Inclusion Officer

Michael Reilly is an ESF+ Social Innovation in Sport Officer with Longford Sports Partnership, and a recognised EU Expert for the Inclusion of Travellers in Sport. He designs and leads inclusive programmes such as the Urban Horse Project and Sports Introduction Initiative – both of which have been shortlisted for national awards in inclusion. His work is grounded in co-design, ensuring communities themselves shape the programmes they take part in.

Alongside this, Michael is a Roma and Traveller advocate and activist. He chairs the County Longford Drug & Alcohol Forum, is a lead contributor to national research on the barriers and facilitators to physical activity in Travellers and Roma, and serves on several boards, including Sport Ireland’s National Advisory Board on Diversity and Inclusion.

Charmaine Abdul Karim – Pride of Romany

Charmaine Abdul-Karim is a 25th-generation British Romanichal and founder of Pride of Romany, an organisation dedicated to preserving and celebrating the rich heritage of the British Romany people. Drawing on her deep-rooted family legacy, Charmaine is a passionate advocate for cultural preservation, social justice, and representation. She does this through art film and exhibition and generational lived experience, bringing Romany stories to life and ensuring they are seen, heard, and celebrated authentically.

Charmaine works with organisations such as Show Racism the Red Card and Historic England to raise awareness and challenge misconceptions. Committed to empowering women and holding space for others with kindness, she lives by the principle that “everyone is welcome at my table.” Through her advocacy and creative work, Charmaine inspires communities to value Romanichal heritage, foster understanding and cultural pride for future generations. 

Pauline Melvin-Anderson OBE – The Traveller Movement

Pauline, an Irish Traveller and long-time chair of the Traveller Movement, has expertly chaired our conference for many years. She brings extensive expertise in education and is also chair of the Department for Education’s Gypsy, Roma, and Traveller Advisory Group.

Annalise Corcoran – The Traveller Movement

Annalise Corcoran is the Community Development Officer at the Traveller Movement, where she focuses on fostering meaningful connections between community members and service providers. With a deep commitment to addressing the unique needs of the Romani (Gypsy) and Irish Traveller communities, Annalise is currently involved in a crucial mental health project aimed at tackling the mental health and suicide crisis within these communities. 

Her journey into community development and mental health advocacy began after a powerful spiritual experience in Medjugorje, where she found her faith and a sense of true freedom. This transformative moment sparked a personal question: What is true freedom? And am I truly free? Since then, her journey has been one of deep introspection – painful, transformative, yet undeniably beautiful. Motivated by this, Annalise is now studying to become a therapeutic counsellor, hoping that when fully qualified, she can provide direct support to her community, helping individuals navigate their own paths to healing and freedom.