Trustees

I was co-opted in March 2021 as the Treasurer for LASSN. I have been an associate of the Chartered Institute of Management Accountants for many years, in addition to spending much of my career in Finance roles.

I first came into contact with LASSN when my wife, friends and I were organising some Sports Relief fundraising and events for asylum seekers in Leeds – we contacted LASSN to ask for some valuable advice and support, and I have been so impressed since with all the work that LASSN does.

I hope to add my contribution to LASSN through the duties of the Treasurer, in particular by ensuring strong financial governance, so LASSN can continue to improve the lives of its service users for many years to come.

I retired from clinical medical practice (Paediatrician) and an academic position as Dean of Sheffield Medical School in 2020. Retirement was planned with a purposeful intention to have capacity to usefully contribute to the CVS in areas close to my heart, and to which I would anticipate my breadth of skills and experience may be valuable. LASSN was a key organisation that had been my intention to offer my services.

I have personal experience of the asylum process, initially as a 3rd generation Zimbabwean and then again with my mother who was later displaced in 2003.

The duality of my professional roles provided not only experiences of working within health care, but also the educational, academic and administrative skills from within university roles. These underpinned much of my international professional work, predominantly within African health care schools. I value the opportunity to contribute to the work of LASSN as a trustee, and hope that my background and skills are considered of use.

After retiring from work, I became a volunteer with LASSN at the start of the 2019, as a befriender and with the connecting opportunities project.

I have always supported efforts to support and integrate refugees into our society and have welcomed the possibility of supporting the needs of refugees and asylum seekers in the practical way which LASSN provides.

I have long and varied experience as a trustee, director and chair of various charitable organisations in relation to education, young people and communities. I have also worked extensively with UK and developing country governments and NGO’s during my professional career in trade facilitation and risk management.

Since being elected as a trustee of LASSN I believe that the knowledge and experience I have gained professionally and from previous voluntary work has been helpful to the LASSN Board of Trustees, particularly in helping to secure the financial and organisational basis on which LASSN can continue, and expand, where appropriate, its essential and highly valued support services.

I qualified as a social worker in 1989 and have since worked in the probation service, youth justice service and children’s social work service in a wide variety of practioner, team manager and senior manager roles. My most recent position was as service manager for fostering and placements in children’s social work.

My involvement with asylum seekers came through social work. I managed a team of social workers responsible for children in care. An increasing number were unaccompanied asylum seeker children. The team picked up these children either following planned moves from Kent or in emergency situations when they were ‘found’ in Leeds. As a way of engaging with these children I set up a football group in Sept 17, this has been really successful and for the last two seasons I have run a team in a local league.

I took early retirement in Nov 20 although I now have two part time jobs in the voluntary sector, one involving the inspection of children’s homes, the other as a reviewing officer for foster care. These roles take up three days per week allowing sufficient time for me to pursue other interests.

Having been involved with Grace Hosting for four years from 2016 both as a host and co-ordinator, matching guests with hosts, I was happy to contribute to the governance of LASSN by becoming a trustee, and more recently, Chair. Being part of a voluntary sector organisation supporting asylum seekers, is close to my heart, my grandfather having been granted asylum in the UK when he escaped the pogroms in Poland.

My professional background is in teaching hearing impaired children and later moving into voluntary sector management and counselling. I founded a charity for children with special needs, managed the Leeds Women’s Counselling and Therapy Service and continue to work as a counsellor and supervisor.

My other passions are my family and friends, playing the violin, racketball, yoga and theatre.

I am a Syrian engineer and construction manager, living in Leeds with my family. I speak and write fluently in both Arabic and English. I used to get help from a LASSN volunteer and am now a LASSN volunteer myself. I was co-opted by the Trustee Board in November 2018, and since then I have served on the Finance Sub Committee. I am particularly keen for LASSN to consolidate its connections with the different migrant community organisations of Leeds and to tap into the skills, understanding and experiences of the different faith communities of Leeds, and the Muslim communities in particular.

I bring 30 years of project management and academic experience, that I gained managing megaconstruction projects in the Middle East. My work has been published in well-known scientific journals and international conference papers. I will ensure the organisation is run well, and that risks are adequately assessed and managed. I have a keen eye for detail and want to ensure that LASSN plans its activities well and stays true to its mission and values.

I am a new volunteer with LASSN, eager to contribute to their mission. My motivation to become a LASSN Trustee stems from my deep commitment to supporting vulnerable communities, inspired by my advocacy for my daughter, Layla, who has cystic fibrosis.

As the Head of Customer Experience at Novuna, I bring extensive leadership and operational experience. I aim to leverage my skills to enhance LASSN’s support for asylum seekers and refugees, ensuring their voices are heard and valued.

My name is Mavis, and I want to be a Trustee because LASSN was a great help for me and my children during my asylum process, and I want to make sure other people can get help like this in future.

I am a mom with two children so I am very good at finding practical solutions to problems. I think I will be a good Trustee because I am a good listener and can empathise with people.

Akhona Ndudane is the founder of Hopeful Hearts Community Group and an advocate for humanitarian support, with over five years of experience in social and community development. Her career includes roles as a Covid-19 champion, positive speaker, peer mentor, ambassador for HIV, healthcare worker assistant, singer, traditional dancer, support worker at Mencap, and a student at Oxford University in Health Well-being and Social Care.

Akhona is dedicated to creating inclusive and supportive environments for marginalised communities. Through her leadership of Hopeful Hearts, she has improved access to essential services for those in need. She is also an active volunteer with organisations such as LASSN, Fast Track City Leeds, Voices Network Yorkshire, and Citizens UK, focusing on empowerment, integration, and resilience for asylum seekers and refugees.

As a trustee of LASSN, Akhona is committed to supporting the organisation’s mission and ensuring it remains a source of hope for those seeking safety. With degrees in Social Science in Humanities and Biomedical Science from universities in South Africa, Akhona brings extensive knowledge and passion to her work, aiming to contribute to a more just and equitable society.

I have enjoyed volunteering with LASSN through the English at Home programme since 2018. In that time, I have been paired with two different students, each with very different skills and needs. I have also been involved in a range of other activities with LASSN and other refugee support organisations in Leeds, including attending social events and helping to organise football sessions.

I currently work for the Environment Agency, where I work collaboratively with a range of stakeholders. In my role, I am responsible for ensuring flood defence schemes are completed on time, to budget and that environmental risks and opportunities are properly considered.

I appreciate the valuable work that LASSN carries out and believe my skills and experiences can help in guiding the future direction of the organisation.

In my spare time, I enjoy running, reading and going for walks in the countryside.

I am interested in becoming a Trustee for LASSN to use my skills and experience to support asylum seekers, refugees, and migrants in Leeds. In my current role, I assist individuals from migrant communities in starting businesses at Leeds Market, ensuring they receive language support and simplifying application forms and processes to ease the process of starting their own businesses.

My experience of being born into a migrant family has helped me understand some of the challenges faced by asylum seekers and refugees. I am passionate about helping people new to the city become part of the diversity of Leeds and offering the support they need to integrate and feel valued.

I strive to review and improve the way my team and I work. I am innovative and ‘think outside the box’ to get things right the first time by applying an analytical and strategic approach to plan and organise projects. My personal values include openness, transparency, and honesty, which align with my ethics of delivering services equitably. I am extremely resilient and have found this quality useful in all aspects of life. I am an active listener and skilled at influencing, negotiating, and persuading people.