ELEANOR BROWN
Managing Director
Eleanor has worked with young people throughout her professional life as a teacher and trainer both in the UK and abroad, before completing an MSc in Violence, Conflict and Development, and joining CARAS in 2011. She has a strong interest in alternative education which supports the access and achievement of marginalised young people. She has contributed articles to publications and spoken at conferences about access to education for refugees and asylum seekers in the UK.
EGLE BANELYTE
Head of Youth Services
Egle started at CARAS as a volunteer coordination intern after completing her MSc in Migration Studies and previously doing voluntary work with various marginalised groups abroad. Currently she is runs the after school club and volunteers at our advocacy drop-in sessions.
ISABEL ALLENDE
Head of Adult Social Inclusion
Isabel is an Economics Graduate, a Social Educator and a Social & Cultural Anthropologist, specialised in Gender, Diversity and Social Inclusion. Her professional work has been developed in various fields, all of them relating to the fight for social inclusion of vulnerable people and vulnerable groups, mainly women, ethnic minorities and young people. She is passionate about supporting girls' and women's empowerment. She is also a researcher and a lecturer on Decolonial Feminisms.
DANIEL CALVERT
Head of Learning and Language Skills
Daniel started at CARAS as an ESOL teacher and he is now Head of Learning. He has taught English in the UK, Portugal and Spain. Daniel previously worked in humanitarian education at the British Red Cross. He is currently completing an MA Applied Linguistics at UCL Institute of Education.
MIRZA BAIG
Operations Officer
Mirza has previously worked at CARAS as Admin and Communication Assistant, looking after the office building, communications and volunteer coordination. Over the past few years Mirza has volunteered in local and national organisations in many capacities supporting human rights and the rights of asylum seekers/refugees. He has worked with all kinds of age groups from different communities through art, well-being and social work in charities including The Children's Society, YMCA, MIND Lancashire and Refugee Council.
PETE TARGET
Director of Operations
Pete specialises in strategy and fundraising for the arts and for migrants' rights. Beginning his career as a literary and arts publisher, he moved into campaigning for refugee rights when he joined the communications team at UNRWA in Lebanon. While in Lebanon he co-founded the arts company AMP Art whose first production was Refuge/e, an awareness-raising tour of a Syrian refugee shelter from Lebanon to major arts venues in Yorkshire and the north-east, ending at the Southbank Centre and attracting 10,000 visitors. His role at CARAS is to manage the charity's office, finances and growth.
MOLLY ABRAHAM
Head of Casework
Molly has worked for CARAS in various roles since 2010. She has previously managed both our adult and child services, and is now focused on our youth provision. Molly has studied both international development and social work at Masters level, and will qualify as a social worker in 2016. Previously she worked for 18 months at a social work centre in Southern Morocco, and sits on the management committee for the Moroccan Children's Trust. Molly is a regular fundraiser for Leukemia and Lymphoma Research, for whom she runs an annual music event.
HELEN MASON
Volunteer Development
Helen joined the CARAS team in July 2018. She is an experienced Volunteers’ Manager and practitioner of best practice in volunteering. She lives and volunteers locally and saw the job as a great opportunity to share her expertise in supporting volunteers in refugee charities. Helen has set up and supported volunteer teams in university, social services, social enterprise, arts and health and community settings across the UK. She is a trained facilitator and project manager and used to supporting volunteers at all levels in organisations. Helen also works part-time as the Volunteer Coordinator for Action For Refugees in Lewisham (AFRIL) in South East London. She is a member of the Institute of Economic Development and has an MSc in Equal Opportunities Studies.
AMY TRAXSON
Youth Coordinator
Amy joined CARAS in June 2019 from the British Red Cross in Birmingham where she worked as a Service Coordinator in International Family Tracing and a Casework Coordinator in Refugee Support. Amy has an MA in International Development, Poverty, Conflict and Reconstruction from the University of Manchester. Amy has volunteered in various roles for STAR, Refugee Action and in Calais with Help Refugees. Amy is also an experienced youth worker from previous roles at The Challenge Network and as a TEFL teacher.