Team & Governance
IDPC's governance model comprises three core elements: the Board of Directors, the Members' Advisory Council and the IDPC Secretariat's Team.
IDPC Secretariat
The IDPC Secretariat comprises staff and consultants based around the world. The Secretariat is responsible for the day-to-day work and management of the organisation, reporting to both the Board and the MAC.
Ann Fordham
Executive Director
Ann Fordham directs the work of IDPC, leading on the coordination and development of the network. Ann was appointed as Executive Director in 2011. She joined IDPC in 2008 as the first coordinator of the network and in that time has grown the network from 32 to more than 195 organisations. Ann leads on international advocacy efforts on drug policy and human rights, specifically calling for reform of laws and policies that have proven ineffective in reducing the scale of the drug market and have negatively impacted marginalised population groups such as people who use drugs and growers of illicit crops. She represents IDPC at international events and works with policy makers and civil society partners around the world to review and shape drug control policies towards more humane, effective approaches that are based in principles of human rights and public health. Ann was the Chair of the Strategic Advisory Group to the United Nations on drug use and HIV from 2017 to 2023. She is regularly invited to comment on global drug policy issues in the media. She has a Masters Degree in Human Rights from Sussex University where she specialised in human rights and harm reduction.
Jamie Bridge
Chief Operating Officer
Jamie is IDPC’s Chief Operating Officer, and joined the Consortium in 2012. He provides key support to the Executive Director in managing secretariat operations and finances, and coordinates the Harm Reduction Consortium project for the Robert Carr civil society Networks Fund. Jamie is the Chair of the Vienna NGO Committee on Drugs (VNGOC), and a Steering Group member for the National Needle Exchange Forum in England (having been Chair of the Forum for several years). Prior to joining IDPC, Jamie has worked in Geneva as a harm reduction technical expert at the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria, and at Harm Reduction International in London. Jamie started his career working in a harm reduction service in the UK, and has an MSc in drug policy and a BSc in psychology.
Adrià Cots Fernández
Research and Advocacy Officer
Adrià joined IDPC in March 2020, to work on research, advocacy, and civil society capacity building. Prior to that, he worked for Harm Reduction International, Amnesty International, and the European Parliament, always with a focus on international advocacy and human rights.
Alice Pomfret
IDPC Policy & Communications Assistant
Alice joined the IDPC Secretariat as Policy & Communications Assistant in March 2023. She recently completed an MA in Global Criminology at the University of Utrecht, where she wrote a thesis on the complex and evolving amphetamine-type stimulant market in Myanmar. Prior to that, she studied Law at the University of Sheffield, including a year the University of Oslo with a focus on international law and human rights. Alice has previously interned with the Drugs and Democracy department of the Transnational Institute, and has written pieces for Release’s online news platform TalkingDrugs.
Coletta Youngers
Regional Associate: Latin America
Coletta Youngers provides regional coordination in Latin America for IDPC, representing IDPC at major events, bringing the network together to consult on IDPC priorities, disseminating publications and communications in the region, and recruiting new IDPC members in Latin America. In addition to her work with IDPC, Mrs Youngers is a Senior Fellow, at the Washington Office on Latin America (WOLA) where she has worked since 1987. She monitors, analyses and disseminates information on political developments, human rights and US policy in the Andean region of South America, with special expertise in US international drug control policy. Before working at WOLA, Coletta was the Project Manager at the Peru-Chile Office of the Catholic Relief Services from 1985 to 1987, where she developed, monitored and evaluated rural and urban development and human rights projects by Peruvian NGOs. She earned a Masters’ Degree in public affairs at the Woodrow Wilson School at Princeton University.
Dave Bewley-Taylor
Associate
Dave Bewley-Taylor is Senior Lecturer and Director of the Global Drug Policy Observatory within the College of Arts and Humanities at Swansea University, UK. He teaches a number of courses on various aspects of politics and international relations, including drug policy, and has published widely in both academic and grey literature on a variety of drug policy issues. Dr Bewley-Taylor is currently an Associate Fellow of the Transnational Institute’s Drugs and Democracy Programme and coordinates the Global Drug Policy Observatory. He has previously acted as a consultant for the Beckley Foundation Drug Policy Programme and was the founding secretary (2006-7) of the International Society for the Study of Drug Policy. Since the establishment of IDPC, Dr Bewley-Taylor has published sole and joint authored reports and project managed a number of publication streams, including those involving input from many IDPC members.
Gloria Lai
Regional Director, Asia
Gloria Lai most recently completed a double Masters programme in Public Policy that was split between the Central European University in Budapest and the Institute of Social Studies, Erasmus University in The Hague. Prior to that, she worked as a senior policy advisor in the Illicit Drugs Section, Australian Government Attorney-General’s Department and the Law Enforcement Strategy Division, Australian Customs and Border Protection Service. She also holds undergraduate degrees in Law and Asian Studies (Chinese). Gloria leads on IDPC’s Asia regional programme, and is based in Bangkok, Thailand. She previously worked as a senior policy advisor on law enforcement and drugs, and as a lawyer, for the Australian Government.
Juan Fernández Ochoa
Campaigns and Communications Officer
Juan Fernandez Ochoa is Campaigns and Communications Officer at IDPC. He leads on the development of the Support. Don't Punish campaign and works closely with the Head of Research and Communications in maintaining and expanding the organisation's communication channels. Before joining IDPC, he was Policy Officer at the Beckley Foundation, carrying out research and overseeing the development of two major reports on drug policy and regulation. He previously held communications roles at the Calouste Gulbenkian Foundation (UK Branch) and DrugScience (formerly known as ISCD). He holds a double Masters degree in European Studies from the London School of Economics and Sciences Po.
Maria-Goretti Ane
IDPC Consultant: Africa
Maria-Goretti Ane is the Africa Consultant for International Drug Policy Consortium. She represents IDPC at regional events, and also serves as a focal point for IDPC networking and advocacy work in West Africa. Maria-Goretti Ane is a lawyer with special interests in human rights and drug policy reforms. She has previously worked as a Research Assistant and later became a Project Coordinator with the Institute of Statistical Social and Economic, University of Ghana. Maria-Goretti has done numerous human rights volunteer work with people who used drugs and human rights groups including representing drug users who are in conflict with the law.
Shannon Mortimer
Senior Finance Officer
Shannon Mortimer joined the IDPC team as the Senior Finance Officer in October 2022, bringing with her 20 years of experience in financial management. Shannon was born and raised in a small village just outside of Durban in South Africa, and moved to England in 2020 with her husband and two children.
Unchisa (Un) Eaimtong
Asia Programme Officer
Un provides administrative, financial and communications support to IDPC’s work in Asia and is keen to broaden her knowledge in policy advocacy. She has prior experience in development programme and refugee assistance with international organisations.
Marie Nougier
Head of Research and Communications
Since 2008, Marie Nougier has been responsible for the communications and publications work stream of IDPC, and also engages in networking, civil society capacity building activities, and policy advocacy engagement, in particular at the Commission on Narcotic Drugs. Marie is also supporting IDPC’s activities in Latin America, where she helps coordinate a project to reduce the incarceration rate of women for drug offences. Marie is also a member of the Core Group of the EU Civil Society Forum on Drugs. Her language skills in English, French, Spanish and Portuguese have constituted a valuable asset for the development of a multilingual centre of expertise at IDPC. Marie has a Masters’ Degree in international law, human rights and the law of armed conflicts. Before working at IDPC, she worked on issues related to compulsory drug detention in South East Asia at the World Health Organisation, as well as immigration, racism and police brutality in Western Europe at Amnesty International.
Members' Advisory Council
The MAC is elected by the IDPC membership and is responsible for the strategic direction of the organisation. This larger group also contains two Directors from the Board, to ensure coordination between the two structures. It also comprises designated representatives from the different regional and thematic constituencies within the IDPC network.
Charanjit Sharma
South Asia (Indian Drug Users' Forum)
Charan Sharma brings nearly two decades of professional experience in the fields of drug use, HIV/AIDS, and human rights of people who use drugs. As an activist is associated with the global Harm Reduction movement. Founding member and currently advisor to Indian Drug users Forum (IDUF). He started his association with harm reduction as peer educator in 2000 and now working as Program Manager of Drug use & harm reduction with Alliance India. He has been key members of developing guidelines for harm reduction in India and beyond. Recently has been instrumental in advocating with India CCM in securing 10 million USD from Global fund for direct support specifically for HIV KP for emergency needs during and after effect of COVID-19.
Ganna Dovbakh
Eastern Europe & Central Asia (Eurasian Harm Reduction Association)
Ganna is Executive Director of Eurasian Harm Reduction Association based in Lithuania and uniting 335 organizations and activists from 29 countries of Central, Eastern Europe and Central Asia for a progressive human rights-based drug policy, sustainable funding advocacy, and quality of harm reduction services responding to needs of people who use drugs. Ganna is originally from Ukraine, and holds an MA in Social Psychology and MA in Culture Studies. Ganna is a well-known community trainer, human rights activist and social programs expert. In all projects, she is keen to transform social systems to overcome totalitarian, colonial, and repressive views on people and social care in post-soviet countries, specifically in drug policy.
Geoff Ward
Networks of people who use drugs (INPUD)
Geoff has been involved in the drug user movement in Australia for over 30 years. Currently he works for the peer-based Canberra Alliance for Harm Minimisation and Advocacy (CAHMA) as the Policy, Advocacy and Peer Support Worker. He produces a weekly radio show “News from the Drug War Front” that airs on Community Radio 2XX. He is Vice Chair of INPUD.
John Walsh
North America (Washington Office on Latin America)
John Walsh is the Director for Drug Policy and The Andes, for the Washington Office on Latin America (WOLA). A frequent commentator on drug policy developments in the USA and Latin America, John Walsh has been quoted in The New York Times, The Washington Post, The Wall Street Journal, The Associated Press, National Public Radio, and numerous television and international news outlets. He has worked extensively on the question of drug treaties with relation to cannabis, co-authoring the report “Cannabis Regulation and the UN Drug Treaties: Strategies for Reform”, as well as “Marijuana Legalization is an Opportunity to Modernize International Drug Treaties”. In addition to his congressional testimony, publications and press appearances, John has organized and spoken at numerous US and international conferences. Prior to joining WOLA, he served as Director of Research at Drug Strategies and worked at the Center of Concern on the “Rethinking Bretton Woods Project,” an effort to forge consensus on ideas for reform of the World Bank, the International Monetary Fund, and international trade arrangements. John received a B.A. in Theology from Georgetown University (1986) and an M.A. in Public Policy from the Johns Hopkins University (1997).
Katrin Schiffer
Western & South East Europe (Correlation - European Harm Reduction Network)
Katrin studied social work in Germany and moved to the Netherlands in 1994 . Since then, she has worked in several organisations and projects targeting drug users and sex workers. Since 1996, Katrin works for The Rainbow Group – a low-threshold organisation targeting drug users, homeless people and people with mental health problems. In the beginning, she worked as an outreach and social worker for male sex workers and drug users. From 1997 to 2003, Katrin coordinated a European Network focusing on male sex work, financed by the European Commission. Since 2005, Katrin is one of the coordinators of Correlation – European Harm Reduction Network, with more than 250 members in all European countries. The network organises different European projects, activities, seminars, conferences and training events in the area of harm reduction, social inclusion, peer involvement and Hepatitis C among drug users. In 2011, Katrin graduated graduated at the Netherlands School for Public and Occupational Health as a Master of Public Health (MPH).
Kunal Naïk
Sub-Saharan Africa (DRIP)
Kunal is the Harm Reduction and Drug Policy Advisor for DRIP, a Mauritian-based NGO focusing on empowering young community leaders on evidenced based prevention, programmes and policies. His advocacy work has focused mainly on HIV, Harm Reduction, Drug Policies, and Key Populations. He was the chair of the Mauritian Country Coordinating Mechanism (MCCM), which oversees the Global Fund Grant to fight AIDS in Mauritius from 2014 to 2021. He is a member of the High Level Drugs and HIV Council of Mauritius. Kunal is a psychologist specialized in addiction.
Michelle Wazan
Middle East and North Africa (Skoun)
Michelle Wazan is the Drug Policy and Advocacy Department Manager at Skoun, Lebanese Addictions Center. She holds degrees in political science and international law and has been advocating for drug policy reform in Lebanon for the past four years.
Nang Pann Ei Kham
South East Asia (Drug Policy Advocacy Group)
Nang Pann Ei Kham is a medical doctor from Myanmar. She has experience and expertise in public health, harm reduction and drug policy reform work across South East Asia. After graduating from the University of Medicine in Yangon, she also received a Master of Public Health from the Mahidol University in Bangkok. As a Hubert Humphrey Fellow, she studied drugs and alcohol prevention and treatment at the Virginia Commonwealth University in the USA. She is now working as a coordinator of a national network called the Drug Policy Advocacy Group (DPAG), composed of like-minded activists advocating for health, development and rights focused drug policies and practices. In addition to the coordination and advocacy work, her strengths include working and empowering affected communities such as people who use drugs, people living with HIV, youths and opium farmers etc.
Olivia Rope
International organisations (Penal Reform International)
Olivia Rope was appointed as Executive Director of Penal Reform International in 2020, having joined the organisation in 2012 and previously leading on policy and international advocacy. She is an expert on a range of human rights and criminal justice issues, having authored key publications and training materials for PRI and worked extensively with UN and other institutional actors and partners. Previously, Olivia worked at Amnesty International. She completed her LLM in International and European Human Rights Law at the University of Amsterdam in 2008 and was admitted to the High Court of New Zealand as a Barrister and Solicitor in 2009.
Paula Aguirre
Latin America and the Caribbean (Elementa)
Paula is a Colombian lawyer with more than 5 years of experience in human rights, drug policy and transitional justice. She participated in the diploma course on drug policy, human rights and health at CIDE in México. She is currently the director of the Elementa office in Colombia.
Penelope Hill
Oceania (Harm Reduction Australia)
Penelope Hill is a representative of Harm Reduction Australia, Harm Reduction Victoria, YouthRise and Students for Sensible Drug Policy Australia. She currently works within drop-in and mobile NSP programs in Melbourne, Australia. Penelope holds a Masters of Public Health and is currently studying a Masters of International and Community Development.
Róisín Downes
Youth (Students for Sensible Drug Policy)
Róisín Downes is the Executive Director of Students for Sensible Drug Policy International. In her role, she supports chapters in over 30 countries to advocate for drug policies based on human rights & harm reduction from the campus level to both national & international levels. Róisín began her involvement in drug policy in 2015 as a chapter leader, and upon graduation became the Global Program Coordinator of SSDP. In 2020 she founded SSDP International in Vienna, Austria in order to create distributed decision-making processes & to access better funding sources. During the last two years, SSDP International has developed small grants programs & countless training programs to build capacity. Róisín has led 2 delegations of young people to the Commission on Narcotic Drugs, giving members from over 13 countries access to high-level decision making. She has also played a key role in the Paradigma Coalition, organising joint side events at the CND and coordinating the Decentralised E-Conference for Support. Don't Punish. Róisín has just begun a level 8 certificate in Global Youth Work & Development Education.
Sai Lone
Representative of farmers of crops deemed illicit (Transnational Institute, TNI)
Sai Lone is the second-generation descendant of an opium farming family from Eastern Shan State, Myanmar. He is currently working as a consultant with the Transnational Institute’s Myanmar Programme. He is the founder and senior adviser of the Myanmar Opium Farmers’ Forum (MOFF) – a peasant movement platform to give voice to the concerns and convey the political demands of opium farming communities in Myanmar. He has long-time working experiences as senior national programme coordinator with UNODC and international development organizations which helped opium farmers in their attempts to find alternative livelihoods without relying on the income derived from opium farming.
IDPC Board of Directors
The Board of Directors is appointed to be responsible for the financial and legal oversight of the organisation, in line with the national company and foundation laws. Directors may or may not be IDPC members or individuals working in the field.
Vicki Hanson
IDPC Board member - Chair
Vicki Hanson is a member of the Cannabis Commercial and Medicinal Research Taskforce (CCMRT), and a Committee Member of Ganja (Future) Growers & Producers Association. Vicki is the Secretary of the St. Catherine Ganja Growers and Producers Association. Vicki Hanson is also a PhD Candidate in Public Policy at the Department of Government, University of the West Indies (Mona). Her research work is aimed at exploring the public policy issues to be resolved in establishing a legally regulated cannabis (ganja) industry in the Caribbean, using Jamaica as the case study.
Donald MacPherson
IDPC Board member - Vice Chair
Donald MacPherson is one of Canada’s leading figures in drug policy and advocates drug policies based on principles of public health, scientific evidence, human rights and social inclusion. He is currently the Director of the Canadian Drug Policy Coalition a national coalition of organizations and individuals working to improve Canada’s drug policies. He is involved in drug policy work at local, national and international levels. Formerly he was North America’s first Drug Policy Coordinator at the City of Vancouver where he worked for 22 years. He is the author of Vancouver’s groundbreaking Four Pillars Drug Strategy, which called for new approaches to drug problems based on public health principles and the appropriate regulation of all psychoactive substances. MacPherson is currently Adjunct Professor in the Faculty of Health Sciences at Simon Fraser University in Vancouver Canada.
Ernestien Jensema
IDPC Board member
Ernestien Jensema is a social anthropologist who has been working on drug policy reform since 2002. In 2008 she joined the Drugs and Democracy Programme at the Transnational Institute in Amsterdam as researcher and project coordinator. Together with her colleagues she advocates for evidence based drug policies guided by the principles of harm reduction and human rights for users and producers.
Jane Waterman
IDPC Board member
Jane Waterman has over 14 years’ leadership experience working in complex global organizations at senior executive level in Europe and the US, and over 4 years’ experience as an Executive Coach and Consultant. Jane began her career working with VSO and the British Council with assignments in Botswana and Tanzania. She then spent 11 years working for international NGOs focussed on the fight against HIV/AIDS, leading global teams in external relations spanning Europe, the US and Africa. Jane moved to the International Rescue Committee (IRC) in 2014, where she served as Senior Vice President Europe, and Executive Director, IRC – UK and lead the development and implementation of IRC’s first Europe Strategy driving income from £100 million to £144 million in three years. Over the last 4 years Jane has worked with not-for-profit organisations in Europe and the US as a consultant on strategy leadership and fundraising, and as an Executive Coach with individuals and teams in the not -for -profit and the private sectors. She is committed as a coach to supporting clients to be the best they can, whilst working with them to develop the resilience and behaviours they need to excel. Jane holds a BA (Hons), an MA in Gender and Development, a Postgraduate Certificate in Education, a Post Graduate Certificate in Personal and Business Coaching and a Certificate in Fundraising Management. She is an accredited Coach with the International Coaching Federation (ACC).
Rupert Markland
IDPC Board Member
Rupert Markland is Managing Director of Rutherglen Consulting Limited and a Chartered Accountant. He has an extensive range of management consulting experience across several businesses including consumer goods, travel and business services. Most recently he has specialised in developing growth strategies in the international education sector.
Smriti Rana
IDPC Board member
Smriti Rana has worked extensively in the field of palliative care in India since 2000 and more recently in the South East Asian Region. She advocates for the ‘Principle of Balance’ especially for the Global South, which seeks to ensure safe access to essential opioids for pain relief and other medical and scientific purposes, while preventing inappropriate use and diversion.
Tomás A. Chang Pico
IDPC Board member
Tomás A. Chang Pico is a lawyer specialised in international law, human rights, and international development cooperation. Despite his young age, he has experience in providing technical, strategic, and organisational advice to civil society organisations across Europe, Latin America, Africa, and Southeast Asia. He firmly believes that using criminal laws and the use of force by law enforcement authorities should be strictly limited when it comes to drug policies, and that the best alternative to the so-called 'war on drugs' is a radical liberalisation agenda based on human rights, democratic values, and progressive social justice.