2025 Speakers

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.

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, bringing Romany stories to life through art, film and exhibition.

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, she inspires communities to value Romanichal heritage and foster cultural pride for future generations.

Born in the Czech Republic, Daniel experienced firsthand the harsh realities of life as a Roma child. Fleeing persecution, he moved to England with his mother and brother as a refugee, eventually settling in Bradford. His family continues to play an active role in Roma advocacy and culture across the Czech Republic and 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. He is now a visionary Roma leader, advocate and social entrepreneur, having founded Connecting Roma C.I.C. to provide culturally sensitive support and challenge the systemic barriers faced by Roma communities.

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

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

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 investigations including pesticides, asbestos and flood preparedness.

Katharine also writes books ranging from fiction to non-fiction and children’s titles. 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 examined the human rights context behind the eviction of Dale Farm in 2011. She has since written about the poor location of authorised sites in the UK and its impact on residents’ health.

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 shortlisted for national awards in inclusion. His work is grounded in co-design, ensuring communities shape the programmes they take part in.

Michael is also 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.

Investment Director at Impetus, where she currently leads the Impetus Leadership Academy — a development programme supporting 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, including roles as Deputy Headteacher and Acting Headteacher, leading strategic direction, staff development and whole-school operations. She has also published a report investigating the factors influencing the departure of Black and Ethnic Minority senior leaders from schools, contributing to the discourse on diversity and representation in education leadership. Roxanne also serves as a Trustee at Education Support, the only UK charity dedicated to the mental health and wellbeing of teachers and education staff.

A career civil servant for 25 years, working in the DTI and its predecessors for 16 years, primarily on economic development and EU Cohesion Policy, with periods on the domestic agenda. Simon moved to MHCLG in 2016 to work on delivery of the England European Regional Development Fund.

In 2023, Simon was asked to set up the Community Cohesion Unit and is now Head of the Unit’s Area Teams. His portfolio includes coordinating HMG’s policies affecting Gypsy, Roma and Traveller communities. Simon holds a BA in Philosophy from UCL and is currently studying for an MA in Systems Thinking at Exeter University.

We’re currently planning our 2026 Traveller Movement schedule.

If you’re interested in getting involved please visit our main conference page and get in touch with the team.