Our team
Staff
We are currently recruiting for our CEO
CEO
For more details about this role and how to apply, go to our vacancies page.
Roaa
Operations Manager
Roaa joined Social Workers Without Borders in 2025, bringing over a decade of experience in the humanitarian sector. She has worked across Syria with UN agencies and international NGOs, focusing on crisis response, project coordination, and livelihoods programming. Roaa has led monitoring and evaluation efforts in high-risk contexts, including Northeast Syria, managing large-scale data collection and analysis to inform evidence-based programming.
At SWWB, Roaa supports the organisation’s operational systems and contributes to the strategic delivery of programmes, drawing on her background in complex crisis settings.
After relocating to the UK in 2024, Roaa began volunteering with local charities to support refugee communities and deepen her understanding of the UK social sector. She holds a Master’s degree in development economics and speaks Arabic, English, and Spanish. Roaa is passionate about community-led approaches, migrants’ rights, and building resilient, inclusive systems.
Ben
Head of Expert Witness Service
Ben is a registered social worker with over 15 years’ experience working alongside marginalised children and young people, including as a statutory social worker, a children’s rights advocate and a specialist caseworker with separated young people seeking asylum. He has experience of providing expert social work evidence in immigration and family proceedings. He was also the legal services coordinator for a team providing psychological expert witness reports on the impacts of domestic abuse and trafficking.
Ben previously conducted independent social work assessments as a volunteer for Social Workers Without Borders in the UK and Northern France, and has volunteered with young people on the move in Greece. Alongside his Social Workers Without Borders role, Ben works part-time as the asylum and immigration practice lead within a local authority leaving care service. He delivers training and guest lectures on social work practice with separated children and other care experienced young migrants.
Saara
Specialist Social Worker
Saara sits within our expert witness service, conducting and supervising independent social work assessments. She is a registered social worker (2017) and a BACP registered counsellor (2023). Saara has worked across statutory, voluntary, and therapeutic settings, supporting children, young people, and families affected by safeguarding concerns, immigration control, and systemic inequalities. She has experience of providing expert social work evidence in court proceedings, primarily for public family law proceedings and for the Court of Protection. As well as working in front line child protection, Saara has practised as an Advanced Social Worker in a 16+ Leaving Care Service, supporting care-experienced young people, including children seeking asylum or with otherwise unsettled immigration status. Within the voluntary sector, she has supported families from African and Caribbean communities, delivering culturally competent parenting interventions and anti-racist training for social care professionals. Saara has also worked as a Reflective Practice Manager, supporting social workers and social care staff to engage in critical reflection, manage secondary trauma, and develop trauma-informed practice.
Alongside her role at Social Workers Without Borders she has small private counselling practice and is currently completing a CPCAB Level 6 qualification in Counselling Supervision.
Vicky
Head of Education and Volunteering
Vicky joined Social Workers Without Borders in April 2023 after studying for a Master’s degree in international social work with refugees and migrants.
Vicky has previously worked as a support worker for a Manchester-based charity who offer accommodation, support and advocacy for people facing homelessness after claiming asylum. She is a member of the GM Migration and Destitution Action Group.
Vicky is responsible for volunteer recruitment, induction and support. She has led in expanding our national pool of experienced social work assessors and in developing our support and training offer to volunteers.
Trustees
Bridget
Chair
Bridget has over 25 years of experience in social work practice and education. She has practised social work in a range of settings including in a primary school in Botswana, and as a frontline children and families social worker in the UK.
Bridget is currently a Senior Lecturer and the Director of Studies in Social Work. She is also co-Chair of the Black, Asian and Minority Ethnic Staff Network at her university. Her research interests include race and ethnic studies, anti-racist and radical social work and social work with refugees and asylum seekers. Bridget has volunteered with Social Workers Without Borders since 2016. As well as being chair of the board, she is currently the trustee data protection lead.
Kris
Treasurer
Kris is an experienced finance professional, with over 35 years’ experience of finance and accounting roles in a range of public and private sector organisations. New to Social Workers Without Borders in 2025, Kris is the Treasurer on the board of trustees.
Molly
Secretary
Molly is a registered social worker and works for a community-based refugee charity where she oversees case work support for people in the asylum system.
Kathleen
Kathleen is a qualified social worker with extensive postgraduate experience supporting separated children seeking asylum, and children and young people at risk of trafficking and sexual violence. She has previously worked at the Scottish guardianship service, and Barnardo’s national counter trafficking service. In her current role at GMIAU, as children’s policy adviser, she is working with local authorities in Greater Manchester to identify and support children in care with immigration issues, in the hopes to resolve them before they turn 18. Kathleen is the trustee health and safety lead.
Catherine
Catherine has volunteered and worked with refugees and asylum seekers since 2017 and has been a registered social worker since 2023, working with both separated migrant children and citizen children in care for a local authority.
She has volunteered for Social Workers Without Borders since 2023 and is a member of the education team. Catherine is the trustee safeguarding lead.
Jamie
Jamie is an immigration and public law solicitor. His involvement with SWWB began in 2016 when he worked alongside social workers in Calais.
Jamie brings extensive knowledge and skills in immigration and asylum law to the charity. Jamie has significant experience in a wide variety of complex and high profile cases.
Jamie is a Recommended Individual in the 2019, 2020 and 2021, 2024 editions of The Legal 500 for his work involving civil liberties and human rights. He was nominated for Public Lawyer of the Year at the LALYS in 2022.
Lauren
Lauren is a registered social worker with 11 years’ experience in the statutory and non-statutory sectors. Lauren has been involved in migrant justice activism for 20 years and co-founded Social Workers Without Borders, following her time volunteering in Leros, Greece in 2016.
Lauren is an Associate Professor and is in the management team for the Contextual Safeguarding research programme. She is co-editor of the book ‘Social Work with Refugees, Asylum Seekers and Migrants: Theory and Skills for Practice’ (Jessica Kingsley).