Our Team

Michael Ashe

I joined the team in August 2017.

I think the world can be a much better place, and that all of us have a role to play in making it better for everyone. I’ve tried to play my part in various ways at different times, starting as a volunteer adviser with Citizens Advice and continuing my volunteering as a charity trustee and school governor ever since. My professional roles have included delivering legal advice, making grants, advising on funding policy, developing funding programmes for children and young people, facilitating learning and effectiveness in International Development organisations and their donors, leading the UKs largest Law Centre, and providing consultancy to a range of not-for-profit organisations.

I am delighted to have joined such a great team, and to have the opportunity to help them empower even more local people, and the organisations they support, to change Kensington & Chelsea for the better.

Ewa Kasjanowicz

joined the Volunteer Centre Kensington & Chelsea in September 2018 as a Community Champions Project Manager. I am passionate about making the world around me a little bit better, healthier and happier, and to me this is what the Community Champions programme is all about. 

I truly enjoy working within diverse communities, where people learn from each other and bring different solutions to problems. They constantly inspire and enrich me as a person.

My prior experience includes event organising, coordinating projects and translation/interpreting.

I feel lucky and privileged to work for the Volunteer Centre and to be part of such a great team of people, who love what they do and who do it really well.

Angela Weir

My introduction to the Volunteer Centre was five years ago when I met the new opportunities coordinator who led me to an opportunity where I could use my skills and volunteer at the Museum of Brands. This gave me the perfect opportunity to experience a different type of working environment, within the creative field as I had previously worked in interior design on residential, commercial and embassy projects. 

I then joined as a volunteer at the Volunteer Centre in January 2016, where I assisted the flexible support programme, helping unemployed clients search for jobs and volunteering opportunities. To see a clients progression from gaining skills through volunteering to securing paid work has been a rewarding and satisfying experience.

I am now delighted to work with the core services team as a volunteer development administrator and look forward to many new and experiences here!

Moska Saidy

I’m Moska, the Volunteering Development Coordinator and Communications Officer at the Volunteer Centre Kensington & Chelsea. In my dual role, I support organisations to develop best practices in volunteer management while also promoting the importance of volunteering in our local borough. With a passion for fostering meaningful connections, I believe volunteering is key to building thriving communities. At VCKC, I’m dedicated to celebrating the contributions of volunteers, empowering organisations to maximise their impact, and creatively highlighting the role of volunteering in our community. Together, we can create real, lasting change through volunteering.

Jaya Alvarez-Murray

Embarking on my journey with VCKC feels like riding the flow state wave! From my unconventional start in live broadcasting to discovering the joy of ‘Karma Yoga’ (volunteering) as a virtue in my Yogic lifestyle, my path unfolded organically.  My volunteering trajectory highlighted one of my key qualities: “empowering and connecting people” switching the light on for myself and others.

My passion for community well-being led me to leave my secure TV job to embark upon a freelance career and lifestyle change in holistic wellbeing and mental health consultation. Together with my then 4 year old, I co-created the Golborne Community Champion YouTube channel during lockdown, showcasing 45 recordings of storytelling and parent-baby yoga sessions. Straight out of lockdown I joined forces with the Notting Dale Community Champions Project here at VCKC, co-creating and facilitating projects as a Maternity/Community Champions Yoga facilitator. This experience led to an unexpected short and sweet opportunity to Project Coordinate the Notting Dale Community Champions project which gave me leverage to take up a role managing the Chelsea Theatre Community Champions project.  Chelsea Theatre was an opening for me to harness my community wellbeing engagement and consultation experience from North to South of the Borough.

Those who know me, know that I am a huge fan of affirmations and I believe that my positive affirmations manifested my return to VCKC.  Now I get to spread my proverbial wings in the Wellbeing team, where I’m ready to create new experiences in a familiar place. Let’s do this!

Ana Urbina

Since joining the Volunteer Centre in October 2023, I’ve had the privilege of contributing to several meaningful projects, including coordinating volunteers for the Age UK Valentine’s Gala and supporting the Volunteer Market Ambassadors programme.

After successfully implementing our new digital platform, my focus shifted to enhancing the efficiency of our day-to-day operations. Whether it’s managing finances or improving teamwork, I strive to make processes simpler and more effective, helping the team better serve the Kensington and Chelsea community.

Working at the Volunteer Centre has deepened my appreciation for the invaluable impact of volunteering on people and the wider community. I am proud to be part of a dedicated and professional team committed to supporting each other, our clients, and our partner organisations.

Sean Turnbull

I’m the new Head of Volunteering and Operations at VCKC. I’ve been involved in the voluntary sector my entire career with roles in policy, youth leadership, and interfaith settings, seeing first hand the transformative effect volunteering can have on people. From gaining confidence, routes to employment to simply making meaningful connections with someone you’d never usually meet. I’m excited to have joined one of the longest running volunteer centres with a reputation for being at the heart of the community in Kensington and Chelsea. Having worked with corporates to develop and support their employee volunteering programmes since 2019, I’m keen to use my experience to ensure the Volunteer Centre enhances its offer to the residents and the voluntary organisations throughout the borough.

Angus Jackson

My name is Angus and I am the Coordinator for the InsideOut Programme at VCKC. I have been working in prisons and alongside incarcerated and formerly incarcerated people for several years, from supporting young men getting back on their feet after release to facilitating creative writing workshops with people inside. Despite the many challenges they often face, the people I have worked with have taught me so much and continue to inspire me every day. Outside of work, I am an activist and writer, and recently returned to the UK from two years spent studying in Brooklyn, New York, where I deepened my understanding of the existing criminal-legal system and the ways communities are supporting those caught up in it while also imagining alternative solutions to harm. I believe strongly in the power of these kind of innovative, grassroots initiatives (like all the projects at VCKC!) to bring about wider social change. At VCKC, I hope to do this by drawing on the brilliant resources, skills, and networks of the centre to support people as they make plans, stabilize, and reintegrate after leaving prison. Beyond this, I also hope to facilitate InsideOut participants in harnessing their extraordinary lived experiences and diverse skills to support not only themselves, but one another and their communities across RBKC, London, and beyond.