Meet The Team
Director & Founder
Sally Taylor
Sally has volunteered for years in Bearwood alongside roles in charity and social enterprise leadership, support and grantmaking. In Smethwick she started the successful Bearwood Shuffle community music events, she has co-led two successful Bearwood Street Festivals for 8,000 people and founded community organisation We Are Bearwood. After piloting co-working and consulting on the idea of a hub, she set up Bearwood Community Hub CIC. Prior to lockdown Sally set up ChangeSpaces coworking and venue hire at Holy Trinity Church, Smethwick.
Information, Advice & Guidance Officer
Bashira Karokhil
I enjoy working with and helping people. I have worked previously at Brushstrokes as a volunteer refugee & asylum seeker advisor. When I was in Afghanistan I worked as a General Councillor in the Afghan Embassy in Abu Dhabi supporting Afghan citizens with families, passports, business, visas, and other signposting and support for people. Outside of work I really love gardening and growing flowers (In the Summer my house is overflowing with flowers).
Hub Assistant
Natasha Comfort
Tash is a local resident of Bearwood and she helps with signposting, supporting people and looking after visitors and volunteers at Wednesday Warm Welcome.
Social Media Consultant
Jen Sandford
TV Producer turned social entrepreneur - Jen co-founded Crafty Muthas and Bearwood Pantry right here in the ‘wood and was responsible for the regular Bearwood Handmade Fairs and Bearwood Food Festivals. Keen on pursuing ideas with the potential to solve community problems and create positive change, Jen currently freelances in Community Engagement and Social Media Management, helping small businesses, charities and community organisations with their online presence. She’s lived in Bearwood for twenty three years, with her husband, two kids, and more recently, a dog named Boo.
Development Manager
Lizzie Palmer
Lizzie grew up in Bearwood and has spent the past 6 years working in the arts, social enterprise, charitable and transport sectors. She began her career in railway project management but decided to follow a passion for organising community arts events in 2020 producing VERVE Poetry Festival. She believes in the power of the arts to create social change and equity as well as to improve wellbeing.
Hub Administrator
Sunitha
Sunitha originally worked in IT in the corporate sector but has spent the last five years supporting community projects, charities and campaigns with Operational and project management support. Outside of her work at Bearwood Community Hub, she is a core member at Regularise where she campaigns and supports undocumented migrants to advocate for themselves and their rights, and a Project Officer on a research project at the University of Birmingham.
Finance Administrator
Rachel Lloyd
Rachel has a wealth of experience in financial administration in the charity and not for profit sector. She is a local mum with a keen eye of detail and a passion for funky socks.
Meet our Board
Board Member
Jo Capper
Jo is a Collaborative Programme Curator at Grand Union Arts in central Birmingham and Bearwood resident. Founder of Bearwood Pantry, Jo is passionate about equitable food distribution and the power of the arts to bring people together and foster belonging. Jo brings a wealth of experience in involving excluded groups in her work, particularly those who have experienced homelessness.
Board member
Holly Turpin
Holly is a regular co-worker having lived in Bearwood for almost a decade. She is currently a Research Associate researching open-access publishing and archiving, after having recently completed a PhD in homelessness, co-creation, empathy and immersive digital storytelling. She has previous experience of working for several arts organisations including a council-run arts centre in the East Midlands and national film organisation Cinema For All.
Board member
Alexandra Benain
Alexandra has a diverse range of work experience, including supporting people with learning disabilities as a support worker, warehouse work and administrative experience. She has lived in the local area for 13 years where she has previously volunteered at the foodbank at Smethwick Trinity Church. Currently, Alexandra is an active volunteer at Bearwood Community Hub, supporting craft activities and lunches on a Wednesday as well as ESOL.
Board member
Jess Hirst
Jess is a qualified youth and community worker and helped run a community centre in Quinton for 15 years. She was also a foster carer for 10 years and had training in trauma informed practice and has been on the board of trustees for a youth charity in Quinton. She is currently a volunteer at Bearwood Community Hub where she supports our activities on Warm Wednesday.
Board member
Jennifer Hemingway
Jennifer is a local Councillor, representing Bearwood since 2023. She works in Equity, Diversity and Inclusion with a particular focus on co-operative ways of giving power to the community. A qualified ESOL teacher who used to teach classes for refugees, she is passionate about ensuring Bearwood is always a welcoming place for everyone.
Board member
Andrea Walters
Andrea is a qualified teacher, NLP coach and local business owner. She has a breadth of knowledge and expertise in education, governance and entrepreneurship. She is passionate about supporting charities and giving back to her community and is an avid mental health advocate.
Board member
Nasar Mahmood
Nasar is a local Bearwood resident and parent. He currently volunteers at Bearwood Community Hub and other organisations, giving him a broad experience of community-led work and local initiatives. Professionally, he has a project management background and has also ran his own business. giving him experience in planning, delivery, stakeholder management and negotiation.
Board member
Max Edwards
Max is a frequent co-worker with a background in Birmingham startups currently working as an open source grantee. He is also on the board of a local sports club with a few hundred members. As Max's day job involves working for global users, collaborating with Bearwood Community Hub is a great contrast given it has such a great impact with the local community.
Board member
Nachikambi Nwagu
Nachikambi is a local resident of Bearwood working with vulnerable adults in mental health. She has worked with Bearwood Community Hub since 2021 as one of the committee members for the Sandwell Borough of Sanctuary, working to make Sandwell an inclusive borough of sanctuary for asylum seekers, refugees and migrants.