CLAIRE JENKINS
Co-Chair
Claire is a Non-Executive Director of Inside Job Productions and a member of the UK Advisory Board of Board Apprentice, and formerly a Non-Executive Director of Frasers Group plc and Retro Classics Fund, as well as being a Co-Chair of Amicus. Prior to building her non-executive portfolio, her most recent executive role was as Group Director, Corporate Affairs, responsible for the company’s sustainability and communications activities, and a member of the Executive Board at Rexam PLC, a leading global beverage can maker (acquired by Ball Corporation in 2016). Prior to that she was a member of the Management Board of international tobacco company Gallaher Group Plc (acquired by Japan Tobacco in 2007) where she was responsible for investor relations and Group planning. Claire has also gained corporate experience in various consulting roles, including as co-founder of an investor relations consultancy in the mid-1990s, and at Laing & Cruickshank. She began volunteering for Amicus in 1993, became a Trustee in 1996 and Co-Chair in 2006.
JOANNE CROSS
Co-Chair
Jo is a solicitor and worked in-house for BP for 22 years where she headed up the London based Dispute Resolution Team managing substantial disputes for the BP Group across the globe. She is also a CEDR accredited mediator. Jo trained and qualified at London law firm Slaughter and May and later practiced as a Dispute Resolution specialist at Herbert Smith before joining BP. Prior to this she studied Mandarin Chinese at St. John’s College, Oxford University and spent several years as a commodity trader specialising in Chinese commodities before becoming a lawyer. She has considerable experience in human rights law and advises on human rights issues in the business context. Jo has a longstanding commitment to pro bono work and in particular to providing fair representation to those facing the death penalty. She was one of the founding directors of the Andrew Lee Jones Fund and is also a trustee of the Caribbean Capital Cases Trust. She has represented several Caribbean death row inmates in their appeals to the Privy Council in London.
Keith Boak
Trustee
Trustee
Keith Boak is a BAFTA and IVCA award winning Film/TV Director and Licensed California attorney. He has a Master’s degree in Law (specialization in Human Rights) from UCLA and Bachelors in Law from University of Bristol UK, He has directed at the Royal Court Theatre, Lyric, Soho and Almeida Theatres and the Royal National Theatre, London and was original pilot Director on the widely acclaimed BBC revival of the classic science-fiction series DR WHO (BAFTA best TV drama series 2005). He has directed television drama extensively for the BBC, ITV and C4 in the UK and for AMC, WGN America, Sundance Chanel, SYFY and ABC/Shondaland in the United States. He is currently a state Public Defender in Ventura County, California.
HANNAH GORMAN
Trustee
Trustee
Hannah is a dual-qualified attorney (UK: solicitor-advocate and US: New York) and licensed mitigation specialist in Florida. She is the director of the Balanced Justice Project and works within the Florida Center for Capital Representation at FIU Law Clinic, Miami, USA. She previously practiced criminal and public law in the UK and spent time in Mississippi, Louisiana, Texas and Oregon working on capital cases. More recently, she spent time working in South-East Asia and the Middle East focusing on similar types of work. She has worked with the United Nations, European Union, foreign governments and local legal teams to provide effective assistance to those facing the death penalty around the world. Hannah is a former Amicus intern and committee member responsible for Amicus training. She has sat on the charity’s intern interview panel and assisted with its casework. She is now an Amicus Trustee. She has also helped to write a number of amicus curiae briefs to the US Supreme Court where international law has been relevant.
SEYMOUR LIGHTMAN
Trustee and Treasurer
Seymour joined Amicus in 2023. Seymour currently works for Belron International where he is responsible for external financial reporting and technical accounting, providing guidance and support to the group's business units across a wide range of transactions and commercial scenarios. He is a chartered accountant, having trained as an auditor and has held a number of head office management roles in which he has specialised in group financial reporting, systems transformation and governance. Seymour has worked at both large listed and private-equity backed businesses and has particular expertise in accounting for complex transactions and financial instruments.
CLAIRE BUTLER
Trustee
Claire is the Pro Bono & Social Impact Manager - Americas at Clyde & Co. She is an England & Wales qualified lawyer and has been an Amicus volunteer in a number of different capacities for the last 16 years. She has lived and volunteered on capital cases in New Orleans on 3 occasions, presented on different legal topics at Amicus’ biannual training sessions, sat on our intern interview panels and managed pro bono casework. She joined Amicus’ Board of Trustees in 2023. Having first qualified into commercial practice, Claire spent a number of years as a lawyer at the Government Legal Department before moving to the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office. Claire moved into Pro Bono management sphere in 2021, first for Simmons & Simmons and then for Orrick, Herrington & Sutcliffe. In April 2023, Claire was appointed to her current role at Clyde & Co, where she manages the pro bono and social impact practice of 26 offices across the US, Canada and Latin America.
RUTH TAYLOR
Trustee
Ruth has built a career working with organisations across the world to help find solutions to a range of workforce related challenges and supporting and advising them through change. Ruth is currently Global Head of Client Development at Hays. With an Honours degree in modern languages from the University of Liverpool in the UK, her experience spans talent acquisition, talent consulting, growth strategies and commercial development. Based in the UK, in her spare time she teaches yoga and spends as much time as she can in the sea on her paddleboard. Ruth joined the board of trustees in 2023.
MANDY GILL
Trustee and Company Secretary
Mandy has vast leadership experience in the charity sector and is the General Counsel and Director of Legal Services at Ciarb, and has previously held the Head of Legal post at The British Red Cross Society and the NSPCC. Mandy’s work has led to changes in the law to protect some of the most vulnerable in society. She is recognised globally for her work in Governance, Risk and Compliance. She joined the Board of Trustees in 2023.
