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AVA staff

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Shilla Patel Interim CEO

Shilla's pronouns are they/them. Shilla joined AVA in November 2022 as our Training and Events Coordinator, having previously worked for the London Fire Brigade (LFB) for 18 1/2 years as an Equality, Diversity and Inclusion (EDI) training designer, trainer, and Inclusion Manager. Shilla is extremely passionate about promoting and embedding EDI as a golden thread. Whilst at LFB they were chair of the Asian Fire Service Association and then founder of the Brigade’s mental health staff network ‘United MINDs’ and helped to establish their domestic abuse network, ‘Phoenix’. Shilla was given the Special Recognition Award for Excellence in the Field...

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Michaela Queensborough Children and Young People Programme Manager

Michaela's pronouns are she/her. Michaela joined AVA in April 2022 after moving on from her role as Ending Women’s Homelessness Lead at Homeless Link. She is a child-centred academic activist and agent of change. Called to action as a PhD researcher to disrupt the status quo in the name of racial and gender equity. She is also one of 100 women to feature in H.O.P.E Calls digital art project celebrating Black and Brown women in VAWG.

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Dhriti Suresh Eapen Senior Project Manager

Dhriti's pronouns are she/her. Dhriti joined AVA in June 2022, having worked in the ending VAWG sector since 2017. She has worked across frontline and operational management roles within service delivery focused on improving responses, safety and outcomes for survivors of VAWG. Prior to this Dhriti worked in a legal charity promoting access to justice and holds a Masters of Law (LLM) specialising in Human Rights Law. Dhriti leads projects and programmes relating to consultancy, research and impact evaluation. Her passion is ensuring survivors’ voices are at the forefront to enact evidence-based change.

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Maria Dardagan Funding Support Officer

Maria's pronouns are she/her. Maria joined AVA in August 2019 after several years working as a fundraiser for a charity assisting asylum seekers and refugees. Before that she ran a community organisation working with Filipino migrant workers, in particular, domestic workers, care givers and nurses in the UK to organise and fight for equality and inclusion.

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Samar Hersh-Toubia Policy and Project Officer

Samar first joined AVA in 2020 as a placement during her MSc in Health Psychology at UCL, and joined permanently in 2021. She has a background in psychology, working both nationally and internationally as a care worker, teaching assistant, and as a member of a psychosocial team. Samar also works on independent contracts on a variety of issues, most recently issues of masculinity in the Middle East alongside an international organisation and individuals working in an institute tackling reproductive health and rights within the country.

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Sophie Policy and Project Officer

Sophie’s pronouns are she/her. Sophie joined AVA in September 2022. She has a background in disability activism and global health, with a particular interest in global sexual and reproductive health and justice. She is passionate about co-production and working alongside survivors to achieve systems change.

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Audrey Constantino Data and Monitoring Officer

Audrey's pronouns are she/her. Audrey joined AVA in April 2022 after a career break. Prior to this, she worked for 11 years in retail in buying offices and digital trade where her specialisms were process improvement, systems training and customer journey optimisation.

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