2023 European Forum

Charlotte has a broad range of experience in the field of digital safeguarding - for 10 years she led Becta’s advice and support to Government, local authorities and schools on keeping children safe online.  She also worked with Dr Tanya Byron on her review of Safer Children in a Digital World - leading the implementation and co-ordination of the education recommendations in the Review as part of the UK Council for Child Internet Safety (UKCCIS).

In April 2010, Charlotte became Director of Practice at the children’s charity – Beatbullying, where she was responsible for the innovative Cybermentors programme, a peer to peer online support service for children and young people.  In 2011, Charlotte was seconded to NCA CEOP where she conducted a review of CEOP’s educational programmes and made recommendations to CEOP’s board on the future direction of the Thinkuknow programme which has been delivered to thousands of professionals across the country.

In 2013 Charlotte started her own consultancy – Charlotte Aynsley Consultants – Rethinking Safeguarding and she has worked on several high profile programmes and initiatives including the NSPCC’s Share Aware campaign, The It Starts With you online safety campaign from Walt Disney/Club Penguin, Parent Zone’s Parenting in the Digital Age programme, the Keeping Children Safe online safety guide and the Sexting in schools – what to do and how to handle it document. 

She has spoken about digital safeguarding at several key national and international events including the UN and supported local authorities, the police, children’s organisations and international NGO’s in educating professionals, parents, children and young people on all things online safety related.

In 2016 Charlotte worked with UKCCIS and NCA CEOP authoring national advice on responding to incidents of sexting – Sexting in schools and colleges: Responding to incidents and safeguarding young people.  Since the advice has been published she has delivered training to over 500 professionals supporting them in planning their response to incidents of sexting.

More recently Charlotte has been working with several high profile organisations including the National Cyber Security Centre (NCSC), NCA – CEOP, the Princes Trust, Girlguiding, The Mayor of London and the NSPCC to develop leading edge safer platforms and advice and resources for professionals working with children to keep them safer online.

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Julie has almost 25 years experience in the tech industry. She joined ByteDance in April 2020 to manage the EMEA Product Policy team. Since June 2021, she has been leading the Global Product Policy team for TikTok and Bytedance.

Prior to joining ByteDance, Julie has spent 10 years at Meta in different Trust & Safety roles, leading globally on Safety Policy as part of the Public Policy team.  Prior to joining Meta, she spent 10 years in the ecommerce industry. Julie is French and studied in La Sorbonne university, as well as ESJ Paris.

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For the past 30 years, Stephen Balkam has had a wide range of leadership roles in the nonprofit sector in both the US and UK. He is currently the Founder and CEO of the Family Online Safety Institute (FOSI), an international, nonprofit organization headquartered in Washington, DC. FOSI’s mission is to make the online world safer for kids and their families. FOSI convenes the top thinkers and practitioners in government, industry and the nonprofit sectors to collaborate and innovate and to create a “culture of responsibility” in the online world.

Prior to FOSI, Stephen was the Founder and CEO of the Internet Content Rating Association (ICRA) and led a team which developed the world’s leading content labeling system on the web. While with ICRA, Stephen served on the US Child Online Protection Commission (COPA) in 2000 and was named one of the Top 50 UK Movers and Shakers, Internet Magazine, 2001.

In 1994, Stephen was named the first Executive Director of the Recreational Software Advisory Council (RSAC) which created a unique self-labeling system for computer games and then, in 1996, Stephen launched RSACi – a forerunner to the ICRA website labeling system. For his efforts in online safety, Stephen was given the 1998 Carl Bertelsmann Prize in Gutersloh, Germany, for innovation and responsibility in the Information Society and was invited to the first and subsequent White House Internet Summits during the Clinton Administration.

Stephen’s other positions include the Executive Director of the National Stepfamily Association (UK); General Secretary of the Islington Voluntary Action Council; Executive Director of Camden Community Transport as well as management positions at the Institute of Contemporary Arts (London) and Inter-Action. Stephen’s first job was with Burroughs Machines (now Unisys) and he had a spell working for West Nally Ltd – a sports sponsorship PR company.

Stephen received a BA, magna cum laude, in Psychology from University College, Cardiff, Wales in 1977. A native of Washington, DC, Stephen spent many years in the UK and is now has dual citizenship. He writes regularly for the Huffington Post, appears often on TV and has appeared on nationally syndicated TV and radio programs such as MSNBC, CNN, NPR and the BBC and has been interviewed by leading newspapers such as the Washington Post, New York Times and The Wall Street Journal, radio and in the mainstream press. He has given presentations and spoken in 15 countries on 4 continents.

Tami Bhaumik is the Vice President of Civility and Partnerships at Roblox where she spearheads the platform's digital civility initiative and works to foster a global community of internet safety leaders to ensure good digital citizenship on Roblox. To establish a healthy and safe community, Tami is focused on providing kids, teens, parents, and caregivers with skills needed to create positive online experiences, in partnership with the world’s leading safety and industry organizations. At Roblox, she empowers platform users to self-govern and create a confident, resilient online community with the knowledge and tools to create positive experiences for themselves and others in the metaverse.

Mindy is the General Manager for Google’s kids and family initiative. Mindy and her team work to create safe and enriching experiences for children, teens and their families globally. Responsible for creating Googlewide strategic agendas, Mindy has also been instrumental in launching many products such as Google Accounts for kids under 13, Family Link, the Teacher Approved program on Google Play, and Android’s first kid directed product, Google Kids Space.  

Prior to Google, Mindy worked at Netflix and Sesame Street, most recently as Director of Content and Innovation Research. Mindy holds a BA in Psychology and a MA in Applied Developmental and Educational psychology from New York University.

Iain has been the Executive Director of WeProtect Global Alliance since its launch as an independent international institution in April 2020.

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, including a posting in Kabul where he managed the UK’s multi-million dollar counter terrorism and anti-corruption justice programme

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Markham leads Google’s Centers of Excellence—a global team of subject matter experts focused on the application of law and policy to technology and the Internet. The CoE is a hub for strategy and expertise on the global government affairs and public policy issues affecting Google's business today and in the future.

Prior to joining Google, Markham was an attorney in private practice in the United States, where he represented Internet, media, and telecommunications companies in regulatory complaints, investigations, rule-makings, legislative and policy matters, trial and appellate advocacy, and merger investigations.  In private practice, he represented Internet companies from the inception of the commercial Internet in the mid-1990s and was involved in crafting the global regulations that apply to Internet and technology companies.

Markham has been widely recognized as one of the nation’s top Internet and media lawyers. He served as co-chair to the annual Broadband and Cable Law Seminar at the Practicing Law Institute in New York City. He was ranked in Chambers USA in Telecom, Broadcast & Satellite – District of Columbia; Super Lawyers in communications law; and The Legal 500, which described him as a “substantive legal expert with great connection and understanding of the regulatory process, as well as a command of the political, policy, and relations aspect of regulatory work.” In recognition of his authority in the field, Mr. Erickson was appointed by the White House to represent the United States before the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development on Internet speech and regulatory matters.

Markham graduated from George Washington University Law School, with Honors, and Wheaton College, where he majored in English Literature.

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Courtney Gregoire serves as General Manager & Chief Digital Safety Officer for Microsoft Corporation. In this role, Courtney is responsible for Microsoft’s company-wide digital safety strategy to reduce harm from illegal and harmful content online through technology, policy, and partnerships. From 2015-2019, Courtney led Microsoft’s Digital Crimes Unit work to combat cybercrime against vulnerable populations including children and the elderly. Before returning home to Washington state, Courtney served as Director of the National Export Initiative for President Obama and Deputy Chief of Staff for the U.S. Department of Commerce. She previously served as Legislative Director and Chief Counsel for U.S. Senator Maria Cantwell.    

Courtney previously served as elected Commissioner for Port of Seattle from 2012-2019, member of the Seattle Colleges Board of Trustees and the International Center for Missing & Exploited Children Board of Directors. Courtney is a graduate of Willamette University and Harvard Law School. Originally from Olympia, Courtney currently lives in Seattle with her husband Scott Lindsay and their two young daughters.

Niamh Hodnett has extensive experience in designing, enforcing and managing compliance with regulatory obligations in the online and communications fields. Her experience includes measures to block access to child sex abuse material and to protect people at risk of gambling addiction, as well as regulation related to data protection, cybersecurity, competition and consumer protection in the communications sector.

Niamh’s most recent role was Chief Legal and Regulatory officer at Premier Lotteries, the operator of the National Lottery. She was previously Head of Regulatory Affairs at the mobile phone company, Three Ireland, a senior legal advisor with the Commission for Communications Regulation (ComReg), a regulatory lawyer with An Post and a member of the EU, competition & regulatory law teams at Mayer Brown in Brussels and Matheson in Dublin. 

Niamh qualified as a solicitor in 1998 and is an expert in regulatory law with extensive knowledge and experience of both Irish and European law. She studied Law and German at UCC and has a master’s in law from Universität Passau in Germany. She has co-authored European Law published by Oxford University Press and Regulatory Law in Ireland published by Tottel. She is also a qualified mediator.

Alex is Deputy CEO at non-profit The Diana Award, which is a legacy to Princess Diana’s belief that young people have the power to change the world, recognising global changemakers and giving them the skills to further their social action. And a Director at BBC Children In Need focusing on their 'We Move' a fund & eventual movement empowering black children and young people.

He is founder of peer-to-peer support programme Anti-Bullying Ambassadors, a network of trained young people dedicated to preventing peer on peer violence and all types of bullying particularly in schools. This is a programme Alex founded when aged 16, after experiencing bullying himself and witnessing the impact this can have on young minds and their mental health. The programme has trained over 45,000 young people across UK, Ireland, Greece, Miami (United States) empowering young people to keep themselves and their peers safe and happy, online and offline, a programme which is in 5,000 schools.

Alex also sits on the global safety advisory boards of several of the major social media companies (Spotify, Meta, TikTok, Twitch, Yubo, Snapchat) advising them on their approach to safety and online harms. He is also a member of Kokoro's advisory board, which runs the 'Future Mental Health Collective', a global network of 90+ funders who include mental health in their investments or philanthropic giving. He’s a regular expert on ITV This Morning, CBBC Newsround and a trusted government advisor.

Before his work at charities, he worked in education for 7 years in various roles from a teaching assistant, learning mentor to Head of House/Year focusing on pastoral, behavioural and social and emotional needs, breaking down barriers to learning.

Alex is a Queen’s Young Leader, Forbes 30 Under 30, a recipient of The Muhammad Ali Humanitarian Award and sits on The Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation Advisory Board, helping spearhead their Sustainable Development Goals ‘Goalkeeper programme.

Alex was named on the Independent on Sunday's Happy List as one of the ‘100 people who make Britain a happier place to live’ and has a keen interest on barriers to children’s happiness and wellbeing.  

Fred is Director of Trust and Safety Technology UK Communications Regulator Ofcom, a Visiting Professor at University of Suffolk, Visiting Professional Fellow at Aston University, member of the REPHRAIN (Bristol University) and INHOPE (International Hotline Association) Advisory Boards.  Fred is also a Non-Exec Director.

Prior to joining Ofcom Fred was Deputy CEO/CTO of Internet Watch Foundation (IWF) and President of INHOPE (International Hotline Association) with his focus being on Internet Policy/Governance, Cybersecurity, Child Protection, Trust and Safety/Safeguarding Technologies, online crime prevention and effective regulation.  His practical work was developing technical solutions and data sets for industry to implement into their architectures to reduce the risk of exposure to illegal content.

Fred has 30 years’ experience across a variety of sectors (Commercial, CSO’s, Military and Regulatory) and a vast amount of experience across a multitude of technologies.  Fred is a Board Member of Video Standards Council which sets PEGI ratings in the UK, Former Chair of the UK Council for Internet Safety, Technical Working Group (UKCIS TWG), Board Member of the UK Home Office Child Abuse Image Database Strategic Group, Member of the National Crime Agency (NCA) Prevent Strategic Board, a founding Director of the UK Safer Internet Centre and is an expert advisor to UK and other Governments, Parliamentarians, The Commonwealth, Police and NGOs.

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Áine qualified as a nurse and then completed an honours degree in Behavioural Sciences. Áine worked for two years in the area of child psychiatry and then worked with the ISPCC as the Childline Manager and Director of Services. In August 2007 Aine was appointed CEO of the National Parents Council Primary (NPC).

Áine has been appointed to the National Council for Curriculum and Assessment (NCCA) and the National Council for Special Education (NCSE) and the Teaching Council by the Minister for Education.

Áine has served on a number of Department of Education committees, is a member of the National Advisory Council for Online Safety and represents NPC on the European Parents’ Association. In December 2017 Áine was awarded a Masters in Executive Leadership by the University of Ulster.

Áine believes all decisions in schools should be child centred and that this is best achieved by fostering positive relationships between parents and schools, and by ensuring the voice of the child is included.

Victoria Nash is the Director, an Associate Professor, and Senior Policy Fellow at the Oxford Internet Institute (OII). In the latter role, she is responsible for connecting OII research with policy and practice. Her research interests draw on her background as a political theorist, and concern the normative policy implications of evidence characterising children’s use of Internet technologies. Recent projects have included an analysis of age verification policies as a tool for balancing the interests of children and adults online, and a review of the risks and harms faced by children online. She is currently concluding a funded research project examining the concept of the ‘algorithmic child’ and the data risks posed to children by connected toys and the Internet of Things. She holds several digital policy advisory roles, including membership of the UK Government’s multi-stakeholder UK Council on Internet Safety (UKCIS) Evidence Group, and serves on the Advisory Board of COADEC. She is frequently called on to give expert evidence in UK and EU policy consultations on broader issues such as platform governance.

She is also Course Director of the OII’s annual course for digital policy-makers, the Internet Leadership Academy and the Summer Doctoral Programme for international PhD students.

Prior to joining the OII in 2002, Vicki was a Research Fellow at the Institute of Public Policy Research. She received her D.Phil in Politics from Nuffield College, Oxford University in 1999, having completed an M.Phil in Politics from Magdalen College in 1996, and a BA (Hons) Degree in Politics, Philosophy and Economics before this.

With almost 20 years experience in Trust and Safety, first as a Police Sergeant and Detective, then as tech innovator, Henry Platten is on a mission of empowering respectful communications. The international presenter and media commentator has engaged audiences in 6 continents (he hasn’t presented to Antarctica… yet). He recontributes to public policy as a safeguarding advisor, and as co founder of GoBubble leads the innovation and future vision of their patent-pending Emotion AI (which unlocks the emotions in communications, at scale).

Trisha Prabhu is the 23-year-old inventor and Founder and CEO of ReThink™, a patented app that stops cyberbullying before the damage is done.

The ReThink app detects offensive content and gives youth a chance to “ReThink” sending it, stopping cyberbullying before it happens. Today, in collaboration with schools and educational organizations, ReThink’s technology, educational materials, and anti-cyberbullying advocacy have been shared with youth worldwide. The app is also now available in 8 international languages on the Google Play Store (where it was named one of Google Play's Most Innovative Apps).

For her work with ReThink, Trisha is the humbled recipient of many awards, among them, the WebMD Health Hero Prodigy Award and the Princess Diana International Anti-Bullying Award; she was also selected to present ReThink at The White House. Trisha has also made waves as a contestant on ABC’s Shark Tank and as the winner of Harvard University's President's Innovation Challenge and the Elevate Prize. In 2021, she was the youngest honoree named to Forbes' 30 Under 30 Social Impact list.

Trisha is a TED speaker and has delivered 100+ talks in 30 cities about the power of “ReThinking." Her debut book, “ReThink the Internet,” the world’s first-ever “by-youth, for-youth” guide to the Internet, was released in May 2022 from Penguin Random House.

Trisha is a summa cum laude graduate of Harvard University. She is now pursuing her postgraduate study at the University of Oxford as a United States Rhodes Scholar.

Andrew K. Przybylski is the Professor of Human Behaviour and Technology at the University of Oxford. Professor Przybylski investigates how online social media and video games platforms shape human motivation and influence the health and well-being of their users.  

Professor Przybylski has published more than 100 peer reviewed academic and conference papers which have been cited more than 20,000 times in the past decade. He is a frequent commentator on the effects of internet-based technology on our lives and works closely with national and global policymakers to empower users and independent scientists to address the most pressing questions of health and human development in the digital age.  

Professor Przybylski’s research, commentary, and contributions are regularly featured in The Guardian, The New York Times, Wired Magazine, The Washington Post, The Financial Times, The Week, and international outlets including the BBC World Service and PRI’s The World.  

In acknowledgment of his scientific and policy achievements he was recently appointed as an Honorary Professor at The Educational University of Hong Kong’s Centre for Psychosocial Health where he is working to build mutually beneficial relationships between the students and faculty of both institutions.  

His undergraduate, postgraduate, and doctoral degrees were earned at the University of Rochester in the United States.  

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Matt serves as Head of Trust & Safety at Spectrum Labs AI supporting the #TSCollective community as well as many of our partner companies across gaming, dating,  and social apps. He also serves as an advisor for All Tech is Human focusing on responsible innovation in technology. As a former member of the Global Trust & Safety Team At TikTok, Matt worked on cross functional teams to develop safety resources on that platform around bullying & harassment, suicide and self harm, hate speech, elections, and media literacy education tools.

Gill was appointed Ofcom’s Group Director for Online Safety at the end of 2022, formally taking on her role in April 23 when the new Online Safety Group was formed. She oversees Ofcom’s new duties as the UK regulator for online safety.

Prior to this Gill, was the inaugural Chief Executive of the UK’s Digital Regulation Cooperation Forum (DRCF) where she established the DRCF as a world-leading approach to implementing digital regulation.

Gill spent four years as Google UK’s Senior Director of Client Solutions & Analytics, leading teams in data analysis, measurement, user experience, consumer segmentation, having previously led their Market Insights across EMEA.  Gill previously worked at Channel Four and BBC Worldwide in a variety of strategy leadership and technology-driven roles, beginning her career at the Bank of England and Deloitte Consulting.  

Gill holds a Master’s degree at the University of Oxford’s Internet Institute and spent 2 years conducting academic research in her interest areas of data markets and data access.

Gill is a Fellow of the Institute of Chartered Accountants.  She is a Non-Executive Director and Audit Committee Chair of Informa plc, the British Olympic Association, and Chair of the Board for The Rugby World Cup 2025.

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Lorna Woods is professor of Internet Law at the University of Essex and a member of the Human Rights Centre there. She started her career in private practice, advising in the technology, media and telecommunications sectors. Since moving to academia, she has taught, researched and published in these fields. Her most recent project, with Carnegie UK Trust, is on the regulation of social media, work which formed the basis for the UK's 2019 Online Harms White Paper and for which she received an OBE. She is a senior associate research fellow at the Information Law and Policy Centre at the Institute for Advanced Legal Studies, and a member of the ESRC Peer Review College, and of the Digital Freedom Fund's Panel of Experts. She has sat on the Automatic Number Plate Recognition (ANPR) National User Group, advising the Surveillance Camera Commissioner and the police since 2015.

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