Elena Noel
Organisation
IARS
Role
Trustee and Chair of the Board
Biography
As Chair of IARS Board, Elena Noel is very proud of the successful work undertaken by IARS and the staff and voluteers' dedication and passion in empowering young people, and influencing processes that marginalised groups to have a voice locally nationally and internationally.
Ms Noel has been a Mediator for more than 15 years, experienced in Community Mediation, Family Mediation, Hate Crimes and Workplace disputes, tackling situations of conflict across London.
Elena has a Masters Degree (MSc) and Postgraduate Certificate in Mediation and Conflict Resolution from the University of London. She is a qualified Counsellor with a Post Graduate Diploma in Counselling. Elena is the Manager of the award-winning Hate Crimes Project at Southwark Mediation Centre.
Prior to this she was the Manager of the Housing Project at Southwark Mediation Centre dealing with entrenched situations of anti-social behaviour. She is experienced trainer and consultant in mediating conflict resolution and conflict management, race, ethnicity and identity issues, and hate crime and has given consultancy to those involved in research, and those interested in the wider applicability of mediation, Restorative Justice, community cohesion and hate crime to Race on the Agenda, London Probation, Mediation and Restorative Justice services. Elena’s work has shaped policy locally and nationally and has enabled others interested in Hate Crime to establish projects in the UK using the Hate Crimes Project as its template.
Elena has led and taken part in a number of crime reduction and community cohesion initiatives by Southwark Council and Safer Southwark Partnership. She has given consultancy to crime reduction agencies dealing with hate crime and Post Doctoral research graduates from the UK and the international community.
To date, Elena has worked over 500 cases of hate crime. She often encounters protracted, multi-party disputes and very volatile and violent situations. She is an expert Advisor in Conflict Resolution and Community Engagement for the Home Office, and has been a Neighbourhood Renewal Advisor for the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister. Previously Elena has also been a university lecturer.
The Hate Crimes Project successfully works using Restorative Justice approaches to tackle prejudice related to race, LGBT, faith and disability, challenging the beliefs and attitudes of perpetrators to bring about long term change. It has has a strong track record for its successful partnership work with the community and agencies in Southwark, London and beyond. It has a number of commendations and awards for Best Practice from the Home Office, Metropolitan Police, Metropolitan Police Authority, ACPO, London Probation Service and others. Its work has been highlighted in research by ROTA, The Runnymede Trust, and in the media. Elena is very proud of The Hate Crimes Project having the commendation by the Home Office of being a ‘Demonstration Status’ project.
