Meet The Team

Julia Pennington

Julia is the founder and managing director of Dignifi. She has a career spanning 25 plus years in the public sector as a frontline practitioner and Manager in a range of sectors including, Mental Health, YOS teams, the Probation Service, the VCSE sector and strategic lead in commissioning new services within Her Majesties Prison and Probation Service (HMPPS).

Julia is also a trauma survivor with lived experience of overcoming trauma and adversity in her own life. The Dignifi model has been built over the past 14 years and is an accumulation of Julia’s lived and professional experience within the Criminal Justice System and more widely in her work with young people leaving care and people experiencing mental health. Her passion, expertise and dedication to the work means that Julia leads and oversees all aspects of service delivery on all of Dignifi’s contracts.

Becky Bliss

Becky has over 25 years experience in health, social care and the third sector across operational service delivery, project management, commissioning and contract management, group facilitation and training delivery. With a foundation in relational practice and an inclusive, collaborative working style she is committed to promoting equality in all that she does. 

She has been delivering trauma awareness training for over four years, set up the Trauma Informed Ambassador Network in Bristol, and will complete her Masters in Trauma Informed Practice in February 2025.

Joanna McCloughry

Joanna McCloughry is a specialist trauma-responsive trainer and consultant with over 20 years of experience implementing trauma-informed principles across social care, voluntary sector, and educational sectors. As a lead trainer with Dignifi, she brings expertise in developing psychologically safe and resilient environments that foster positive outcomes for both staff and service users.

Drawing from her MSc in Conflict Resolution and Mediation and background in Public Health, Joanna's approach combines evidence-based practice with practical implementation strategies to help organisations create lasting positive change through trauma-responsive frameworks.

Sosa Henkoma

Sosa started with Dignifi as a client and has since gone on to become and is an award-winning advocate for change in the fight against human trafficking and modern-day slavery. He is a public speaker, trainer and lived experience consultant for Dignifi helping us to shape and deliver new projects and training courses relevant to his area of expertise. In addition to his work with us, Sosa is at university studying Criminology and Sociology and he works with several organisations, using his lived experience to shape policy, practice and legislation.

Siobhan Gilbertson

Siobhan is an interventions worker, she has worked with people who have a wide range of trauma’s or who have had significant life experiences which have shaped them as a person. She has extensive experience of supporting people from marginalised groups in a range of settings, she brings a range of unique engagement skills to her role, finding ways to engage the hardest to reach.  Previous roles include working for social services helping families and young people, preventing young people at risk of going into care – she has a BA of science Hons in Criminology which I gained in 2019.

Siobhan says she “loves her job working for Dignifi as we are making a difference to people’s lives conversation by conversation. We aren’t just ticking boxes”.

Nianda Lenehan

As a member of the Dignifi Intervention Team, Nianda is passionate about supporting individuals on their journey toward healing and resilience. Nianda began her journey with Dignifi as a student working in administration, which gave her valuable insight into the organisation and its mission. With a degree in business, Nianda brings a unique perspective to trauma informed practice, using her knowledge of organisation and resource management to help clients access the tools they need to rebuild stability in their lives. Nianda’s progression to the intervention team reflects her deep commitment to empowering others and fostering recovery through empathy and trust.

Binta Lenehan

Binta has worked for Dignifi since 2021, starting as an interventions worker on the care leavers project, before progressing into managing our intervention service in HMP Hindley and with GM IRS wellbeing service.

Binta brings a wealth of knowledge and experience to her current role. She has worked with children and young people in care seeking asylum and vulnerable adults for many years prior to working for Dignifi.

She currently holds a dual role managing complex cases and supporting staff to move people through the intervention steadily.

Her compassion, empathy and passion for helping people to change their behaviour and manage themselves is demonstrated by the ongoing success of our interventions programmes.

Shamime Jan

With nearly three decades of dedication to the South Asian community, Shamime has worked to empower women and communities in taking ownership of their health and wealth. Her work is driven by a deep commitment to fostering resilience, independence, and informed choices that enhance individual and collective well-being. Through advocacy, support programmes, and tailored initiatives, she strives to build a foundation for sustainable growth, promoting both personal empowerment and community strength