Our Team

Abbey is our Volunteer Experience Coordinator at The Access Project. Her career focus has been education, moving into the charities sector after teaching English as a foreign language and supporting educational programmes in Japan and Italy.

Abbey first studied English and Italian at the University of St Andrews. More recently, she completed an MA in Comparative Education from UCL Institute of Education.

Alafia is a Volunteer Experience Coordinator. 

She previously worked in the education sector, focussing on inclusion and pastoral care, before joining The Access Project. Alafia holds a BA Hons in History and Politics and an MSc in Development Management. 

Amy works as the Senior Communications Officer managing our social media, online platforms and marketing content.

She has previously worked for a children’s charity in volunteer management and communications. Amy is also involved with Girlguiding UK as a volunteer leader working with Brownies (ages 7-10) as well as the lead volunteer for Girlguiding members aged 18-30 in North East London. She previously worked for the National Citizen Service working directly with a variety of young people.

She has a degree in International relations and Politics from The University of Sheffield.

Christian is a Senior University Access Officer and Quality Assurance Champion (Tuition). 

Prior to joining TAP, he has worked as an SEND Teaching Assistant where he developed an interest in the education sector before he went on to study Ancient History at Durham University.

Fay is the Impact and Strategy Director for The Access Project.

 She is responsible for maintaining and improving our impact with our young people as we grow, and for supporting our strategy development.In previous roles with UK charities she has led the design, quality assurance and evaluation of humanitarian and development programmes in a number of countries in Africa, Asia and the Middle East.

Fay studied Arabic and French at the University of Edinburgh and has an MA in Anthropology of Development from SOAS.

Iwan is a University Access Officer at Dixons Allerton Academy in Bradford. He attended University of Sheffield where he completed a BA in History & Politics and an MA in Politics, Governance & Public Policy. As well as this he worked as a Widening Participation Mentor delivering Outreach sessions to students from underrepresented backgrounds in local schools.

Lauren is our Insight & Evaluation Manager.

Prior to joining The Access Project, Lauren managed impact evaluations for a range of organisations, producing insights to help inform local and regional decision-making.

She has an MA in Social Research from University of Birmingham. 

Matthew is a Senior Attainment Coordinator. 

He previously taught secondary English after completing the Teach First Leadership Development programme, during which time led on a variety of school access, inclusion and enrichment projects for young people from disadvantaged backgrounds. Matthew holds a BA in English and Creative Writing from Royal Holloway, and a masters in educational leadership (Teach First) from Warwick University.

Naomi is Deputy Programme Director.  She is responsible for school relationships and high quality programme delivery across all our London Schools. She is also responsible for all the Centrally Delivered Provision across all regions, including our Societies Programme and University trips.

She has previously worked on the Mayor of London’s School Programme as well as in Social Housing.

Naomi has a degree in Geography from University of Liverpool.

Riaz is our Systems Manager.

He has previously worked as a Salesforce Administrator in the charity industry.

Sam Gough is the Head of Communications at The Access Project. He leads on communicating the work that the charity does to audiences through a multitude of channels.

Sarah is our Volunteering Experience Coordinator at The Access Project. She previously worked as an employment screening coordinator and is excited to bring her skills into the charity sector. 

Sarah holds a BA in The History of Art from the University of Sussex.

Suzanne is Deputy Volunteering Director.

Will is a University Access Officer and UAO Lead – Events Volunteer Coordinator

His previous roles include time spent as a part time volunteer tutor for a refugee charity, as well as a placement in Kenya where he delivered a series of social mobility programmes. Most recently he worked for international young person’s education charity Never Such Innocence, managing the organisation’s international education programme and creative arts competition that invited young people to reflect on conflict.

Will holds a degree in Human Geography from Manchester Metropolitan University.

Adam is a Senior University Access Officer and UAO Lead Diversity & Inclusion. 

Adam holds a Law degree and an MA in International Law, Ethics and Politics from the University of Birmingham. Before joining The Access Project Adam supported several research projects in Birmingham Law School. He has experience in the higher education and the third sector.

Catherine is our Business Partnerships Coordinator.

Prior to joining our team, she worked in the Scottish Tourism industry, and volunteered with various social care, outdoors, and Modern Slavery charities in Chile and the UK. Catherine studied Economic and Social History with Spanish at the University of Glasgow where she also spent six months teaching English with British Council. 

Ellie is the University Events and Student Enrichment Manager at the Access Project. Previously, she worked in an Addiction Charity, working with young people suffering from parental substance misue. Ellie studied International Relations and Politics at the University of Sheffield, and has a Masters Degree in Middle East Politics from SOAS.

Georgina is the Partnerships Director at The Access Project. 

She leads on partnerships and fundraising and is tasked with growing our income so we can reach more young people, improve our impact and develop new strategic projects.

Georgina previously spent several years as Development Director at campaigning organisation Liberty and has worked for several charities helping young people overcome barriers, including I CAN and Children in Crisis.

Georgina studied Anthropology at UCL before gaining an MSc from SOAS in Violence, Conflict and Development. She is a certified member of the Institute of Fundraising.

Georgina works part time (Monday-Wednesday) as a job share with Stephen Hudd.

Jake is our Head of Programme Quality. 

Jake previously worked for another leading University access charity and taught English in China for a year. He has a degree in English and Related Literature from the University of York.

Lucy is the Programme and Volunteering Director and is responsible for school relationships and high quality programme delivery across all of our schools in all regions.

She previously worked at a business pyschology consultancy, leading a team of PAs and Project Managers, before joining The Access Project.

Lucy holds a BA in English Literature, an MA in Colonial and Postcolonial Literature, and a PhD in the memorialisation of the British slave trade.

Mary is our Volunteer Recruitment Coordinator. She has worked and volunteered with numerous charities.

Since returning to the UK from New Zealand, she was working with the Alzheimer’s Society as Side by Side Coordinator where she managed and coordinated the volunteers. Prior to this she also worked in education supporting students with their Career & Progression options.

Nathan is our CEO. He works with Trustees and the Executive team supporting The Access Project to set and fulfil its strategic goals.

Nathan’s most recent roles have been within charities focussed on improving life chances for young people. He has been responsible for programme design and scale-up in senior roles at The Challenge Network, Starfish and Frontline. He moved to the third sector from a successful career in the civil service, including serving as the Programme Director responsible for National Citizen Service (NCS) — the coalition Government’s flagship youth programme.

Rachel is the Programme Manager for the East Midlands and  Quality Assurance Champion (University Readiness). Prior to this, Rachel was a Senior University Access Officer for Holte School in the West Midlands.

Rachel’s former career was as an English teacher for 13 years. During that time she was Achievement Leader for Year 11 and completed the NCSL Leadership Pathways qualification. Rachel holds a PGCE in English from The University of Nottingham and obtained a degree in Literature, Life and Thought from Liverpool John Moores University.

Rubinder is our Online Tuition Manager and Tuition Quality Assurance Champion.

In her previous role, Rubinder acted as a leadership coach and mentor for qualifying and newly qualified teachers.

Rubinder holds a PGCE in Mathematics from the University of Nottingham and obtained a degree in Economics and Management from Aston University.

Sara is our Senior Programme Manager (London). Prior to becoming a Programme Manager, she worked as a University Access Officer for two years, delivering the programme in two of our schools.

Her previous roles have included teaching English as a second language, along with mentoring for youth charities.

She has a degree in English Literature and Cultural Studies from the University of Sussex.

Sophia is our Student Engagement and Transition Manager. 

Her previous roles have included developing Peer Assisted Learning and academic writing programmes for undergraduate students.

She has a degree in English Language and Communication from Kingston University.

Taija is Senior University Access Officer & Quality Assurance Champion (University Readiness). 

She previously taught English as a foreign language and ran career guidance workshops whilst volunteering in Tanzania. Taija has also volunteered with various UK based charities, working closely with vulnerable groups; including a role as a mentor at a social mobility charity. Taija graduated in Sociology from Brunel University London. 

Adam is a University Access Officer in London at Bishop Douglass School and Hornsey School for Girls. He previously worked as a PhD Tutor at The Brilliant Club and Programme Officer at UCL AnthroSchools.

Adam completed his undergraduate degree in Archaeology and Anthropology at the University of Cambridge before doing his Master’s and PhD in Anthropology at UCL, examining the local social impacts of tiger conservation in central India. 

Alisa is our Data & Insights Coordinator (0.6) and a Volunteer Experience Coordinator (0.4). 

She previously worked for a charity in Glasgow supporting disadvantaged children engage with education. Alisa studied Natural Sciences at Cambridge University after which she worked in cell biology research at the University of Edinburgh.

Aparna is the System Coordinator at The Access project

Aparna started her career as a teaching assistant. She became passionate about technology and spent her time as a Salesforce Consultant for various charity organisations.

Aparna holds different certifications in Salesforce and she is a Postgraduate in Computer Science

Charlotte is a University Access Officer in London.

Before joining The Access Project, she was elected as the President of the Students’ Union at The Courtauld Institute of Art, where she secured policy change in relation to Widening Participation, Diversity and Inclusion.

Charlotte has a BA in History of Art from The Courtauld Institute of Art.

Daniel is a University Access Officer and UAO Lead University Events. Prior to joining TAP, Daniel worked in the environmental education sector in Honduras and Malta. He has also worked as an Academic Coach at colleges in the West Midlands, providing tuition and
pastoral support.

He holds a MSci in Biological Sciences from the University of Birmingham.

Holly is our Impact Manager, University Readiness. 

Prior to this she completed a PhD looking at health, gender and the body in contemporary American fiction at Ghent University, Belgium. In 2017, she was a Visiting Scholar with the School of Critical Studies at the California Institute for the Arts, Los Angeles. She developed an interest in improving access to higher education in her previous role working as a Learning Support Assistant at a large London secondary school. 

She also holds an MA in Comparative Literary Studies from Goldsmiths University, and a BA in American Studies from the University of Nottingham.

Jennifer is the Policy and Safeguarding Manager.

She previously taught English as a foreign language in Vietnam, and was a manager in a centre of a tuition company. She is also a Volunteer Childline Counsellor. Jennifer has a degree in History from the University of Manchester and an MSc in Psychology from the University of Derby.

Lynne is Senior Operations Coordinator, providing finance, HR and office support.

She has worked for a variety of organisations in HR & training roles and also spent four years tutoring adult learners in IT and office admin skills.

Olivia is a Senior University Access Officer.

She has a Sociology degree from the University of Essex, where she worked as an editor for the Department of Sociology’s academic journal, where her work had previously been published. Her degree included 1 year of study at Masaryk University in the Czech Republic. She has also volunteered as a TA in primary schools, working one to one with students on topics they struggled with.

Reanne is a Senior University Access Officer. 

In her previous role Reanne worked as a Project Assistant at the adult education charity Workers Educational Association. She also has experience in leading workshops for undergraduate students on project design and delivery as well as teaching students with social, emotional and mental health difficulties.

Reanne received a first in Philosophy from UCL with a final year Political Science focus on educational inequalities. 

Sadhika is a University Access Officer in the Midlands. She applied to university through an access scheme graduating with First Class (Hons) in biomedical science at the University of Birmingham. 

Tiffany is a Programme Manager helping manage the delivery of the Programme across our London schools. Prior to this she worked as a University Access Officer for two years, delivering the programme in school.

She has background in access initiatives, having applied to university through one herself, and also having spent a year as the undergraduate student admissions officer. After university Tiffany completed the TeachFirst scheme and spent three years as a secondary school maths teacher.

She has a degree in Philosophy, Psychology & Physiology from Oxford University