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Our directors

Martin Houghton-Brown - Chief Executive

Martin Houghton-BrownFormerly Deputy Director of Business Development at The Children’s Society, Martin joined Missing People as the charity’s new Chief Executive in August 2009.

Martin is one of the country’s leading authorities on the issue of runaway children, having produced the ground-breaking report 'Stepping Up' which led to HM Government’s Young Runaways Action Plan and the foundation of the Cross- Government Working Group for young runaways.

A standing member of the 'Strategic Oversight Group' on the issue of missing people, Martin was also Deputy Chair of the English Coalition on Runaway Children and has expertise engaging the most marginalised communities including ethnic minorities. He has delivered services to young people in trouble with the law, thrown out of home and involved with substance misuse.

Most recently Martin has combined his practice and policy expertise in authoring The Children’s Society’s Business Development Strategy, providing clarity and focus for delivery of services with local authorities and other public sector stakeholders.

Martin is now working with Missing People to develop a new strategy to take the charity forward.

Ruth Mulryne - Director of Services

Photograph of Ruth Mulryne, Head of Services

Ruth has extensive management experience in the voluntary, public and corporate sectors in the UK and Canada, with expertise in strategic planning, project and event management and fundraising, including managing the development of large staff teams of up to 100 people. Ruth was appointed Head of Services at Missing People in May 2007 and then Director of Services in May 2008. In this role she has overall responsibility for the charity’s service provision. This incorporates leading the strategic direction and operational effectiveness of the department to achieve consistently high standards for our users.  Prior to working for Missing People she was a Healthcare Consultant in Vancouver, delivering a range of innovative projects. Previously Ruth held senior management positions in services delivery and fundraising work in the UK voluntary sector, including Director of Development at QUIT, Head of Events at Mencap and National Projects Manager at NSPCC. 

 

Geoff Newiss - Director of Policy and Research

Photograph of Geoff Newiss, Head of Policy and Research

Geoff was appointed Head of Policy and Research in May 2007 and then Director of Policy and Research in May 2008, having previously worked for the charity as a consultant. During this time, Geoff initiated the Missing People Research Programme, the first concerted effort in the UK to initiate a range of projects to collect key statistics and to improve our knowledge of missing persons. Geoff has a wealth of experience of undertaking research in the field of missing people. He worked as a Senior Research Officer with the Home Office from 1997 to 2005 with sole responsibility for analysing the policing of missing persons. Other published research includes projects on child abduction, homicide enquiries, police crime recording, street robbery, refugees and other migrants. Geoff has also worked within the charity sector in various research roles including Director of Research at PACT (Parents and Abducted Children Together).

 

Douglas Parkhill – Director of Finance and Resources

Photograph of Douglas ParkhillDouglas joined Missing People in September 2008 as Director of Finance and Resources. He has a background of senior financial, company secretarial, corporate governance and consultancy roles in industry and is a member of the Institute of Chartered Accountants of Scotland and a graduate of the University of Glasgow. He is former Group Company Secretary of pharmaceutical group SkyePharma PLC, and former Finance Director of Black and Edgington, then the UK leading provider of tented structures for major events including the Wimbledon Lawn Tennis Championships, Henley Royal Regatta, Farnborough International Airshow, state visits and royal garden parties.

 

Jo Youle - Acting Director of Services

Photograph of Jo YouleJo Youle has worked for Missing People since 2002, starting as the Co-Head of Message Home and the Runaway Helpline. Jo is now the Head of Services. Jo led the development and launch of the Runaway Helpline in 2004 and played a key role in the strategic review of the charity’s services in 2006. Jo was previously a Co-Director at the Central London Samaritans in Soho. Jo is a key spokesperson on runaways and missing issues and featured in the BBC documentary ‘Runaways’ broadcast in November 2004 and has represented Missing People on Kilroy, ITV news, BBC breakfast news amongst many others.