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More than 65%
of our staff
came through
Leaders Unlocked
projects

Who we are

Rose Dowling

Chief Executive

Rose is the CEO and founder of Leaders Unlocked. Over the past 15 years, Rose has set up a range of initiatives to enable young people to become proactive, confident change leaders making a difference to the issues that matter to them. As CEO, Rose is responsible for our driving our vision and strategy.

"The Youth Board have really changed my job as CEO; I now feel that I share my role with this team of motivated young leaders.”

The Leaders Unlocked Team

Alev Zahir

Senior Manager

Alev Zahir

Senior Manager

Within the education sector, Alev empowers students to play a leadership role and take action on social issues. Drawing on her background in education, consultancy, and project management, Alev leads programmes and partnerships, as well as being a vital member of our Executive Team.

Kaytea
Budd-Brophy

Senior Manager

Kaytea
Budd-Brophy

Senior Manager

An experienced educator with 20+ years working in challenging environments, Kaytea leads on the Youth Commission for Leaders Unlocked, working with PCCs and police forces around the country. Kaytea manages our team of regional coordinators, and is a key member of our Executive Team.

Gabrielle Jones

Project Manager

Gabrielle Jones

Project Manager

Gabrielle manages two important projects for us in the Nottinghamshire region – the Youth Commission and MH:2K. Gabby started as a volunteer on the Youth Commission in 2015 and since then she has progressed to become a well-respected leader in her region.

Kelese Hyacinth

Project Manager

Kelese Hyacinth

Project Manager

Kelese supports two important projects in Nottinghamshire – the Youth Commission and MH:2K. She is passionate about supporting young people to have a voice. Kelese started as a volunteer with us, while studying Youth Studies at university, and since then she has progressed to become a member of the staff team in the region.

Folade Lawan

Project Manager

Folade Lawan

Project Manager

Folade is the project manager for the Mental Health Foundation Young Leaders project. She is passionate about facilitating safe, non-judgemental spaces for young people to share their ideas and experiences. Folade did an internship with us during her undergraduate studies, and then joined the staff team in 2020.

Emily Blavins

Project Manager

Emily Blavins

Project Manager

Emily is a project manager within our policing team, and is currently managing both the North and West Yorkshire Youth Commissions. Emily has a keen interest in public policy and is passionate about utilising co-production to improve policing and community services for young people.

Deborah Tetteh

Project Assistant

Deborah Tetteh

Project Assistant

Deborah started her journey with Leaders Unlocked as a Young Leader on the Childfair State Inquiry. She is now Project Assistant for the Mental Health Foundation Young Leaders Project, where she encourages young people to voice their opinions and experiences and directly impact mental health research, policy and campaigning. Deborah is passionate about holistic Mental Health prevention and intervention which takes intersectionality into account.

Hafizah Khan

Project Coordinator

Hafizah Khan

Project Coordinator

Hafizah is a Project Coordinator for the Youth Commission in Wiltshire & Swindon. Whilst studying BSc Politics and Sociology, Hafizah broadened her knowledge on policy, leadership and social issues. Joining the Youth Commission as a member, and then becoming a coordinator, has allowed her to promote diversity and inclusion, and the idea that the youth are the heart of our communities. In her spare time Hafizah enjoys writing poetry.

Romaine Murchison

Project Coordinator

Romaine Murchison

Project Coordinator

Romaine leads on Take the Lead Stories, which is a story writing and creative project he created as part of his internship with LU. His goal is to champion the voices of young people from unrepresented communities and backgrounds, enabling them to tell their stories and have them published in the places that they feel they will be most impactful. Romaine is also an experienced youth worker from Bristol.

Anya Hutin

Project Coordinator

Anya Hutin

Project Coordinator

Anya works within the criminal justice team, coordinating the IOPC Youth Panel and working with justice-experienced young people to develop training for professionals. Anya is particularly passionate about diversion, supporting young people from disadvantaged backgrounds, and evidence-led policing and justice policy.

Bhavan Bains

Project Assistant

Bhavan Bains

Project Assistant

Bhavan was a citizen researcher for the MH:2K Derbyshire project and progressed onto the role of project assistant after finishing her A - levels. Now as a psychology student, Bhavan is able to fulfil her passion for advocating for youth welfare and inclusion, helping to crack down on all areas of mental health stigma and tackle the ongoing mental health crisis.

Nairn Angus-McDonald

Project Manager

Nairn Angus-McDonald

Project Manager

With over a decade of experience in community engagement, Nairn has a proven record of empowering youth and championing mental health initiatives. Previously, he led the North Ayrshire Mental Health Commission, empowering young people to drive mental health change. Now, as the lead for the anti-bigotry initiative *Project Progress*, Nairn channels his passion for social impact into creating inclusive, impactful solutions.

Suzanne Kay

Senior Manager

Suzanne Kay

Senior Manager

Suzanne leads on our internship programme and project developments in Scotland. Having spent 30+ years working in the arts, education and widening participation, she is a passionate advocate for equality of opportunity and the empowerment of young people.

Board of directors

Chris Paouros

Non-Executive Director

Chris Paouros

Non-Executive Director

As non-executive director, Chris brings considerable expertise in finance, legal, HR and campaigning. Chris is a highly strategic and commercially astute leader with 20 years of experience in start-ups, SMEs and charities.

Jayne Morgan

Non-Executive Director

Jayne Morgan

Non-Executive Director

As non-executive director, Jayne shares her expertise of the further education sector, learner involvement systems and widening participation of under-represented groups. Jayne is a senior quality manager at a large Further Education college in South East London.

Abi Awojobi

Non-executive director

Abi Awojobi

Non-executive director

Abi is an experienced marketing and sales professional, who currently works for a global telecoms corporation. She brings significant experience in start-ups, business development and digital content.

Our Youth Board

Get involved

If you’re interested in getting involved with the work we do at Leaders Unlocked, please do send us a message via our contact us page. We are always keen to hear from young people who may want to take part in our projects, as well as professionals who may want to collaborate.

More than 65% of our
staff came from Leaders Unlocked projects

"There has been a real culture change at the top - this has been the biggest element. We had such a challenge as to how to engage thousands of young people in Nottingham, a massive generational gap, we spoke a different language, it was overwhelming. Leaders Unlocked has helped us to bridge that gap and now we understand each other more."

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