As treasurer of Prisoners Abroad, Carole Johnson draws on a rich career in international policy and finance to support British citizens in prison overseas. Her Trustee Week reflection offers insights into the value of trusteeship and the power of lived experience in shaping charity governance.
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I first came across Prisoners Abroad in 2007 while working as Head of Consular Policy, Prisoners and Human Rights at the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office. Struck by the compassion and determination of staff, I have been a supporter since. Through my work, I have visited prisons in a number of countries, witnessing firsthand the challenges faced by British people in prison far from family and friends. Having served as treasurer in voluntary roles throughout my working career, I was thrilled to take up the role of treasurer for Prisoners Abroad in July 2025. For 2025’s Trustee Week, I want to reflect on this and the role of trusteeship in my life.

I am going to start in May 1992, at immigration in JFK airport in New York. I was travelling solo. For various reasons, it was my third entry into the US in six months, and also my third different point of entry. The immigration officer was persistent. Question after question as to what I was doing, where was I going, who I was meeting, where I was staying…. And so it went on.

I am one of those people who finds such situations extremely stressful, even having nothing to hide. 25 minutes in and the trump question (no relation to the current President!): what do you do for a living? At that time, I was lecturing, preparing students for professional exams. But with a stroke of inspiration, I thought of my profession. “I’m a Chartered Accountant,” I answered. And with that, he was happy. 30 seconds later, with passport stamped, I was on my way. What was often viewed as a staid (the joke was boring) profession, had served me well.

It has served me well on many occasions since, enabling a quick business analysis of companies and organisations I have worked with. And last October, I was again able to draw on that hard-earned qualification. Prisoners Abroad were looking for a new trustee to take on the role of treasurer. I had been a monthly donor for years after working alongside them in a consular role in 2008.

You would be hard-pressed to find a more dedicated, compassionate group of people providing non-judgemental support to those imprisoned, needing resettlement help, and family support. So I leapt at the opportunity to become a trustee.

It is not always easy to break into new volunteer trustee roles, despite there being over one million trustees in the UK. I had been treasurer for several clubs and a school governor twice, but had narrowly missed out on a trustee role with another organisation a couple of years before after the final interview panel deemed me “too enthusiastic”. I have learned over the years to tone down my approach on first meeting, but sometimes the passion escapes!

Luckily, the Prisoners Abroad interview panel overlooked my nervous outbursts and a new chapter of my varied working life began. Being a trustee is such an interesting role to learn - for me, it's much more about supportive challenge and asking the pertinent questions than giving direction.

The charity sector is different from anywhere I have been before. I listen much more than I talk, learning a new language and reflecting on the thoughtful interventions of a highly skilled fellow board of trustees. Then again, it is good to remember that in your first few months you can sometimes spot things that later on you don’t think to question.

At times, I wish I had become a trustee earlier in life. You can contribute at any age, though it can be easier to feel useful when you have varied experiences to draw on.

The accountability is real - trustees have a legal responsibility for a charity’s management and administration. If things go wrong, the buck stops with you. This can be harder when you are not

involved day to day. Time needed can vary, but meetings aside, the background reading and learning can fit around other commitments. And as so often when volunteering, serving as a trustee you get back as much, if not more, than you put in.

I still travel widely. Other than a “bag of apples” entering Australia (which were in fact tennis balls for my children!) and explaining unprompted to Chinese officials that the videos in my bag were for a training course, immigration has been relatively straightforward.

But I never forget those for whom travelling away from home ends quite differently, and for whom the support of Prisoners Abroad is priceless.
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Following a Law degree, Carole qualified as a Chartered Accountant (ICAEW) with Ernst & Young before spending the next decade in professional training. She spent six years living and working in Singapore after which she joined the FCDO in London. She first came across Prisoners Abroad in 2007 as Head of Consular Policy, Prisoners and Human Rights and, struck by the compassion and determination of staff, she has been a supporter since. Through her work she has visited prisons in a number of countries, witnessing first hand the challenges faced by British people incarcerated far from family and friends.

A return to finance as a School Business Manager in 2018 was followed by three years living in India where Carole volunteered with several schools and youth organisations. Having served as treasurer in voluntary roles throughout her working career, Carole is now thrilled to be able to contribute as the treasurer for Prisoners Abroad.

A parent to two adult children, Carole is married and lives in Edinburgh.

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