Ivan Smith – Chair
Ivan started his working life in the Army as a member of the Royal Corps of Signals where he specialised in signal intelligence and analysis. He left the Army and joined the Suffolk Constabulary where he served in all areas of the county. He retired in 2005 as Superintendent – Operations Manager. He is a Chartered Manager with the Chartered Management Institute and has a Masters degree in Business Administration.
John Babraff
Brought up in Southern Africa, John came to England to join the Royal Air Force as a pilot. After gaining his wings he was posted to fast jets and flew a number of aircraft types including Hunters and Buccaneers. The highlight of his flying career was serving in West Germany in the 1970s flying Buccaneers during the Cold War. The latter part of his RAF career was spent in a variety of senior staff appointments at headquarters in the UK, specialising in flying training policy and aircraft safety management. He also served overseas in Bosnia and Oman during periods of military tension. He retired from the RAF in 2004.
Les Bryant
Les is a freelance consultant, providing careers counselling, outplacement and job search support to individual clients and organisations. He has provided management development programmes for clients in a wide variety of sectors, and was formerly HR and Management Development manager in a multinational financial services company. He is a member of the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development and holds an honours degree in psychology and a diploma in management studies. Les is vice-chair of Suffolk-based charity Disability Care Enterprise, a member of Victim Support and acts as a Witness Support volunteer at Ipswich Magistrates’ Court.
John Eccleston
John graduated in mechanical engineering from Nottingham University and initially trained as an engineer with the National Coal Board. He spent the bulk of his career with Ford Motor Company, where he worked in finance, sales and marketing, and IT. He took early retirement in 2004 and now splits his time between providing IT and business support to a large group of automotive dealers and serving as a school governor and Suffolk Probation Area board member.
Pam Howes
Pam has spent most of her career in the public sector, initially as a social worker and then as an operational manager across a range of services. She has also been involved with professional training and the development of new vocational training for care and community justice awards. More recently she has been a commissioning manager, responsible for monitoring internal and external contracts and setting up a number of service level agreements and new partnership arrangements designed to deliver both best value and quality provision.
Phillip Key
Phillip started his career with Barclays Bank but he has spent the last 30 years working in senior management within the leisure industry. He moved to Suffolk from Lincolnshire in August 2006. He has been a magistrate for 10 years and was deputy chair of the Skegness bench, as well as being Chair of the Advisory sub-committee and a Youth and Adult Court Chair. He has been an active member of the Magistrates in the Community project and was a member of the Lincolnshire Courts Board at its inception.
Gill Lewis
Gill worked for over 20 years in the voluntary sector and in local government, in housing, regeneration and social services, before becoming a director in the NHS. She has served as a non-executive director on various public sector boards, mainly in the NHS, and chaired the board of the national housing ombudsman. As well as sitting on Suffolk Probation Area board, she serves on the boards of Suffolk Police Authority and Suffolk Heritage Housing Association and is a school governor.
Colin Page
Colin has a strong commercial background, having worked for various companies including, J Lyons, Diners Club, Citibank, Emirates Bank (U.A.E.), and Visa International. He initially embarked on a career in sales before developing his skills through the marketing discipline to become a business manager specialising in business start ups and turnarounds. He has lived and worked overseas, as well as in the UK, and for the past eight years has been working as a business development consultant and interim business manager.
Judge Peter Thompson
Peter Thompson is a Circuit Judge sitting in Ipswich Crown Court and Ipswich County Court. Before his appointment as a judge in 1998 he spent almost 30 years in private practice as a solicitor in London, Australia and Ipswich. He dealt with criminal defence work, family and children cases and a wide range of civil litigation. His last position was as a partner in a large national firm of solicitors, including a substantial management role. He has also been a law lecturer, Chair of Relate in Suffolk, President of the Suffolk and North Essex Law Society and (long ago) a part-time professional football player. He has been a member of the Suffolk Probation Board since 2001,
