About the Training Team
Specialist trainers with lived experience and sector expertise.
Friends, Families and Travellers’ training is delivered by a team of experienced facilitators, researchers and advocates with deep expertise in Gypsy, Roma and Traveller communities, equality practice and public service delivery.
Our team combines lived experience with professional expertise across health, education, housing, criminal justice and organisational development. This ensures training is grounded, practical and directly relevant to the realities of frontline work.
Rather than abstract theory, our trainers focus on applied learning, real-world scenarios and actionable change.
Our training approach is:
- Lived experience informed – centring the perspectives of Gypsy, Roma and Traveller communities
- Practically focused – designed for real-world application in services and organisations
- Sector specific – tailored to the challenges of different professional contexts
- Interactive – encouraging reflection, discussion and application
- Action oriented – focused on what participants can change in their practice
Meet the Training Team
James O’Neill
James is an Irish Traveller who loves spending time with his wife and 5 children. He joined FFT in 2023 after studying law as a mature student.
He is proud to work for an organisation with a strong track record of fighting racism and discrimination and defending human rights. In James’ role as Training Officer, he supports the design and delivery of FFT’s CPD accredited Inclusive Services Training Programme and delivers on a number of FFT’s webinars.
Chris Penfold Brown
Having joined FFT as an Associate since 2022, Romany poet Chris Penfold Brown helps deliver our Inclusive Services training programme.
The first part of her life was travelling on the road with her Romany Gypsy family. Since then, Chris has dedicated over three decades to ensuring the voices of Gypsy and Traveller people are listened, from founding the Gypsy Traveller Advisory Group for Sussex Police and acting as Chair, to advocating for Romany Gypsy and Irish Traveller communities in Parliament and influencing decision makers both locally and nationally.
Bridging the gap between communities and bringing people together from all walks of life through craft and storytelling workshops, Chris also keeps traditional Romany skills like flower making and step dancing alive and had a small poem and story book published in 2007.
Jonathan Jones
Jonathan FFT in 2021 and brings a combination of professional expertise, academic knowledge and lived experience to his role as Training Manager. Jonathan has lived roadside for the past six years, giving him direct experience of the realities faced by people living roadside and a practical understanding of the barriers members of the communities can encounter when accessing public services.
He holds an MA in Psychology and Neuroscience of Mental Health, alongside a background in mental health and community-focused work, including a number of years as a caseworker at FFT.
Sam Worrall
Sam first worked at FFT in 2018, working on health projects. She returned in 2023 to focus on criminal justice, and is an active member of the HMPPS Race and Disparities GRT Strategy Third Sector Advisory Group.
Sam has led a semi nomadic lifestyle for the last 25 years as a New Traveller and Liveaboard Boater. She moved off wheels and onto a narrowboat in 2014, and cruises around the canals of the South and Midlands.
What makes our team different
Lived experience insight
Our training is informed by direct experience of the barriers faced by Gypsy, Roma and Traveller communities when accessing services, ensuring sessions remain grounded and relevant.
Sector expertise
Each trainer brings specialist knowledge of their sector, ensuring content reflects the realities of practice in health, education, housing, policing and corporate environments.
Practical focus
We focus on what staff can actually do differently in their roles, not just awareness or theory.
National experience
Our team has delivered training to hundreds of organisations across the UK, from frontline teams to senior leadership groups.
How we deliver training
We adapt delivery depending on your organisation’s needs:
- Online interactive sessions
- In-person workshops
- CPD-accredited training
- Bespoke organisational programmes
- Conference sessions and keynote talks
- Large-scale webinars
All training is designed to be engaging, accessible and relevant to participants’ roles.
Working with us
When you book training with Friends, Families and Travellers, you are working with a specialist national organisation with deep expertise in Gypsy, Roma and Traveller inclusion, equality and service improvement.
We work collaboratively with organisations to ensure training reflects their context, priorities and challenges.
Book training with our team
Whether you are looking for a single session or a full training programme, our team can support your organisation to improve understanding, confidence and practice.
Next steps:
- View upcoming webinars
- Request a tailored programme
- Book a discovery call
- Contact the training team