The Steering Committee

Professor Tom Schuller

Chair of the PLA Steering Committee

In his role as Chair, Professor Tom Schuller (MA, PGCE, DrPhil) oversees every aspect of the PLA Steering Committee, chairing quarterly Committee meetings, and ensuring that PLA functions with a valuable independent voice at its heart.

Tom brings to the PLA significant academic expertise in adult education, alongside a long-standing interest in prison education. In the last decade, he has directed the UK national inquiry into the future of lifelong learning (IFLL) and co-authored its final report, Learning Through Life (NIACE – now Learning and Work Institute, 2009); been the principal editor of UNESCO’s 3rd Global Report on Adult Learning (2016); and published a book on how and why women’s competences are under-rewarded (The Paula Principle). He has chaired the governing board of the Working Men’s College in Camden for eleven years and is a visiting professor at the UCL Institute of Education and the University of Wolverhampton. Tom also served as a member of Prisoners’ Education Trust (PET)’s Learning Matters Advisory Group from 2012.

Marianne Quick

Bargaining and Negotiations Official (Prisons and Sustainability) at UCU

Mitch Albutt

Deputy Governor at Cardiff Prison

Mitch joined the prison service in 1987 as a prison officer at HMP Chelmsford working with long term young offenders.

After specialising in physical education, Mitch began teaching PE at HMP Bedford. He then moved to HMP Bristol, where he worked as a Senior Officer, before working as Head of Residence at HMP Eastwood Park. Mitch was promoted to Principal Officer (Custodial Manager) and transferred to HMP Bullingdon.

Mitch moved to Cardiff prison, where he set up the new Offender Management Unit. He was then promoted and performed other roles including Head of Reducing re-offending, Head of Residential, Business change lead and Head of Security. Mitch then went to Swansea prison, to take up the role of Deputy Governor.

Following a promotion, Mitch took up post as Deputy Governor at Cardiff prison.

Mitch is a bit of a foodie and loves exploring the great outdoors with Andrea and “Frog” (who is a dog rescued by the RSPCA).

Ian Merrill

CEO of the Shannon Trust

Ian is CEO of the Shannon Trust, a charity that works across prisons in England, Wales and Northern Ireland, enabling people in prison who can read, to mentor those that cant. Ian has an operational background in substance misuse services, criminal justice, homelessness and mental health, and a track record in business development through competitive tendering, fundraising and corporate partnerships. Ian has held senior roles at national charities and joined Shannon Trust from Tempo, where as CEO he led the development of a social currency used to increase volunteering and social action across England & Wales.

Jon Collins

Chief Executive at Prisoners' Education Trust

Jon joined Prisoners’ Education Trust as Chief Executive in April 2021, having previously been chief executive of the Magistrates Association. Prior to that, Jon was chief executive of the Restorative Justice Council and he has previously worked at the Police Foundation, the Criminal Justice Alliance, the Fawcett Society and Nacro. Jon is a member of the Victims’ Commissioner Advisory Group and the Commission on Crime and Problem Gambling. He is also a governor of a London primary school.

Maria McNicholl

Development Manager at St Giles Trust

Maria McNicholl, BA, PGCE, MA is Development Manager at St Giles Trust.

She has been involved in the Prisoner Learning Alliance since its inception because she sees first-hand the powerful and positive change education can make in prisons. She has worked for St Giles Trust developing their prison based projects for 17 years and started their first flagship “Peer Advice Project” at HMP Wandsworth in 2002 training prisoners to NVQ Level 3 in Advice & Guidance and supporting them to provide advice and guidance to their peers. This programme is now delivered in 30 prisons in England and Wales and has been developed in the community to provide opportunities for people with lived experience to work in our sector. She has also contributed to pan-European projects transferring the peer model into different settings such as training peer mentors in the Roma Community in Budapest.

She has a PGCE and MA, with distinction, in prisoner education from the Institute of Education, UCL. Her work with the PLA enables her to be part of the “bigger picture” and contribute to overall strategy and development in prisoner education which is an invaluable opportunity.

Jonathan Gilbert

Co-Founder of IN8 and PhD Candidate at Cardiff University

Jonathan was formerly a solicitor who in 2014 was convicted for his role in a large banking fraud. Whilst serving his 12-year prison sentence Jonathan re-engaged with education, initially mentoring fellow prisoners undertaking GCSEs, A levels and Open University degree courses.

In 2016 Jonathan commenced a MSc in Counter Fraud and Counter Corruption by distance learning at Portsmouth University and then from open prison in 2019 commenced a PhD at Cardiff University where he also teaches on the Criminology degree course.

Following his release from prison in June 2020 Jonathan co-founded In8 Consulting where he is Head of Learning and Development. He also dedicates time and uses his lived experience to improve education in prisons as a means of reducing re-offending and unlocking potential.

Darryl Jones

John Vorhaus

Marie-Claire O’Brien

CEO at New Leaf CIC

Marie-Claire is CEO of New Leaf CIC.

Nnamdi Efobi

Sector Expert

Nnamdi is a Sector Expert