Meet the team

CHAIR

Bec originally volunteered as a Birth Partner and then joined the team in 2023 as the Project Lead, before taking on the role of Chair in July 2024. She has worked across the public sector and third sector in Wales for over 20 years, managing and leading teams in a wide range of roles.

She's particularly interested in how our health is linked to our day-to-day environment, and would like to see things systematically being made fairer so that everyone can enjoy a long and healthy life, whatever that means to them, regardless of their background.

She lives with her two young children in Cardiff, and tries to bring a positive and collaborative approach to everything she does.

TREASURER

Smitha joined the team in 2017 and helped the organisation gain its status as a Charitable Incorporated Organisation in July 2018. Smitha works as Head of Finance for Community Foundation Wales, a charity committed to improving the lives of those within Welsh Communities. In her role as treasurer of The Birth Partner Project, Smitha oversees all aspects of the charity’s finances from ensuring the money is spent wisely through to preparing the accounts, with stability and sustainability of funding being a key aim for the future.

TRUSTEE

Christianah is currently seeking sanctuary in Cardiff and is a graduate of Computer Science with Economics. Christianah worked as a Computer Technician with The Federal Polytechnic Ede Nigeria and later in Quality Assurance with Holaidexpress Sarl in France. Christianah has two adorable sons and loves to fight for what is right and to support people, especially those in need.

TRUSTEE

Billie has worked as a midwife for 45 years, initially working in clinical practice in different settings around the UK before moving into midwifery education and research in Wales. She retired in 2022 and is now Emerita Professor of Midwifery at Cardiff University and Adjunct Professor at University of Technology Sydney. Her research has focused on the emotional aspects of maternity care and she is passionate about ensuring that all women are able to access skilled, inclusive, respectful, and woman-centred care. She became a Trustee in 2020.

TRUSTEE

Gill joined the Birth Partner Project as a volunteer early in the project’s life, and became a trustee in 2023. She has three children of her own, and has been a birth activist for the past 20 years after a career teaching psychology. She represented Wales for 5 years on the Midwifery Committee of the Nursing and Midwifery Council.

TRUSTEE

TRUSTEE

Madeleine became a trustee in summer 2024, and brings over 15 years experience in the charity sector focusing on strategy, policy and influencing, and governance, including work in the women and girls sector, on mental health, and with refugees, both in the UK and in the Middle East. With an unshakeable belief in every human life being equal and deserving of respect and dignity, she is a values driven charity consultant and a member of a number of local and international charity boards, including vice-chair of a human rights charity of the Amos Trust.

She lives with her family in Cardiff and having given birth twice - to two beautiful and wonderfully fun little people - cannot think of a more important mission that ensuring sanctuary seeking women do not go through birth alone. She is delighted to join the brilliant work of The Birth Partner Project. 

TRUSTEE

Dr Laura Shobiye is a Lecturer in Social Policy at Cardiff Metropolitan University. She is an experienced cross-sector social researcher with a strong focus on anti-racism and gender equality. Her PhD (completed in 2023) explored the role of learning and education for mothers seeking sanctuary in Wales. She recently worked as the Research Manager for Sported UK, delivering research on challenges with kit and equipment and on leadership voluntary roles in sports. Before that, she led the writing and delivery of “Is Wales Fairer 2023”  as the Equality and Human Rights Commission’s Research Manager for Wales. Laura also wrote the “Feminist Scorecard 2022” for WEN Wales and Oxfam Cymru.

Currently, Laura is a mentor on the City of Sanctuary programme ‘Sanctuary in Politics’, an active member of the Sanctuary Coalition Cymru, and a trustee for the Bevan Foundation. Laura has previously worked as an ESOL/EFL teacher, a learning support assistant, and a business systems manager.

DIRECTOR

Emily joined the team in October 2024 as we look to expand our impact, reach and strive for growth as a charity. Emily came to us from her position as the manager of the Ronald McDonald House in Cardiff and a decade of charity leadership experience that has taken her from Devon to Bulgaria, Oxford and Cardiff which is now her forever home. Emily has a particular interest in charity impact strategy, policy development, streamlining processes from data to operational delivery, but truly enjoys supporting teams to explore best ways to maximise their talents, time and resources the most. She has always had a keen focus on sanctuary-seeking family support, founded in her time working in refugee reception centres oversees, as well as having supported hundreds of new mums going through the neo-natal journeys and postpartum at UHW from a wide range of backgrounds. Emily lives with her South-African husband and young son and they can often be found at a parkrun or on an outdoor adventure together.

VOLUNTEER COORDINATOR

Areatha has two children now 24 and 21 and has been working with children and families in either Childcare or Playwork since 1987, working and volunteering in the UK, Romania and Peru. These experiences provided Areatha with an insight into the impact of bias and poverty on maternal health; whilst seeing how different healthcare systems operate, experiencing the impact and value of supportive communities, and witnessing the negative and discriminatory attitudes that create barriers for women as well as some of the important cultural practices for pregnant, birthing and nursing people.

Areatha has a keen interest in promoting the Childcare and Playwork sector and raising their profile to bring about a greater understanding of their value. Alongside her work at The Birth Partner project, Areatha continues her work to facilitate play opportunities for children. She is a Board Member of Clybiau Plant Cymru and currently a Community Mentor for the Early Years, Childcare and Playwork sector supporting the Welsh Government to develop their Anti-Racist Wales Policy.

She speaks Romanian and is working on improving her Spanish.

VOLUNTEER COORDINATOR

Before joining the team as our second Volunteer Coordinator, Manon was a volunteer at the Birth Partner Project since 2022. Passionate about women's rights, she is particularly interested in birth and in women supporting other women, in the kindest and most inclusive way.

Manon has a keen interest in well-being and she is a trained mindfulness teacher with the UK Mindfulness Association. She brings those skills into the birth room when supporting the Birth Partner mamas

Manon is French, has travelled and lived in India for a few years before returning to Cardiff (her adopted home). She loves the outdoors and spends a lot of her free time at a local community garden or cycling in Wales.

FINANCE OFFICER

Han is a part-qualified accountant who has always worked in the private sector. In 2020 she had the opportunity to join a Swansea based charity which opened her eyes to the third sector. She is amazed by the great work done by the different charities. She is proud to be part of a small but passionate and hard-working team who does make a difference to the life of our service users. She is keen to grow her knowledge and skills together with The Birth Partner Project.

DROP-IN COORDINATOR

Lizzie joined the team in January 2024 as Drop-in Coordinator.

She originally trained as a midwife before joining the charity sector. Her experience in maternity settings gave her an awareness of maternal health inequalities, and a desire to help women most impacted by these inequalities. Over the past few years she has worked with sanctuary seekers as a caseworker and in the area of Refugee family reunion. She hoped that someday she would be able to combine her maternity experience with her passion for helping sanctuary seekers, and so is thrilled to be a part of The Birth Partner Project!

When not working Lizzie loves looking after her lovely little girl, she enjoys being involved in her local church, and loves a good hike up a beautiful Welsh mountain!