Liberty announces new Chair and Vice Chair

Liberty is pleased to announce that Tara Lai Quinlan has been appointed as Chair of the Board, with Patricia Tuitt elected as Vice Chair.

Liberty is a membership organisation, and members elect the Policy Council at the Annual General Meeting. From its own number, the Council then elects an Executive Committee (the Board). Tara and Patricia were appointed to their new roles in June 2022.

Dr Tara Lai Quinlan joined the Policy Council and Committee in 2019. Tara was formerly a lawyer in New York City, and currently lectures at the University of Birmingham. Her research and teaching focus on policing, criminal law and procedure, and inequalities in the criminal justice system. She has previously volunteered with Reprieve-UK and the Asian American Bar Association of New York, and has served on the Board of Directors of the New York Civil Liberties Union.

Patricia Tuitt was elected to the Policy Council in 2020 and the Executive Committee in 2021. Patricia is a legal academic publishing widely on European Union law, legal education, postcolonial theory and refugee law. She brings extensive strategic management experience to the position of Vice Chair, and her immediate priority is to diversify the Executive Committee socially, culturally and professionally.

Tara and Patricia take up their new roles as human rights in the UK are under threat like never before. The Government’s Rights Removal Bill wants to rip up our Human Rights Act, taking rights away from some people and making it more difficult for everyone to challenge injustice.

Liberty, its Board and its members have fearlessly stood up to power since 1934, and we are ready for the challenge ahead.

Everyone at Liberty would like to thank Rahul Sinha for serving as Acting Chair for the past six months. You can find out more about Liberty’s structure and governance here.