Business Development Team Amber de Freitas Communications Officer Amber joined WLZ after working in business development at youth justice charity SHiFT. She has a keen interest in amplifying the voices of children and young people and is excited about sharing their stories. Amber holds a BA in English Language and Linguistics from the University of Essex. Rebecca Wallace Communications Manager Rebecca's previous roles include Digital Communications Specialist at Saudi Aramco, and Communications Coordinator for Team London, the volunteering arm of the Mayor of London's office. She also has extensive freelance writing and communications consulting experience. Prior to that she was a professional ballet dancer and stunt woman, before gaining a BA in History from Royal Holloway, University of London. Vanessa O'Donnell Head of Public Affairs and Communications Vanessa has worked across public affairs, communications and policy in a range of organisations including Young Enterprise, the CBI and The Russell Group of Universities. Vanessa is particularly passionate about education and skills and the role these can both play in transforming life chances. Prior to this she worked in political polling at ComRes. Vanessa has a Public Policy Masters from Queen Mary and a BA in Politics from Warwick University. Charly Pye Development Manager After graduating from the University of Bath with a BA in Politics and Spanish, Charly worked as a Teaching Assistant in Spain and in various roles in education in the UK. She has completed a Development Studies Master’s at the Institute of Development Studies (University of Sussex), bringing experience in academic research on educational inequalities. Charly’s more recent background has been in Trusts and Foundations fundraising, at an international development charity delivering education, healthcare and child protection services. Freddie O'Farrell Head of Public Sector Commissioning Freddie joined WLZ in its first year of delivery, supporting the growth and development of the organisation through to the signing of the Life Chances Fund contract in late 2019. He left to take up a more research-focused role at the London School of Economics and Political Science, and later also worked at Crisis, where he helped develop a place-based response to homelessness in the London borough of Brent. Freddie returned to WLZ in 2022 as Head of Public Sector Commissioning, to lead on development work relating to schools, local authorities, and central government. Freddie holds an MSc in Comparative Social Policy from the University of Oxford, and a BA in History & Politics from the University of Sheffield. Ewan Edwards Development Manager (Commissioning) Ewan brings experience from working in schools and educational charities in India, Spain, Sierra Leone and West London. He has a MA in African studies from SOAS and a BA in Literature and History from the University of Leeds Grace Mosimi Development Officer Grace previously worked in the charity sector by supporting the planning of fundraising events. Before joining West London Zone, she completed an MA in Culture, Diaspora and Ethnicity at Birkbeck College, where she centred her research on how to mobilise the resolution of institutional inequalities. She also holds a BA degree in Human Geography, where she focused her research on the inequality of achievement between students at the degree level. Kate Dolleymore Head of Philanthropy Kate previously worked in the fundraising team at the literacy charity, Coram Beanstalk, managing their Major Donor programme and prior to that was managing events and individuals at the Children's International Development charity, Magic Bus. She has a BSC in Psychology from the University of Leeds. Susan May Robbie Development Manager (Corporates) A sustainability, social impact and communications consultant, Susan previously headed up social investment for Investec Bank. Prior to that, she practised as a corporate lawyer. She has a BA in Law and Psychology from the University of Cape Town, as well as an LLB.