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 25 years, managing and leading teams in a wide range of roles. She is currently a freelance consultant to charities and the public sector, supporting boards and senior leaders with governance and programmes of change whilst also working with teams to embed strong working practices aligned with their values.

Bec is 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 children in Cardiff.

VICE CHAIR

Dr. Laura Shobiye is a lecturer in the Lifelong Learning Centre at Cardiff University, specialising community courses and Pathways into degrees in the social sciences. She is also a researcher at the University of Manchester. Her research focuses on the intersections of gender, race, immigration status, disability, particularly refugee and inclusive education. She is an active member of the Welsh Refugee Coalition and the Migration Research Wales Network, and a co-founder of the UK’s National Centre for Research Method’s Collaborative and Participatory special interest group. Laura is also a trustee for the Bevan Foundation in Wales and has previously worked at the Equality and Human Rights Commission.

TRUSTEE

Christianah Ugbaja is a freelance community artist, peer researcher and co-production practitioner with a passion for community wellbeing, inclusion and social justice. Having used the services of The Birth Partner Project during her pregnancy and birth in 2021, Christianah became a Trustee in 2022. Her lived experience of seeking sanctuary has shaped her commitment to ensuring that women, families and communities, particularly those facing disadvantage are heard, valued and supported.

Christianah uses music, art, storytelling and lived experience to connect with communities and promote wellbeing. She is passionate about meaningful involvement of people with lived experience in research, services and decision-making, and has contributed to projects exploring migrant mothers’ wellbeing, peer support and co-production. A mother of three, Christianah loves supporting others and standing up for what is right.

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 West Asia. 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.

TRUSTEE

Isabel works for Fair Treatment for the Women of Wales (FTWW), an organisation dedicated to improving healthcare experiences and outcomes for women and people assigned female at birth. In the role, she advocates for equitable, compassionate, and evidence‑based care, working closely with communities and stakeholders to amplify women’s voices in health systems. Isabel joins The Birth Partner Project as she is passionate that that no one goes through childbirth alone, having experienced a difficult birth herself. She is eager to support the work of TBBP and improve outcomes and experiences for sanctuary seeking birthing people.

TRUSTEE

Suzanne is an experienced Lead Nurse at Cardiff and Vale University Health Board, bringing over three decades of expertise in nursing and clinical leadership to her role as a Trustee of The Birth Partner Project. Her professional background spans women’s health, midwifery, sexual health, strategic service development and multidisciplinary leadership, with a strong commitment to delivering safe, compassionate, and psychologically safe care environments, where her colleagues and patients feel heard, valued, and cared for.  

As a Florence Nightingale Foundation Leadership Scholar, Suzanne is recognised for driving quality improvement initiatives and championing equity within healthcare systems, improving experiences for women—including her current project on strengthening menopause support within her organisation. 

Her commitment to equity and dignity aligns closely with The Birth Partner Project, which supports pregnant women seeking sanctuary in Cardiff. Suzanne is honoured to contribute her voice, experience, and empathy to a charity that reflects her lifelong dedication to compassionate, person‑centre care. In her spare time, she is mum to three children, two stepchildren and a dog. She's most happy outdoors, cold-water swimming or dog walking.  

FINANCE MANAGER

Han is a qualified accountant with a background in the private sector. In 2020, she had the opportunity to join a Swansea-based charity, which opened her eyes to the vital role of the third sector and the incredible work carried out by charities across the community.

She joined the team in October 2022 as Finance Administrator and was later promoted to Finance Manager. She is proud to be part of a small but passionate and hardworking team that is committed to making a real difference to the lives of our service users.

She is continually inspired by the dedication of those working across the charity sector and is keen to continue developing her knowledge and skills alongside The Birth Partner Project.

OUTREACH 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 girls, she enjoys being involved in her local church, and loves a good hike up a beautiful Welsh mountain!

DIRECTOR

Laurie initially joined The Birth Partner Project as a Volunteer Birth Partner in January 2026, she then joined the staff team as the Charity Development Manager before being appointed as Director. Laurie has worked in the NHS and third sector, in South Wales and across the UK, for the last 10 years. Her professional background spans mental health, project management, programme management, volunteer management, co-production and charity strategy delivery. She brings a wealth of volunteering experience too; from setting up community gardens to running mutual aid community groups, and from being a befriending volunteer to being a birth partner volunteer.

Laurie is a compassionate leader who is passionate about volunteering and building inclusive communities. Having studied Medicine and then worked mainly in community projects, Laurie is interested in the extent to which wider factors of our lives affect our health and wellbeing and what we can do to prevent widening inequalities. Laurie lives in Cardiff with her wife, and enjoys being an aunty to 6 nieces and nephews.