Who We Are

The Alternatives to Violence Project is a network of skilled volunteers who run workshops for anyone who wants to find ways of resolving conflict without resorting to violence. We work in communities and with prison populations.

We understand that conflict is a natural and normal part of life, and that it is possible to learn new ways of handling it. By holding workshops in which the participants consider the underlying causes of friction and violence, practical ways of dealing with situations of conflict are worked out.

Our workshops build on everyday experiences and try to help us move away from violent or abusive behaviour by developing other ways of dealing with conflicts. The workshops are especially designed to increase the respect we have for ourselves and others.

AVP Britain’s vision is a non-violent society.

Our mission is to support people, particularly those in hardship, to learn how to handle conflict, resist violence, and build stronger relationships.

How we are organised

AVP Britain is a registered charity and a company limited by guarantee. We are also registered in Scotland as a charity. 

Company Members meet in an Annual General Meeting and elect between six and ten Trustees who hold responsibility for all governance matters.  Trustees serve for a three-year term, and each year, up to a third of trustees stand down or may stand for re-election, subject to a maximum term of six years.

Our Board of Trustees

Chair: Sasha Dzhuras

Sasha has over 14 years of experience in Executive Director roles, along with third sector experience. An expert in the creation of effective campaigns blending traditional and digital media, Sasha brings strategic and operational experience in brand development, marketing, customer engagement, and business turnarounds.

Sasha has a strong passion for putting the customer first, and is known for her willingness to ask tough questions and her ability to quickly pinpoint key issues so as to uncover and address root causes of business issues.

Trustee: Kate Eves

Kate has extensive background in the field of criminal justice, both in the UK and the USA. Her interests and experience are specifically in the area of safety and in the prevention and investigation of violence. Having started her career in this field as a researcher, she spent many years carrying out quantitative and qualitative research in custodial settings. I have interviewed both staff and prisoners, led focus groups, carried out analysis for large scale research projects and published reports. Kate has over 25 years of experience of working in custodial settings and formerly led the violence reduction strategy for HM Prison Service.

Trustee: Michael Dellapina

Michael is a human resources executive with experience spanning more than 25 years. He is a native of New York City and has extensive international experience, having lived and worked in Germany, Greece, Poland and the United States. In 2009, Michael moved to the United Kingdom living and working in London. In addition to holding both Bachelor of Science and Master of Business Administration degrees, Michael is certificated by the Human Resources
Certification Institute (HRCI) as a Senior Professional in Human Resources (SPHR). He has a keen passion for helping organisations harness the power of their people by establishing forward-thinking HR agendas to enable growth. Michael delights in being physically active and has a passion for HIIT workouts, running as well as hiking to explore the beauty of the English countryside.

Trustee (& Treasurer) : Louise Gu

Louise is a Credit Risk Manager with a breadth of experience in leading and deploying innovative risk strategies to support multi-million business change, transformation and continuous improvement initiatives within banking and financial services. With a robust analytical approach, executes operational process improvements to streamline business activities, increase productivity and enhance senior-level reporting. Combines a superior understanding of fast-moving markets, advanced negotiation skills and thought-leadership capabilities to deliver forward-looking insights and recommendations at the Executive level.

Trustee (& Volunteer-facilitator): Kevin Churchill

Kevin Churchill is an experienced international Procurement Director and Mediator with more than two decades of experience in leading and managing organisations and teams in the UK and East Africa. His career began in banking over two decades ago with the Lloyds Banking Group, followed by the Local Authority sector in London and Oxford and thereafter in international consultancy and international development, most recently in Nairobi, Kenya.

 

Today, Kevin runs Cerno Thames Ltd, a business advisory and mediation practice based in London and Oxford, providing workplace and commercial mediation services to clients to help manage and resolve their commercial, contractual and workplace disputes.

 

Kevin is a CEDR and CMC accredited mediator who has undertaken more than forty mediation and conflict coaching cases. Today, he mediates a wide range of workplace and commercial disputes for businesses, public authorities, universities, schools, suppliers and clients. He also mediates for individuals in the community and between neighbours and groups dealing with disagreements and disputes. Kevin also provides coaching and training to individuals and teams, in conflict management.

 

On a voluntary basis, Kevin is a volunteer-facilitator for ‘Alternatives to Violence Project – Britain’ (AVP), delivering weekly workshops for individuals close to or involved with the UK civil and criminal justice system. He is also a volunteer-mediator for Mediation Buckinghamshire providing mediation services and conflict coaching to individuals and groups in the community.

 

Kevin has an MBA from Imperial College and an MSc from the London School of Economics. Kevin lives and works internationally between London, Oxford, Kenya and South Africa.

Company Secretary: Pere Amazige

Pere Esther Amazige is a highly skilled legal and corporate governance professional with over five years of experience in corporate law, compliance, dispute resolution, and international arbitration. She began her career in the Nigerian legal system, working on corporate governance, regulatory compliance, and dispute resolution, and has represented clients in various courts, including the High Court and Court of Appeal.

Currently, Pere serves as the Company Secretary for Alternatives to Violence Project Britain (AVPB), where she applies her legal expertise to strengthen governance frameworks and ensure regulatory compliance. Her work aligns with AVPB’s mission to foster non-violent conflict resolution within communities.

Pere is a Chartered Secretary and Administrator, a Chartered Mediator and Conciliator, and an Associate at the Chartered Institute of Arbitrators (UK). She also holds an MSc in Law and Finance from Queen Mary University of London and an LLM from University College London, equipping her with deep expertise in governance, dispute resolution, and international arbitration.

Trustee: Arthur Charlton

With a background in architecture, mediation, and training, Arthur has facilitated AVP workshops since the early 90s. Arthur now also helps manage the online programme of AVP Britain. Arthur joined AVP as a Trustee in the fall of 2022. 

Our Patrons

  • Baroness Vivien Stern, CBE, Crossbench Peer House of Lords

  • Tim Newell, Former Governor of Grendon and Spring Hill prisons, restorative justice practitioner, consultant and author

Our Staff and Volunteers

We are a volunteer-led organisation, and we couldn’t deliver any our programming without their help. Our volunteers are based all over the UK and help with a range of tasks including organizing, promoting, and facilitating workshops; fundraising; promoting AVP; assisting with administrative tasks; monitoring and evaluating our work; developing community partnerships; and more.

Interested in becoming a volunteer? Learn more here.

We currently fund four part-time roles:

  • 1. Distance Learning Coordinator

  • 2. Distance Learning Administrator

  • 3. London and Online Workshop Coordinator

  • 4. Finance Officer

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AVP Britain

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