Regulatory Tribunal

Alexandra Marks CBE

Presiding Chair

Alexandra Marks qualified as a solicitor in 1983, and was a partner at a city law firm till 2011. She now sits as a part-time judge in the Crown Court, High Court and First-tier Tribunal. Alexandra was Commissioner at the Criminal Cases Review Commission (investigating potential miscarriages of justice) for five years and a Judicial Appointments Commissioner for six years. Alexandra is currently chair of The Hardman Trust (which supports people serving long sentences); chair of Discover, Children’s Story Centre based in Newham; and a trustee of The Howard League for Penal Reform; LawCare (the mental health and wellbeing charity for the legal professions); and Standing Tall (a homelessness charity). Formerly, Alexandra was Chief Adjudicator at the Business Banking Resolution Service; Master of the City Solicitors’ Livery Company; and chaired Prisoners’ Education Trust; Amnesty International Charity Limited; and JUSTICE’s Executive Board (the law reform and human rights organisation). Alexandra received the Law Society’s Lifetime Achievement Award in 2016 and was honoured with a CBE in 2017. She is an Honorary Fellow of Brasenose College, Oxford.

Ben Davies BSc (Hons) MSc FRICS CMIRM MBCI

Professional Tribunal member

Ben Davies is Commercial Director in AtkinsRealis Nuclear business, initially focused on supporting STEP, a UK led fusion energy programme. STEP is the UK’s major technology and infrastructure programme to build a prototype fusion powerplant that will demonstrate net energy, fuel self-sufficiency and a viable route to plant maintenance. AtkinsRealis is a world-class services and nuclear organisation operating in over 50 countries. Prior to this he was Group Head of Risk & Compliance at Sidara (formally Dar Group). Previous roles include Group Risk & Compliance Director at Currie & Brown, a member company of Sidara, Governance, Risk & Controls Manager at EDF Energy Nuclear New Build, Programme Risk Manager on the London 2012 Olympic Games with Mace and Corporate Risk Manager at WS Atkins. Ben originally qualified as a Chartered Quantity Surveyor, is a Fellow of the RICS and holds an MSc in Risk Management from Southampton University.

Mark Griffin BSc, MSc, FRICS, FCInstCES

Professional Tribunal member

Mark Griffin is a Chartered Land Surveyor with a strong project management background in Land Administration, Land Surveying and Geographical Information Systems. Mark thrives on diversity having gained most of his work (and life) experience in an international, multi-cultural environment in both the public and private sectors. Mark has worked in several senior management and international board roles and as an independent consultant. He has over 35 years’ experience influencing the oil & energy, real estate, and government industries in Europe, the Near East, Middle East, Africa, Asia, and the Americas. Often operating in intense, highly political, and unpredictable environments, Mark combines his technical expertise with political shrewdness and a pragmatic approach. Mark was a founder member of the Deutscher Verband Chartered Surveyors in 1994 and RICS Bermuda in 1997 serving as Chair of RICS Bermuda from 2002 to 2004 and as a RICS Americas Director from 2002 to 2004. He was one of the first cohort of RICS Licensed Assessor Trainers. Mark was a member of the RICS Geomatics Global Professional Group Board from 2008 until it was dissolved in 2019. Mark is currently Director and Principal International Consultant at Griffin GEO Ltd providing strategic and technical advice and project management services worldwide.

Dr Stephen Moore DBEnv MSc DipProjMan FRICS FCIOB

Professional Tribunal member

Stephen is a Chartered Quantity Surveyor Project Manager and academic with professional and industry experience spanning over 50 years. He has expertise in private practice, consultancy and board-level executive roles together with an involvement in professional training and research. His academic research focuses on the scope and relevance of current professional training for chartered surveyors in the changing demands of professional practice in construction. Currently Stephen is a regulated sole practitioner providing commercial and contract support advice to a variety of organisations in the built environment sector. As a Fellow of RICS and CIOB, Stephen has contributed to upholding professional standards as a past member of RICS Governing Council and a current CIOB examination marker. Also, for over 20 years now he has been an RICS accredited APC assessor, mentor and trainer.

Amit Jinabhai

Independent Tribunal Member

Amit Jinabhai holds a first-class honours degree (UMIST) and a PhD in Optometry (The University of Manchester). Prior to switching his focus towards the field of regulation, Amit spent more than a decade working as a Senior Lecturer. To date, Amit has published 17 peer-reviewed papers in a range of Optometry/Ophthalmology journals, contributed to an educational textbook, and has delivered keynote presentations across Europe. Dr Jinabhai is a past recipient of the UK College of Optometrists’ George Giles Postgraduate Research Prize, and the German Contact Lens Specialists’ Peter Abel Prize, in recognition of his research contributions. Amit sits as an independent decision-maker on regulatory hearings convened by RICS (Lay Member), the General Optical Council (Registrant Member), the Medical Practitioners Tribunal Service (Lay Member), the Chartered Institute of Management Accountants (Lay Member), and the UK Council for Psychotherapy (Lay Chairperson). Additionally, Dr Jinabhai is the current Chair of the UK College of Optometrists’ Disciplinary Panel.

Alison Sansome

Independent Tribunal Chair and Tribunal member

Alison was Chief Operating Officer at the Nursing and Midwifery Council until April 2017, with overarching responsibility for regulatory functions, especially registration and fitness to practise. A former Senior Civil Servant, she led transformative change programmes and delivered support services to Veterans of the Armed Forces and subsequently gained private sector experience in technology provision. She now has a non-executive portfolio with a standards or regulatory focus, which includes Non-Executive Board Member roles at the Office for Legal Complaints and the Fire Standards Board, as well as Panel/Committee roles at the Phone-paid Services Authority, Association of Certified Chartered Accountants and the General Optical Council.

Angela Brown

Independent Tribunal Chair and Tribunal member

Angela has a scientific background and over 20 years’ experience working for a local authority and a range of NHS Trusts across the North East and Yorkshire, covering learning disabilities, community and mental health and ambulance services. Her involvement in clinical negligence and patient safety led her to become a trustee of Action against Medical Accidents (AvMA) in 2012, and she is now Treasurer and chairs their Finance and Investment Committee. She is a Lay Panel Member of the National College for Teaching and Leadership (NCTL) Professional Conduct Panel, a Lay Member of the Registration, Conduct and Fitness to Practise Committees of the Scottish Social Services Council (SSSC), and a Lay Panel Member of the Health and Care Professions Council (HCPC). She is also a lay school appeals panellist for Newcastle and does occasional work for the College of Policing as an external assessor for senior appointments.

Deborah Fajoye

Independent Tribunal member

Deborah Fajoye is a post law graduate combining a legal academic background with over 13 years occupational experience as a legal decision maker, adjudicator, senior investigator and compliance officer in health, social care and professional regulation. She started her career at the Nursing and Midwifery Council in the fitness to practise directorate. Following her departure from the NMC, Deborah went on to work in various senior roles for other health and social care regulatory bodies including Social Work England, the General Chiropractic Council and more. Deborah is passionate about public protection and ensuring professionals that provide services to the public uphold proper professional standards. Aside from the RICS, Deborah currently works independently as a regulatory tribunal member for the Association of Chartered Certified Accountants (ACCA), and as a panel member for police misconduct and appeal hearings.

Glenn Mathieson

Independent Tribunal member

Glenn is currently a senior manager in healthcare regulation with the General Pharmaceutical Council, where he has worked since 2020. Previously, he spent over 3 years with the General Dental Council, as a decision-maker in respect of clinicians' fitness to practise. Most of Glenn's career, however, was in criminal justice. Following roles with the Home Office and Police Complaints Authority, Glenn spent 13 years at the Criminal Cases Review Commission, where he investigated alleged miscarriages of justice, and developed a specialism in reviewing murder investigations. Glenn also had a part-time role sitting as an Employment Tribunal member for 6 years, as well as being a trustee of a learning disabilities charity.

Jane Bishop

Independent Tribunal member

Jane lives in Queensland, Australia. She has formal qualifications in law, psychology, philosophy and nursing. She worked in various mental health settings before being admitted as a lawyer of the Supreme Court of Queensland. In 2007, she was appointed to her first Tribunal and has worked on State, Commonwealth and International Tribunals since then in areas including Migration, Refugee, Social Security, Mental Health and Conduct. In 2022, she was sworn in as a full time Member of the Queensland Civil and Administrative Tribunal which has original, review and appeal jurisdiction and is a court of record.

Miriam Karp

Independent Tribunal member

Miriam lives in Belfast and has 15 years’ experience at Board level, as a Non- Executive Director in Health and Social Care and in professional regulation and as a Tribunal Chair and Tribunal member. She is currently a Fitness To Practise Panel Chair for Social Work England, a Tribunal Member for the Medical Practitioners Tribunal Service, The General Optical Council, The Exceptional Circumstances Body (Department for Education, NI) and NI Solicitors Disciplinary Tribunal. She is also the lay member of the Secretary of State for Transport’s Honorary Medical Advisory Panel on Driving and Visual Disorders. Miriam’s previous regulatory experience includes; Nursing and Midwifery Council, Fitness To Practise Chair, Northern Ireland Medical and Dental Training Agency, Lay Representative, Northern Ireland Pharmaceutical Council, Fitness To Practise Panellist. Her former Non-Executive Director roles include; Belfast Health and Social Care Trust, Public Health Agency, Northern Ireland Social Care Council, General Teaching Council Northern Ireland and UK Skills For Care and Development, Sector Skills Council for Social Care.

Nick Hawkins

Independent Tribunal Chair and Tribunal member

Nick served in the Royal Navy for 22 years at sea and ashore, qualifying as a barrister mid-career. He prosecuted, defended and sat as Judge Advocate at Courts Martial. He then spent 15 years in the Crown Prosecution Service as a Chief Crown Prosecutor, appearing in all Courts personally prosecuting every type of offence from murder to minor motoring offences. After a year in the IPCC he finished his public sector career with two years as Chief Executive of the Legal Ombudsman. He is a member of Normanton Chambers and undertakes criminal justice consultancy in the UK and overseas, including advising on university misconduct investigations and hearings. He is a Legally Qualified Chair for Police Misconduct Hearings and a member of the Investigation and Conduct Committees for the Chartered Institute of Management Accountants. He is a member of the British Transport Police Authority.

Niru Uddin

Independent Tribunal member

Niru Uddin is a qualified solicitor. She has been working in the regulatory field for the last 17 years of her career, mainly in healthcare regulators as well as membership organisations. She is currently the Director of Fitness to Practise at one of the smaller healthcare regulators in the UK. Niru is a Trustee for the British Association for Music Therapy (BAMT), the professional body for Music Therapy in the UK. Niru also sits as an independent Board Member of Civil Mediation Council (CMC), a charity which aims to promote the resolution of conflicts and disputes by encouraging the use of medication and other dispute resolution techniques.

Peter Baker

Independent Tribunal member

Peter spent nearly forty years as a regulator with the Health & Safety Executive, latterly as Chief Inspector of Buildings leading the new Building Safety Regulator, and as an Executive Director responsible for building safety and HSE’s regulation of the high-risk construction sector. Before that, Peter was HSE’s Chief Inspector of Construction and also held a number of senior leadership and operational roles regulating workplace health and safety in high hazard industries across Great Britain, including chemical manufacture and the oil and gas sector. Peter also sits as a Presiding Justice and Magistrate in the Greater Manchester Criminal Courts.

Sally Ruthen

Independent Tribunal Chair and Tribunal member

Sally is a qualified mediator. Since 2005, she has been involved in regulatory work in various fields, including chairing fitness to practise hearings for the Nursing and Midwifery Council, and lay membership of the Audit Registration Committee for the Institute of Chartered Accountants for England and Wales. As well as working as a mediator, commercially and in the field of Special Educational Needs, Sally is currently a lay chair for the British Association for Counselling and Psychotherapy (disciplinary, membership and complaints hearings) and a Court of Protection Visitor for the Office of the Public Guardian.

Eleanor Spencer BA (Hons) MSc MRICS

Professional Tribunal member

Eleanor Spencer has been a Chartered Surveyor since 2015. Eleanor currently works for the Environment Agency and is a Registered Valuer. She previously worked for the Valuation Office Agency and West Yorkshire Police. Eleanor also sits as an independent panel member for the Independent Decision-making Body of the Bar Standards Board, as a Magistrate on the North and West Yorkshire Bench and as an independent member on a fostering panel that determines the suitability of carers that wish to foster children.

Joan Waweru MRICS, RV

Professional Tribunal member

Joan is a distinguished real estate professional with over 12 years of experience in the East African market, where she has gained recognition for her technical expertise and leadership. She specializes in navigating complex and opaque markets to provide high quality valuation advise across various real estate assets. As Associate Director in the Valuation Department at Knight Frank Kenya, Joan leads a team of valuers, drives new business development, and fosters strong client relationships. In her previous roles as Portfolio Valuer and Senior Valuer, she consistently delivered high-quality professional advice while mentoring junior professionals in the field. Joan holds a Master’s Degree in Real Estate Investment Finance from Oxford Brookes University and a Bachelor’s Degree in Land Economics from the University of Nairobi. She has been a member of the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (MRICS) since 2019, is a Registered Valuer, and a Registered Estate Agent in Kenya. Committed to mentorship and industry development, Joan has served as an RICS Counsellor since 2020, guiding aspiring professionals on their RICS membership journey. Her role on the RICS Regulatory Tribunal reflects her dedication to upholding the highest professional standards in the real estate sector.

Jennifer Hobart MRICS

Professional Tribunal member

Jennifer is an Associate Director in the AECOM Building Surveying Professional Services team operating nationally across the UK and beyond. Over her last 12 years of professional practice Jennifer has gained a variety of experience from her time at Jones Lang LaSalle Limited, Tuffin Ferraby Taylor LLP and Hollis Global Ltd. Since 2018 Jennifer has focused and developed her specialism in dilapidations claims supporting both landlords and tenants through the lease end process.

Desiree Artesi

Desiree is a practising barrister with 27 years experience in complex appellate civil litigation including, judicial review and Privy Council appeals. Desiree has served in ethics and regulatory roles to the Bar Standards Board and Bar Council. She has been a Legal Chair at the Phone-paid Services Authority (now transferred to Ofcom) and sits as a barrister member of the Bar Tribunal and Adjudication Services. Desiree also has a non-executive portfolio with a standards or regulatory and risk focus, which includes Non-Executive Board/Trustee Member roles at the Strategic Advisory Board to the Council of the Inns of Court; the Advisory Board of the School of Law, Brighton University; and, the Honourable Society of Inner Temple. Called to the Bar in St Lucia, Desiree has the ability to practice throughout the Eastern Caribbean Supreme Court and is especially interested in international commercial arbitration with a focus on Caribbean and North American jurisdictions. With a particular interest in the challenges faced by small jurisdictions, Desiree is an Associate of the Island Rights Initiative, a consultancy and think tank dedicated to helping small island communities facing global human rights challenges. She was also an affiliate expert of the Centre for Law and Social Justice at Leeds University. As a regularly invited speaker at the bi-annual global Commonwealth Law Conference, Desiree is an active member of the Commonwealth Lawyers Association.

Emma Moir

Emma is a qualified Solicitor, and has a successful career in the public sector, including the NHS, for over 30 years, holding a number of senior civil servant roles. Emma has considerable experience of judicial and quasi-judicial roles and sits on a tribunal, as well as professional conduct and advisory committees.

Hilary Lloyd

Hilary Lloyd qualified as a solicitor in 1983 and worked in private practice, representing vulnerable clients. She spent nearly 20 years working at executive director level at a number of professional regulatory and professional bodies and is currently a member of the Disciplinary Committee at the Royal College of Veterinary Surgeons.

Jason Tucker

Jason is a qualified solicitor and Professor Emeritus of Law. Originally, he worked in private legal practice undertaking a range of litigation work, before spending over 20 years in Higher Education, teaching the postgraduate courses required for legal practice and developing a specialism in clinical legal education. Jason sits as a fee-paid Tribunal Judge and was previously a magistrate in the adult criminal and family courts. He is also a lay regulatory panel member for the Chartered Institute of Public Finance and Accountancy.

Nicola Hill

Nicola qualified as a solicitor in 1999 and went on to practice for over 24 years. She was most recently with Kingsley Napley LLP for over 20 years. Her experience is in both regulatory and criminal law and she was previously a duty solicitor in police stations and Magistrates’ Courts in the Eastend of London. Nicola has Higher Rights of Audience (Civil) and was President of the London Criminal Courts Solicitors Association. Whilst at Kingsley Napley Nicola was a Full Equity Partner, Head of the Regulatory Practice Area, member of the Management Board, Continuous Improvement Champion and Trainee Principal. In addition, she sat as Clerk to the Architects Registration Board’s Professional Conduct Committee. As Head of the Regulatory Practice Area, Nicola was responsible for a team of up to 70 solicitors, barristers, paralegals and support who prepared and presented professional discipline cases before tribunals in healthcare, education and the built environment spheres. Her team also defended individuals, organisations and corporates predominantly in the legal and financial sectors. Nicola is a lay member of the Architects Registration Board’s Investigations Panel. She currently volunteers for Cancer Research UK.

Paul Curtis

Paul has been involved in regulatory work since 2013. He was a Lay member of the Bar Standards Board Professional Conduct Committee and a Lay Disciplinary Panel Member for the Judicial Conduct office. He is a Lay Chair/Tribunal Member at the Medical Practitioners Tribunal Service and a Lay Panel Member of the Fitness to Practise panel at the General Optical Council. These last two appointments end in 2025. He will however continue his voluntary roles as a Lay Chair of School Admission Appeals hearings and School Exclusion reviews for East Sussex County Council. Paul has a Master of Arts degree from Manchester University.

Sabrina Sheikh

Sabrina Sheikh serves as a lay member of the RICS Regulatory Tribunal. Since 2021, she has also been a Family Magistrate, adjudicating complex family law cases, and holds a lay member position with the Nursing and Midwifery Council, where she contributes to upholding professional standards in healthcare. Previously, Sabrina spent nearly a decade as a civil servant, specialising in forgery and immigration enforcement. Fluent in French and Creole, her career spans roles in healthcare management and public service, demonstrating her adaptability and commitment to maintaining high professional standards.

Victoria James

Victoria James qualified as a solicitor in 2011 and has spent most of her legal career working in the Criminal Justice System originally as a criminal defence solicitor and latterly, for the Crown Prosecution Service as an advocate and legal decision maker. Victoria was a specialist rape and serious sexual offence prosecutor and upon promotion to District Crown Prosecutor, managed Magistrates, Crown Court and specialist teams in London and the South East. Victoria was appointed as a Fee Paid Judge of the First-Tier Tribunal in January 2023 and regularly sits in Mental Health Tribunals. Victoria has recently accepted regulatory body appointments as Lay Panel Chair for the Nursing and Midwifery Council and Legal Assessor and Independent Reviewer for the British Association for Counselling and Psychotherapy. She is also a SQE Exam Assessor.

Victoria Thornes

Victoria has a legal background, having studied law at Oxford University before training as a solicitor at a magic circle law firm. She then worked as a solicitor in private practice in the legal sector for several years, where she specialised in property damage litigation, primarily working on behalf of insurer clients. Following this she changed focus to the regulation of solicitors and law firms, working as an adjudicator for the largest regulator in the UK legal sector. As a result, Victoria has developed a strong interest in regulation and understands the critical role played by regulators in upholding standards.