Meet the Team
The Loop has a small, and growing, staff team, led by the CEO, and supported by our Trustees. As an organisation, we are predominantly staffed by volunteers; professionals who form our senior volunteer team (40 people) and general volunteer team (c.300 people). Our volunteers are chemists, health and social care professionals, researchers and academics.
Staff Team
Katy Porter | Chief Executive Officer
Katy is a nurse and worked in HIV services (Mildmay Hospital), substance use treatment (South London & Maudsley NHS Foundation Trust, City Roads Crisis Intervention, Cranstoun Drug Services) and homelessness (Thames Reach), both as practitioner and in senior roles, as manager and director. Katy has also taken on voluntary roles related to mental health and homelessness as Governor for Camden & Islington NHS Foundation Trust, and for the past 7 years, and continuing, as Trustee/Vice Chair for Depaul UK.
With extensive experience in working across health & social care services, collaborating with a broad range of stakeholders from voluntary sector partners, to Public Health, Local Authorities, and newly formed Integrated Care Systems, Katy is committed to developing and expanding the services and reach of The Loop to ensure our drug checking service and harm reduction advice and information is accessible and available nationally.
Ursh Skeet | Administrator
Ursh is the Administrator for The Loop, aiming to co-ordinate and streamline administrative processes in order to help develop and expand The Loop’s services.
Ursh is a graduate with a background in Biology, and experience working in a range of voluntary and charity roles. They have previously worked for Gambling Education Network in a research capacity, and led multiple student societies while completing her Master’s degree. They also have a background in healthcare activism, volunteering with different community organisations for the past 3 years, including as a Patient and Public Voice partner for the NHS.
Adam Waugh | Training Coordinator
Adam has 6 years of experience working in fields to reduce the harms of alcohol and other drug use, with a focus on the night time economy. This has included managing event-based welfare and harm reduction services, through his role in the senior management team of PsyCare UK, and more recently, project managing services relating to vulnerability in the night time economy with Night Time Economy Solutions. Adam has a MSc in Criminology and Criminal Justice with distinction from Durham University where his dissertation studied harm reduction at UK music festivals. He has been involved in the Loop since 2018, and has supported the charity in areas such as harm reduction, communications and drug alerts.
Hannah O’Riordan | Operations Manager - Festivals & Events
Hannah started her career in event fundraising, working first for Royal Manchester Children’s Hospital and then Cancer Research UK. After 10 years working for health charities she made the move into festival logistics and event production, working on major UK festivals.
Hannah is passionate about combining her third sector and festival knowledge to help drive The Loop’s day to day operations.
Trustees
Fiona Measham | Founder and Chair of the Board of Trustees
Fiona was appointed Chair in Criminology at the University of Liverpool in 2019 and has been an academic for over three decades, internationally renowned for her research on changing trends in drug use, drug policy and nightlife. She has been a member of expert panels on drug policy reform for the three main political parties in the UK, has been a member of the Advisory Council on the Misuse of Drugs and its standing committees since 2008, and is a founding member of Drug Science.
After contributing to research and expert panels for over three decades, sounding out colleagues and stakeholders, Fiona felt very strongly that the introduction of free, non-judgemental drug checking services to the general public was both possible and valuable in the UK, to help address record levels of drug-related harm and death. Fiona co-founded The Loop in the UK in 2012 and in Australia in 2018, to introduce evidence-based and evidence-making legal, professional drug checking services, and continues to champion drug checking as a way to facilitate safer choices, reduce stigma and widen understanding of drug use and drug markets.
Jon Drape | Trustee
Jon has been involved in the night time economy for over 30 years, starting his career as a lighting technician and going on to become music production manager at the legendary Haçienda nightclub in Manchester until its closure in 1997.
He is a director of specialist festival production company Engine No 4 and has been instrumental in the inception and development of some of the UK’s most talked about and well-loved festivals including Festival No 6, Parklife and Bluedot.
As a well-respected industry leader, Jon has championed a forward thinking approach to harm reduction at festivals and nightclubs across the UK. He is the founder of the Festival Safe campaign and website, and patron of Attitude Is Everything.
Philip Kolvin | Trustee
Philip Kolvin KC is a licensing barrister. He is widely published in his field and is a Patron and past Chair of the Institute of Licensing. He is an Associate Fellow of Westminster University, Chair of the gambling charity Betknowmore and also sits as a Recorder of the Crown Court.
Darren Knight | Trustee
Darren is the Chief Executive of the HIV charity George House Trust and has over 16 years’ experience working in charities at Bolton CVS, Shelter and LGBT Foundation. Darren’s been involved in influencing national and local policy and one of his key passions is to ensure that the voice of people is heard, understood, absorbed and is meaningful in co-designing services, policy and solutions.
In his spare time, Darren likes to get involved in the community where he lives and is a weekly volunteer befriender with Senior Solutions and a young person’s mentor for Bolton Lads and Girls Club. Darren is also Chair of the Octagon Theatre Bolton, a trustee for Lloyds Bank Foundation and a trustee with Foundation for the Future. Darren brings a strong charity focus to the board of The Loop, with experience in governance, fundraising and partnerships.
Credit: Gary Brown