A message from our new CEO Alex Feis-Bryce

It is a huge honour for me to have been appointed CEO of Transform and I’m so excited to be given the opportunity to lead such a fantastic, dedicated team with so much expertise.

I first came across Transform’s work a decade ago when I was CEO of National Ugly Mugs (NUM), an organisation working firmly in the harm reduction world supporting sex workers when they become victims of crime. During my six years at NUM, we delivered services to some of the most marginalised people in the country as well as working with national and international partners to advocate for changes to laws and policies which undermine human rights, public health, and social justice. There are many parallels with drug policy and I saw first-hand the impact of ineffective and dangerous laws on the lives of individuals and communities.

As someone who has spent most of my adult life fighting for change and challenging injustice, I am immensely proud to join a trailblazing organisation which is a bold, often radical, but always evidence-led, voice for reform.

I want to pay tribute to James, my predecessor, who oversaw a period of growth and stability for the organisation and is held in the highest regard by the team, the board of trustees and the wider drug policy reform community. I’m so pleased that he’s remaining in the sector as he has so much to contribute and I’m really looking forward to working with him.

More and more countries across the world are acknowledging the failure of prohibition which presents huge opportunities for Transform and the wider community of drug policy advocates. Here in the UK after 50 years of the disastrous Misuse of Drugs Act, there is overwhelming evidence that change cannot be delayed any longer.

So, with the momentum for national and international drug policy reform gathering pace, it is an extremely exciting time to be joining Transform who will play a significant role both in shaping the nature of the reforms and ensuring that the momentum isn’t lost.

I’m really looking forward to working with and learning from you all.

Alex