Our dedicated team combines expertise across a range of disciplines who work together to combat online child abuse and exploitation. Get to know the people driving our mission to create a safer digital world for children everywhere.
Iain Drennan
Executive Director
Iain is an experienced, influential leader and has been the Executive Director of WeProtect Global Alliance since its launch as an independent international institution in April 2020.
Under Iain’s leadership and strategic vision, the organisation has grown from start-up to international team of twelve delivering an ambitious strategy, and membership has more than doubled to comprise more than 320 organisations. He led the delivery of WeProtect’s landmark Global Threat Assessment, the first study of its kind on the scale and nature of child sexual abuse and exploitation online, and has overseen the delivery of two Global Summits in Brussels and Abu Dhabi.
Previously, he led the UK Home Office’s international response to child sexual abuse. Under Iain’s leadership, the UK was assessed top out of 60 countries in the Economist Intelligence Unit’s Out of the Shadows Index on response to child sexual abuse and ratified the Council of Europe’s Lanzarote Convention against child sexual abuse. Prior to this, Iain worked in national security, foreign policy and counter terrorism roles in the UK civil service and diplomatic service.
Michelle Burns
Chief Operating Officer
Michelle has over 18 years senior level experience leading and enhancing the reach and impact of organisations and programmes designed to address some of the most complex political economy, health, humanitarian, social and environmental protection challenges at local, national and international level on behalf of a broad range of donors including the FCDO, DFID, the UK Department for Health and Social Care and the EU.
Michelle has experience living, working and leading multi-sector and specialist policy and operational networks in Eurasia (England and Devolved Nations, Brussels, Bulgaria, France, Spain, Turkey, Italy), Middle East and North Africa (Tunisia, Egypt, Lebanon, Syria, Jordan and Iraq) and Sub-Saharan Africa (Rwanda, Burundi, DRC, South Africa, Ghana and Sierra Leone).
Michelle holds degrees in Psychology, Sociology and Social Policy and has recently completed her PhD in Governance and Ethical Decision Making in International Organisations in Transition.
Mark Bradshaw
Head of Development
Mark is an international development and humanitarian professional with two decades of experience in non-governmental organisations, including a particular focus on children’s rights. His experience includes supporting and leading programme delivery, business development and stakeholder management, grant management and compliance, and team leadership.
Before joining WeProtect Global Alliance, he has worked for ChildLine, NSPCC, Mines Advisory Group, ECPAT International, War Child, and the International Rescue Committee.
Delali Mortty
Participation Manager
Delali has worked extensively in children and women’s rights issues across global programme management, strategic partnerships, and non-formal education.
Delali has collaborated with major social media companies and NGOs to embed youth voices and participation in safety by design initiatives. She also brings expertise in gender-based violence and has worked closely with survivor-led organisations. Delali is a founding Director of Player Voice, an organisation enabling young people’s views and ideas to be heard regarding their education and sporting development, with their safety always in mind.
Stephanie Quintao
Membership Engagement Manager
Stephanie has worked in international relations and wider advocacy focusing on membership management as well as facilitating stakeholder outreach.
Before joining WeProtect Global Alliance, Stephanie was the Senior Member Relations Adviser at the American Chamber of Commerce to the European Union (AmCham EU) where she was responsible for overall membership engagement, including retention and recruitment strategies.
Bethany Jennings
Research Manager
Bethany has worked extensively in the areas of child protection, homelessness, sexual violence and exploitation, holistic services and participation, both as a social worker and researcher.
Before joining WeProtect Global Alliance, she worked for Children In All Policies 2030, based at UCL, advocating for children’s health and wellbeing to be centred in all policies through science, advocacy and coalition building.
Veronica Polizzi
Operations and Finance Manager
Veronica has worked in diverse industries with a special interest in financial budgeting and efficiency strategies.
Before joining WeProtect Global Alliance, Veronica was Financial Reporting Manager at a private healthcare company where she was responsible for tracking, analysing and reporting business income as well as taking the lead in creating and implementing processes to improve workflow.
Katie Burke
Policy Manager
Katie is a children’s rights researcher and policy professional who has worked on issues related to child protection for the last 6 years. Prior to joining WeProtect Global Alliance Katie worked for Coram International as a research consultant for UNICEF, the European Union and other I/NGOs in 22 countries on issues related to violence against children and gender based violence. She has also held a variety of policy and research roles in the United Kingdom and the United States. Katie is a passionate advocate for child participation, having led both the Scottish Youth Parliament and British Youth Council as Deputy Chairperson.
Katie was a Fulbright scholar at the University of Minnesota where she received her Masters in Human Rights, building on her previous Masters in International Relations from the University of St Andrews.
Poppy Reid
Senior Communications and Content Officer
Poppy is a communications professional with over 7 years experience in frontline charities and policy and research not-for-profits with a focus on human rights and social justice. She brings particular expertise in tackling modern slavery and human trafficking.
Before joining WeProtect Global Alliance, Poppy led on communications for Focus on Labour Exploitation. She previously led regional communications for the UK homelessness charity St Mungo’s, worked at anti-slavery charity Unseen UK and for a private sector PR agency. Poppy has also worked as a volunteer with several organisations supporting refugees and asylum seekers over the past decade. She has studied Public Policy Analysis at the London School of Economics and holds a degree in Politics and History.
Hijab Siddiqui
Senior Advocacy and Policy Officer
Hijab is a lawyer, passionate about human rights and technology. She has experience in policy development, communications, research, advocacy, and capacity building. She has contributed to impactful projects such as the National Action Plan on Business & Human Rights in Pakistan, and capacity-building programs for lawyers, judiciary, police officials, civil society, and media professionals. She has also been involved in developing international film festivals and fellowships focused on empowering women and youth. Before joining WeProtect Global Alliance she worked on global advocacy with Care International.
She received the Erasmus Mundus Scholarship for a Master’s in Human Rights Policy and Practice, and the Vivian Leitner Global South Scholarship for an LLM in International Law & Justice from Fordham University. She also holds an LLB from the University of London International Programmes. Additionally, she was selected as a Youth Ambassador with the Internet Society.