Ife Thompson
Founder & Director
She has over 5 years of experience working with her community, she is committed to ensuring the Black diaspora in the UK and beyond thrive. She is also an project worker for the Rooted Project and the Grounded project. Due to her commitment to working within her community; she has regularly seen how the effects of institutionalised racism has devastated her community and she is currently training to be a Criminal Barrister to help challenge and redress these injustices.
Ife is also trained as a Mental Health first aider, a Youth Worker, Writer, Curator and is a former Saturday school teacher. She writes extensively about Global black cultures, communities and practices, and recently led a digital audio-visual exhibition called Black Homes in the UK spaces of Joy &resistance for London Met Archives. She has a wealth of knowledge on useful early prevention mechanisms and knows how to respond to somebody during a mental health crisis. She previously was an Education/Criminal law Paralegal and a Family Law Advocate. She has a wealth of experience in applying the law to facts and being a competent advocate.
Email me: hello@blamcharity.co.uk
Rianna Wilson
Project Manager
Rianna has worked in education for a number of years in various roles and within Youth Charities.
She is dedicated to educating and serving the interests of young people from her community. Aside from work, she is a writer of Afro-Caribbean culture history.
Email me: rianna@blamuk.org
Christivie Manga
Youth Project Worker
Christivie has extensive experience working with young people and believes strongly in the reintegration of excluded young people back into society.
She is currently supporting BLAM UK as a Youth Project Worker delivering our Black History and Culture Syllabus- The Grounded Project to Primary schools and Secondary schools across London on themes of Black history to help Black students Racial Esteem, Cultural identity. She also delivers our Black history and Anti-Racism Teacher-Training sessions.
Michelle Aboagye
Youth Racial Wellness Project Worker
Michelle has previously been involved in increasing access to higher education and supporting young people to improve their grades. While studying the history of people of African descent at university, Michelle realised the importance of history in educating, uplifting and inspiring young people. She works on the Grounded Project at BLAM to do just that. Michelle also enjoys writing blogs about lesser known histories from Black communities around the world, and researching.
Udoka Okonkwo
Youth Project Worker
Jamila Thompson
Youth Advocate and Project Worker
Jamila is an MPhil/PhD student in the Department of Sociology with a Masters in Culture Diaspora and Ethnicity and another in Social Research. She has extensive understanding and knowledge of “race”, racism, identity politics, culture and history, as well as qualitative research methods.
Jamila is also a qualified Secondary School teacher, with 5 years teaching in inner London, as well as a Saturday School Teacher for a Supplementary School for children of the African diaspora. Jamila has extensive knowledge of the British education system and has worked in education for 10 years from primary to higher education. She has also written extensively about the Black experience for publications such as Black Ballad, Black Minds Matter and Make It Plain as well as her own platform Melanated Thoughts UK.
Jamila is currently working on the Curriculum Research project investigating racial discrimination within education as well as supporting the Grounded Project – delivering our Black History and Culture Syllabus.
Email me: jamilaxblamuk@gmail.com
Oyin
Education Law Consultant
A dedicated advocate who desires to contribute to lasting change in the Education Law space. Oyin has been working in the Advocacy department since September 2021 and currently works as a consultant. She is always looking for new opportunities to expand the department and its impact, if you have any ideas please get in touch.
Email me: Oyin@blamuk.org
Aqsa Suleman
Youth Advocacy Worker
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Mimi Powell
Youth Advocacy Worker
Mimi is an LPC student who works for BLAM UK as an Advocacy Assistant. She recognises the importance of the law in effecting substantive social change. Equally, she values progressive approaches as she volunteers for multiple social initiatives and is dedicated to standing up for what is right through petitioning, fundraising, or writing directly to politicians.
Patricia Daley
BLAM UK Director
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Kuba Rebecca Soper
BLAM UK Director
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Rasheed Rollins
Core Team
Rasheed Rollins has completed the LPC and is committed to social justice projects. He helps to ensure that BLAM’s core projects have the right contingency plans. He also looks for funding to support our core projects.
BLAM’s Advisory Committee
Patrica Lamour MBE
Patricia is an International Education Consultant and Managing Director of Aspire Education Group and a Trustee at Race on the Agenda. She is passionate about the transformation and success of all young people in education and considers gender equality to be crucial for global development.
She is the founder of a women’s movement and supplementary school in Germany, former Head teacher of an international school and General Manager of an international business college in West Africa.
Patricia is a school governor, alumni member of the Institute of Education. She is an external Equalities advisor for Ofqual, the regulatory body for qualifications, examinations and assessments in England and vocational qualifications in Northern Ireland. She has also been a Gender consultant for UNICEF. She has had a 30 year career of championing racial justice. She supports BLAM by giving us advice on how we should shape our curriculum and provides valued insight on how can execute all our educational projects.
Susan Ibuanokpe
Susan Ibuanokpe is the daughter of the late photographer and promoter Raphael A. Albert, creator and founder of Black British beauty pageants in the 1970’s-1990’s, such as Miss Black and Beautiful, Miss West Indies in Great Britain, and many more. Susan is passionate about seeing her fathers’ work inspire and reach people of the Black diaspora, and has a personal mission to see it inspire, uplift and motivate the youth of today’s black british community. Susan is passionate about seeing Black History enter the British school curriculum, and offers black history month readings and workshops to local primary schools.
BLAM UK CIC 