You are here: Homepage > About Us > Biographies

Biographies

The Office of the Complaints Commissioner is a challenging, stressful, and rewarding place to work. The OCC is proud of the members of its team, who are introduced below.

Commissioner

As Cayman's independent authority for tackling complaints against the public sector, the Office of the Complaints Commissioner is led by the newly appointment Complaints Commissioner, Ms. Nicola Williams. She brings several years of pertinent experience to her new role.

Biography of Commissioner Nicola Williams

4.11.10
Elected Vice-President of the Caribbean Ombudsman Association (CAROA), 2010-2012

23.10.09
Appointed to the judiciary of England and Wales as a Crown Court Recorder

17.8.09
Appointed as Complaints Commissioner for the Cayman Islands

1.4.2004 – 31.3.2009:
Commissioner, Independent Police Complaints Commission, London

1.9.01 – 31.3.04:
Board Member, Police Complaints Authority, London

Called to the Bar 1985. 16 years in private practice. During this time I practiced in a number of fields in the High Court, Crown Court and Court of Appeal, specializing in Criminal Law, including three successful Commonwealth death penalty appeals before the House of Lords sitting as the Privy Council

Fellow, Royal Society of Arts
Author of the legal thriller, “Without Prejudice”, published in 1997 in both the U.K. and U.S.
Legal expert on BBC World for the OJ Simpson trial verdict in 1995
Former Chair, London Regional Advisory Council, BBC.
Founder Member, Independent Advisory Group to the Metropolitan Police Service (following recommendations arising from the Macpherson Report [1999])
Part of a delegation sponsored by the British Council, lecturing Turkish police inspectors on Human Rights
Three times listed as one of the 100 most influential Black people in the U.K (1998; 2007-8; 2008-9)
Winner, Cosmopolitan magazine Woman of Achievement Award (Professions)

Presenting papers at a number of conferences, notably:

• keynote international speaker, NACOLE 2005 (paper on dealing with police complaints in an age of international terrorism); and
• Gloucester Conference, June 2006 (paper on the effect of the Somersett decision on current race and criminal justice issues in the UK)
• International Funds Conference, Grand Cayman, January 2010 (paper on transparency)
• “Confidentiality – A Key to Integrity”, Caribbean Ombudsman Association Conference, Curacao, November 2010

Administrator/Investigator

Netha Ebanks completed a B.A. at Brooklyn College in New York. She was working on an MBA in Accounting at Long Island University when she left New York to come to the Cayman Islands in 1980. She has worked with the Cayman Islands Government for over 27 years in Administration and Finance. She has worked with Education Department, Courts Office, Community College and the Department of Children and Family Services. The past 15 years she worked for the Department of Children and Family Services as the Administrative and Finance Manager.

Investigator

Julie Faulknor-Grant joins the Office of the Complaints Commissioner from the Ministry of Education, Training and Employment. Julie has served the Ministry in many different capacities, most recently as the Human Resources Operational Manager in the Human Resources Department. Prior to joining the Ministry she was the Patient Services Representative to the Health Services Authority. Julie is a graduate of the University of Georgia where she obtained a BSc. in Social Work. She is also a former board member of the Kidney Foundation. In her spare time Julie enjoys reading, cooking and playing soccer with her children.

Executive Assistant to the Commissioner

Mrs Bridgette von Gerhardt is a graduate of Cayman Brac High School and the Pitman secretarial programme. She began her career at Cayman National Trust and later served as the Administrative Assistant to Sir Vassel Johnson. After a number of years in Chile, where she gained a command of the Spanish language, Mrs von Gerhardt rejoined the OCC in 2008.

Intake Officer

Ms. Claudine Simons was born and raised in Grand Cayman and is a Cayman Islands High School graduate. She began her professional career in the banking industry serving in many different capacities for 13 years. When she is not working, she loves spending time with her family, especially her children and she loves to travel. Ms. Simons joined the OCC as our receptionist on 24 September 2007.

Last Updated: 2011-08-08