Chief Executive- Fidelis Chebe
“Migrant Action is a story of resilience, empowerment, and the pursuit of equity of rights, and justice for migrants. Migrant Action’s work confronts the reality (historical and contemporary) of migrants encountering the systemic injustices of the UK immigration system and its harmful effects (direct and indirect) on people subjected to immigration controls. Our work encapsulates a vision for a fair, humane, and human rights-based immigration system through transformational change.
Anchoring our work on lived experience and community resilience, Migrant Action’s work in solidarity with migrant communities and other rights and justice-led organisations, challenges the systemic infrastructure that sustains injustice and harm to migrants. Through advice, casework, advocacy, humanitarian & integration assistance, research, campaign, capacity building, leadership, and organisational development, Migrant Action’s work mitigates the harmful effects of policies whilst building resilience in individuals, organisations, and communities to ensure rights, justice, and wider social change.
Migrant Action’s work sets out to fill a gap in service provision for vulnerable migrants who fall through the cracks of the UK immigration system and are ‘neglected’ by mainstream services. Often, they are exploitable and live precariously at the margins of society.
I enjoy my responsibility as head of Migrant Action pioneering support exclusively for other vulnerable migrants that are non-asylum seekers/refugees. Working collaboratively with a dedicated small team of staff, volunteers and steering committee members. Our aim is to build an organisation that is caring and compassionate towards the needs of vulnerable migrants whilst challenging structural injustice. Each day brings a new challenge but with each new challenge comes new opportunities and hopes. With a strong team, our partners, and supporters, we are committed to our vision: empowering migrants and ending vulnerability ensuring that the people we support assert their rights and realise their full potential.
Outside work, I enjoy walks, football, good movies, and spending time with my family which helps me stay sane and focused. I also undertake research & publication and social action-oriented activities.”
Advocacy & Integration Worker
“My name is Babita and I am Indian by birth. I have lived in Barnsley for over 15 years. In the last 10 years, I have worked as a housing officer with 13 local councils in the UK including; Lincoln, Wolverhampton, and London -Tonbridge-Malling, Tonbridge-Wells, Royal Greenwich, Enfield, Watford, Brent, Barnet and Haringey.
I am looking forward to this new exciting challenge of working with the rest of the team at Migrant Action to empower migrants to overcome barriers and access rights and justice. I am passionate about supporting individuals to feel welcome, integrate, and rebuild their lives in the UK.”
Student Interns
Nova Jaszkiewicz
“I am a final-year Law Student at the University of Leeds. I have always had a natural passion for social justice, however, throughout the course of my degree, my motivations have become better informed and more refined. Studying an anthropology module about migration, and international human rights law developed my awareness of systemic injustice, and as my critical thinking grew I became motivated to expose and challenge the systemic barriers put in place to oppress different communities. At Migrant Action I hope to connect with the student population in Leeds and increase their involvement with the organisation, whilst also raising awareness and resources for Migrant Action through social media and fundraising. Finally, I look forward to engaging with the advocacy side of Migrant Action and working to allow migrants to overcome structural barriers and feel welcome and supported in the community. “
Communications and Social Media
Ash Eloise O’Brien ( Ash is no longer an intern but still staying connected to Migrant Action)
“Originally from Newcastle upon Tyne, I moved to Leeds to study Politics and Sociology at UoL and have now graduated. I’ve been interested in politics and social justice all my life, and am very excited about the opportunities this internship will provide me. During my time at Migrant Action, I plan to expand upon the organisation’s influence and presence, particularly online. I’m very much hoping that the positive impacts of this will continue long after I have moved on!
Apart from working with Migrant Action and other charities to build their social media presences, I spend my time watching films and love going to live music events. I also enjoy going to yoga classes and cooking, and have taken up freelance writing since graduating from university.”
Mia Kinsey ( Mia is no longer an intern but staying connected to Migrant Action)
“I am a third-year Human Geography student at the University of Leeds. My degree has helped me to develop my understanding of human activity and the relationship this has with place and politics. Over the past few months, I have become interested in learning more about migration specifically; I have chosen two modules for my final year of study that delve deeper into this. Involvement with a charity that seeks to help those in need is something I have aspired for throughout my time at university. I am keen to help work against the institutional cycle of injustice that migrants are pushed into. I have always had an interest in social justice, it is this passion that has driven me to study a degree in Human Geography. My goal whilst working with Migrant Action is to research the systemic inequalities that exist within society and to raise awareness of these. To do so, I want to focus on building a stronger online presence for Migrant Action so that those who need support know where we are.
Outside of work and university, I enjoy living with my friends and going out to music events. To stay active and focused, I love to go swimming a few times a week too. I am a member of the Leeds University Union Yoga Society; being a member of this society allows me to practice mindfulness amongst others, which has helped me to develop my emotional understanding of myself and others.”
Georgia Hawthorne
Having recently moved to Leeds to begin a Masters in Global Development, I wanted to invest both time and energy into supporting the local community whilst also addressing structural issues that exist on a much broader scale. I have a keen interest in gender, especially with how gender intersects with other forms of identity, including nationality and citizenship. I hope to explore this interest as part of my Masters and during my time here at Migrant Action. As part of the team, I will be looking particularly at raising awareness of and challenging issues which impact migrants who identify as a marginalised gender. Whilst completing my undergraduate degree in English, I participated in a variety of advocacy-oriented projects which supported predominantly women and non-binary people within my college and beyond. I plan to use the organisational skills that I developed at undergrad to facilitate fundraising events for Migrant Action, and some of my creative skills to craft new forms of information and knowledge to be put out on Migrant Action’s various platforms.
Migrant Action pioneer interns & volunteers ( they laid a strong foundation and legacy for volunteering, and internship at Migrant Action bringing to life their activism for migration and social justice- Thank you ladies for your legacy! )
Migrant Action’s volunteers are a tremendous resource for the organisation as they bring a wide range of valuable skills, experience, and knowledge helping to enhance our capacity for development, service delivery, and engagement with our stakeholders. Our volunteer team undertakes carved-out specific roles in Research, Communications, Fundraising, and admin support. Working in small teams, they enrich the organisation with their brilliant work whilst gaining valuable insight and experience in working with all categories of migrants.
Steering Committee
Migrant Action’s operational governance is overseen by a 5 person steering committee responsible for the strategic and operational direction of the organisation. They are an invaluable part of the Migrant Action team offering sound guidance and support to the project director.
Julia Kinch
“Hello, I joined Migrant Action’s Steering Group in 2018. I’ve worked in both third/public-sector organisations for the last 8 years in a number of roles including volunteer management, fundraising, research, and grant-making. I currently volunteer with a number of organisations working with individuals with learning disabilities
advocacy and Holocaust Survivors.
I have a very personal connection to migration in that my grandmother moved to the UK from what was then Czechoslovakia in 1947, after having survived Auschwitz and being liberated on a death march to Bergen-Belsen on Easter Sunday 1945. I have learned through her experiences and my own, the importance of challenging discrimination and prejudice, and how challenging it can be to navigate new systems and bureaucracy.
I was really keen to join Migrant Action because they capture the needs, empower, and support groups of migrants who are often unseen and forgotten by many and for whom there is often little support.”
Dr Bassey Ebenso
Bassey Ebenso is a medical doctor by training and currently works as a lecturer in International Public Health at the University of Leeds. He has over 25 years of experience in global health focusing on strengthening health systems in low- and middle-income contexts the first 15 years of which were in management positions in disease control programs in
Nigeria and the Niger Republic, including working as Country Director of The Leprosy Mission International.
Mike Winter PhD
Mike Winter Ph.D., formerly a researcher in Agricultural Biosciences, now with a research interest in the politics of sovereignty, the development of the nation-state, particularly with respect to land, its use, ownership, power, control and borders, and the displacement of peoples from their lands, predominantly that which has arisen since the industrial revolution
up to the modern-day.
Stewart Cox
“I joined Migrant Action’s Steering Group in 2023. I previously worked in the Financial Services sector for 37 years before taking a career break from corporate life in 2020. I hold a master’s degree in business administration (MBA).
I am currently a Treasurer for the local branch of a well-known animal welfare charity and was the Treasurer of another charity in South Yorkshire that provided English for Speakers of Other Languages (ESOL) until November 2022.
It was whilst at that charity where I realised a real passion for helping migrants in need and disadvantaged within their communities, and who needed help to integrate socially and to become economically empowered. I was delighted to join the Steering group at Migrant Action and to support the growth of their valuable services to vulnerable migrants for whom there is often very little alternative support.
Outside of work, I live with my Partner in Leeds and have a grown-up Son and Daughter and 4 beautiful Grandchildren who live on the South Coast. I really enjoy taking my dog for long walks (well I walk on my own and she runs all over the place) and socialising with friends and family.”
Dr Jon Burnett
Jon Burnett is a lecturer in Criminology, at the University of Hull. His research focuses on and interrogates carcerality, political economies of work and punishment, and state violence and state racism. He has published extensively in a range of academic as well as non-academic fora.
Jon has previously worked at Positive Action for Refugees and Asylum Seekers (PAFRAS), Medical Justice and the Institute of Race Relations. He has been a witness at the Permanent Peoples’ Tribunal on the Human Rights of Migrant and Refugee Peoples, and is a former co-editor of Justice, Power and Resistance: an international, peer-reviewed journal promoting critical analysis and connecting theory, politics and activism. In 2023 he was awarded an ISRF political economy fellowship, expanding on themes developed in his monograph Work and the Carceral State (2022).
Dr Melissa Mendez
Melissa Mendez joined Migrant Action in January 2024 and is a lecturer in Criminology at Cardiff University. Originally from Trinidad and Tobago, with a background in law, Melissa is interested in ensuring that migrants, particularly the most vulnerable, are afforded dignity, equality, and justice. Melissa’s research, teaching, and publications focus on disadvantaged and marginalised groups with a view to addressing and dismantling structural injustice.
