Deborah joined TLEF in 2022.

Prior to joining the Foundation, Deborah worked as an immigration adviser at Hammersmith and Fulham Law Centre where she advised and supported individuals seeking leave to remain under the EU Settlement scheme.

She is an unregistered barrister with a background in legal and programme management, having worked in a variety of organisations including Support through Court, the Free Representation Unit and King’s Legal Clinic, King’s College London.

As Justice First Fellowship Manager, Deborah will work closely with colleagues to oversee the management of our Justice First Fellowship programme, assisting with the assessment of grants and providing support to both our Fellows and Host organisations.

Outside of work, Deborah is a Sunday school teacher at her local church and plays basketball in a local London league.

Usha joined TLEF in March 2023 as finance officer.

She is responsible for processing supplier invoices, claims and payments and account reconciliations.
Usha has held variety of roles in Charity organisations including Finance Manager at the Academy of Medical sciences and actively studying ACCA.

Belinda is the Operations Manager and has worked at TLEF since 2012.

She is part of the administration team that provides a wide range of support to our governors and executive team, which includes grant administration and systems, facilities management, HR and diary management, collating and producing meeting papers and helping to organise special events, including the Justice First Fellowship conferences and annual dinner.

Belinda previously worked at the College of Law, first in student services, and then as assistant college secretary, providing admin support to the trustees and board of management.

Jenny is an administration officer and joined TLEF in 2017.

She is part of our team that provides a wide range support to TLEF’s governors and executive team, which includes helping to organise the Justice First Fellowship conferences and dinner, co-ordinating the fellowship interview process, and collating meeting papers.

Julia oversees the policy work of the foundation, including the Fairer System funding strand. Previously she worked in the third sector and academia and before joining the LEF in March 2023 she advised the Heinrich-Böll-Stiftung on EU-UK relations and worked in the Public Policy team of ESRC (UKRI).Until 2022 Julia was a board member of the Work Rights Centre (WoRC).

Sheena joined the LEF in September 2020 as Grants Officer. She moved to the role of Power, Culture and Inclusion Lead in December 2023 .

Her background in funding started at Arts Council England where she worked on project grants and developing and managing International grants. Prior to joining LEF, Sheena spent five years freelancing in the contemporary dance and theatre sector as producer, project manager and fundraiser. She specialised in disability arts having been a producer for disabled artists and freelanced at Unlimited a funding programme for disabled artists. She is passionate about disability rights as well as wider social justice issues of marginalised groups.

As Power Culture and Inclusion Lead, Sheena’s work crosses the foundation and is focused on developing our diversity, equity and anti-oppressive practices, internally and externally.

Jake joined the foundation in 2016.

He spent 10 years at A&O, initially as an EU lawyer, before managing its global pro bono and charity programme. He has particular expertise of immigration systems from his role at Unbound Philanthropy (part-time).

Jake has worked with multiple trustee boards and advisory committees, including advising on the incorporation of Justice Collaborations, which hosts Justice Together, a funder collaboration that helps people who use the UK immigration system to access justice and thrive.

He was the first in his family to attend university, and understands the barriers people face entering and progressing through the legal profession. He was closely involved in the creation of the Justice First Fellowship, and continues to seek new ways of ensuring sustainable careers for social justice lawyers.

Nikki joined TLEF in 2013, and is part of our administration team, providing a wide range of support to TLEF’s governors and executive team, including grant administration and organising special events.

She previously worked at the College of Law as administration manager for the assessment office and student services.

Alex has worked and volunteered in a range of places addressing migration issues, from the British Red Cross Refugee Services in Nottinghamshire, to the Azerbaijan Migration Centre in Baku, as well as spending several years as a caseworker for a busy immigration and asylum practice in North London. He also has experience of project design, fundraising and coordinating a network of lawyers from across Europe.

He has a law degree (although this feels like a long time ago now for him) and a Masters in International Relations. When not working, you might find him swimming or at the cinema.

Charlotte Peel joined the Foundation in 2022.

She started her career at the Joint Council for the Welfare of Immigrants, where her research contributed to strategic litigation challenging the immigration rules preventing families from being together in the UK and highlighted the discriminatory impacts of the government’s hostile environment policy. She then moved to Ipsos MORI, where she led and managed mixed-methods and qualitative research and evaluations as an Associate Director in the Public Affairs department. Her research has covered a range of topics, including refugee resettlement, immigration, community integration, and modern slavery.

Charlotte sees social research as an important way to bring different perspectives to light, champion lesser-herd voices and give people the opportunity to shape the laws, policies and programmes that affect their lives.

As Learning Manager, Charlotte supports colleagues and grantees to strengthen their approach to learning and evidence by providing advice, developing ways for the Foundation capture and share learning systematically, and commissioning work.

Adam is responsible for all the support services at the Foundation which include HR, finance, IT, governance and administration.

Adam has held a variety of roles in corporate services including Chief Operating Officer at the Chartered Institute of Library and Information Professionals, Head of Corporate Services at the Pensions Ombudsman, and Head of Operations and Fundraising at the Early Intervention Foundation.

Alex joined TLEF in March 2022 to carry out day to day operations and development of the Foundation’s Salesforce and other IT systems. A Salesforce Certified Administrator Alex has been active in a wide range of IT services and support roles. Alex is a specialist in Flows, automation, system architecture and business analysis. He brings in-depth knowledge gained working with organisations of all shapes and sizes worldwide, to ensure TLEF delivers the best possible digital experience for its users and partners.

Rachael joined TLEF in 2018. She oversees our grant-making and support to grantees.

She previously spent more than a decade at Trust for London, assessing and managing grants tackling poverty and inequality in the capital, supporting grantee organisations and leading programmes on safeguarding children’s rights, modern slavery, child sexual exploitation and the Strategic Legal Fund for Vulnerable Young Migrants. She was closely involved in the creation and development of London’s Poverty Profile, including managing its website. Prior employers include Lloyds TSB Foundation, Citizenship Foundation, Marie Curie Cancer Care and the Charity Commission.

Rachael is a longstanding trustee (and formerly treasurer) of Women for Refugee Women, which supports and empowers refugee women to tell their stories and make the case for a fairer asylum system.