Our people
Employees
Trustees and Independent Members
Advisers
We have a small but committed core staff team dedicated to our mission who manage our portfolio of funding and support our partners on a day-to-day basis.
Amatullah Blain (she/her)
Amatullah Blain (she/her)
Amatullah joined Blagrave as Grants Officer in November 2023. Her main role will be to support the grants team in all stages of the grants making cycle, including support for administration and Blagrave’s programme of events.
Amatullah’s background includes managing an inclusive careers education programme at her university and volunteering for various charities and arts and culture institutions.
Amatullah has a passion for history, particularly in the history of colonialism and how this has impacted societies and institutions today. She is motivated by the significant potential young people have in creating change when their voices are amplified and centred.
Email: amatullah@blagravetrust.org
Amrita Patel (she/her)
Amrita Patel (she/her)
Amrita Patel joined Blagrave in May 2025 as Executive Assistant to the CEO and Team Manager. She plays a pivotal role in supporting strategic priorities at the executive level while ensuring effective coordination and communication across the organisation.
Amrita brings a strong organisational background, with experience supporting senior leadership in fast-paced, mission-driven environments. Before joining Blagrave, she worked at a global non-profit focused on women’s reproductive health, where she developed expertise in project management, stakeholder coordination, and team operations. Prior to her work in the charity sector, she worked as a paralegal with a focus on medical negligence, immigration, and human rights law - work that deepened her commitment to social justice and advocacy.
At Blagrave, she manages the CEO’s schedule, coordinates key projects and meetings, and serves as a vital link between the CEO and the wider team. She combines her legal and non-profit experience to help create a well-run, inclusive organisation that champions youth-led change.
Email: amrita@blagravetrust.org
Callum Pethick (he/they)
Callum Pethick (he/they)
Callum joined Blagrave in April 2021 and co-leads our second strategic objective: investing in young people to create change. This includes managing the Pathways Fund and having strategic oversight for all of our work related to investing in youth organising.
Callum has worked for a variety of civic youth organisations across the UK and is a qualified facilitator. He grew up in the East Midlands and Aberdeenshire and is based at our London offices.
Callum is passionate about changing the power dynamics and systems that currently exist in society to ensure young people, especially those facing injustice, are given the tools, resources and power to lead transformative change.
Daniel Newton (he/him)
Daniel Newton (he/him)
Daniel joined The Blagrave Trust in April 2024 as Policy and Climate manager and oversees our third strategic objective; investing in better youth policy as well as providing a specific funding focus to our commitment to climate justice.
Daniel has previously worked in the funding sector at the Esmee Fairbairn Foundation where he joined on placement from the 2027 programme, and was previously a youth worker in Oldham, Rochdale, and Manchester.
Daniel is passionate about supporting the development of youth movements in the climate justice space, and wants to see children and young people listened to by decision makers.
Email: daniel@blagravetrust.org
Demetri Addison (he/him)
Demetri Addison (he/him)
Demetri joined in 2025 after previously being a successful Grant Partner in Challenge & Change Cohort 2 and subsequently being an advisor. Demetri is dedicated to disrupting systems of oppression which led him to being the Challenge & Change officer for cohort 3 so he can directly support a new generation of change makers.
Demetri has 8 years experience working with young people in a variety of settings ranging from PRU's, to prisons, to placements. He has supported at risk young people and young people in the criminal justice system with their growth and is applying this philosophy in his new role.
Email: Demetri@blagravetrust.org
Eli Manderson Evans (he/him)
Eli Manderson Evans (he/him)
Eli joined Blagrave as CEO in 2022. Eli has overall oversight over all funding partnerships and sets our strategic direction, ensuring we are true to our mission and living our values.
He joined us from the philanthropy advisory and social change organisation Ten Years’ Time where he served as the Head of Social Justice and led on several powerful research reports focused on the need for the British funding landscape to be honest, ambitious, and authentic in their commitments to address racial injustice and the climate crisis among many other publications. He also worked to connect a new generation of philanthropists to ambitious changemakers transforming the world.
Eli has over 10 years’ experience in policy, research and strategy roles covering connecting issue areas such as the empowerment of young campaigners, LGBTQIA+ rights, climate justice, racial justice and much more. A running commitment in all of Eli’s work is to listen deeply to people with experience of an issue and enable them to lead when it comes to decisions on how to address an issue.
He is deeply passionate about disrupting traditional power dynamics between funders and the communities they wish to serve as well as seeking to transform the relationship between charitable giving and the investment practices behind the scenes. Eli is also extremely passionate about how we develop working cultures of care and centre joy in work that can often be hard to sustain ourselves through.
Eli now makes London his home but wants everyone to know he is a very proud Northerner and is not afraid to say that he thinks Manchester is (one of) the best cities in the world.
Email: ea@blagravetrust.org
Gray Hutchins (they/them)
Gray Hutchins (they/them)
Gray joined Blagrave Trust in November 2025 as the Regional Programme Manager.They have a background in grassroots organising and organisational development, in which they have been in both senior leadership and consultancy roles.
In recent years, they have focused on surfacing and addressing health inequalities affecting marginalised groups and leading projects that seek to diversify community representation.
Having grown up as a young carer in rural Oxfordshire and spent several years in front-line roles, they care deeply about disparities in wellbeing support, sector resources, and community spaces. Gray is passionate about dismantling existing systems to rebuild innovative and accessible solutions that redistribute power.
Beyond this, Gray loves spending time outdoors and growing vegetables in their new garden. They never say no to cake, and will *always* be happy to share photos of their very cute dog, Charlie (he/him).
Geraldine Warren (she/her)
Geraldine Warren (she/her)
Geraldine joined Blagrave in October 2020, she leads on our finance and provides governance support to the CEO and Board of Trustees.
Geraldine has spent twelve years working in the non-profit sector. Most recently as the Coordinator of the Forest Team at the International Institute for Environment and Development (IIED), before which she worked in finance and coordination roles for UK charities. Geraldine was previously a Trustee for the St Albans and District Foodbank and is now a Governor at her local primary school. Geraldine is currently based between our London offices and her home in Bedfordshire.
Geraldine is passionate about addressing and tackling barriers to social inclusion and access to education.
Hannah Ogundana (she/her)
Hannah Ogundana (she/her)
Hannah joined The Blagrave Trust in September 2024 as a Communications Officer and
oversees the day to day management of our social media channels, website, and
newsletters to raise the profile of Blagrave and its partners.
Hannah’s background includes working in social media and being a video editor. She has
worked within a youth organisation helping young people develop media skills and training
them to effectively communicate their stories and experiences. Through this role, she has
gained valuable insights into the challenges faced by young people and has been
instrumental in creating platforms for them to express themselves. Hannah's experience has
equipped her with the ability to craft impactful narratives that resonate with both young
audiences and wider communities.
She is passionate about young people and is dedicated to amplifying their voices, ensuring
that their perspectives are heard and valued. Hannah believes in the power of storytelling to
drive social change and is committed to using her skills to highlight the impact of youth-led
initiatives to bring lasting change to the lives of young people.
Email: hannah@blagravetrust.org
Marie Benton (she/her)
Marie Benton (she/her)
Marie joined Blagrave in 2025 and is our Head of Communities and Partnerships, working to ensure that Blagrave’s work is led by the young people and communities we seek to serve, and that as much resource as possible is available for sustainable youth-led change.
Marie has a background in homelessness, community development and charity communications, holding roles at St Mungo’s and the Down’s Syndrome Association, and was Founder of The Choir with No Name, an organisation seeking to build joyful communities and destigmatise homelessness through the arts.
She is excited to learn from Blagrave’s inspirational partners and uplifted by the hope and dynamism that young people bring to the voluntary sector and wider society.
Email: marie@blagravetrust.org
Rochell Rowe (she/her)
Rochell Rowe (she/her)
Rochell joined Blagrave in March 2021 and co-leads our second strategic objective: investing in young people directly. She also leads on our youth engagement work, reviewing how we work with young people and listen to their needs. Rochell is the Trust’s Designated Safeguarding Officer.
Rochell has 10 years of experience as a youth worker, working in a range of roles in grassroots youth organisations to larger youth facing charities and is based at our London offices. She is inspired by youth empowerment, accessibility and inclusion and feels passionate about supporting young people to use their voices to create change on issues that directly affect them.
Tessa Hibbert (she/her)
Tessa Hibbert (she/her)
Tessa joined Blagrave in 2016 and is our Head of Grants. She oversees all our funding and has a particular responsibility for our first strategic objective: investing in youth organisations. She manages all our regional funding partnerships with organisations in the South East region.
Tessa’s career has been in the voluntary youth sector, including spells at the National Youth Agency, the Young Foundation and the Regional Youth Work Unit in the South West. She is home based, and lives in Frome. She loves working alongside Blagrave partners to learn from their work with young people and support successful grants. Tessa is a trustee of Off the Record, a youth counselling charity in Bath.
Tessa is motivated and moved by the opportunity to bring lasting change to young people’s lives.
Valeria Tavares (she/her)
Valeria Tavares (she/her)
Valeria joined Blagrave as Head of Operations in June 2023 and leads on HR, safeguarding and general operations, with a focus on putting processes and systems in place to support Blagrave in achieving its mission.
Originally from Brazil, Valeria has had a varied career spanning three continents in areas ranging from video production to innovation consultancy, but for the past 10 years her focus has been on operational and HR roles in the not-for-profit sector, particularly in organisations that work with children and young people.
Valeria is passionate about supporting young people to use their voices to influence and bring lasting change on issues that matter to them.
Email: valeria@blagravetrust.org
We are governed by our Board of Trustees who have a diverse breadth of professional knowledge and lived experience committed to ensuring we are living our values and achieving our mission.
Barbara Ojei Agwaziam (she/her)
Barbara Ojei Agwaziam (she/her)
Barbara joined Blagrave Trustee Board in March 2021 with hopes of making a difference in people’s lives.
She joined the Civil Service Fast Stream and has been able to do so in a range of roles, including working as a policy advisor at BEIS, Private Secretary to the Chief Medical Officer, Head of Incident Management working on COVID-19, Head of Parliamentary and Public Engagement and presently the Head of Workforce – Charging Reform Implementation. Barbara’s passion for diversity and inclusion lead to the founding of A Touch of Colour (ATOC) an organisation which seeks to drive racial equality in the workplace for which she has been selected as a Laureate of the Future by the PeaceJam Foundation.
In her spare time, Barbara enjoys travelling, photography and videography – the latter of which she developed as a Barbican Young Reviewer.
Becca Weighell (she/her)
Becca Weighell (she/her)
Becca is a youth engagement and safeguarding specialist with a decade of varied experience working with conflict-affected and underserved communities in the humanitarian and education sectors. She is a champion of children’s rights, is dedicated to supporting young people to bring about change and believes in the power of collective action and active citizenship to tackle injustice and inequity.
Becca is the Head of Youth Engagement for the Fair Education Alliance, working to ensure that young people who have faced barriers to their educationare respected and heard in decision making across the education sector. She is also a trustee for the Associationfor Citizenship Teaching. Prior to the FEA, Becca worked in the humanitarian sector for War Child UK and Plan International and completed her master's degree in Children, Youth and International Development. Becca is based in Sheffield and will most often be found in nature either running, hiking or scuba diving.
Boudicca Pepper
Boudicca Pepper
Boudicca joined Blagrave Trustee Board in March 2020. She graduated with a degree in music, started a live band and is a Songwriter for independent music company Good Soldier.
Her previous roles include Music Programmer at International Youth Arts Festival, hosted by Creative Youth and Creative Director at Brighton Youth Fest in 2019. Boudicca also campaigned to protect youth services in her teens and raised awareness and funds for Audio Active – a youth charity in Brighton for their first all-female production workshops to encourage other young women to study technology in music.
She also continues to make music for social change, performing her own songs and poems, and supporting grassroots organisations to bring other like-minded artists to the frontline.
Daze Aghaji
Daze Aghaji
Daze joined Blagrave Trustee Board in March 2020. She is a climate change activist and works as a freelance consultant on environment, climate, intersectionality and youth engagement and was previously the Regenerative Cultures Coordinator at Extinction Rebellion Youth UK.
Previously Daze was the Creative Director at Earthrise Studios, a digital media company dedicated to communicating the climate crisis through research, design and filmmaking. Daze also has a degree in History and Politics from Goldsmiths University.
Josephine Campling
Josephine Campling
Josephine is the Invest for Change Campaign Manager at Students Organising for Sustainability (SOSUK), where she leads a national campaign empowering students to hold universities accountable for their financial and investment practices. Previously, she was Welfare and Sustainability Officer and Trustee at the University of Sheffield Students’ Union, representing over 30,000 students, amplifying student voice across the University and advocating for them locally and nationally.
She comes from an analytical engineering background and has broad experience of activism and leadership across youth communities and the student movement, including organising, political education and coalition-building. Her work is rooted in the belief that the social, economic and climate crises we face are interconnected, and that inclusive, youth-led collective action is key to lasting change.
Josephine envisions a funding sector that redistributes power and equips young people with the skills and confidence to organise, influence and lead. She is delighted to be working with Blagrave Trust to help make this vision a reality.
Nasra Ayub (she/her)
Nasra Ayub (she/her)
Nasra joined Blagrave Trustee Board in November 2023 and is a multi-award-winning women and girl’s rights campaigner, TEDx speaker and writer from Bristol, UK. She has recently delivered a TEDx talk called ‘What If Young People Ran the World?’, exploring the power shift of philanthropy decision-making away from traditional donors to young people. Nasra works in Programs at Global Fund for Children focusing on the youth-led participatory grantmaking streams, most notably the youth-led program Spark Fund. She was a recipient of the Diana Award for her efforts to end female genital mutilation since the age of 15.
Nasra envisions a funding sector that will resource young people to create change and make decisions on what their community needs. Blagrave Trust's focus on empowering and supporting young people resonated strongly with Nasra and saw joining their Board as an opportunity to contribute to an organization whose values and initiatives resonate with her philanthropic values.
Reema Desai (she/her)
Reema Desai (she/her)
Reema joined Blagrave in February 2024 as an Independent Member of the Finance and Investment Committee. Reema is passionate about supporting charities focused on serving the needs of underserved and marginalised communities. She has served as Vice Chair of the Board of Trustees for Henna Asia Women’s Group (2015 - 2019) and is currently a volunteer at Jeevika Trust (since 2023).
Reema has 18 years of business and product marketing experience. Reema left the investment management industry in 2023 and joined Impact Boards EM, where she is a Co-Founder and Member of the Executive Committee. Reema is also part of HERmesa, supporting the growth of early stage, female-founded businesses since 2023. She is an advisor to an impact data start-up, Fidata Limited, who aim to accelerate the path towards Net Zero by improving the accountability and quality of ESG data reporting.
Sam Tarff (he/him)
Sam Tarff (he/him)
Sam has joined Blagrave in January 2024 as a Finance Lead Trustee. With extensive experience in charity finance, he has served as a professional funding advisor, project manager, and participated in grants and investment panels for various UK, EU, philanthropic grant, and social investment programs. Sam brings to Blagrave a wide range of experience, having had a career that includes 14 years in local government and over 20 years working in a wide range of charities, development trusts, youth and community enterprises, as well as social investment houses.
Sam’s focus has always been working in and with communities facing financial, social, environmental, and economic exclusion, his passion lies in empowering individuals and communities to overcome barriers and injustices, which aligns perfectly with the mission of the Blagrave Trust.
Now retired from full-time commitments, Sam remains active as the lead finance trustee for a local Development Trust. In his leisure time, he enjoys outdoor activities like hill walking and mountain biking, as well as spending quality time with family and friends.
Segun Olowookere (he/him)
Segun Olowookere (he/him)
Segun joined Blagrave Trustee Board in November 2022 and is a qualified management accountant and currently works for the Children’s Society as their Finance Director. Previously he worked for the youth charity Restless Development as Finance Director and Comic Relief as a Senior Finance Business Partner working closely with the grants team.
Segun’s passionate about helping to make finance fun and easy to understand. He spent over 5 years working for Humentum as a financial management specialist training over a thousand NGO professionals in good practice financial management, strategic financial management and grant management. Outside of his professional work he is also a social entrepreneur and mentor.
Passionate about inspiring young people, he is the author of a motivational book called, You Might As Well.
Troy Norbert (he/him)
Troy Norbert (he/him)
Troy is the CEO of Victoria Hall Harrow, a vibrant community hub committed to fostering thriving local connections and empowering its residents. With a decade of experience in strategy, youth-led projects, and community partnerships within the sector, Troy is passionate about creating the space for young people to be seen, heard and equipping them with the tools and confidence to provide solutions that lead to tangible outcomes.
He brings valuable governance experience from his current board roles at Young Brent Foundation and Partnership for Young London, alongside extensive financial oversight and safeguarding experience.
Troy's personal journey, having grown up in multiple areas of disadvantage, provides a lived understanding of systemic challenges, further fuelling his commitment to supporting young people to be successful in school, work and life.
Victor Azubuike (he/him)
Victor Azubuike (he/him)
Victor is an Independent Member of the Finance and Investment Committee after serving as a Blagrave Trustee from February 2021 to June 2024. Victor works in Business Development for ClayStack previously with Figment, one of the world’s leading providers of blockchain infrastructure. He was previously an Associate at J.P. Morgan Chase working in the Platform Sales division. He has also dedicated his time to supporting philanthropic causes including mental health, improving educational attainment of children from working class backgrounds and youth justice.
In his final year of university, he partnered with DebateMate, and taught an after-school debating club in a Birmingham inner-city primary school. As a result of this experience, he co-founded My Brothers Keepers’ Bookclub. A series of book clubs with the aim of turning boys from low socioeconomic backgrounds into the most active readership group in the U.K. He is also passionate about reforming the youth justice system and expanding the conversation about mental health to young people.
In April 2018, Victor travelled as part of the British delegation to Strasbourg to report to the Council of Europe on the state of Children’s Mental Health and Child-Friendly Justice. He hopes to continue to contribute to these issues in the future.
We centre the views of young people and people with lived experience of the issues we are trying to address through advisers acting on our programmes. The input and role of our advisers differs depending on their respective programmes.
