Meet the team
Staff
Jenni Regan
Jenni Regan
Based in Kent, Jenni keeps IMIX as a strong organisation, overseeing all work and supporting Kent-based charities. She joined IMIX directly from London Arts and Health, where she was Chief Executive, supporting a network of creative grassroots organisations to connect effectively with health professionals and grew the yearly Creativity and Wellbeing festival into an international, hybrid celebration.
Jenni was a BBC journalist and producer for nine years, and then moved into the charity sector as Head of Media Engagement at Mind during its signature Time to Change Campaign. Jenni is also a trustee for the Friends of Napier charity in Folkestone. She loves sea swimming, walking the dog on the beach, reading and taking part in anything cultural.
Katherine Maxwell-Rose
Katherine Maxwell-Rose
Based in London, Katherine oversees all the digital work for IMIX as well as delivering social media training and advising organisations on digital strategy. She project manages the Refugee Week Ambassador Programme, produced the Un/Documented podcast and pioneered the Human Journeys project which to date has shared the stories of over 300 people who have migrated to the UK.
After working as co-artistic director of her own theatre company for a decade, Katherine decided to use her passion for storytelling to campaign for social change. Previously, she worked as an online editor with the NGO, Tearfund which included training young people to advocate and communicate on issues of poverty, climate change and sustainability.
Katherine is a poet and novelist as well as a contributor to BBC Radio 2’s Pause for Thought. She believes in the power of stories to bring about social, political and cultural change. She loves reading, travelling, singing and occasional wild swimming.
Emily Jones
Emily Jones
Based in Hampshire, Emily manages the operational side of IMIX, which includes overseeing of finance, people, charity governance and infrastructure.
Before joining the communications and charity sector, Emily worked for many years in financial services. Alongside this she completed a BA in International Studies with RMIT, Melbourne, and has a long-standing interest in human rights and the environment.
Outside of work, Emily is kept busy by her two young children and is most content when crafting, practicing yoga or on long walks in the forest.
Gary Pluck
Gary Pluck
Based in the West Midlands, Gary leads on media and PR for the region as well providing management for several specialist projects including our European Programme for Integration and Migration (EPIM) funded work with partners Show Racism the Red Card and Migrant Voice.
Gary has almost 25 years of experience in marketing and communications. Much of his experience has been gained in the education sector where he has been Director and Head of Marketing and Comms in, HE, FE and with a private training provider. More recently Gary has provided consultancy to several third sector organisations and local government authorities.
He joined the refugee and migration sector nearly two years’ ago after finding a passion for telling stories of migration whilst working with a local authority on cohesion and integration.
Katie Bryson
Katie Bryson
Based in the windswept coastal town of Whitley Bay in the North East, Katie supports the strong network of organisations working in the migration sector in the region with their communications and media. Her role includes delivering media training, connecting journalists with voices of lived experience and exploring the way we talk about the issues affecting people navigating the UK asylum system.
Katie is an ex-BBC journalist with experience both in regional and national news, including eight years working on CBBC Newsround. To relax she enjoys cooking, singing and walking her dogs on the beach.
Elahe Ziai
Elahe Ziai
Based in Glasgow, Elahe works with local journalists and supports numerous charities and individuals with lived experience of forced/chosen migration to engage with their local media outlets in a safe, positive and successful manner.
Prior to joining IMIX, she worked at the Scottish Refugee Council for six years as a caseworker. She completed a BA in Education and Social Services and volunteered with multiple charities in Glasgow. She is also a board member of the Scottish Detainee Visitors.
Elahe is an adventure loving, mountain-obsessed woman from Iran and, when she is not at work, she is probably somewhere hiking, camping, walking, or cooking.
Esther Raffell
Esther Raffell
Based in London, Esther’s work keeps IMIX in touch with the everyday political decisions at Westminster, working with lived experience ambassadors and journalists to illustrate the real human impact of issues like Channel crossings, visa fees, and the asylum backlog.
She cut her teeth as a campaigner and community organiser on the hostile environment, women’s rights, and low pay. Esther also loves a boogie, especially during her weekly salsa classes.
Trustees
Geraldine Blake, Chair
Geraldine Blake, Chair
Geraldine’s expertise is in community development, with a career in social action charities, working alongside people to tackle inequalities. She brings to IMIX experience as a charity Chief Executive, and a deep understanding of how to grow a resilient organisation with good governance. Geraldine now works in grant making with roles at London Funders, Trust for London and the John Ellerman Foundation, with a focus on funding for organisations working in migration, racial justice and social change.
Elizabeth Liberda-Moreni, Treasurer
Elizabeth Liberda-Moreni, Treasurer
Elizabeth is an experienced and knowledgeable Chartered Accountant, with over 30 years’ experience of working at a senior level within the charity sector, developing and implementing business strategy, improving service delivery, and embedding good governance. Her core strengths lie in her ability to achieve an organisation’s objectives, whether this involves providing financial oversight expertise, monitoring the effectiveness of overall performance or ensuring that the financial and legal status of an organisation is fully adherent with all regulatory requirements.
Agnès Estibals
Agnès Estibals
Agnès is a senior civil servant and professional economist. She has in-depth knowledge of government, public policy and public affairs, having held roles spanning policy, economics and delivery of large programmes across Whitehall. She also has previous experience of advising print and broadcasting media clients on target audiences for Ipsos. Coming from a family with a long history of immigration herself, she moved to the UK twenty years ago. She is committed to promoting the positive contribution that immigrants from all backgrounds make to the UK economy and society, and to the public sector – from public administration to the frontline delivery of health, social care and education.
Zino Onokaye-Akaka
Zino Onokaye-Akaka
Zino works as a Programme Manager at Heard and was previously a Let Us Learn Project Worker at Just for Kids Law. She has been campaigning on migrant issues since 2016 and is passionate about using her voice to change the conversation on migration. She moved to the UK with her family from Nigeria when she was aged nine and hopes that by sharing her own story and experiences she can help people to see migrants in a more human way. You can read more about Zino’s story in our Human Journeys series.
Rachael Gould
Rachael Gould
Rachael has extensive experience of leading media and communications teams in not-for-profit organisations. Rachael is currently Head of Communications at the General Pharmaceutical Council, which regulates pharmacists and pharmacies. Previous experience includes working in senior communications roles for the General Medical Council, the National AIDS Trust and The Children’s Society, where she worked on major campaigns representing the interests of young refugees and asylum seekers and their families.
Shazia Ejaz
Shazia Ejaz
Shazia Ejaz is an experienced communications professional having worked in a variety of sectors. Her training ground was in government departments including Her Majesty’s Treasury which set her up to go on to work in a global management consultancy and a global affairs think tank. Having worked on political campaigns and now running communications for a business body, IMIX benefits from her strategic vision for communications and growing organisations.
Zain Hafeez
Zain Hafeez
Zain is an expert by experience with more than ten years of first-hand experience of the migration and asylum journey. He obtained a full-paid scholarship for his university and graduated with First-Class Honours in Philosophy and Global Studies. He is a strong communicator who has comprehensive experience in public speaking through being involved in campaigning, making appearances in the British Parliament, BBC radio and being a panellist at several events and universities, where he shared his story and discussed the issues related to asylum and migration in the UK. He has substantial experience working with asylum seekers and refugees during his role with the British Red Cross Voices Network and Coventry Refugee and Migrant Centre. He recently produced an award-winning podcast series named We are VOICES with the British Red Cross and the Voices Network to portray and raise awareness about the asylum journey. He continues to campaign and advocate for asylum seekers and refugees and currently works as Community Organiser at Citizens UK and a Funding Manager at the Civic Power Fund.
Steering Group
The Steering Group is made up of people with lived experience of the UK immigration system who advise and make recommendations about the overall work of IMIX. This group will inform IMIX’s ongoing strategy and is part of a strong commitment to shift power to experts by experience which underpins this strategy.
Mike Butscher
Mike Butscher
Based in London, Michael Butscher is a widely travelled multi-media journalist from West Africa. He has just published his memoir, Creole Congau Journalist in London. He volunteered in the media team for IMIX for a year as a reporter and writer, and now is a valuable member of IMIX’s Steering Group.
Shamim Sarabi
Shamim Sarabi
Shamim Sarabi is an Afghan refugee who works as the Community Engagement and Research Lead at Refugee Legal Support (RLS). She also holds a position as one of the Steering Group members of IMIX. She contributes to the organisation’s plans for the next three years. She served as a member of JCWI’s Lived Experience Advisory Board, where she influenced their five-year strategy. She holds a Master’s degree in social policy and research from University College London and is dedicated to empowering refugees in the UK.
Sadia Butt
Sadia Butt
Sadia in an artist and photographer based in Glasgow with a Masters in Fine Art. She was previously artist in residence at D6 Culture in Transit in Newcastle. Her portrait featured as part of the inLIMBO photo and storytelling project for the premiere of Hassan Akkad’s film, Matar with WaterBear and Counterpoints Arts. She is a volunteer campaigner and activist who works to make life better and safer for asylum seekers and migrants. She has been awarded an arts grant to produce a mural for Refugee Festival Scotland, 2024. Sadia is the chair of the Steering Group.
Zarith
Zarith
Zarith is an activist focusing on issues facing people seeking sanctuary, asylum matters, refugees, migrants and LGBTQ+ issues. Through IMIX he was able to share his lived experience of immigration issues, dealing with the Home Office and the government with the UK press.
He was a whistleblower to the world’s largest kleptocracy case which led to a former Prime Minister being jailed.
He worked as a journalist for 14 years with many different broadcast companies and NGOs in Malaysia, Southeast Asia, the UK itself and Europe. In the UK he has also been studying at the University of East London and the University College London.
He loves swimming, dancing, gardening, country walk, traveling, food, poetry, international affairs and politics.
