We’re counting down the weeks now until our third virtual CPA conference. And if, like us, you’re eagerly awaiting the 14 th October, then you may have been closely following our social media. We’ve been revealing the speakers at the event one by one across our Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn and Twitter – and we really do have a schedule packed full of the ‘who’s who’ from across academia, charities, the public sector and many more related fields.

If you’ve missed any of our recent speaker announcements, then don’t worry because this blog is all about the seven spectacular speakers we have already revealed.

So, without delay, let’s hear all about them!

His Honour Judge James Burbidge KC

Judge Burbidge KC has an incredible wealth of knowledge within the legal system, having qualified as a barrister in 1979. Starting off as a law tutor, then an Assistant Recorder and Recorder (part-time judge) for criminal and civil courts, he was appointed Queen’s Counsel in 2003. This saw Judge Burbidge take on the most serious criminal law cases – while he was also head of St Philips’ Chamber which had more than 150 members and 40 staff, as well as being Head of Professional Development for the Midlands Circuit – devising and running advocacy and ethics courses for trainee and newly-qualified barristers. He is now Resident Judge of Worcester and Hereford, continuing to support in the education of others as well as undertaking advocacy and courses in criminal law across the world, including in Albania, Nigeria, Singapore and the Hague.

Rasul Freelain

Rasul is not only a retired Police Sergeant from Chicago, with many years’ experience of dealing with domestic abuse cases, he’s also written a book on the tragic CPA case which saw Sheila von Wiese-Mack lose her life at the hands of daughter Heather Mack. The detective is now a senior consulting at The Protecting Lambs Co, and provides CPA awareness training to professionals too.Rasul got in touch with us while he was writing his book, having found us on social media, and we’re delighted he’s able to join us at the conference.

Kenny Gibson

Kenny is NHS Safeguarding’s Deputy Director and a long-time friend of PEGS!

Kenny’s role sees him oversee safeguarding including all forms of neglect, abuse, exploitation, radicalisation and violence – and he’s the national lead on trauma-informed care.His career began as a laundry assistant at a mental health unit, before he trained as a nurse and later a midwife. Kenny then held various operational, management and strategic posts within community and public health, stepping up as Head of Safeguarding for NHS England prior to his current role. He was also awarded an MBE in January 2022 for his services to healthcare leadership.

Joe Lockley

Joe is another long-time friend of PEGS – he’s the founder of Brightstar, an organisation which empowers young people to thrive and brings different sectors together using boxing as a vehicle for change. Since 2016, Brightstar has expanded from a voluntary-run organisation working with six people to a multi-centre set-up with 28 full-time staff and 30 volunteers supporting over 600 young people from across the West Midlands every week. As well as being awarded the Queen’s Award for Voluntary Service (the highest

award a voluntary group can receive), Joe has been internationally recognised, speaking at the World Expo in Dubai, helping shape sports development work in different countries, and – most recently – being invited to speak at the UNESCO ‘Change the Game’ Conference in Paris.

Richard Robinson

Richard is the Chief Executive at Hourglass, a charity committed to stopping the abuse of older people. He has over two decades of experience in the third sector across education, international development, medical, and arts and culture organisations. He’s also a former journalist and led The Legacy List (Olympic 2012 charity), as well as working on regeneration and culture programmes in East London, leprosy organisations in India, and a music industry charity.

So there’s a real wealth of information that Richard will be able to share with us from across all his experience within the charity and voluntary sector.

Jeremy Todd

 Jeremy is the CEO of Family Lives, with a background in counselling, health services and the criminal justice system. He regularly appears on radio and television to speak about family and parenting topics, and is also a key note speaker on issues ranging from family engagement in education to family health and wellbeing. Before joining Family Lives in 2009, Jeremy worked in a number of NHS Trusts and within Holloway Prison, also leading organisations in community development and implementing nationally-accredited training schemes and guidelines for professionals working with young people. We’re delighted to have him speaking at our conference!

Amanda Warburton-Wynn

Amanda is an independent researcher and consultant specialising in domestic abuse and sexual violence of older people, people with disabilities and carers. As well as giving guest lectures at Birmingham City University, Amanda has had several papers published by the Journal of Adult Protection and delivered webinars for Hourglass, Making Research Count, and local government events.

We’re really looking forward to hearing from Amanda at the conference!

Make sure you’re following our social media channels, where we’ll be unveiling more speakers in the coming weeks. And if reading this blog has made you decide you definitely need to be part of the conference, then you can head over to

www.pegsevents.co.uk to secure your ticket today! (There’s even a discount if you’re from a charity or not-for-profit organisation).

Hope to see you there!