Message from INCCIP Co-Chairs
Hamed Farmand & Julie Hourigan

Co-Chair

Hamed Farmand I am an Iranian-American children’s rights activist as well as founder and president of a US-based, non-profit organization, Children of Imprisoned Parents International (COIPI). I started the organization in 2014 based on research I conducted in 2012, which was born out of a desire to work on this issue because of my own experience of having a mother in prison during my childhood.

I have worked closely with local organizations in Arlington, Alexandria, and Fairfax, cities in Virginia, and Washington, DC, who focus on inmates and their families. I use storytelling in churches, universities, and other public spaces to advocate for the rights and needs of children who lost their parents to incarceration. I have shared my experience at conferences, such as the International Prisoners’ Family Conference in 2018, and the International Coalition for Children with Incarcerated Parents in 2021. “Mothers Behind Bars” is one of the main focus areas of my organization.

Currently, I am using social media platforms to communicate with Iranian families with incarcerated parents, sending them educational messages. I recently published investigative research by my organization about the situation of children and their mothers inside prisons in Iran. Through my activism and programs, I have shared information and findings with UN special procedures and rapporteurs, including but not limited to the Office of High Commissioner for Human Rights, and the Rights on Freedom of Religion or Belief.

Co-Chair

Julie Hourigan is the Chief Executive Officer of SHINE for Kids.

SHINE for Kids is an Australian national not-for-profit organisation which provides specialist services directly to children impacted by parental incarceration, while also working with young people in youth justice centres. They are focused on breaking cycles of intergenerational crime and driving down rates of recidivism amongst young people, meaning that our work is highly complementary in their aims.

Julie is a strategic and transformational outcomes-focused influential leader and award-winning advocate and spokesperson for children and families.

She has decades of expert experience across government, non-profits, private and public sectors, delivering measurable social impact and reform, as well as a Masters in Law (Human Rights and Social Justice).

In joining the INCCIP Board, Julie brings technical skills and volunteer board experience to an important global issue. In Australia (as elsewhere in the world), children are the invisible victims of their parents’ crime and suffer disproportionately poorer social, emotional, education and health outcomes.

Julie is passionate about policy, advocacy and research that puts the rights of children at its core.

Secretary

Katie Kramer DSW, MSW, MPH is the Co-Founder & CEO, Corrections, Communities and Families at The Bridging Group. She has support the development of a stronger youth presence and voice within the work of INCCIP by serving on the planning committee/sub-planning committees for conferences in England and the US. Her dedication to children with incarcerated loved ones is rooted in 25 years of work to develop, implement, and evaluate social services and health programs that serve communities affected by the criminal justice system. She is a founding member of San Francisco Children of Incarcerated Parents Partnership and was a part of the workgroup that created the original Children of Incarcerated Parents Bill of Rights. Through her work at The Bridging Group in California, she collaborated with governmental, non-governmental organizations and research/academic institutions working in prisons, jails, or community re-entry throughout the US and globally with projects in Haiti, Kazakhstan, Kenya, Kyrgyzstan, Russia, Tajikistan, Trinidad, Ukraine, and Uzbekistan. 

Trustee

Dr Tahir Abass is a British Academy Postdoctoral Fellow at the Centre for Criminology, University of Oxford. His research examines punishment, inequality, race and belonging, with a particular focus on the experiences of Muslim and racially minoritised communities in Britain. His current research explores the experiences of young Muslim’s affected by parental imprisonment and the wider consequences of the criminal justice system for families, identity and citizenship.

Tahir completed his PhD in Law at the University of Leeds in 2023. His research also informs his work with third-sector organisations and penal reform initiatives, including the Howard League for Penal Reform.

Trustee

Shari Ostrow Scher (from March 2026) is a longtime INCCIP member and has presented at several INCCIP conferences.

While her first career was in public education, including teaching and supervising grade levels from pre-kindergarten through college, more recently, she was the Founder and volunteer Executive Director of Children of Incarcerated Parents Partnership (COIPP), a nonprofit located in Frederick, Maryland.

In August 2025, Shari stepped down as the leader of COIPP and now serves on their board and continues to participate in all activities, as well as serving on some committees related to this topic in Frederick, Maryland.

Trustee

María Sirvent Bravo Ahuja (Mexico) is a co-founder and Director of Documenta, Analysis and Action for Social Justice A.C., a pioneering organisation defending the rights of persons deprived of liberty, people with disabilities, and other groups in situations of vulnerability in Mexico. 

She holds a law degree with honors from the National Autonomous University of Mexico (UNAM) and a Master’s degree in Human Rights and Constitutional Guarantees from the Autonomous Technological Institute of Mexico (ITAM).

Trustee

Corin Morgan-Armstrong was educated at Bath and Cardiff University, (BA Hons & MSc. Econ – Criminology & Criminal Justice) and has worked within the field of rehabilitation and resettlement for the last 27 years, starting as a prison officer at HMP Parc in 1997. During the last 18 years, Corin has created and implemented a specific model that has at its heart the engagement of people in prison with their children and families, for the purposes of rehabilitation, derailing intergenerational crime, and re-building community inclusion. Corin established the Family Interventions Unit 2010 (the first of its kind in the UK) and an Interventions Led Visits model at HMP Parc and has worked with corrections in the UK and internationally to achieve replication of the model. Corin also designed and established the Invisible Walls family support service, initially lottery funded in 2011 and incorporated as a not-for-profit Community Interest Company in May 2023 operating in 8 UK prisons. Outside of work, Corin enjoys spending time with his children, going to the theatre and has been training in Tae Kwon Do for the last 38 years.

Corin has received a number of commendations for his work, two of which were received in St James’s Palace and Buckingham Palace respectively. In September 2015, the team succeeded in achieving the Investors In Families charter mark, normally the reserve of schools, Parc was the first prison in the EU to hold this award, presented in January 2016 at The House of Lords by the Prisons Minister. In 2016 he was invited to be a member of the Ministry of Justice-commissioned Lord Farmer Review into the impact on families of incarceration in the UK. In June 2016, the HM Inspection published report on HMP Parc stated that the family model at Parc was ‘innovative and radical, and probably the best they had seen in any prison.’ The Invisible Walls service won the Family category at the 2017 Crime and Social Justice Awards in London. In 2022, Corin received an award from the High Sheriff of Mid Glamorgan for his contribution to the local community. Corin has shared the approach and engaged with interested correctional organisations across five continents.

Trustee

Evie Mae Stevenson is a leading member of The Parental Imprisonment Collective, a lived‑experience‑led organisation working across the UK to end the dehumanisation of individuals who have grown up with a parent or caregiver in prison. Her work spans national and international policy advocacy, research, campaigning, and creative projects focused on advancing the rights of children and adults affected by parental imprisonment. Evie has a particular interest in ensuring that children’s experiences are recognised in their own right, distinct from their parent’s imprisonment, and she has contributed to academic work and spoken widely on the importance of understanding children as individuals with unique identities, needs, and experiences.

She graduated from Durham University in 2024 with a First‑Class degree in Sociology and has since held research roles across the UK and Canada. At Wilfrid Laurier University, she examined youth intervention programmes supporting racialised young men affected by gun and gang violence in Toronto, and in the UK she has contributed to police‑led projects on safeguarding women involved in on‑street sex work and the development of policy at the intersection of imprisonment and sexual violence. Her work consistently aims to improve outcomes for communities facing acute and entrenched disadvantage, including therapeutic work with children in youth prisons and community settings, and supporting the development of YAAACE, a Black‑led organisation in Ontario providing culturally reflective programmes to mitigate the opportunity gap for racialised and under‑resourced communities.

Trustee

Se Chhin is an Obama Scholar who brings over 15 years of experience in child protection, justice reform, and family-based care, with a particular focus on children affected by parental incarceration in Cambodia.

As Deputy Director of This Life, he leads multidisciplinary teams delivering frontline services, shaping national policy, and advocating for child rights.

Trustee

Mandida Gusha is an affiliate member of Children of Prisoners Europe (COPE) from Zimbabwe who is currently pursuing her PhD in India. 

Her academic focus aligns closely with COPE’s goals, and her lived experience in advocacy, research, and community work has equipped her with insights into the systemic challenges these children face. 

Globally, she offers insights from both African and Asian contexts, where stigma and support systems for affected children differ.