Our people
Jon Franklin
Jon is co-CEO and has been with PBE since 2018, having volunteered for PBE before then. Jon oversees the delivery of all PBE’s research , publications and partnerships. Prior to being co-CEO Jon was PBE’s Chief Economist, supervising or directly delivering more than 100 reports for charities as well as research about low wellbeing and the value of the non-profit sector. He helped to develop the content for a training course and advice programme that has now been delivered to more than 500 charities, receiving an average recommendation score of 9.5 out of 10.
Prior to working with PBE, Jon worked for the Government Economic Service for 13 years, focusing on policy appraisal, evaluation and forecasting in the taxation, property and aviation sectors.
Cassia Dingwall
Cassia Dingwall has been with PBE since 2018 and is currently the Interim co-CEO alongside Jon Franklin, the Chief Economist. As co-CEO, Cassia leads the internal side of PBE, overseeing the organisation’s operations, culture, and governance, with strong links to her role as Director of Operations and Finance. Cassia works across the organisation to ensure PBE has a thriving culture and a strong focus on diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI), and staff wellbeing. Cassia also manages PBE’s financial position, cashflow, budgets, audit, and risk, and works closely with PBE’s Board of Trustees, sub-committees, and Senior Management Team to ensure they have the appropriate information and awareness of the organisation’s strategic priorities. Cassia is a member of the Think Tank Diversity Network, promoting best practice and encouraging diverse applicants into the think tank sector.
Charlotte Stevens
As Director of Development, Charlotte leads the Development Team and is responsible for income generation. Charlotte and her team work in partnership with foundations, corporates and individuals to ensure Pro Bono Economics has the resources it needs to operate sustainably and, ultimately, to achieve its mission.
Originally a solicitor, Charlotte moved into the non-profit sector working in fundraising and partnership development primarily with organisations addressing systemic social justice challenges through policy change and advocacy. Previous roles include those at Fair Trials and Pregnant Then Screwed, and in a freelance capacity for Glitch and Compassion in Politics. Charlotte has also served on the boards of INQUEST, Lawyers for Palestinian Human Rights and Poetry London.
Anoushka Kenley
Anoushka oversees PBE projects that support groups of charities working together for impact. She has a particular interest in social sector data and leads PBE’s campaign for a civil society satellite account.
Anoushka has experience in developing theories of change, impact measurement, policy research and quantitative analysis. She joined PBE in 2020 to help deliver the Law Family Commission on Civil Society and is responsible for ensuring the Commission’s recommendations on evidence and effectiveness are put into practice.
Prior to joining PBE, Anoushka managed operations for an arts and homelessness charity, supported charities with impact measurement and held various roles in the Government Economic Service. She has volunteered for lots of different charities in the UK and abroad.
Alexa Sage
Alexa Sage is the Director of Inside Impact, an organisation focused on capability-building in impact practice for the public, private, and voluntary sectors through innovative training, coaching, and consultancy.
Working for infrastructure bodies and membership organisations in the not-for-profit sector, she has supported over 100 organisations to become more efficient and effective in their impact practice to secure millions in funding, win awards, influence policy and become sector thought leaders.
Her previous in-house roles include Head of Impact and Evaluation for a national disability charity and Head of Analytics and Impact for The Law Society.
Ben Gardiner
Ben has over 30 years’ experience working as an economist in various types of organisations. Most of his career has been spent at Cambridge Econometrics, where he is currently Chief Operating Officer, but he has also led work on European and UK regional and local development, as well as being responsible for running a portfolio of econometrics training courses in the UK and around the world.
Ben spent two years working for the European Commission (JRC-Seville) working on the regional modelling of Cohesion Funds, and from 2012-2019 was a research associate in the University of Cambridge’s Department of Geography, where he completed his PhD. He is also an Associate for the consultancy Human Behaviour Change for Life (HBCL) where he provides economist support for work mostly in the charity/NGO sector, often with a focus on animal welfare.
Last but not least, Ben has been a PBE volunteer for over two years, working mainly on short-term Data First Aid projects.
Deniece Anderson-Dow
Deniece joined PBE in May 2021 having worked for over 10 years with Providence Row, a homeless charity based in east London. Deniece joined PBE’s Operations team following a period of growth within the organisation. As PBE’s Finance and HR Manager, Deniece’s main responsibilities are spread across day-to-day finance, HR, IT, office management, and governance functions. She enjoys the varied nature of her role as she finds no two days are the same. In her spare time, Deniece enjoys volunteering in a local church, as well as gardening.
Disha Mitra
Disha is an economist with international experience in policy and strategy projects focused on health and wellbeing. She is passionate about being able to help organisations to improve the subjective wellbeing of populations. Her work has included big data analysis, evaluation of population health interventions and business case evaluation. She has worked in a range of settings, including the NHS, global consultancies and non-profits.
She also has a master’s in economics with specialisations in economics of subjective wellbeing and behavioural health. She now works independently, advising clients on economic evaluation and healthcare strategy.
Helen Hughson
Helen is a Research Officer at the London School of Economics (LSE), where she has contributed to research on tax policy, inequality and migration, including the work of the UK Wealth Tax Commission. Previously, she worked for five years at the Reserve Bank of Australia on labour market and international developments, and co-authored working papers on household responses to monetary policy and the market for overnight cash in Australia. Helen has an MSc Economics from University College London (UCL) and was a PBE volunteer economist prior to becoming an Economic Associate.