The Membership Council

The Membership Council comprises members elected from and by the members of the association. Its composition aims to reflect the different regions of the world and a gender balance. The Membership Council meets once a year to approve the audited accounts. It approves the organisational strategy and any elections to the Board. Members of the Membership Council are unpaid. Only actual expenses, such as travel expenses to attend meetings, are reimbursed.

The Board

The Membership Council elects from its members a Board which includes the Chair, Deputy Chair, Secretary General and Treasurer. The Board meets at least three times a year. The Executive Director reports to and is evaluated by the Board and takes part in its meetings. The Board approves the appointment of the external auditor and the budget.

PRI Membership Council

Dr Catherine Appleton (Chair)

Member of the Membership Council since 2020, Deputy Chair since December 2021, Chair since January 2026

Dr Catherine Appleton is Senior Research Fellow at the Centre for Research and Education in Security, Prisons and Forensic Psychiatry at St Olav’s University Hospital, Norway, and Principal Research Fellow at the Institute of Law, Lithuanian Centre for Social Sciences. She is also Research Associate at the Human Rights Law Centre and the School of Sociology and Social Policy, University of Nottingham, UK, and Co-Director of the international research group prisonHEALTH. She has over 20 years of experience in academic research, policy development, and international human rights advocacy.

Catherine is internationally recognised for her pioneering research on life imprisonment and human rights. She is widely published, including Life Imprisonment: A Global Human Rights Analysis (with Emeritus Professor Dirk van Zyl Smit), awarded the 2020 outstanding book awards from both the European Society of Criminology and the Division of International Criminology of the American Society of Criminology; Life Imprisonment and Human Rights (2016) and Life after Life Imprisonment (2010), awarded the British Society of Criminology Book Prize. Her scholarship has made a significant contribution to global debates on alternatives to the death penalty, extreme sentencing, punishment, rehabilitation and reintegration. She has advised and collaborated with civil society organisations, governments and international bodies on prison reform and human rights compliance. Her work has informed policy and practice across multiple regions, particularly in relation to long-term, extreme sentencing and life imprisonment.

Catherine brings to PRI her extensive expertise as a researcher and advocate on human rights in prisons, supported by strong international networks and long-standing engagement in the field. She has worked closely with PRI on life imprisonment initiatives in Armenia, Georgia, Kazakhstan, Moldova and Tajikistan, and has contributed to PRI’s international advocacy efforts at regional and UN levels. Through her role on the Membership Council, she supports PRI’s commitment to advance humane, rights-based, and evidence-informed penal reform globally.

Rob Wansink (Treasurer)

Member of the Membership Council since June 2026, Treasurer since July 2026

Professor Fergus McNeill (Secretary General)

Member of the Membership Council since 2025, Secretary General since January 2026

Professor Fergus McNeill is Professor of Criminology and Social Work at the University of Glasgow, with over 35 years of experience spanning academic research, policy advisory roles and front-line social work. His earlier career includes ten years working in residential drug rehabilitation and criminal justice social work, which laid the foundation for his academic focus on rehabilitation, desistance from crime and reintegration.

Fergus is widely published and known for pioneering research on community sanctions, supervision and penal reform. His 2018 book Pervasive Punishment was awarded the European Society of Criminology Book Prize and is considered a landmark in modern penology. He is currently leading and collaborating on major research projects exploring penal supervision and reintegration across Europe and internationally.

He has served in leadership roles across academic and civil society organisations, including as Chair of the Board of Trustees of the Howard League for Penal Reform, and as a co-opted Board member of the Confederation for European Probation. Fergus has advised national and international bodies including the Scottish Parliament, UN agencies, and the EU.

He brings to PRI his deep commitment to reducing imprisonment and criminalisation, particularly through decolonising penal reform efforts. Fergus joined the Membership Council to contribute his expertise and learn from PRI’s global partnerships and people-centred approach to reform.

Dr Josephine Ndagire (Deputy Chair)

Member of the Membership Council since 2025, Deputy Chair since January 2026

Dr Josephine Ndagire is a Ugandan lawyer and academic with over 18 years of experience in criminal law, international human rights law, and transitional justice. She currently lectures at the School of Law, Makerere University, where she teaches courses in criminal justice and legal reform. She holds a Doctor of Juridical Sciences from Emory University (USA), a Master of Laws from the University of Notre Dame (USA), and a Bachelor of Laws from Makerere University (Uganda).

Dr Ndagire has held senior roles in academic and legal institutions across Uganda, Germany and the United States and also worked with the Foundation for Human Rights Initiative and served as Programme Officer at the International Association of Women Judges in Washington, DC.

A prolific author, she has published widely on issues such as conflict-related sexual violence, transitional justice and the criminal justice system in Africa. Her book National Redress for Gendered International Crimes has contributed significantly to global scholarship on gender and justice.

Through her work with regional and international organisations—including the African Commission on Human and Peoples’ Rights, the International Society for Human Rights, and Penal Reform International—she brings extensive expertise in legal reform and advocacy for rights-based justice systems.

Michelle Carpentier

Member of the Membership Council since 2020

Michelle Carpentier is a criminologist and the former Executive Director of the International Corrections and Prisons Association (ICPA). She is currently Chair of the ICPA Practice Transfer Advisory Committee (PTAC), which highlights and promotes best practices from jurisdictions around the world. Michelle brings extensive knowledge to PRI, working in criminal justice settings and promoting fair and effective corrections worldwide. Her experience in corrections is an asset to PRI’s work with prison and probation staff globally and the skills and insight developed in her roles within the leadership of the Correctional Service Canada, the International Corrections and Prisons Association (ICPA), and as a corrections advisor with the United Nations peacekeeping mission in Haiti, are an invaluable contribution to strategic decisions at PRI.

Michelle shares the same values as those of the organization and brings over 35 years of correctional experience, from frontline officer to senior executive. During her international work, she saw first-hand the devastating effects of imprisonment, especially in poor conditions where human rights sometimes appear to have been forgotten. This is one of the main reasons why she joined PRI’s Membership Council. She truly believes that every individual, regardless of where they come from or what they have done, deserves to be treated fairly, with humanity and needs opportunities to better themselves.
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Suzanne Jabbour

Member of the Membership Council since 2020

Suzanne Jabbour is Executive Director of Restart Centre for Rehabilitation of Victims of Violence and Torture and Chair of the United Nations Subcommittee on the Prevention of Torture. She has also been member of the Board of the International Rehabilitation Council for Torture Victims (IRCT), which she chaired from 2012 to 2016.

Suzanne brings important technical expertise to PRI on prison health, mental health in prisons, as well as on preventing of torture and ill-treatment in places of detention and strengthen PRI’s policy and accountability work, and its engagement with international and regional mechanisms, at a time we need the United Nations and regional systems to pay attention to criminal justice more than ever. Her experience as Executive Director of Restart Centre also brings valuable insight to PRI’s governance and strategy.
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Dr Dmitry Nurumov

Member of the Membership Council since 2018

Dr Dmitry Nurumov is Director of the Legal Policy Research Centre Kazakhstan. He is a licensed defence lawyer. He serves as key expert in multiple EU-funded projects in Kazahkstan and has occupied a number of positions with the United Nations, OSCE, the Council of Europe and other international bodies, as well as non-governmental organisations.

Ambika Satkunanathan

Member of the Membership Council since 2025

Ambika Satkunanathan is a Sri Lankan human rights lawyer and researcher with over two decades of experience working on justice reform, penal policy, and the rights of marginalised groups. She currently serves as a global consultant and advisor on human rights, drug policy and penal reform and has held roles with the UN Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights, Stanford and Berkeley Universities, and Harm Reduction International. She served as a Commissioner at the Human Rights Commission of Sri Lanka from 2015 to 2020, where she led a national prison study and oversaw monitoring of detention sites.

Ambika holds degrees in Law and Politics from Monash University and a Master of Human Rights Law from the University of Nottingham. Her publications span human rights, transitional justice, and criminal justice reform. She has long engaged in regional and global coalitions on drug policy, counter-terrorism and poverty decriminalisation and has worked extensively across South and Southeast Asia.

Ambika’s values and work closely align with PRI’s mission, especially regarding the holistic, intersectional and community-centred approach to reform. She has previously collaborated with PRI through the Global Campaign to Decriminalise Poverty and Status and brings strategic and technical expertise as well as strong regional and international networks.

Professor Maiko Tagusari

Member of the Membership Council since 2025

Professor Maiko Tagusari is a Japanese lawyer and academic specialising in criminal justice, human rights and the abolition of the death penalty. She currently serves as a Professor at Tokyo Keizai University and has over 30 years of experience as a legal practitioner and human rights advocate in Japan and internationally.

Maiko has held numerous prominent roles including Secretary-General of the Center for Prisoners’ Rights, Human Rights Advisor to the Tokyo Metropolitan Government, and expert member of key committees at the Japan Federation of Bar Associations, including the Penal System Reform Committee and the Committee on Abolition of the Death Penalty.

She has contributed extensively to policy development in Japan through her work with the Ministry of Justice and civil society, and has been actively involved in litigation and advocacy promoting prisoners’ rights, effective legal defence and criminal justice reform.

An accomplished author and translator, Maiko’s work includes major publications on the Japanese criminal justice system, death penalty policy, and international human rights standards. She has lectured globally and engaged in cross-border advocacy on penal reform, including presentations before international bodies such as the UN and Inter-American Court of Human Rights.

Professor Tagusari brings to PRI deep legal expertise and strategic insight on working with both civil society and governments in conservative contexts. A long-time user and supporter of PRI’s resources, she now contributes her knowledge and experience to further the organisation’s mission as a member of its global Membership Council.

Our Membership Council

The Membership Council

The Board

PRI Membership Council