Team

Deborah joined LEF in 2022. At LEF, Deborah oversees the management of our Justice First Fellowship programme, helping to assess grants and providing support to our fellows and host organisations. Deborah is an unregistered barrister whose training and work experience at Hammersmith and Fulham Law Centre and Free Representation Unit has given her a deep understanding of the challenges faced by social justice lawyers and the communities they serve. 

Usha joined LEF in 2023. AT LEF, Usha is responsible for day-to-day transaction and payment processing, reconciliations, financial analysis, budget monitoring and investment. Usha has always worked in charities, including The Academy of Medical Sciences, Crisis Action and Carers Trust, and values working for a social justice organisation. 

Anna joined LEF in 2023. At LEF, Anna leads on external communications and branding across all our work and programmes. Anna was previously at Carers UK, a social care charity, where she saw the direct impact of law and policy on people’s everyday lives. 

Izabella joined LEF in 2024. At LEF, Izabella helps support and maintain our IT systems, software and equipment. Izabella previously worked at Second Home co-working space as well as other corporate businesses and is enjoying working in a non-profit role for the first time. 

Belinda joined LEF in 2012. At LEF, Belinda works closely with the Director of Operations to provide a wide range of support to our senior management and wider team, including HR and grant administration. Belinda also worked at our predecessor organisation, the College of Law, first in student services, and then as assistant college secretary, providing administrative support to the trustees and management board. 

Jenny joined LEF in 2017. At LEF, Jenny supports the organisation of our Justice First Fellowship and Justice Together residential events, co-ordinates the fellowship interview process and provides administrative support to the organisation. Jenny previously worked for large, diverse private sector organisations including PepsiCo, as well as Guildford College and these provided her with a strong grounding in organisational administration. 

Vanessa joined LEF in 2025. At LEF, Vanessa is the first point of contact for the fellows during and after their two-year placement, co-ordinating residentials and other training and networking opportunities. Having gone through a social justice fellowship programme herself, Vanessa is passionate about supporting leadership development. She has a background in community organising, housing, migration and community justice. 

Paresh joined LEF in 2023. At LEF, Paresh leads a finance function that is responsive, compliant and empowers effective decision-making. Paresh is a Chartered Accountant with longstanding experience in senior finance positions in the not-for-profit sector across a range of organisations and was drawn to LEF because of its strong social justice ethos. 

Cynthia joined LEF in 2025. At LEF, she works to capture, analyse and translate learning from the foundation’s grants and wider work into actionable insights. She has experience designing surveys, facilitating learning sessions, and supporting organisational reflection to improve culture and impact. She also has a background in equity, inclusion and systems change, with a particular interest in embedding this through organisational learning. 

Hannah joined LEF in 2024. At LEF, Hannah assesses funding applications and builds relationships with the grant partners she works with. Hannah has an MSc in Environment, Politics and Development from SOAS, focusing on exploring feminist approaches to climate justice and enjoys working on the wider social justice issues that LEF supports. 

Julia joined LEF in 2023. At LEF, Julia oversees our influencing work which includes policy and communications and helps support our grant partners in their influencing. Julia has volunteered, worked and published on international politics and human rights issues throughout her career in the third sector and academia before she moved into policy work with funders, including ESRC (UKRI).

Sheena joined LEF in 2020. At LEF, Sheena manages grants and relationships with grant partners and oversees our Power, Culture and Inclusion work, ensuring our practices are anti-oppressive. Sheena previously worked at Arts Council England on project and international grants and has also been a producer, project manager and fundraiser, specialising in disability arts in theatre and contemporary dance. 

Mica joined LEF in 2025. At LEF, she provides project management and governance support for our board. Mica comes from an international development background. Most recently, she managed sexual and reproductive health programmes in Malawi and Kenya that helped adolescent girls and young women to understand and advocate for their rights. This developed her passion for social justice and working for organisations that understand the power of communities. 

Jake joined LEF in 2016. At LEF, Jake oversees the strategic development of all our work, with a specific focus on policy development and legal support. He is also co-director of our subsidiary charity, Justice Collaborations, which runs Justice Together. Jake is a solicitor who was the first in his family to attend university. This has given him a deeper appreciation of the barriers people face entering and progressing through the legal profession and informed his contribution to establishing the Justice First Fellowship. 

Joy joined LEF in 2023. At LEF, Joy is responsible for assessing funding applications and managing relationships with grant partners. Joy completed a placement scheme which introduces people with lived experience to the funding sector. She then spent two years at the Sainsbury Family Charitable Trusts and has a background in law and a particular interest in networks, collaboration and advocacy. 

Ali joined LEF in 2023. At LEF, she manages the grants team and our grant-making processes, as well as overseeing the Justice First Fellowship. Ali was previously Director of the Association of Visitors to Immigration Detention, building a national network of support for people in detention. Here, she directly experienced the challenges of running a grassroots charity fighting for the rights of those caught at the sharp end of the immigration system. 

Alex joined LEF in 2021. At LEF, Alex manages a portfolio of LEF grants as well as grants under Justice Together. Alex has previously worked and volunteered in a range of frontline roles within the immigration and criminal justice systems. He values the more joined-up approach to tackling issues systemically that a funder like LEF provides, as well as being able to see the positive work people are doing around the country. 

Charlotte joined LEF in 2022. At LEF, Charlotte leads our strategic approach to learning and evidence, helping colleagues and grant partners by providing advice and developing ways to capture and share learning and insights from our grants and wider work. Previously she worked at the Joint Council for the Welfare of Immigrants, where her research contributed to strategic litigation challenging the immigration rules and highlighted the discriminatory impact of the government’s hostile environment policy. 

Sara joined LEF in 2024. At LEF, Sara provides us with administrative and project support, including diary management of senior leaders, organising team building activities and external events. Sara’s parents were foster carers and so she grew up around young migrants and at-risk children. Their experiences drew her towards working for an organisation that championed migrant rights and protections. 

Abi joined LEF in January 2026 and oversees the operations of the charity, including finance, HR, governance and digital infrastructure. She has worked in operational roles in a range of organisations across the not-for-profit sector, working with charities in areas such as education, health and equality for young women. 

Alex joined LEF in 2022. At LEF, Alex manages the day-to-day operations and development of Salesforce and our other IT systems, ensuring that we deliver the best possible digital experience for our users and partners. As a Salesforce Certified Administrator, Alex has been active in a wide range of IT services and security roles bringing in-depth knowledge gained working with organisations of all types worldwide. 

Matthew joined LEF in 2013 as our first Chief Executive. Previously, he was Deputy Director of the Baring Foundation, and Director of Community Work at Community Links in east London. At LEF, Matthew is driven by this frontline experience in communities, seeing first hand the difference that the law makes to people’s lives, in securing rights, holding those in power to account and providing a pathway to structural change. 

Rachael joined LEF in 2018. At LEF, Rachael leads our strategic approach to grant-making and learning and is co-director of our subsidiary charity, Justice Collaborations, which runs Justice Together. Rachael was previously at Trust for London, assessing and managing grants tackling poverty and inequality, and led programmes on safeguarding children’s rights, modern slavery, child sexual exploitation and the Strategic Legal Fund for Vulnerable Young Migrants. 

Barbora Bukovská is a Czech human rights attorney and activist. Since 2009, she has been a Senior Director for Law and Policy at ARTICLE 19, an international free speech organisation. Previously, she worked for human rights NGOs in the Czech Republic and Slovakia on a range of human rights issues, including protection from discrimination, access to justice, deprivation of liberty, reproductive rights, access to citizenship and community development. In 2006 – 2008, she was the Legal Director of Validity, an international organization working on the rights of people with disabilities in Europe and Central Asia. 

Tamsin Evans has 20 years’ experience providing advice and asset management services to organisations. She is currently the Head of Solutions Investment at Schroders​, where she specialises in multi asset investment. Tamsin began her career as a management consultant at Accenture and previously worked at Watson Wyatt (now Willis Towers Watson). She qualified as a Fellow of the Institute of Actuaries in 2006. Tamsin sits on the steering committee of the Diversity Project, a cross-company initiative championing a more inclusive culture within the Savings and Investment profession and is a strategic advisor to a children’s charity. 

Chrisann Jarrett MBE is a social entrepreneur and founder of We Belong, a UK charity advocating for young migrants and systemic immigration reform. A law graduate from LSE, she previously founded Let Us Learn, which influenced a landmark UK Supreme Court case, improving student finance access for over 2,000 young people annually. She has served as Policy Advisor to the Deputy Mayor of London for Social Integration and spoken at the UN. Chrisann is also a Trustee of the Allen & Overy Shearman Foundation, Advisor to the UCL Policy Lab, and part of The Ordinary Hope Project. 

Vivek Luthra has over 30 years’ experience in banking and investment management. Most recently he was a Senior Portfolio Manager at Brevan Howard, prior to which he spent 17 years at Bluecrest Capital​,​where he was an Interest Rates Portfolio Manager and Partner. Vivek has also worked at Bank of America, ABN Amro and Nomura as a Fixed Income Trader. His early career was as an auditor at Coopers & Lybrand. He has also served as a school g​overnor and was formerly Vice-Chair of a large London Academy. Vivek is passionate about social justice and committed to LEF’s mission. 

Fiona Mactaggart was Chief Executive of the Joint Council for the Welfare of Immigrants (JCWI) from 1982 until 1986, when she was elected as a local councillor. She became a teacher and university lecturer and continued to campaign for human rights and justice. She was elected to parliament in 1997; from 2003 to 2006 she was a minister in the Home Office. After 20 years as an MP she stepped down. Since then, she has served as Chair of the Fawcett Society and Agenda Alliance and as trustee of Anawim, all organisations serving the needs of women. She also helped found the Alf Dubs Lecture Trust and serves on the board of a family grant-giving trust. 

Alison Pickup is CEO of the Helen Bamber Foundation Group, comprising the Helen Bamber Foundation and Asylum Aid. From 2021–2025 she was Executive Director of Asylum Aid, which specialises in providing legal representation to some of the most vulnerable people seeking asylum in the UK and uses its research and expertise to secure improvements to the asylum system. From 2016–2021 she was Legal Director of the Public Law Project. Alison is a barrister and until 2016 was in independent practice at Doughty Street Chambers in London. She is a member of the Expert Panel of the Strategic Legal Fund for Vulnerable Young Migrants. 

Sajjad Sabur is Chief Investment Officer for Family Office, and an advisor to businesses and investors with a particular focus on impact and sustainability. He advises on strategy, business development, management, fundraising, financial structuring and planning. Prior to 2023, Saj was Managing Director and Head of Investments within the HSBC Private Equity business where he was a member of its G​lobal Investment Committee and led its direct investment activity as well as its work on private equity funds. Saj served as a director on numerous boards and subcommittees in the consumer, technology, manufacturing, natural and agri resources sectors. Saj is a qualified accountant and holds an MBA from London Business School. The ability to access law and legal advice has a very personal resonance for Saj and his family since moving to the UK and he looks forward to contributing to LEF’s work. 

Maxine Thomas-Asante FRSA is a racial justice practitioner and Lead of the Power of Pop Fund, a pooled fund supporting organisations who use arts, creativity and the entertainment sector to advance racial and migrant justice. Maxine has worked in racial justice as a researcher, consultant, facilitator and now, funder​. Her work proactively centres the voices of communities experiencing social challenges, from her earlier days in student politics to now, championing communities in a​broad​er purview​. Maxine’s academic background is in law and policy. Her award-winning masters at the London School of Economics and Political Science asked: To What Extent Can the Equality Act 2010 Be Considered a ​‘Radical’ Act, Contributing to Black Liberation and Recognition in Britain? 

James Wolffe KC qualified as an advocate at the Scottish bar in 1992 and took silk in 2007. He was Dean of the Faculty of Advocates (the elected leader of the Scottish bar) 2014–16 and Lord Advocate (the senior Scottish Law Officer) from 2016–21. He has been instructed as an advocate in many high profile and complex cases and has argued significant appeals, including in the UK Supreme Court. James is also a member of the bar of England & Wales and a Bencher of Middle Temple. He practices as an advocate and barrister through Axiom Advocates, Edinburgh and Brick Court Chambers, London, sits as a part-time judge in the Courts of Appeal of Guernsey and Jersey, and is an Honorary Professor of Edinburgh University Law School. As a LEF trustee, James values being involved in an organisation which enables the law to make a real difference to people’s lives, and which, through that work, strengthens the rule of law across the UK. 

Tasnim Hassan is a researcher and practitioner with over a decade of experience in social justice, working through an intersectional lens to drive systemic change. Her work bridges theory and practice, spanning movement building, research and the development of inclusive organisational approaches. She has helped shape research, strengthen practice, and influence funding decisions, including through the Disability Justice Fund at Trust for London, and is a trustee of Corra Foundation. Tasnim works in relational, community-focused, and cross-movement ways, centring care and connection in efforts to shift power. She is currently completing doctoral research at Durham University on the lived experiences of Black and Brown Disabled people across the UK. 

Ruqia Osman has spent the past decade working closely with racialised communities, public sector institutions, and voluntary organisations to address systemic inequalities in mental health and public health. Driven by both personal experience and a deep understanding of how racial injustice shapes wellbeing, she is committed to bringing people together to influence policy, strengthen governance, and build more socially just systems. Ruqia has led and contributed to various research and advocacy initiatives, including work on race, faith, health inequalities, and community-led change. Her work centres lived experience, collective healing, and creating spaces where marginalised communities can shape meaningful, lasting change. 

Virginia Toyi has a background in law and policy with extensive community cohesion experience and over 20 years of advancing equality, diversity, and inclusion across the public and third sectors. Her work sits at the intersection of race equity, governance,e and systemic reform. She has supported institutions to translate equality duties into meaningful action, strengthen accountability, and embed anti-racist practice. Virginia has advised senior leaders, shaped strategy, and delivered practical change programmes focused on fair access, representation,n and structural equity. Her work is grounded in using law as a tool for social justice and sustainable institutional change.