Meet Our Attendees

Audrey works as the Portfolio Manager for People on the Move, at Porticus. She is based in London where she has lived for the past 15 years. Before Porticus, she worked with the Freedom Fund and Anti-Slavery International.

Aderonke founded African Rainbow Family in 2014 amidst her thirteen year journey to being granted asylum in the UK. Fleeing Nigeria in 2004 after being sentenced to death for being a lesbian, Aderonke fought hard to be granted her freedom. Alongside running African Rainbow Family, she achieved her qualification as a Barrister and a Master of Laws. In October 2022, Aderonke was Called to the Bar.’

Linkedin

aderonkeapata@africanrainbowfamily.org

Aké Achi is the CEO of Black Europeans. He is a dual French and Ivorian national, who moved

to the UK almost 20 years ago. Aké is the founding chief executive of Migrants At Work, an award-winning organisation campaigning to prevent state-sponsored human trafficking. Aké was the winner of the human

trafficking anti-slavery day award in 2021. He was also nominated in the Black Talent Awards 2023. He holds a degree in diplomacy studies and a master’s degree in international human rights law. He is a trained immigration advisor(but not yet regulated) and currently training to become a solicitor. He is also in a process of submitting is PhD.

Linkedin

ake@blackeuropeans.org

Akeela is a business leader, social entrepreneur and equalities campaigner. She chair’s the cross-government Working Group on

Anti-Muslim Hatred, and is founder of She Speaks We Hear a platform to empower women with a focus on British Muslim Women. She is a Trustee for the Paul Hamlyn Foundation, the Refugee Employment Network and Pregnant Then Screwed.

Akeela was a co-organiser of the Women's March on London and in January 2017 spoke to over one hundred thousand people at the Women's March on London.

Linkedin

demha1048@gmail.com

Alba Kapoor is the Head of Policy at the Runnymede Trust, the UK's leading race equality think tank. She delivers large scale pieces of policy research and works to set out Runnymede’s anti-racist agenda. As part of this role, she led the English civil society submission to the United Nations' Committee on the Elimination on Racial Discrimination. Her work at the Trust ranges from examining the links between structural racism and the climate crisis to curriculum reform. Before that, she worked as a researcher for Members of Parliament in the House of Commons advising senior politicians on ongoing political developments, including in their positions on the Shadow front bench. Alba holds a degree in History and Politics from the University of Oxford, where her thesis looked at the history of Bengali anti-racist resistance in Tower Hamlets in the 1970s and '80s. She was the recipient of the Kennedy Scholarship 2022-'23 at Harvard University. Her research focused on race and migration studies, across the Harvard Kennedy and Law schools.

Linkedin

alba@runnymedetrust.org

Alice Sachrajda joined Unbound Philanthropy in 2023 as UK Programme Officer and Head of Cultural Strategy. Alice is the UK lead on climate and migration. Prior to joining Unbound, Alice worked as a cultural strategy consultant, specialising in creative research, narratives and strategic communications. She has authored a series of reports on narratives and cultural change and has worked with Comic Relief to establish the Power of Pop Fund, where she continues to support as an adviser to the fund. Alice is Co-Chair of the Board of Trustees at Counterpoints Arts (a refugee and migrant arts charity) and is the Chair of her local refugee community sponsorship group in south London.

Linkedin

asachrajda@unboundphilanthropy.org

I’m currently the Head of Services for Voices in Exile, a charity based in Brighton supporting refugees, asylum seekers and those with no recourse to public funds. My background is in project management for migrants and for adult literacy, and prior to that in education. My working life is politically motivated and developed within an academic context in my 20s, followed by trade union activism. At Voices in Exile, access to justice is key, and we work with people to identify their strengths to tackle the physical, mental and practical challenges they face. Underpinning my work is the view that education and knowledge help to transform the ways in which individuals view themselves and others – and, crucially, how they influence (and are influenced by) power relationships and the potential for collective action and equality. Outside of work I enjoy walking, live music, art and partying.

alison.kelly@voicesinexile.org

Aliya is the Access to Healthcare Lead at Migrants Organise, and her work primarily focuses on the Patients Not Passports campaign. She works with migrants and healthcare workers to build opposition to Hostile Environment policies in the NHS, and has developed a direct-action casework model to support individuals excluded from or charged for healthcare to take action. With the Migrants Organise team, she works with the Solidarity Knows No Borders network, a community of migrant organisations, groups and individuals, working in solidarity to organise and build power to end hostility and racism against migrants and refugees. Aliya is also developing the connections between climate justice and migrant justice, and is interested in how we develop movement infrastructure to support marginalised communities to organise. She has written a book chapter on anti-racist praxis and strategies in the struggle against immigration controls.

aliya@migrantsorganise.org

Alphonsine Kabagabo is the Director of Women for Refugee Women, an organisation that supports refugee women and women seeking asylum in UK to rebuild their life through empowerment activities and campaigning for a fair asylum system

Amanda is joining PHF in May 2024 as Grants Assistant. Before joining PHF, she worked as Program Officer at The Council for At-Risk Academics (Cara). Amanda has an MSc in Human Rights from LSE and a BSc in Development Studies from Lund University. She is interested in inclusive, bottom-up and participatory approaches to research and activism and has published on Feminist Participatory Action Research. Amanda finds joy in new experiences, whether that be traveling to unexplored destinations, discovering new restaurants or trying out a new style of dance class.

Linkedin

amanda.gamagem@gmail.com

Over the past twenty years I have been trying to work out how to create change on immigration control in the UK - living and working in London and, since 2010, in Manchester. I've previously worked at the Immigration Advisory Service, Refugee Council, Bail for Immigration Detainees, Refugee Action and Greater Manchester Law Centre. Since 2017 I've been lucky enough to work at Greater Manchester Immigration Aid Unit. I have also previously been a trustee at Women for Refugee Women.

amanda@gmiau.org

Amira is a collective care trainer with community organising school Act Build Change. She has also worked as a participatory English for Speakers of Other Languages (ESOL) teacher in community locations across London and currently sits on the advisory board for Migration Exchange. She has organised on migrant justice issues including housing and access to ESOL provision and healthcare. She has a particular interest in embedding care, a participatory pedagogy and an anti-oppressive lens to organising work.

amira@actbuildchange.com

André is a Liverpool-based decolonial artist and activist of Afro-Jamaican descent whose work seeks to illuminate and challenge the downpression of the Babylon systems which bound the ways we imagine the world and our place in it. Since organising with Rhodes Must Fall in Oxford, he has played a significant role in the development of People & Planet’s Divest Borders campaign, organising students to demand that their universities sever ties with companies profiting from the injustices of bordering. As campaign coordinator he lead the development of the narrative, the identification of corporate targets and the creation of student groups across the country. As Co-Director, he now has oversight of the strategic direction of the organisation as a whole and is committed to ensuring People & Planet continues to foster and mobilise student energy to create positive social change in the UK and beyond.

Linkedin

andre.dallas@peopleandplanet.org

Andreea Dumitrache is Communications Manager for the3million, the largest grassroots organisation for EU citizens in the UK. She is focused on delivering impactful messages, harnessing the power of the media and strategic communications to build a better future where we dismantle systems of oppression. She supports EU citizens with lived experience of the harmful impact of the UK’s immigration system to have their voices heard. the3million is delivering a strategy that combines strategic communications, community organising, policy & advocacy, community lawyering and research. Our vision is a world where EU citizens can thrive, reach their potential and have an equal voice in UK society. We are committed to anti-oppression and take an intersectional approach to our work, focused on challenging the way that power and privilege based on aspects such as race, gender, class or age are expressed within all levels of society.

Linkedin

andreea.dumitrache@the3million.org.uk

Andy joined PHF in 2019. He has nearly twenty years of research experience in education and the charity sector. Andy completed his PhD at the University of Southampton in 2007 and his thesis explored the relationship between social capital and civic engagement, including the vital role of charities and voluntary organisations. He then conducted various research looking at communities and volunteering in his posts at the Institute for Volunteering Research (based in NCVO) and Local Trust.

Linkedin

acurtis@phf.org.uk

Andy is a co-founding Partner and Legal Director at JustRight Scotland. He has been working in human rights law since 2010. Andy is an expert in immigration and asylum, anti-trafficking, and children’s rights. He represents migrant children in the national asylum and trafficking identification procedures, the immigration and asylum tribunals, and in the Court of Session. His role also sees him regularly give parliamentary evidence as well as a variety of media work. Prior to his current role, Andy worked at the Council of Europe in Strasbourg, and he has taught European human rights across a number of universities since 2011.

Linkedin

andy@justrightscotland.org.uk

HOPE not hate works on the organised far right, the communities susceptible to them and the issues and policies that give rise to them. Our policy team works on the latter two issues through research, community organising and political engagement. My team’s work on migration is focused around providing resources and trainings to help those who want to combat far-right activity and keeping the sector informed and safe. We’re hoping to start a new project looking at messaging and framing to combat common tropes around migration. We also have ongoing projects on anti-Muslim hatred and youth radicalisation. We’re currently producing a research report about the state of community resilience now.

Linkedin

anki@hopenothate.org.uk

After working for the British Council, Anna joined Gatwick Detainees Welfare Group (GDWG) as a volunteer visitor, staff member and became Director in 2019. GDWG supports people during and after immigration detention at Gatwick and calls for a future without detention. Anna was the founder of Refugees Welcome - Crawley and is a founder of Refugee Tales and co-editor of the Refugee Tales anthologies published by Comma Press.

Linkedin

anna@gdwg.org.uk

Annie is the director of BID and has worked as an immigration lawyer for 18 years. She also teaches the Immigration elective on the LPC at the University of Westminster.

Linkedin

annie@biduk.org

Baljit has worked in the violence against women and girls’ sector in the UK for 20+ years as CEO for 3 significant women’s rights organisations and has served on the Board of Trustees for racial and social justice organisations. In her experience she has developed and managed services, and undertaken strategic advocacy and policy and research work. She has many years of experience of fundraising and commissioning and has had involvement in advisory boards and steering committees focusing on the strategic development of the sector, commissioning and social policy. Recently, she has submitted evidence to the UN Special Rapporteur on violence against women, presented evidence to the UN Human Rights Committee on the impact of government migration policy on migrant women and has led on work on intersectionality, gender neutrality and migrant women for Women against Violence Europe (a regional advocacy network of women’s organisations).

baljit@hibiscus.org.uk

Bella heads up the strategic legal charity Here for Good which focuses on high-quality legal services and strategic legal work. Here for Good currently provides free advice on the EU Settlement Scheme, the Ukraine Schemes and the Afghan Relocations and Assistance Policy.

Linkedin

bella.kosmala@hereforgoodlaw.org

I have been involved with South London Refugee Association, on and off, since 2016. Starting as a volunteer at the drop-in sessions, then as a caseworker on the Youth team getting more involved with participation work and then finally as Policy and Participation Manager, where I find myself now.

bettina@slr-a.org.uk

Bridget has worked in housing and homelessness for over 17 years. Before taking on the role as Director of The No Accommodation Network (NACCOM) Bridget was at the Nationwide Foundation, where she managed the Transforming the Private Rented Sector programme. This included co-founding the Renters’ Reform Coalition, which brought together organisations representing renters to positively and proactively influence the Renters’ Reform Bill.

Linkedin

bridget@naccom.org.uk

Carolina Albuerne is Co-Director at Asylos, with Jo Pettitt. They joined Asylos in January 2024. Carolina Albuerne brings over two decades of profound experience in the refugee and migration field to her role as Co-Director. Notably, she developed and led Refugee Action's groundbreaking Good Practice & Partnerships team, establishing the UK's first infrastructure support team in the refugee and migrant sector. Her extensive career encompasses impactful roles at organizations such as Freedom from Torture, Refugee Council, and the Poppy Project, where she actively contributed to shaping policies and practices that address the unique challenges faced by displaced individuals. Holding a BA Hons in English from Oviedo University in Spain and a Post Graduate Diploma in Conflict, Security, and Development from the University of Leeds, UK.

Linkedin

carolina.albuerne@asylos.eu

Carolina Caicedo is the Policy and Communications Manager on Labour Exploitation at the Latin American Women's Rights Service (LAWRS), where she leads on advocacy for better avenues of support and justice for Latin American women experiencing labour abuse and exploitation in the UK. Her policy work is informed by her casework with victims of modern slavery. Prior to joining the policy team at LAWRS, Carolina worked as Outreach Coordinator and coordinated a project to support the Latin American community to access GP services and the Covid-19 vaccine in the London borough of Southwark.

carolinac@lawrs.org.uk

Having experienced Britain's spouse/partner migration hostile policy firsthand, I co-founded Reunite Families UK - a lived experience, non-profit organisation that supports and advocates for couples and families affected by this policy

Linkedin

caroline@reunitefamiliesuk.co.uk

With over 20 years of experience in immigration and asylum law, Christopher is the Director and founding Solicitor of Seraphus and an accredited Supervisor under the Immigration and Asylum Accreditation Scheme. He is special advisor to the European Union Delegation in the UK, a trustee for Settled and regularly supports the wider charity sector. Prior to establishing Seraphus, Christopher was the head of the immigration department at a large law firm and worked for several charities including Bail for Immigration Detainees, JCWI and Freedom from Torture. He has a masters in Human Rights Law from Birkbeck, University of London.

Linkedin

cdesira@seraphus.co.uk

I am employed as a Equality Officer/Deputy Chief Executive,

I am employed to give advice on a daily basis about issues around discrimination and immigration. I do representation at Employment Tribunals for clients and have done this from I have worked for Northamptonshire Rights and Equality Council. I also do training on discrimination and occasionally do lectures for our organisation.

Claire has worked for the law centre since 2015. She has worked in paid and voluntary roles in the charity and not for profit sector for her whole career. This has included periods at the HIV/AIDS Alliance, Refugee Action, Bristol Refugee Rights, Refugee Women of Bristol and the University of the West of England in community development, project management, organisational development, learning and information and equality roles. She has a particular interest in how the specialist legal advice sector and wider civil society can collaborate to uphold people's rights, dismantle inequality, shift power and improve legal capability in society.

Linkedin

claire.stern@centralenglandlc.org.uk

I'm a grants manager at Disrupt Foundation. Disrupt are a social justice funder and our strategic areas are migrant & racial justice, as well as socio-economic rights. Previously, I worked at Comic Relief working mainly on Tech for Good, but also on their refugee & migration funding stream of work.

Linkedin

dalia@disrupt.org

Doro is Human Rights Participation Officer at the Consortium. Her role involves developing participation work and approaches with a particular focus around enabling participation of migrant-related groups, organisations and individuals in human rights development in Scotland. Curiosity for other people and their stories, has led Doro on a path from media and communications studies, to working as a human rights observer in the Philippines, to studying Arabic at Edinburgh University. Staying in Scotland ever since, Doro has facilitated the TCV Building Roots project on access to nature and heritage sites with the Syrian refugee community. Doro also works at FOSS, a small organisation supporting refugees and asylum seekers in Falkirk.

Doro loves going for walks and being outdoors, and endlessly sitting together with friends – human and furry alike.

doro@hrcscotland.org

Duncan is Chief Executive Officer of Action Foundation and has spent more than 15 years working with migrants both in charities and for local government, having held client facing roles prior to transitioning into management and leadership.

duncanmcauley@actionfoundation.org.uk

Eiri has over twenty years experience in the refugee and migration sector, covering a wide-range of roles at the national, European and international levels. In the UK, prior to her current role at Right to Remain, she held leadership roles at the specialist legal representation charity, Asylum Support Appeals Project and the advocacy coalition, the Detention Forum. She also works as a consultant specialising in strategy, theory of change, advocacy and organisational development. She is a member of the Advisory Group of Migration Exchange and sits on the Management Committee of Jesuit Refugee Service.

Linkedin

eiri@righttoremain.org.uk

I am a human rights campaigner with experience leading UK and global policy change initiatives related to conflict prevention, refugees and migration, gender an social justice. I am currently the Associate Director on Refugees and Migration at OSF.

Inclusion, equality and respect for lived experience are the guiding principles of all the campaigns I lead. I have been lucky enough to with with an inspiring range of human rights defenders and people from refugee and migrant backgrounds to co-create campaigns focused on building peace and justice. I am invested in tackling not just symptoms but the systems of inequality that govern our world.

Linkedin

eleanor.kennedy@opensocietyfoundations.org

I have worked in the charity sector for almost 15 years, specifically with unaccompanied refugees, migrant children, and victims of trafficking. Am a first responder to the National Referral Mechanism, the UK’s system for identifying and supporting victims of trafficking and modern slavery. I migrated to the UK from Zimbabwe in 2002. While awaiting his asylum decision, I engaged in several volunteer opportunities and set up a news agency called ‘Here and There’ which covered asylum, refugee, and immigration issues. This work was recognised and used by the Home Office’s Press Office for its delivery of fair and balanced information. I joined PHF as an advisor in 2023.

Linkedin

Emily is Director of Partnerships at the Migration Museum. She oversees the museum’s national reach and partnerships as well as leading the Migration Network which brings together organisations from the UK museum, culture and migration sectors to facilitate dialogue and increase confidence about working on migration and intersecting themes together. She has been with the museum since 2013 and is excited for this chapter with the permanent home in sight. Key to this development are relationships with other Migration Museums across the world, which she strengthened thanks to a Churchill migration travel fellowship.

Emily has an Anthropology degree and Masters in Peace Studies. She has a background in youth work and facilitation, she is a trained secondary school teacher and has worked with young people from countries in conflict through Seeds of Peace. She has been a trustee for Migrateful since 2019.

Linkedin

Emily@migrationmuseum.org

I am Deputy CEO at the East European Resource Centre (EERC). At EERC we offer advice and casework in welfare, housing, and immigration matters. We also offer wrap around support to those who have experienced domestic abuse and hate crime. I am seconded to the Greater London Authority one day per week to advise on preventing and addressing labour exploitation of migrant Londoners.

Linkedin

esther@eerc.org.uk

Fidelis is the founder & CEO of Migrant Action- a rights and migration justice organisation working with vulnerable migrants to empower, inspire and influence systemic justice and transformational change.

fidelis@migrantaction.org.uk

Flutra Shega, is the founder of the Albanian School's Project at Shpresa Programme, since 2005. Her work involves supporting many hundreds of vulnerable children and young people at Shpresa Programme, and under her management, the Albanian Supplementary School's Project has been awarded the Special Distinction Award from the NRCSE (National Resource Centre for Supplementary Education) for exceptional all-round high-quality education in teaching and learning; day to day management; and good governance.

She currently manages Shpresa Programme’s specialist support project for unaccompanied asylum seeking children and young people, through ‘Breaking the Chains Project’.

Breaking the Chains project at Shpresa involves working with over 2,000 Albanian speaking refugees and migrants each year and holds the London Youth Quality Mark, Gold Award for excellence in our Youth Work provision. Also presented with the Marsh Award for the Outstanding Contribution to the Fight against Modern Slavery.

I write and organise for border abolition and I'm currently working on an oral history project about Filipino migration to the UK. From October 2022 to April 2024, I coordinated the Crossborder Forum - a network of French, British, and Belgian civil society orgs and activists working for migrant justice. Before this, I led advocacy and campaigns on undocumented migrants rights at Kanlungan.

Linkedin

humi.francesca@gmail.com

Passionate social entrepreneur committed to empowering communities and effecting tangible change. As the founder and CEO of TheCAE, a thriving organisation dedicated to job creation and economic empowerment, I have led initiatives that have transformed countless lives, providing individuals with opportunities to secure employment and build sustainable livelihoods. Now, I am leveraging my expertise to drive systemic change through advocacy and influence, working tirelessly to dismantle barriers and create a more equitable society.

Linkedin

franck.banza@caentr.org

Gina is the training officer at Focus on Labour Exploitation (FLEX). Through her role, she works with frontline organisations on building their capacity to identify and respond to issues of labour abuse, violations of employment rights, and modern slavery. Gina has previous experience in frontline work, mainly through working at an organisation providing legal aid to refugees in Cairo, Egypt. She enjoys playing football, running, cycling & exploring different pockets of London (especially the charity stores).

Linkedin

gina.kass@labourexploitation.org

I am a solicitor working as a Legal Advisor at the Cardiff based charity, Asylum Justice, and the founder and Director of the LGBTQ+ Law Clinic . I am also currently a trustee of Rainbow Migration.

Linkedin

h.said@asylumjustice.org.uk

Hazel has worked and volunteered in the refugee and humanitarian sector for over 20 years, in various roles in the UK, Europe and Sudan. She currently heads up the Justice Together initiative. Prior to this, she has held Director roles at NACCOM, a national network of organisations working to end destitution amongst migrants, and the Asylum Support Appeals Project, a charity providing access to justice for people seeking asylum. She is a trained birth Doula and has previously held a voluntary director role at Doulas Without Borders.

Linkedin

hazel.williams@justice-collaborations.org.uk

I am on the Senior Leadership team at Paul Hamlyn Foundation and lead on our approach to communications, external influencing and research and evaluation. I have been at PHF for nearly four years and before that I worked in the field of art and creativity for children and young people. Before that I was a national director at Arts Council England leading on government relations.

Linkedin

hdonagh@phf.org.uk

Isabel Gunputhram works for PHF as Communications and Learning Assistant, supporting across the Strategic Learning, Insight and Influence team. Isabel has a wealth of experience in both communications and administrative project support across a range of sectors including charities, local government and private organisations. She has most recently been working within the education sector, initially working as a secondary school librarian before moving into management of curriculum cover. Isabel is currently studying part time with the Open University for a BA in Arts and Humanities.

igunputhram@phf.org.uk

Innah Gaspar is the Campaigns Strategist for the Migration Project at the Global Communications Council (GSCC), where she coordinates partners to develop and implement strategic narratives, messaging, and campaigns on climate, migration and the border and surveillance industry. Innah has worked for international organizations such as CARE International, Amnesty International, and Oxfam coordinating campaigns, developing creative content, and leading in decolonializing communications. Innah holds a MSc in Media, Communication and Development at the London School of Economics, writing her dissertation on humanitarian communications and virtual reality. A Canadian-Métis-Filipina, Innah is currently based in Berlin where she organizes with ALPAS Filipinas, a Filipinx Migrant Collective.

Linkedin

innah.gaspar@gsccnetwork.org

Julia Tinsley-Kent (she/her) is an LGBTQ+ activist and artist. She oversees campaigns and political engagement at the Migrants’ Rights Network in her role as Policy and Strategic Communications Manager. She manages the charity’s policy, public affairs, press and communications activities, along with delivering political education on migration narrative change, with particular emphasis on developing and embedding abolitionist practice in migration advocacy and systems change.

Linkedin

j.tinsley-kent@migrantsrights.org.uk

I have worked at Detention Action since April 2019 and Director since February 2023. Since 1993, DA has provided emotional and practical support to people held under immigration powers in the UK, and have increasingly campaigned for fundamental reform.

Linkedin

james@detentionaction.org.uk

James is a campaigner and organiser who leads Medact's work on Patients Not Passports, supporting and collaborating with a national network of groups resisting racist immigration controls in the NHS. Prior to this he was a nurse in the NHS, working on the campaign with Docs Not Cops. Before nursing he was involved in climate campaigning and spent many years fighting gentrification and developing community-led planning in Tottenham.

Based in Kent, Jenni is the CEO of Imix, responsible for strategy, funding and overseeing the work of a brilliant team of communications professionals, as well as supporting Kent-based charities. She joined IMIX two years ago from London Arts and Health, where she was Chief Executive, supporting a network of creative grassroots organisations to connect effectively with health professionals and grew the yearly Creativity and Wellbeing festival into an international, hybrid celebration.

Jenni was a BBC journalist and producer for nine years, and then moved into the charity sector as Head of Media Engagement at Mind during its signature Time to Change Campaign. Jenni is also a trustee for the Friends of Napier charity in Folkestone. She loves sea swimming, walking the dog on the beach, reading and taking part in anything cultural.

Linkedin

jenni.regan@imix.org.uk

I joined ILPA in January 2023 as their Content and Digital Channels Manager and prior to that I was the Communications Manager at South West London Law Centres. Outside of work, I’ve been involved with local Fairtrade and social justice initiatives, including raising awareness of modern slavery and human trafficking, as well as helping with youth work. In my spare time I enjoy reading, singing, chocolate and going on long walks with my family.

jenny.rayner@ilpa.org.uk

Jeremy Crook OBE is the Chief Executive of Action for Race Equality (ARE), a national charity working collaboratively to ensure Black, Asian and Mixed Heritage young people succeed in education and have pathways to good careers. ARE delivers: role model and mentoring programmes, youth employment initiatives, grant and capacity building programmes and diversity and inclusion training for employers. He has expertise on race disparities in the labour market and criminal justice system.

Jeremy has over 35 years’ experience of advising government and large organisations on actions to deliver ethnically equitable and inclusive workforces and services. His current roles include:

• HM Prison and Probation Service External Advice and Scrutiny Panel (Chair)

• Metropolitan Police Service Professional Reference Group

• Thames Water Customer Challenge Group

• West Ham United Foundation (Trustee)

Linkedin

Jeremy@actionforraceequality.org.uk

Jake is a social justice lawyer who spent 10 years working as an EU lawyer and has been working with funders for the last 10 years. During this time he has helped multiple grassroots migrant led organisations to establish and grow.

jlee@unboundphilanthropy.org

Jo's background is as an organiser building community resilience against the far right, and developing grassroots campaigns in working class communities in Yorkshire. Those experiences got her interested in how learning things on our own terms changes our relationship to power.

As Head of Community at People’s Economy, she leads on outreach, codesign and community networks. She is currently coordinating the development of a learning programme exploring connections between migration and economic justice.

jo.hiley@peopleseconomyuk.org

Joon-Lynn Goh is a cultural organiser and Co-Founding Director of Migrants in Culture, a migrant-led design agency that resources artists and organisers to build more creative and powerful social movements. Joon-Lynn is a Thirty Percy Changemaker and was a GLA Civic Futures Fellow 2021-22 and co-recipient of UNHCR Champion of the Year, Women on the Move Award 2016. She declined a 2019 MBE for Services to Equality for organising a Syrian refugee resettlement programme with Bristol City Council and Citizens UK (2014-2017).

joonlynn@migrantsinculture.com

Kaiisha works at the Institute of Race Relations (IRR) as their communications coordinator supporting internal comms, the IRR News service and the Race & Class journal. They have worked within the NGO/charity sector for a few years at grassroots, user-led mental health organisations and for groups advocating and fighting for migrant and refugee rights. Kaiisha is deeply invested in transformative justice and centers their work on understanding and navigating the impact of state violence and trauma on marginalised communities, finding alternatives for care through disability justice, queer methodology and an abolitionist lens.

kaiisha@irr.org.uk

Karen works as Education Advocacy Lead within the Children and Young People team at IRMO (Indoamerican Refugee and Migrant Organisation). IRMO works to enable the development, agency and participation of Latin Americans by responding to both immediate needs and structural inequalities. Karen leads Thrive, a project aimed at addressing and reducing systemic barriers in the UK education system, through community organising, research and advocacy. Karen holds an MSc in Evidence-Based Social Intervention from the University of Oxford and a BSc in Social Policy and Government from LSE.

Linkedin

karen.torres@irmo.org.uk

Kat has worked in the refugee sector for over 20 years. In her time at Refugee Action she persuaded the Home Office to introduce minimum standards for asylum accommodation and developed advice services for people in the asylum system. At Refugee Council she supported a UK-wide consortia of organisations offering advice on housing and financial support. At Save the Children she led the organisation's policy work on safe routes and family reunion for children travelling from Europe to the UK. Kat joined the Asylum Support Appeals Project (ASAP) as Director in 2018. Kat's grandad was a refugee. She has two small children and lives in London.

Linkedin

kat@asaproject.org.uk

Katherine is the Head of the Unlawful Detentions Team at Reprieve. Katherine and the team work to ensure that individuals detained in the context of “national security” or “counter-terrorism” are treated in line with international law, released from arbitrary detention, and are not subjected to torture, the death penalty, or extrajudicial execution. Prior to joining Reprieve, Katherine worked for UN peace missions in Afghanistan, Iraq, and South Sudan, focusing primarily on the protection of civilians in conflict. She has also worked for a UN humanitarian agency in the Middle East and for several UN war crimes tribunals.

katherine.cornett@reprieve.org.uk

Lara is from Brazil and is the co-founder and co-director of Migrant Democracy Project, an organisation working to support the political empowerment of migrants across the UK through voter registration, political candidacy training, and advocacy for the extension of the right to vote. Her background is in migrants' rights activism, including support for migrants in detention and EU citizens making applications to the EU Settlement Scheme. She has led campaigns on access to British citizenship and has been working on the Our Home Our Vote campaign for voting rights for all residents.

Linkedin

info@migrantdemos.org.uk

Hi everyone, I'm Laila. I am an Advisor for the Paul Hamlyn Foundation Migration and Youth Funds and I also work in the Greater London Authority (GLA) Migration Team. I come from a frontline background supporting children and families, particularly separated children seeking asylum including those who have been trafficked. I am also a Trustee for Hibiscus Initiatives.

laila.aziz@london.gov.uk

Laura's an Adult and Youth Facilitator and Trainee Transpersonal Counsellor who’s experience spans formal education, creative writing, activism, health advocacy and climate justice. She’s particularly experienced in rehabilitation, abolition, and transformative justice and leads Revoke's rehabilitation programme and ensures that our abolitionist framework is embedded across the organisation and in the partnerships we build. She does this through an abolitionist steering group hosted by Revoke. She also advocates for young people in the health sector, and works part time at Mind alongside her work at Revoke.

laura@revoke.org.uk

Leila Zadeh is the Executive Director of Rainbow Migration. She previously worked on the global HIV response at Frontline AIDS, Oxfam and ActionAid, and has worked in Chile, Peru, Uganda and Brussels. Leila holds a Public Affairs Diploma from the Chartered Institute of Public Relations, an MA with Distinction in Development Studies from the University of Leeds, and a First-Class BA in Politics and Modern Languages from the University of Essex. Leila speaks English, Farsi/Persian, French, Spanish and Portuguese. Leila came to the UK as part of a refugee family when she was 13 months old.

Lorie Ann C. Halliday is the Director of Kanlungan Filipino Consortium, a CIO serving and promoting the rights and welfare of East and Southeast Asian migrants and communities in the UK. She has over 20 years of experience in advocacy work, with involvement in social and political campaigns in the Philippines, Hong Kong, Laos and other Southeast Asian countries.

Lorie holds a master's degree in international journalism studies. She has worked as a professional journalist for over a decade, mostly covering environmental, socioeconomic and political issues faced by marginalised sectors of society. She was a journalist in exchange in Laos for a year under the FK Norway (now Norec) Environmental Communication Exchange Program.

With strong leadership skills, she previously assumed senior editorial roles, including as a Senior News Editor at CNN Philippines, a Senior Copy Editor at the Hinrich Foundation, and an Editorial Content Manager for TourScanner, managing writers from the US, UK, Portugal, Greece and South Africa.

Linkedin

lorie@kanlungan.org.uk

I am a policy researcher at IPPR working on issues related to migration and integration. I have led and contributed to a number of projects, including studies on Covid-19 and integration, the hostile environment, homelessness among EU migrants and the 10-year route to settlement.

I am currently leading on the Migration Policy Unit, a major IPPR programme that seeks to build a fairer immigration system through working collaboratively with the migrants’ rights sector and with people with lived experience of the immigration system. Our first project under the Policy Unit is focused on reforming the asylum accommodation system.

Prior to working at IPPR, I studied social work and worked in support roles with refugees and migrant families and with domestic abuse survivors.

I am based in West Yorkshire, and you will often see my (very leggy) puppy on Zoom calls!

Linkedin

l.mort@ippr.org

As deputy Head of Projects Lydia manages the community partnerships New Europeans UK develops to provide free EUSS legal support and advice to EU citizens and their families across London and Leicester. She also coordinates the EUSS Civil Society Alliance which is made up of over 100 organisations across the Uk working for and with EU communities in the UK.

lydia.martin@neweuropeams.uk

Madeleine Sumption is the Director of the Migration Observatory at the University of Oxford, which provides impartial analysis to help facilitate a more accurate and nuanced debate about migration in the UK. The Migration Observatory’s work covers trends and policies on family migration, asylum and refugees, work and student migration, the social and economic impacts of migration, and migrants’ outcomes and wellbeing.

Madeleine also is a member of the Migration Advisory Committee, a panel of independent experts who advise the UK government on migration. She is a member of the Office for National Statistics’ expert advisory group on migration statistics, and from 2017 to 2022 she chaired the Migration Statistics User Forum, which brings together UK migration data users and producers. Madeleine has a PhD in Public Policy from the University of Maastricht. In 2017, she received an MBE for services to social science.

Linkedin

madeleine.sumption@compas.ox.ac.uk

Magda Fabianczyk (she/her) is an artist, activist and educator, and the co-director and co-founder of POMOC. She teaches at UAL Central Saint Martins, and is a founding member of Dziewuchy London. Trained as a narrative mediator, she uses art-based methodologies to connect and collectivise people and in turn challenge social hierarchies and discrimination. She worked with the Roma community in Bytom, Chechnyan communities in Lublin, and was awarded numerous art residencies including at VASL in Pakistan, Banglanatak.com in India and Arts Council/Gasworks residency in Mauritius.

Linkedin

magda@pomoc.org.uk

Marchu is a co-director at Migration Exchange. She has over 15 years of professional experience working in charities in the migration sector and directly working with people who are migrants and refugees, in the community, detention centres, prisons and refugee camps in the UK and Europe. Marchu is an experienced and accomplished leader who possesses a fantastic track record as a change-maker.

March has particular expertise in gender, developing lived experience centred campaigns and implementing impactful strategies as well as fundraising and grassroots network development. She was a co-director at Women for Refugee Women (2010-2020) and the CEO at Hibiscus Initiatives (2020-2023) where she led the organisation through the pandemic and developed a five-year strategy to transform the organisation focus to lived-experience and increased its funding.

Marchu holds a Master’s in Human Rights, Culture and Social Justice.

Linkedin

marchu@global-dialogue.org

Maria Iglesias has 25 years experience working in the migrant and homelessness sectors. For the last eight years, she has worked as Head of Operations at Praxis, a charity for migrants and refugees supporting over 2000 people at risk per year. Maria is responsible for all operational services at Praxis, including Praxis Advice Service, the largest advice service for migrants at risk in London, with over 20 staff providing specialist immigration advice to destitute migrants in different settings. Maria previously worked at St Mungo’s for 17 years, managing St Mungo’s Complex Needs Team and several supported housing projects in north London.

Maria has been a trustee for Homeless Link since 2021.

Linkedin

Maria.Iglesias@praxis.org.uk

Mariam Bafo is the Policy and Public Affairs Lead at We Belong, a migrant youth-led charity dedicated to advocating for equal and fair treatment of young migrants across the UK. Leading the chasing status program, her mission is to hold those in power accountable and eliminate barriers that hinder full integration for young migrants.

In addition to her role, Mariam actively organises local awareness initiatives for migrant communities, striving to provide support and empower them in the face of the hostile environment.

Committed to involving young people in decision-making and policy development, Mariam ensures their voices play a pivotal role in shaping more inclusive policies. Her strong passion for human rights law and community empowerment drives her dedication to creating positive change.

Director at The Voice of Domestic Workers, a self-organised group of migrant domestic workers campaigning for welfare and rights in the UK. A domestic worker and mother of 3. Unite the Union Rep for Migrant Domestic Workers and Vice Chair at European Federation of Food, Agriculture, Tourism and Domestic Work (EFFAT).

Linkedin

marissa@thevoiceofdomesticworkers.com

Maritza Castillo is the Vice-President of the Independent Workers' Union of Great Britain. The IWGB is a union that represents and supports some of the most marginalised workers in Britain. The union focuses on outsourcing, the gig economy and other areas where precarity, low pay and exploitation are the norm. Maritza has been closely involved with the union since the early days and previously worked as an outsourced cleaner at the University of London, where she has been involved in high profile campaigns. Maritza has years of experience in organising, listening to the experiences of workers in precarious positions and advising them on what avenues are open to them.

Our organisation (X) account is: @IWGBunion

maritzacastillocalle@iwgb.co.uk

Hello everyone, I'm Mary and I work at the Joint Council for the Welfare of Immigrants. A lot of my work focuses on embedding the expertise of people with lived experience of the immigration system in the organisation, and on supporting local councillors to fight for the rights of all their residents, no matter what their immigration status.

Really excited to share this space with others from this movement, and hopefully share ideas and energy with one another!

mary.atkinson@jcwi.org.uk

I am the primary care advocacy manager at Doctors of the World UK. I work with health professionals, local authorities and NHS colleagues to improve access to primary care and GP registration across England

Linkedin

mdavidson@doctorsoftheworld.org.uk

Michael has been a film and theatre producer for over 35 years – best known for the award winning film and stage musical “The Adventure of Priscilla, Queen of the Desert.” As the son of the late Paul Hamlyn he has been a Trustee for over thirty years previously steering the Social Justice Programme and more recently taking responsibility for the foundation’s work in Youth and Migration. He is a former governor of the Southbank Centre and the National Film and Television School. He still maintains a great interest in Northern Ireland and has been on the Board of the Nerve Centre in Derry for the past 15 years. His most recent production, Priscilla The Party, opened in the West End in March 2024. He co-owns the restaurant Bibendum with Claude Bosi, which is located in the iconic Michelin building.

michael@specificfilms.com

Michael is the Director of The Unity Project, which works to challenge the 'no recourse to public funds' (NRPF) policy, and while it continues to exist, minimise its impact by providing legal advice and assistance to those affected by it. Michael has worked, volunteered and campaigned with migrants and refugees in London for the past ten years. He is a co-founder of Akwaaba, a migrant social centre based in Hackney, and a former ESOL teacher and project manager at ELATT. His MA dissertation focused on the experiences of migrants with No Recourse to Public Funds who seek support under Section 17 of the Children Act 1989. Michael enjoys playing music in his spare time and is a qualified yoga teacher.

Linkedin

michael@unity-project.org.uk

I am based in Sunderland and work for the International Community Organisation of Sunderland (ICOS), which supports migrants in the North East of England, including Eastern Europeans and refugees.

In this line of work, I utilise my experience of working with minority ethnic and migrant communities, including the Eastern European community in the voluntary and community sector, dating back to 2009.

I also build on my experience of Public and Patient Involvement work, gained through Research Support Service and Newcastle University, the NIHR Academy, and co-producing the NICE 2016 Community Engagement in Health guidance.

As a migrant living in the UK, I use my personal experience of migration when delivering my community work.

Michal@icos.org.uk

I work as the Co-Director at AVID. We exist to reduce the suffering of people detained and work towards a future without detention. We do this by enabling the vital role of visitors to immigration detention whilst facilitating collective action amongst UK visitor groups.

Mohammed is the Director of Organiaing at the Civic Power Fund. An intermediary fund focused on grassroots community organising. He has worked as a consultant for funders and campaigners, ran a voter registration organisation focused on marginalised BME youth and was previously the head of opperations at a left wing political campaigning group. He's not a huge fan of fish but is trying to learn to like it.

Linkedin

mohammed@civicpower.org.uk

"Naeema Ahmed oversees BASNET’s Network Development and engagement with its Full Members, Associate Members, Observers and external agencies. As the Network Development Manager for the UK BME Anti-Slavery Network (BASNET) and the Public and Community Engagement Lead for the NIHR Knowledge Mobilisation Project, She has the privilege of spearheading initiatives aimed at fostering collaboration, amplifying voices, and driving systemic change within the anti-slavery movement. Her role has been multifaceted, encompassing strategic planning, partnership building, community engagement, and advocacy efforts.

Naeema has a wealth of experience and skills which covers service design, service delivery, BME cultural intelligence and understanding of modern slavery and human trafficking through an Equality Diversity and Inclusive lens.

naeema@afruca.org

Naomi is the Managing Director of Social Workers Without Borders (SWWB) and a social worker by professional background. SWWB provide independent social work reports to be used as expert evidence in immigration and asylum matters. Additionally they campaign about issues at the intersection of social work practice and immigration and asylum law, and deliver education to invite and inspire social workers to be allies in the movement for migrant justice.

Naomi is also undertaking a PhD in Law at the University of Liverpool, conducting research into the impact of parental deportation and the 'unduly harsh test' on children. Naomi has a particular interest in children's rights in the context of immigration and asylum law.

Linkedin

Naomi@socialworkerswithoutborders.org

Nathan Evans – South Riverside Community Development Centre Ltd - SRCDC (Cardiff)

Currently working as an Operations Manager within SRCDC with over 20 years working across a diverse range of communities within the UK/Wales. An experienced Community Development practitioner with a broad interest in the following thematic areas;

• Place based organisations - capacity building and development

• Children and young people – rights, representation and participation

• Equalities, religious and cultural diversity

• Representation and campaigning

• Extensive experience of working strategically at a local and national level within Wales in community development and tackling poverty programmes

• Developing area based regeneration projects

• Participatory action research and community mapping

I have worked as a community partner and a member of a research forum with Cardiff University and University of Bristol (UoB) on a number of ESRC and AHRC funded research projects (2015 – 2019). In addition to this I have worked as an honorary member of staff (community research assistant) in University of Bristol.

nathanevans@srcdc.org.uk

Executive director of Migrant Voice with over 35 years experience working with migrants, refugees and asylum seekers mainly around voice, representation in the media, advocacy and rights.

nazek@migrantvoice.org

Hi all, I'm Nick and responsible for income fundraising and a member of the Management Team at Refugee Legal Support (RLS).

Linkedin

nick.pilkington@refugeelegalsupport.org

Olivia joined Paul Hamlyn Foundation in 2023 as a researcher on Kinship Discovery. She has a research and policy background in creative industries, insecure and precarious work, and inequality in work. She is especially interested in creative, participatory methods and storytelling approaches that shift power and create change. In 2021, she received a grant from Bristol+Bath Creative R+D Cluster to develop audio storytelling skills.

Before joining PHF, Olivia spent four years at the Work Foundation at Lancaster University. There she co-authored reports on social mobility for the Creative Industries Policy and Evidence Centre (PEC) and led developmental research for a work strand on insecure work. Olivia has also been a freelance evaluation and research consultant for music charities and social enterprises including PRS Foundation and Music Leaders Network. She has a PhD in Sociology from Open University and an MA in Cultural and Creative Industries from King’s College London.

Linkedin

ogable@phf.org.uk

Olivia is an anthropologist with a longstanding interesting in mobility. At the Work Rights Centre she leads on strategy, and ensures that the organisation has the vision, the resources, and the reputation to deliver its mission.

I am an exceptional transformational leader with over 25 years’ experience in the charity sector. I have provided successful strategic direction, change management, income generation growth, successful collaborative working with stakeholders and managed all aspects of charity governance.

In my current role as Deputy CEO for The Refugee & Migrant Centre, I have had the pleasure of seeing what the charity can do to make a positive difference to the lives of some of the most disadvantaged communities. I am managing a £4 million budget, oversee the Fundraising and Financial areas of the charity. As part of the SLT for RMC I have been involved in all areas of strategic management.

I am married with 18/21 year old children, enjoy travelling and socialising.

My name is Paulina. I was born in Poland however I have been living in the UK for the past 20 years.

I currently work for Centrala. Our goal is inclusion and wellbeing of Central and Eastern European communities.We use different tools including art and culture to advance integration between migrant and non-migrant communities.

In a past I was involved in managing of homeless services in Birmingham. It is a big pleasure to be working on the prevension aspects, helping communities to take the right steps towards personal independence.

paulina@centrala-space.org.uk

Paulina is a lead organiser at Citizens UK, she heads the Migration & Refugee Organising Team.

Paulina grew up in Mexico amidst stark inequalities and exclusive political spaces which laid the foundation for her commitment to service and radically inclusive politics. Paulina migrated to the U.K. almost a decade ago and has since organised and won dozens of local, regional and national campaigns for fair wages, NHS services, affordable housing, gender violence, and more welcoming migration policies. Before her current role, Paulina was based in South London, organising and supervising multiple alliances and strategic partnerships.

Paulina holds an MA in Social Innovation and an MSc in Gender, Sexuality and Society. She's on the board of Creating Ground, a CIC working with refugee and migrant women through arts and organising. When not organising, Paulina is likely to be lost behind a book on her 7th or 8th cup of coffee.

Linkedin

paulina@citizensuk.org

Reyah is an Advisor for the Paul Hamlyn Foundation. Reyah is also the Operations co-ordinator and Social Media Manager for 7PK. She was appointed this role in 2022 and has since gone on to manage and help facilitate many projects and sessions to bring social and equitable change for people in local authority, education and corporate spaces, whilst documenting this process. Reyah is also a social entrepreneur motivated by creating opportunities for young women of colour and helping them to break down mental, physical, and financial limitations to reach a sustainable change in their personal and professional lives.

Linkedin

reyahstephen@outlook.com

Rebecca is the Head of Programmes at the A B Charitable Trust, and her role includes managing the grantmaking process at the Trust as well as developing relationships with new and existing partner grantholders across all of ABCT’s priority areas. Rebecca has worked in grantmaking in the UK’s charitable sector for more than 10 years.

rgreen@abcharitabletrust.org.uk

Richard Wilson is a writer, human rights activist and co-founder of Stop Funding Hate. Launched in August 2016, the campaign seeks to make hate unprofitable, and promote the idea of 'ethical advertising' by persuading companies to pull advertising from media that fuel hatred against minority groups.

Stop Funding Hate supporters have been credited with persuading hundreds of companies to pull their advertising from the Daily Mail, and many others from GB News, whose CEO recently admitted that “Stop Funding Hate played a really central role in positioning us as a ‘hate’ outfit”.

Prior to his current role, Richard worked in fundraising for Amnesty International UK, and previously wrote two non-fiction books focussing on human rights and misinformation – “Titanic Express”, and “Don’t Get Fooled Again”.

Richard also now runs the climate-focussed spin-off campaign, Stop Funding Heat.

I am General Manager of Haringey Migrant Support Centre, an organisation assisting migrants in London to access immigration and housing/welfare advice and services

robin@haringeymsc.org

I have been practicing as an Immigration Solicitor for over 20 years and have been with the law centre for over 10years. I have a wide practice encompassing initial applications for asylum/leave to remain, appeals and applications for Judicial Review. We take on individual cases but also work in partnership with a number of community based organisations providing outreach advice also collaborating on strategic work for example with our challenge to force the Lord Chancellor to bring back into scope legal aid for separated/uanccompanied minors, and more recently a challenge to the 10year route to settlement in relation to the cohort of young people over 18 and under 25 and who have lived in the UK for half their life.

roopat@islingtonlaw.org.uk

I am the grants assistant for the Alan and Babette Sainsbury Charitable Fund and the Indigo Trust which are two of the grant-making trusts at the Sainsburys Family Charitable Trusts (SFCT). I carry out preliminary research in specific issues relating to our grant-making – including socio-economic-political context in which civil society is addressing the issue; opportunities and synergies for grant-makers to collaborate. Outside of work, I volunteer with small, unregistered charities and lived-experience led groups, striving for change in my community to make a lasting positive difference.

rumina.miah@sfct.org.uk

I am the Strategic Engagement Adviser at RAMP. I previously worked as a RAMP adviser in the office of a Labour MP and for a London-based public affairs agency. Outside of work I enjoy writing and reading political theory and crime fiction and frequenting Croydon's many great local pubs.

Linkedin

sabrina.huck@rampproject.org

Sachin is the Director of the India Programme of the Paul Hamlyn Foundation. He has worked in the social development space in India since 1990 and has led initiatives which have worked directly with vulnerable communities on their rights and development priorities. He is a co-founder of Aajeevika Bureau (Bureau for Livelihoods) a specialist organisation which works on issues of internal migration in India and of a microfinance institution which designs special financial products for migrant populations. He is also a co-founder of Gramin Shiksha Kendra (Rural Education Centre) a not-for-profit organisation working on education and social development. Sachin has also worked in Afghanistan to help set up a community initiative on local self-governance and infra structure development.

Linkedin

sachin.gsk@gmail.com

I am human/ rights defender and researcher in digital rights with a master’s degree in digital media from the University of Sussex. Her studies focus primarily on digital rights intersecting with human rights and gender studies. My academic research has varied from critical analysis of how data is captured and disseminated in social media to the impact of women’s representation in technology on code bias, machine learning and recognition technology, and their human rights implications.

In 2021, I launched a podcast in Arabic called Talk-Nology, which talks about technology, human rights and the effects of new technology on people’s rights. I has been involved in several studies and work with UNESCO, New America Foundation, Media Diversity Institute, Association for Progressive Communication (APC), Global voices, and in Egypt with Massar for technology and Law and Motoon.

Linkedin

sara@openrightsgroup.org

Founder and Director of Sheffield based social enterprise, Opus Independents, working on a portfolio of projects around systems change including applying an abolitionist framework to media narratives around migration. Trustee of Migration Matters Festival, the UK's largest celebration of National Refugee Week, which platforms marginalised artists. PhD researcher focusing on the normalisation of ecofascist and securitised discourse around climate migration and its effects on the treatment of refugees and migrants.

Linkedin

sara@weareopus.org

I joined KRAN in March 2023, having worked for many years in local journalism (from Trainee Reporter to Acting Editor), before moving into PR. I was Press Officer and then Communications Manager at The Marlowe Theatre, Canterbury, for 16 years, and also looked after access (proudest moment: introducing Relaxed Performances). I then held various temporary positions and volunteered with several charities before joining the comms team at Folkestone & Hythe District Council, and finally… KRAN!

sarah@kran.org.uk

Şefki is a Senior Fellow at JUSTICE, working on the Windrush Compensation Scheme, the EU Settlement Scheme, and the Afghan Settlement Schemes.

Şefki was called to the Bar of England and Wales in March 2023 and holds master’s degrees from the University of Nottingham in Public International Law (LLM), and University College London in Public and International Law (LLM).

During his studies, Şefki volunteered pro bono with Toynbee Hall, the Free Representation Unit, and Lawyers in the Soup Kitchen, providing legal advice on immigration, family, judicial review, and social security matters. Şefki also produced reports on local authority obligations towards rough sleepers for Framework Housing Association, the right to freedom of religion for the Equal Rights Trust, and was part of the UCL PIL pro bono clinic, where he assisted in drafting a report on Non-State Armed Groups for ‘Geneva Calls’ and contributed to written submissions before the European Court of Human Rights on the rights of children to health.

Prior to undertaking a Fellowship, Şefki worked and interned for a number of organisations on both International and Public law issues, including Peters and Peters, Eversheds Sutherland, the International Bar Association, Friends of the Earth, and for a Member of Parliament. Şefki is also an Inner Temple Major Scholarship recipient and founded and chaired the Inn’s first Race Equality Society.

sbayram@justice.org.uk

As a Project Co-ordinator at United Legal Access, I support a network of pro bono lawyers who provide legal advice and representation to vulnerable and marginalized communities. I manage the workflow, communication, and reporting of the project, ensuring that the clients receive quality and timely service. I also liaise with external partners and stakeholders, such as local authorities, charities, and community groups, to promote the project and identify potential beneficiaries.

In addition, I am a Business Engagement Officer at Hustle+Heels, a social enterprise that empowers and supports women entrepreneurs and small businesses. I engage with and assist the businesses through the Finchley Central Business Support Programme, which is funded by Barnet Council. I help them access resources, training, mentoring, and networking opportunities, and I monitor and evaluate their progress and feedback. I enjoy connecting people and creating impact through my work.

I have over 15 years of work experience in the hospitality, property, and legal sectors, where I developed administrative, customer service, and management skills. I leveraged these skills to become a freelance Virtual Assistant in 2019, offering my services to businesses in the UK, USA, and the Caribbean. I specialize in the Legal, Property, and Charity sectors, where I have domain expertise and passion.

I hold a Certificate Level 2 in Information, Advice or Guidance from Grimsby Institute Group, which has enhanced my ability to provide effective and professional guidance to clients and partners. I also value personal development and networking, as they help me grow and serve better. I believe in work-life balance and working for myself has allowed me to create the workflow I want, while working alongside businesses that need my help and expertise.

Linkedin

sgreen@unitedlegalaccess.com

Sharon Anthony-Tewkesbury is a dedicated administrative professional specialising in social welfare projects. She is currently working at the Southwark Law Centre and a Project Coordinator at the Windrush Justice Clinic.

Sharon had previously formatted a Training project aimed at teachers, support staff, and social workers in Southwark on managing Dyspraxic children’s needs. Sharon has over 30 years of experience in working with community projects, charities, and private organisations in professional services. With a passion for change management and developing the growth of projects.

sharon.anthony-tewkesbury@southwarklawcentre.org.uk

Hello! I'm Shelley, an independent researcher and evaluator. I've worked across a wide range of policy areas over the last 20 years or so, however I have a particular interest in migrant justice, children and young people, and narrative change. I'm based in Belfast and work across the UK with grassroots organisations through to large charities and philanthropic funders. My work is really varied; it might include working with a client to co-design their organisational monitoring, evaluation and learning (MEL) strategy; developing some good practice case studies; or delivering complex, multi-year, independent evaluations. I'm delighted to have worked with quite a few PHF grantees over the years, both the in migrant justice field and in the arts, and really enjoy getting to know new organisations and helping them get to grips with monitoring, evaluation and learning.

shelleydorrans@gmail.com

I have a strong passion and commitment to social justice and promoting the rights of people seeking sanctuary. I have a legal background having studied law as an undergraduate and completing a postgraduate diploma in legal practice. Although I have worked in the third sector for most of my career, and worked over 20 years in the refugee sector specifically. I was appointed the Chief Officer for City of Sanctuary UK in 2016, although I had been involved in the City of Sanctuary movement as a volunteer since 2007 having been one of the founding members of both Swansea and Cardiff CoS groups. Prior to my current role I worked as the Chief Officer as Displaced People in Action (DPIA) for ten years. At DPIA I was responsible for delivering the extensive integration projects and employment advice services. I also volunteered for Asylum Justice for over 15 years.

sian@cityofsanctuary.org

Qualified as a solicitor in 2006 and has specialised in immigration and asylum law since 2003. She is an accredited supervising solicitor experienced in representing children and young people at all stages of the immigration and asylum process and has particular interest in citizenship for children particularly for those in care and family and private life cases under Article 8 of the European Convention on Human Rights. She has a wide experience in judicial review applications and appeals in the First Tier Tribunal, Upper Tribunal and Court of Appeal. She joined CCLC in May 2022 having worked at Dexter Montague and Partners and Legal Rights Partnership.

Solange.de-Carvalho@coramclc.org.uk

I am a researcher and consultant with 20 years’ experience supporting organisations in the third and public sectors to understand their impact and improve what they do. I was previously Head of Research at OPM, where I led projects in central and local government, healthcare, and the third sector. For the past ten years, since working independently, much of my work has been in the migrant justice movement and with organisations using the arts to promote social change. With Shelley Dorrans, I am currently acting as the learning partner for PHF’s Migration Fund. I also contribute to PHF’s Evidence and Learning support scheme.

Linkedin

sophieahmad@hotmail.com

I began volunteering with Project 17 in late 2018 after completing an undergraduate degree in History at SOAS. I've had several roles at Project 17; first the Administrative Officer, then Adviser, and since August 2022 the Capacity Building Coordinator. In my spare time I enjoy cooking, reading, and swimming.

sydney.shea@project17.org.uk

I’m from London and I’ve lived in Yorkshire for twenty years.

I’ve done a number of different jobs and I used to cook a lot. For about five years I was a mental health advocate in psychiatric wards and mental health units. It made me think about power some people have and some don’t, about institutions, and things we all need like kindness and being heard.

About eighteen years ago, I fell into doing something called facilitating dialogue. For the last twelve years I have worked for ‘Who Is Your Neighbour?’ We hold conversations in which people can speak about things like immigration and about people who are different than they are. We work in South Yorkshire and most of the conversations we hold are with groups of white people in places that are not well off. We’re sharing what we’ve learned so it can be used beyond South Yorkshire.

tariq@whoisyourneighbour.org.uk

Tom Green is a Senior Producer at Counterpoints Arts, where he has worked since being one of the founding team in 2012. He works across a range of programmes including to support artists and organisations with project development and capacity building. He produces the biennial Platforma festival and also helps oversee international work. Previously he has worked for organisations including the Refugee Council and the Writers’ Guild, where he was first involved in supporting artists. Tom’s background is in creative writing and his work has been performed in theatres and on BBC Radio 4.

tom@counterpoints.org.uk

Úna Boyd is the Immigration Project Solicitor & Coordinator at the Committee on the Administration of Justice (CAJ), an independent human rights organisation based in Belfast. Úna studied law at Queens University Belfast and has a masters in human rights law from the Irish Centre for Human Rights. Úna is an experienced immigration solicitor and former chair of the Law Society of Northern Ireland’s Immigration Practitioners’ Group. CAJ's immigration work advocates for a fair and human rights compliant immigration regime, with a focus on the unique issues facing Northern Ireland.

una@caj.org.uk