Yasmin Batliwala MBE

Chair of the Board of Directors 

Yasmin is the CEO of Advocates for International Development (A4ID), which sources lawyers to provide free legal advice and assistance to support organisations working in the international development sector and whose principal aim is the eradication of poverty by focusing on the 2030 Agenda.

She has held a number of significant leadership positions over the years within the public and third sectors. Her portfolios have included HIV/AIDS, drug and alcohol dependency, and criminal justice.  She has undertaken work for the United Nations Office of Drugs and Crime in this regard. A magistrate for almost 30 years, Yasmin served on the Adult and Youth Bench.

She is the President of HACRO, a service which caters for the rehabilitation and resettlement of ex-offenders. She was a recipient of the City of London Woman of Achievement Awards in 2015 in respect to her work in the public sector.

Yasmin says: "I am hugely proud to be associated with WDP. I take pride that we have always put the users of our services at the heart of all we do. I am proud of the quality of care we provide, and that it is offered to the carers, families, and friends. I am immensely proud of our staff and volunteers, and the professional approach we have consistently adopted, regardless of the challenges faced locally, or nationally. These elements of what we do combine to put WDP at the cutting edge of drug and alcohol services in the UK. As the organisation has grown with our ambition, our ethos has never been diluted. It allows me to say with confidence that we will always provide the best possible care, at the highest level."

  

Gillian Benning

Director

Gillian is a non-practising solicitor who was in practice with her husband for approximately 50 years.

She was the managing partner of their firm, and she gained a wide experience of many different branches of the law including insolvency, regulatory, property, employment, and litigation.

Gillian was involved in several charities including ones dealing with age, children, and women’s aid.

She joined the board of WDP in 2008 and is also the WDP whistleblowing champion.

Gillian says: “I am very proud to be part of WDP and after spending many years helping people through my work as a lawyer, I now want to support people in need.”

  

Graham Boal QC

Director

Graham was a criminal barrister for 30 years before serving as a judge for nine years until his retirement as a Permanent Judge at London’s Central Criminal Court, the Old Bailey, in 2005.

He was the Chairman of the Seventy4 Foundation, a specialist addiction counselling service, and joined the WDP Board when the two organisations merged in 2013. His involvement with the Seventy4 Foundation came about because of his own personal story and this year he marks 28 years of recovery.

Graham says: “As a practising criminal barrister, and then as an Old Bailey judge, I saw with my own eyes some of the consequences of addiction.”

His life at the Bar and as a judge, along with his struggles with alcohol dependency and depression, are captured in his 2021 memoir, A Drink at the Bar.

 

Raj Boyjoonauth

Director

Raj comes from a health professional background, having trained as a nurse in the 1970s. He has occupied several senior management posts in the NHS, his last post being the Deputy Director for Addictions and Offender Care at CNWL NHS Foundation Trust.

He was a member of the Home Office Advisory Council on the Misuse of Drugs Committee (ACMD) for 12 years and is also an honorary lecturer at Middlesex University. He is currently a training and management consultant for the United Nation Office of Drugs and Crime (UNODC) and is part of the UNODC Treatment Project, delivering training across Africa, South East Europe, the Middle East and South East Asia.

Raj says: "Whilst working for the NHS, I had the opportunity to work in partnership with WDP services and saw their passion and commitment as well as the effectiveness of the third sector in delivering quality services to vulnerable groups. I joined the WDP Board as I felt that I could contribute my health-related experience to their mission and aspirations.”

  

Mark Eaton

Director

Mark is the former Chair of The Core Trust. He is a chartered surveyor, specialising in Residential Development & Asset Management in the public sector. His current focus is on the provision of numerous educational and community facilities.

  

Richard Paul

Treasurer 

Richard undertakes the role of Treasurer on the WDP Board of Directors. He is a chartered accountant, having been in practice for almost 30 years, and is a senior partner at Nyman Libson Paul Chartered Accountants.

Richard specialises in a number of different sectors, including owner managed businesses, property, leisure, and the film and TV industry.

Richard says: “I have a personal interest in drug addiction through a friend who had experienced these issues. The possibility to help others with similar problems is what attracted me to become a Trustee at WDP.”

  

James Saunders

Director

James is a solicitor partner in central London litigation law firm, Saunders Law. After decades of experience in criminal law, he now acts in the group litigation claim for the many families of the 96 who died in the 1989 Hillsborough disaster, and is representing Grenfell Tower fire victims and their families in the Grenfell Public Inquiry.

In 1970, with others, James started and practiced at the North Kensington Neighbourhood Law Centre. With our chair Yasmin Batliwala and others, he was also part of the foundation of WDP 30 years ago, and has since then continuously served as a WDP director.

James says: "Through the practice of criminal law, I have seen first-hand the hardship, misery, and death that addiction can bring, and it is a privilege to be part of an organisation that in its own quiet way helps so many people back from the brink.”

  

Mike Walsh

Director

Mike’s career was spent in two global advertising agencies, the latter one, Ogilvy & Mather as CEO of their Europe, Africa and Middle East region for 12 years.

In addition to this, he also spent time as a member of the Worldwide Board of WWF, a trustee of the Maritime Trust, Vice Chairman of the British Red Cross and latterly six years as Chair of the UK Disasters Emergency Committee. More recently, since his ‘retirement’, he has been on the board of the Archant Community Media Group, been involved in several tech start-ups and done a variety of mentoring roles.

Mike says: “My interest in WDP was stimulated by a current trustee who has been involved in addiction, coupled with the realisation that even at a later age I can continue to help people have a better life. Of course, what finally won me over completely was spending time at our centre in Merton with a dedicated team full of an infectious enthusiasm and dedication.”