Brigitte Chaudhry MBE
RoadPeace Founder and President
When Brigitte’s only son, Mansoor aged 26, was horrifically killed in October 1990 by a van driver who had ploughed into him whilst driving through a junction with lights already red for a long time, she was shocked at the shabby treatment of his innocent death. Brigitte quickly learnt that the response to a road death, however blameless the victim and reckless the offender, was worlds apart from the response to a violent death caused by someone in other circumstances. She protested through legal actions in the High Court – eventually three judicial reviews over five years. She found other people who were bereaved through letters in newspapers and approaches to Compassionate Friends, and she documented their experiences.
These experiences made it clear that a grave injustice was being perpetrated and suffered. Together with some of the people she met, Brigitte decided that to challenge the casual attitude to road casualties and offer support to the victims, a dedicated organisation needed to be set up, since none existed and no-one spoke up for road victims. RoadPeace’s first meeting was held around Brigitte’s dining table in 1991 and the organisation began in 1992 with the first ever helpline for road crash victims, which she manned at the same time as developing the organisation.
As National Secretary, Brigitte has been involved with the day-to-day work of RoadPeace for 16 years, stepping down at the 7th April 2008 conference, which celebrated RoadPeace’s 15 years of pioneering work since its public launch on the same date in 1993. Brigitte’s engagement with RoadPeace continues in her role as president, but she was also working at international level for road crash victims: from 2004 to 2010 she has been President of FEVR (European Federation of Road Traffic Victims) and in collaboration with the World Health Organisation she continued to develop and promote the World Day of Remembrance for Road Traffic Victims, resulting in this Day now being celebrated throughout the whole world following its adoption by the United Nations in 2005. Brigitte was at the origin of this day in 1993 and is also the author of theWorld Day websitelaunched in early 2008, and was its editor until December 2017.
For more of Brigitte’s experiences please read the following:
Hidden Victims – how RoadPeace began
Past and future challenges – Brigitte Chaudhry speech to the RoadPeace 15th Anniversary Conference
Joanna Dentskevich
Treasurer
Joanna has worked in the finance industry globally for over three decades. She has lived in Jersey with her family since 2008, continuing her career there as a non-executive director serving on the board of investment companies and banks.
In 2020, Joanna’s youngest son was seriously injured in road traffic collision whilst he was cycling. Since then, she has been a strong advocate for road safety victims’ rights. Her campaigning led to a proposition in 2021 that has resulted in the introduction of a collision and casualty reduction plan by the Jersey government.
Petra Kendall-Raynor
Chair of Trustees
Petra has a professional background in journalism, with extensive experience in print, broadcast and digital news, including digital start-ups. She has worked for the national press writing for national and international news agencies in both London and Los Angeles. Petra has also specialised in health journalism and has written across journals for the publishing arm of the Royal College of Nursing. She currently works in communications for the NSPCC.
Petra’s father Thomas died after he was hit by a car when crossing a road as a pedestrian. She has volunteered for RoadPeace since 2018 helping with her local North West group and nationally as Chair of the Board of Trustees since 2022. Petra believes in the importance of collaboration in working towards the prevention of tragedy on the roads.
Alexandra Swann
Alex is a senior marketing professional who has worked with a range of organisations over the last three decades to deliver strategic marketing and communications. She has also worked in a voluntary capacity with the City of London division of Cancer Research UK to raise funds.
Ginny Davies
Ginny is a Human Resources professional with almost twenty years’ generalist HR experience. She began her career in HR in Kentucky, USA, and has extensive experience working in businesses within the charity and private sectors.
Ginny’s eldest daughter Courtney was killed instantly in December 2020 when a HGV crashed into her vehicle. Ginny has been working with agencies to support the campaign for road safety awareness and the ripple effect it has on victims and their families. She firmly believes that road victims should have a voice – not be treated as a statistic – and considers RoadPeace to be a strong voice for those victims, their families and the bereaved as well as lobbying to reduce road traffic collisions on our roads.