NIA - Key Persons
Alaa Satir, a Sudanese illustrator and designer, studied architecture at the University of Khartoum and has recently graduated with an MA from the University of the Arts London.
Her work often tackles social issues and current affairs, while also taking inspiration from wider culture and everyday life.
She is currently working as a graphic designer, illustrator and cartoonist. Various offices, publications and NGOs make use of her visual art, but she also works on personal artistic projects in fields such as street art and textiles.
Her choice of media ranges from black and white ink drawings to digital art, furniture design, murals and more.
Job Titles:
- Fundraising Consultant and Director of Raised Charity Consultancy
Amy is a fundraising consultant and Director of Raised Charity Consultancy. She has over 15 years fundraising experience, working with charitable, cultural and non-profit organisations in the U.K. and internationally, specialising in fundraising strategy and generating income from corporates, trusts and major donors. She has a personal passion for feminism and protecting women's rights.
Caroline Murphy joined nia in 2017 and brings over 15 years' experience of working to end male violence against women, girls and children. She has delivered and developed a range of specialist trauma-informed services including refuge provision for Irish Traveller women and specialist refuge provision for women living with multiple disadvantages, including substance use, prostitution, domestic and sexual violence.
Dana Baldwin in the investment management industry, and has held various roles focusing on strategy and fundraising. She has dedicated significant time in her career on women's inclusion in the financial industry; having two daughters now, she has a strong interest in using her experience to help provide safety and resources to more women and children in an effort to help them realise their potential.
Degna Stone is an award-winning poet and editor living in north east England. She shares her home near the River Tyne with her husband, two teenagers and their chihuahua. Her third poetry pamphlet, Handling Stolen Goods (Peepal Tree Press), explores issues of race and class. Her latest, Weighing of the Heart (Blueprint), charts the harrowing journey of a patient with a life threatening heart condition. www.degnastone.co.uk
Felicity Slater works in media and communications, helping charities and non-profits to get their voice heard. Previously, she spent a number of years working in Westminster, and on increasing women's participation in politics.
Job Titles:
- Head of Research and Campaigns
Heather Harvey has been working on women's human rights and specifically violence against women for over 20 years in the UK and overseas. Her experience includes three years working on forced marriage with the foreign office. She led Amnesty International UK's Stop violence against women campaign for five years (before Amnesty's disappointing position on prostitution) with a focus on trafficking, impact of conflict on women, no recourse to public funds was head of research and development at Eaves for five years.
Jodie Woodward joined nia in 2008 to set up The Emma Project, a pioneering specialist service for women escaping male violence who have problematic substance use. She has since developed East London Rape Crisis, including ensuring the organisation attained the Rape Crisis National Service Standards. She is currently the Co-Chair of Rape Crisis England and Wales. Prior to working at nia Jodie worked in numerous frontline roles in the homelessness and substance use sector which led to a desire to ensure that women who have experienced multiple disadvantage have access to women- centred, feminist services. Jodie holds an ILM Level 7 in Strategic Leadership.
Juliet Coley is a Christian, mother, educator, black children's book publisher, author and heart attack, heart surgery and cancer survivor.
Her career has included her being a victim support councillor, promotions manager for Britain's best black newspaper The Voice and a television presenter for Channel 4 and ITV1 before moving into education in the late 1990s.
She became a teacher at a time when African Caribbean children in particular boys were under achieving and her school was in an under resourced area and borough wide had poor examination outcomes for all students. At that time, only 5% of students were achieving 5+ A* to C grades (without English and Maths). 7 years later, as Head of Year she broke school records with her Year group achieving 47% including English and Maths. 15 years later after taking whole school responsibility for the raising achieving in English, 75% of students were achieving 5+ A* to C grades including English and Maths.
Juliet was selected by the Government's Teacher Training Agency to be the face of their Newly Qualified Teacher resource - Juliet, How to Teach English and in her first year her teaching was rated by the Government inspectors Ofsted as Outstanding and was nominated in the Lloyds Bank/TSB Teaching Awards for Best New Teacher in a Secondary school.
She was promoted to Deputy Head of Year in her first year of teaching and as the driver in Raising Achievement as Line Management of English, Juliet coached and entered 120 students into an early GCSE English Language examination and 99% achieved an A* to C Grade. She was responsibilities for ‘Preparation for Ofsted Inspections' and led the school through 3 successful Ofsted Outstanding grades on 3 consecutive occasions. A rare accolade for an inner city school in in under resourced Tottenham with students who enter with poor and below average baseline grades.
As Head of Citizenship, Juliet was as the driver behind a student led award winning Anti-Gun and Anti-Knife crime campaign, ‘Value Life.' The 10 year project was awarded: ‘The Queen's Award' for voluntary service, an accolade only 3 schools nationally had won previously. Former Prime Minster Tony Blair awarded Juliet the Respect Award for her work on this. She was the coordinator and driver behind a national citizenship campaign: ‘Everybody Dreams' which brought together the school with the community, local council, the police and local, national and international music, television, sport and political celebrities to bring back positivity to Tottenham, where the 2011 Riots began. The Student Flashmob has had over 50k views on YouTube and the single she released which the students sang on was mixed by iconic music artist Dave Stewart from the Eurythmics and reached number 38 in the iTunes charts.
Juliet was awarded in 2013 The Wise woman in the Community Award, in 2018 Haringey Council awarded her the Outstanding Award in Education and in 2019 at the House of Lords she was awarded the Lord Hastings Integrity Baton Award for her work with young people. That same year, Manhood Academy Global and Westside Young Leaders Academy awarded her The Marcus Garvey Award for her work with young people.
Juliet has taught students who have gone straight from secondary education to degree studies. Students who have won scholarships to prestigious boarding schools like Eton, Harrow and Millfield. Two of her students following the introduction of the new GCSE specification in 2017, were part of the 732 Year 11s in the country who achieved 8 Grade 9s (A** grades) in all of their examination results. Her students are now Cardiothoracic Surgeons, GPs, Teachers and Lawyers. Alumni include:
No.1 Music Rap Artist: Chip/Chipmunk
Songwriter/Producer: Nana Rogues (US Artist Drake)
TV Personality/YouTube Sensation: Elijah Quashie (Chicken
Connoisseur)
Swimming Champion: Alexander Macay (Team GB)
Footballer: Emmanuel Fringpong (Arsenal)
Footballer: Steve Zakuani (Seatle Sounders)
Footballer/ Manager: Gaberial Zakuani (Peterborough,
Fulham,Spaulding United)
PhD Graduates - Nulushi Weysinge, Marlon Weysinge, Alexander
Mackay)
Following ill health, Juliet retired from being a Senior Deputy Headteacher and now publishes Beautiful Black Books written by Beautiful Black Children aged 6 to 15. Three of the children author's have won awards for their work.
She is a 2021 finalist (from 50,000 nominations) for a National Diversity Award, Role Model for Race, Religion & Faith and for the Multicultural Business Community Champion Award, Community Unsung Shero for her work as an educator and publisher, having now published 16 books written by children: www.younglitstars.com
She is the author of 3 books. Her memoir 39 Weeks: Life Behind the School Gates is currently in development for a Black British film.
Job Titles:
- Chief Executive
- Member of the Senior Leadership Team
Karen Ingala Smith has been Chief Executive of nia since 2009. Under Karen's leadership, nia has maintained an unapologetic feminist commitment to prioritising women who have been subjected to men's sexual and domestic violence and abuse, including prostitution. During an unfavourable economic climate, Karen has not only ensured nia's survival but built upon its reputation for responding to the needs of the women and children it serves.
With over 29 years' experience in the women's sector which encompasses frontline delivery, and operational and strategic management, Karen is a leader in feminist-informed service provision. She was awarded the Positive Role Model for Gender at the 2014 National Diversity Awards. Karen is co-creator of The Femicide Census, supported by Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer LLP and Deloitte LLP and founder of the campaign Counting Dead Women. She holds a post-graduate diploma in Voluntary Sector Management and is currently a PhD candidate researching men's fatal violence against women.
Louise Campbell works in banking, as a freelance data consultant. Her work involves truly understanding numbers and their context in business and bringing novel solutions to clients to solve data challenges. She is committed to financial inclusion and also volunteers on the board of her local credit union. Louise is a dedicated feminist, who firmly believes in working towards a feminist utopia while also dismantling the barriers faced everyday by women.
As CEO of KAMAKA, a leadership development consultancy and a qualified executive coach, Marcia is passionate about empowering individuals to realise their potential and working within organisations to develop high performing teams and develop strategies for well-being, inclusive culture and engagement.
With a career spanning across private, public and charity sectors including Education and International Development, Marcia is a champion for equality, diversity and women's rights. She has served as Vice Chair for an NGO (One World Action), and as business coach and mentor for women entrepreneurs overseas with the Cherie Blair Foundation.
Nadine Evans is a highly driven, motivated and conscientious lead finance officer who has many years of expertise and knowledge within a charity financial environment. She has been successfully managing, controlling and developing the finance department within nia for nine years. She is a committed and dedicated feminist who is extremely passionate about her work, the organisation's ethos and values, and ending violence against women and girls.
Job Titles:
- Member of the Senior Leadership Team
- Central Services Coordinator
Rachel Evans started with the organisation in 2002 and brings valued experience and a vast skillset in Admin, HR and Events Co-ordination. She has worked and volunteered within the women's sector for the past 30 years and brings a wealth of knowledge and experience to the organisation. She has been a Trustee on a number of charitable boards. Rachel became the Chair of the African Caribbean Women's Development Centre (ACWDC) in Waltham Forest an organisation that provided services that positively addresses poverty, disadvantage and social exclusion by providing a range of learning opportunities, community services, activities and projects which supports BME women and children. She is passionate about working in environments that empower women, and channelling her wealth of skills to assist creating a world free from violence against women and girls.
Ruth Tweedale is currently a senior lecturer at Roehampton University Law School. She qualified as a solicitor in 2009 and is a specialist in family and criminal law and women's rights having held the position of Senior Legal Officer at Rights of Women, a leading women's legal rights charity.
Ruth is a passionate feminist and a women's rights activist. She has extensive knowledge on the law and policy concerning violence against women and girls in England and Wales. Ruth's policy and research work is focused on sexual violence, forced marriage, domestic violence and children.
Sophia Antoniazzi works with young people to reduce the prevalence of knife crime through education and developing positive relationships.
A trained Facilitator and Youth Educator, Sophia has been a dedicated advocate and campaigner of issues affecting woman and children for 15 years, in particular sexual exploitation and sexual violence. Sophia is passionate about women-centred services and safe spaces for women.