Meet the Team

Helen took over as our CEO in September 2022, having been YWF’s Development Director since 2017. She leads the organisation and oversees the strategy and direction, to ensure we are best positioned to support children and young people in Westminster. This includes working closely with strategic partners in local authorities and at Westminster City Council. Helen has worked within the charity sector for the last 15 years supporting local charities and community projects find sustainability in the disability and health sector. Most recently she worked at Healthwatch CWL championing the voice of residents using health and social care services in Westminster.

“I am excited to be the new CEO for YWF to lead the Foundation and our fantastic team forward. We will continue to sustain and celebrate the wonderful offering of projects and services that allow young people to shine.”

Matira is our Director of Strategy & Communications, working to grow Young Westminster’s reach and share information with our community through events, social media, press and regular e-newsletters. Matira joined us from the John Lewis Partnership Graduate Scheme, with experience managing a variety of teams and projects across retail and online.

“The YPF network has a vital role to play in co-ordinating cross-sector collaboration to deliver the best opportunities for young Londoners. I hope we can celebrate the historic youth sector in Westminster and urge our wider community to get involved, whilst advocating for the needs of young people and youth organisations.”

Zahid is our Business Development Lead, strengthening Young Westminster’s connectivity with our corporate partners, and engaging businesses to become involved with our YWF community. He will be working to strengthen employee engagement in a variety of activities (ranging from mentoring to sports events) which will improve young people’s awareness of employability opportunities whilst facilitating long-term partnerships and funding for our members. Zahid has charity sector experience as a Trustee of a learning disabled charity in Hampshire, Minstead Trust, and joins YWF from HSBC Global Asset Management, where most recently he was Global Head of Broker Management.

“I have seen first hand throughout my career the challenges facing people from minority communities to develop career paths in sectors where traditionally they are not seen. Without stable employment, both the individual and their families find it hard to fit into society and get on with their lives. I want to help young people have access to all the opportunities that they deserve, whatever their background, and as businesses increasingly focus on their social impact, I hope that I can introduce the YPF family and align our activities with many of the ESG criteria.”

Nora is our Grants and Evaluation Manager. Before joining YWF in March 2019, Nora worked at a membership organisation for Community Foundations in Berlin. Prior to that she held roles at the Paul Hamlyn Foundation in their Education and Learning Team. 

“I love working for YWF, as a place based organisation it allows us to get to know, understand and support the Westminster community and all the fantastic work that happens here.”

Hazel is our Operations Manager at YWF. She joined the Foundation in February 2020. She has a background in primary school teaching and has worked in operations roles for the public sector and small charities. Hazel oversees the operations work for the YWF.

‘It’s great to be part of a team that works to sustain the children and young people’s sector and positively shape services for the children and young people in Westminster who most need it.’

Leah is our Marketing & Engagement Manager, working on the marketing and communications channels of YWF.  Leah joined YWF in March 2023, she has previous experience across many industries such as the youth sector, education technology and personal care.

“I’m happy to be a part of a team that shares the same values as myself in enriching and supporting young people and organisations that work with young people’“

Marium is our Youth Violence Programme Manager, working to establish and build on the Serious Youth Violence Community Network within North-West Westminster. The programme will be focused on supporting YWF Members and the local community in building capacity to address serious youth violence in NW Westminster. Marium has a background of youth work, she comes to us from Redthread, doing youth work in health based settings. Marium holds a BA in Youth Work and Community Development from Goldsmiths.   

“I am very excited to be joining the YWF team. I hope I will be able to compliment and support with the work already being done around SYV in the borough. It is a great opportunity to have young people and community involved from the very beginning.” 

Laurie is our Evaluation & Data Specialist at YWF. She joined the Foundation in April 2022. Previously, she co-led the evaluation of a school and community-based mental health programme in East London for 10-16 year olds. Before this, she worked within the UCL Unit for Stigma Research and NHS mental health services. Laurie will be working with our Youth Hubs and Centre for Youth Impact to implement a shared measurement framework.

“I am delighted to be working for YWF. I am looking forward to working with youth hubs to build-on data and evaluation capacity to showcase their impactful work with young people.”

Karolina is our Digital & Youth Voice Coordinator working with Leah to create and manage engaging content for social channels. As well as supporting day to day activities and planning for our youth voice programme and events. Her focus is on awareness of our brand and developing eye-catching material. Karolina joined in March 2022 after studying PR & Advertising at the University of Westminster.

“I am very excited to join a foundation which focuses on having a positive impact on youth, as well as bringing people together and creating a strong community. I am looking forward to contributing fresh ideas to the team and meeting new people!” 

In 2022/23 Hamza was the youngest Lord Mayor of Westminster, and made YWF his Charity of the Year for 2022/23. Having grown up in Church Street, he has been involved with the Foundation since its inception, following serving as the Youth MP for Westminster in 2016 and then undertaking an internship with YWF in 2017 supporting the consultation and research as part of our needs analysis. Hamza has since been a Councillor in Westminster City Council representing Queen’s Park ward, alongside being a Trustee for YWF. Hamza recently completed a Masters at King’s College London, after studying Politics at Goldsmiths where he was also a trustee for the student’s union. Hamza is also a trustee for YWF member Paddington Arts, Paddington Farm Trust and sits on the grants committee for John Lyon’s Charity. He has also worked with several other national charities.