Meet the team

Phil is the Director and heads up our Senior Leadership Team. He joined F&BF to apply his peacebuilding experience more to a UK context, and he sees a lot of potential in combining peacebuilding and inter-cultural approaches to strengthening relations. He is passionate about education and peacebuilding; he has worked in many contexts affected by violent conflict, including the Philippines, Myanmar, Sri Lanka and the South Caucasus.

He has a degree in History from Cambridge University, a PGCE from Bangor University in North Wales and an MA in Restorative Justice from the University of Hull.

Marcella joined F&BF in March 2021 as the Head of Operations within the new senior leadership team. She has a wealth of experience in senior operations management. She was initially attracted to our clear vision to be at the heart of building strong and lasting relationships, closing some gaps.

Louise leads on F&BF programmes and developing our new strand of policy work. She has worked on rights-based campaigns and advocacy for several years, most recently at an NGO that used multimedia as a platform for human rights advocacy. She has also been an advisor on research and funding at a think-tank that works on sustainable solutions for peace and stability across the Islamic World. Prior to non-profit roles, Louise taught in various education settings for over a decade. Currently continuing academic work part-time, her PhD thesis examines the transnationalism of Black religious movements, nationalisms and their relationship to power.

Louise likes eastern philosophies and travel.

Carrie has been involved with interfaith work in Edinburgh and Seattle, through experiencing interfaith spiritual communities, conducting research and roles in project management. She’s also got a passion for equality in education, after working for access to higher education programmes in Glasgow, and running an intercultural safe space and education centre for refugees in Serbia.

Carrie likes getting creative, graphic design, dancing, baking and gardening.

Rayan joined to support in all things HR & Operations related and has previously worked in different sectors, mostly start-ups supporting HR and operations.

Rayan enjoys travelling to indulge in different cultures, and back in 2019 she travelled to ten countries in the year around Europe and Asia.

Maya works to support the operations of F&BF. She was previously a Kickstarter in the Movement Building team.

Prior to joining F&BF, Maya undertook different courses at college such as art & design, makeup artistry and business admin. She has also volunteered with a Christian youth charity since she was 16.

She describes herself as a creative and artistic person.

Ben manages our finance function and budget processes.

Outside of the office he is a yoga teacher specialising in gong baths!

Caroline is F&BF’s Design and Fundraising Co-ordinator. She studied law at Southampton Solent and finished her degree at London Metropolitan.

She began a legal career in family, conveyancing and employment law as a Paralegal. Through volunteering in her spare time Caroline felt she wanted to work for a cause that meant more to her and was more in line with her personal beliefs and values.

She began working for the charity sector in an organisation that supports people with learning disabilities, mental health and autism leading on managing volunteers and placement students.

Caroline is also fluent in French.

Philip is in charge of F&BF’s communications, and manages everything from overall communications strategy to day-to-day PR, social and digital media. 

He grew up in southern Sweden and studied Religion and Theology at Uppsala University and Philosophy at King’s College London before starting a career in media and comms.

He is F&BF’s resident techie and IT guru and likes all things Japanese, reading and making music.

Alejandra supports our Communications team.

She has a BA in Marketing from Middlesex University and has a keen interest in Digital Marketing and Social Media. She is passionate about social change and has volunteered in various projects within the community.

She loves travelling and experiencing new cultures and food. She also enjoys learning to bake and long walks in nature with her dog.

Siobhán coordinates various community and workplace projects in F&BF’s Movement Building team.

Siobhán holds an MA Religion in Contemporary Society from King’s College London and BA Theology with Philosophy from the University of Exeter. She is an experienced facilitator and enjoys working with participants ages 8 to 80+. 

Siobhán is a vegan and animal lover and has previously worked in the Volunteering Department at Battersea Dogs & Cats Home.

Matthew is part of the Community Team and helps to plan and deliver events and programmes across London, as well as source new partners and audiences for F&BF to engage with.

He has a BA in Politics and Economics from the University of Manchester and an MA in Public Policy from King’s College London. One of Matthew’s academic fascinations was how hate can be mobilised as a strategic tool in politics and he believes that through interfaith work and education we can all help to combat social divisions.

Matthew completed the ParliaMentors programme in 2018/19, subsequently joining the F&BF London Youth Council and becoming its Chair in June 2022. He is Jewish and has previously participated in Jewish organisations such as JLGB and RSY, including their summer and winter camps as a participant and leader. He also enjoys volunteering and has previously worked with charities across a range of topics including world peace, terminally ill children and offering free tech support in his local community.

Mahmooda has been involved in many initiatives in Birmingham and some beyond, to enhance relationships with people of all background. She’s a strong believer of human race having more things in common than differences. By working together as one humanity, putting aside differences, she believes we can achieve many great things and make this world a better place.

She has a degree in Industrial Information Technology and a Post Graduate Certificate in Education. She has taught in secondary schools.

She’s worked with HOPE not hate for 4 years. She works for Ella Baker School of Organising one day a week, who she joined in April 2020. Currently, she’s also the Birmingham Branch Coordinator for Islamic Society of Britain.

In her spare time she enjoys gardening, travelling and going on tandem bike rides with her better half.

Rachel is part of the University team delivering support to the ParliaMentor programme.

She is a recent graduate of the London School of Economics Msc Conflict Studies program who specializes in reconciliation and dialogue. She was born and raised in Toronto, Canada, which is also where she completed her undergraduate degree in Peace, Conflict and Justice Studies & Philosophy.

Throughout her life, she has taken on many roles within the Toronto Jewish community as both an educator and a community-organizer, and she has run numerous programs in Israel-Palestine that promote awareness of, and solidarity with, grassroots peacebuilders. She loves traveling, and has spent lots of time in Sweden, East Africa, Israel-Palestine and now, London. Education and dialogue are Rachel’s main passions in life

Lauryn is part of the University team, delivering support to the ParliaMentors programme. Prior to joining this role, she was a ParliaMentor herself, where her team hosted an interfaith event in Ealing.

She graduated with an LLB from SOAS, where I also did extensive research into the interactions between law and culture.

In her spare time she enjoys writing poetry, listening to music and going for walks in nature.

Amy has responsibility for our School Linking Programme. She has 20 years of experience of working with children, young people and professionals in education settings. For the past 15 years, she worked for Save the Children in education and participation focused roles involving direct work and programme delivery with children, young people and parents. Most recently she has focused on designing, delivering and evaluating training for professionals ranging from Teachers, and senior school leaders, to Local Authority staff, inspectors, and corporate volunteers. Amy managed a team of trainers in the South of England who supported parental engagement programmes of work.

Having worked in the education sector for 20 years, Amy believes that empowering children, young people, parents and professionals to develop their voice and understanding of the world is key to change. She has seen the powerful impact that collaborative and person-centred education can have in making this change.

Amy is working towards her CIPD professional qualification in Learning and Development. She holds a post-graduate qualification in Youth and Community Work and undertook a masters level module in Children’s Learning and Development.

Laura works as an administrator role in our Education & Learning team. Whilst at university, she first became involved with F&BF as part of the ParliaMentors programme, identifying a lot with our mission and values.

She has undergraduate degree in Wildlife Conservation from the University of Salford and a Master’s in Human Rights and Environmental Law from Lancaster University. She has volunteered helping teach English lessons for refugees and is passionate about creating universal equality and a tolerant society.

In her spare time she enjoys reading, politics, foraging and walking her pet beagle.

Alejandra is the education officer within the Schools team.

She was born and raised in Bogotá, Colombia where she completed her undergraduate degrees in Literature, and in Languages and Socio-Cultural Studies from Universidad de Los Andes. She also holds a MA in Education and International Development from UCL – Institute of Education.

Alejandra has worked in the education sector for more than 10 years, from teaching young people and facilitating workshops to designing, implementing, and monitoring education programmes and projects. She believes that education, formal and non-formal, contributes not only to individual development but also to the upholding of societal values.

In her spare time, she enjoys reading literature, listening to music, cuddling her dog, and running.