Our Team
Amala has a diverse and international remote Global Team, a Jordan Team, and a Kenya Team. Their work is supported by volunteers, coaches, and advisors and governed by a Board of Trustees, all of whom contribute to our mission of using the power of education to transform the lives of refugees, their communities, and the world.
Global Team
Our Global Team lead the day-to-day operations of the organisation, and work across four continents in seven countries.
Together with Polly, Mia founded Amala in 2017. She brings with her over ten years of experience in project management, volunteer management, entrepreneurship and international education from working at UWC (United World Colleges) where she managed a network of 3,000 volunteers selecting more than 1,200 students for prestigious secondary education scholarships every year and founding Danish Students Abroad, a country-wide network supporting young Danes to access higher education opportunities abroad. She has an BSc in Arabic and Development Studies from SOAS, University of London. Her role at Amala focuses on strategy, programme management, organisational development, team leadership and finance.
Co-founder and Co-Executive Director
Polly is the Co-Executive Director and Co-founder of Amala. She has over ten years of organisational leadership, management, fundraising and communications experience. She has worked in refugee education for over eight years, and is responsible for overall management of Amala’s programmes, monitoring and evaluation and communications. Prior to her time at Amala, she led alumni, community engagement and outreach programmes with United World Colleges (UWC). She has an MA in Modern Languages from Oxford University and has acted as a working group leader and contributor to the OECD’s Education 2030 project on the skills, knowledge and dispositions young people need to develop to thrive.
Co-founder and Co-Executive Director
Mayen is responsible for the implementation of the project and financial tracking. Mayen has worked for several organisations within the Kakuma camp coordinating the delivery of different projects, around IT support and educational provision, these include: Jesuit Worldwide Learning (JWL), Windle International Kenya (WIK) and UNHCR. Mayan obtained a BA in Business Management (Logistics and Operations) from The Southern New Hampshire University in 2020, through an online study programme.
Ajak Mayen Jok
Head of Programmes, Kenya
Lamis has a passion for both working in education and with refugee youth, and has experience of working with organisations such as War Child and UNDP. She fell in love with the Amala programme because it aligns with her beliefs about what is important in education, and believes that what Amala offers is perfect for the Jordan context.
Head of Programmes, Jordan
Lizzie believes deeply in the power and impact of education to create sustainable, positive change in the world. Lizzie has worked as a teacher; a head of school; a principal; accreditation evaluator and curriculum leader. As the Director of Education Programmes, Lizzie brings more than thirty years of educational experience to Amala, ensuring that the development of Amala programmes aligns with our mission and strategic direction.
Director of Education Programmes
Elissavet is committed to creating systemic change to ensure that the most vulnerable learners can access equitable educational opportunities of high quality. She has studied Politics and Education in the Netherlands, Argentina and the UK. She has previously worked in peace education in Cyprus and refugee education in Greece and the UK.
Global Manager for the Global Secondary Diploma
Louie is responsible for facilitator development, Amala curriculum and assessment. Louie is an experienced content developer and has worked for Teach for Cambodia and UWCSEA in Singapore. Louie also has over eight years of classroom experience. He holds an MA in Educational Leadership from the University of Manchester alongside a BA in Biochemistry from Imperial College London and is an alumnus of Teach First.
Senior Lead, Learning and Innovation
Jess has been working with Amala since 2019. She is responsible for coordinating the successful delivery of Amala's global educational programmes. This includes working closely with locally-based Amala programme teams and facilitators, as well onboarding and coordinating new partnerships to deliver Amala programmes around the world. Jess has a MSc in Migration, Mobility and Development from SOAS University of London.
Global Manager for Changemaker Courses, Bespoke and Special Projects
Chloe has ten years of experience working in education, learning and development and business operations. She has an MA in Classics from the University of St Andrews and has previously worked as a primary and secondary teacher in Hong Kong and Japan, student recruitment and widening participation roles at the University of St Andrews and the University of Cambridge.
Chloë Cupid
People, Culture and Operations
Co-ordinator
Hannah has previously worked in fundraising, communications and project management roles within arts and cultural organisations, educational settings overseas and most recently in the voluntary sector working with refugee communities in the North East of England. Her role at Amala focuses on income generation, working with trusts and foundations, partners and individual donors, to support the delivery of Amala’s mission.
Fundraising Manager
In her role as Communications Coordinator, Cloe manages Amala's external communications channels such as the website and social media, and collaborates with members of the Amala community to produce student and alumni stories which demonstrate Amala's impact. Previously, Cloe worked in the media and communications and education and outreach teams at the UK Supreme Court, has experience in third sector communications, and has been a secondary-level English Language Assistant with the British Council. She holds a BASc in Arts and Sciences from University College London.
Communications Manager
Jordan and Kenya Teams
Alongside the Global Team, Amala works from Learning Centres in Amman, Jordan and Kakuma Refugee Camp, Kenya. A group of dedicated educators plan and deliver the Amala Global Secondary Diploma, and are responsible for the teaching, learning, and overall wellbeing of students. The majority of Amala’s Jordan and Kenya teams have lived experience of displacement, and several team members are Amala alumni.
Jordan Team
Lamis has a passion for both working in education and with refugee youth, and has experience of working with organisations such as War Child and UNDP. She fell in love with the Amala programme because it aligns with her beliefs about what is important in education, and believes that what Amala offers is perfect for the Jordan context.
Head of Programmes
Fatima became involved with Amala after taking the peace-building course in 2019. She was passionate about the transformative type of learning that Amala provides and decided to be part of it. Fatima believes education is a basic right of all humans, and so she is strongly motivated to develop and expand Amala programmes to help change people’s lives.
Fatima Abualenein
Learning Lead
Hasan is an Amala alumnus; he's an innovative person and change-making enthusiast, with extensive experience in social and humanitarian work. Hasan is passionate about education and humanitarian work as a way to make a positive impact in the world.
Hasan Matroud
Programme Coordinator and Educator - Global Secondary Diploma
Abdelhamid is a learning facilitator at Amala’s Jordan team. He is also an Amala alumnus who graduated as a part of cohort 3. Abdelhamid’s love & desire to make change and help his refugee community led him to become an Amala learning facilitator. Outside Amala, Abdelhamid is a teacher, refugee guidance counsellor, mentor and Gender knowledge management assistant in many different organisations including WUSC, UNHCR AND UNICEF.
Educator - Global Secondary Diploma
Vivian is an Amala alumna and facilitator. She is passionate about working with refugees and education and she aspires to reduce social injustice. Vivian believes that everyone deserves to have the chance to access education and Amala has been the place for her to make positive change.
Vivian Shaima
Educator - Global Secondary Diploma
Milad is a GSD Educator and a former Learning Facilitator for the Changemaker Foundation Programme. Driven by a strong commitment to learning and serving others, she firmly believes in the power of education for healing and changing lives. She passionately advocates for the rights of refugee children and youth to learn, especially those who are denied the opportunity to complete their studies. She deeply values their ability to complete their education despite their challenges.
Milad Shamaan
Educator - Global Secondary Diploma
Kenya Team
Mayen is responsible for the implementation of the project and financial tracking. Mayen has worked for several organisations within the Kakuma camp coordinating the delivery of different projects, around IT support and educational provision, these include: Jesuit Worldwide Learning (JWL), Windle International Kenya (WIK) and UNHCR. Mayan obtained a BA in Business Management (Logistics and Operations) from The Southern New Hampshire University in 2020, through an online study programme.
Ajak Mayen Jok
Head of Programmes
Holli trains, supervises and supports the educators. Holli also holds overall responsibility for tracking and monitoring the learning progress of students. Holli has solid experience in project coordination within the Kakuma camp, having worked for organisations such as Jesuit Worldwide Learning (JWL) and Lutheran World Federation (LWF). Holly holds a BA in Management and a Diploma in Liberal Arts.
Holli Ghaisen
Learning Lead and Educator - Global Secondary Diploma
Faridah is passionate about advocating for more higher education opportunities for refugees worldwide. With 6 years of working experience in higher education in a refugee camp, she believes refugees also deserve better.
Faridah Naimana
Programme Coordinator and Educator - Global Secondary Diploma
Manahil believes youth are the changemakers of tomorrow. As a facilitator at Amala, she is committed to using education to improve people's lives and help youth become the next creative leaders and peacebuilders. Manahil has experience in facilitating social entrepreneurship courses and student welfare.
Manahil Yagoub Musa
Educator - Global Secondary Diploma
Moses gained extensive experience in teaching at Lutheran World Federation, as an ICT-Coach at Windle International Kenya and as a facilitator at IsraAid. He feels this experience is great to share with youth. At Amala, his passion is to help youth unlock their potential future careers by providing them with the knowledge and skills through education and mentorship.
Educator - Global Secondary Diploma
Jimmy is passionate about transformative education for youth in a refugee context and their integration in the workforce. He joined Amala in 2022 because he was inspired by the transformative education model of curriculum delivery. Prior to joining Amala, Jimmy worked with Jesuit Worldwide Learning as a Personal Facilitator for online students. His vision is to see all refugee youth gain access to education regardless of their status and ability.
Onono Jimmy Ongwech
Educator - Global Secondary Diploma
Yuhana has previously facilitated the Amala Changemaker Course, Using Online Technologies to Make Change, and is currently studying for a Bachelor of Arts in Sustainable Development with Jesuit Worldwide Learning (JWL) and Xavier Institute of Management University. Yuhana’s professional background is in facilitation, translation, community mobilisation, and non-renewable energy.
Yuhana Luka Nabashti
Educator - Global Secondary Diploma
Board of Trustees
Our Board oversees our work as a Charity and Company in England and Wales. Polly Akhurst and Mia Eskelund Pedersen are also Trustees.
Keith spent 17 years with UWC International as Executive Director. Keith continues to work with schools and international organisations, focusing on governance, management, organisational development, strategy, structure and leadership recruitment.
Chair
Caroline is the Chief Partnerships Officer at AVPN, a network of funders of social impact in Asia. She has lived and worked in 8 different countries and has 15 years of experience in fundraising and creating partnerships and collaborations for impact.
Colin’s background is in finance, having trained as a Chartered Accountant with Arthur Andersen. He has served as Finance Director of several companies. He is co-founder and co-funder of GoMakeaDifference and Treasurer of the UWC International Board.
Stela is the Co-founder of Galápagos Team, an impact consultancy. She has 20 years of experience in senior HR roles partnering with teams across the Americas, Asia and Europe, focused on developing leadership, building teams, and leading change at scale.
Sara is a Head of Recruitment and Selection at Teach for Sweden, ensuring that promising leaders become teachers where they are most needed. She previously managed the Ellen MacArthur Foundation’s work with schools and colleges and has worked as an English teacher.
Jessica is a researcher and Education Consultant. She has worked in the education in emergencies sector for the past decade, including protracted urban and camp refugee settings, internal displacement, resettlement, and transitory contexts globally.