Staff  

ACTING CEO, DIRECTOR OF PROJECTS:

Robin Cross joined Article 25 as the Director of Projects in May 2008. From June 2010 he has taken over the CEO position from founder Victoria Harris.  Robin graduated with Distinction from The Bartlett School where he developed strategies for socially and environmentally motivated design. In the year of his qualification as an Architect and his admission to the Architects' register, Robin was awarded the RIBA's Hayden Smith Award for the strongest design quality of his year. Robin went on to gain extensive experience in leading design teams in construction projects in the UK and abroad. His leadership experience ranges from facilitating construction teams in community-based building projects, to adminstering contracts in the pressured environment of the UK commercial construction industry. Robin is also an elected politician as a Councillor in the London Borough of Lewisham, where he represents one of the most diverse and multicultural communities in London. As the Chair of Lewisham's Design Panel and as his political group's lead on the Sustainable Development Select Committee, Robin takes an active role in sustainable urban regeneration. As a Director of a local New Deal for Communities regeneration initiative, Robin contributes his professional skills to the challenging role of regenerating a deprived area of London. At Article 25 Robin leads the design team's operations, heading a highly motivated team of talented designers and built environment professionals who commit their skills and energy to Article 25's expanding programme of development and disaster relief.

FUNDRAISING

Helen Carey joined Article 25 in April 2010, as Director of Fundraising and Development. Helen has worked in the voluntary sector for 17 years, the past 11 of these, in fundraising-management roles.  This includes two years as Major Trusts Fundraising Manager at VSO, an international development charity that works through volunteers sharing skills and building capacity of their counterparts abroad, almost eight years at Threshold Housing Advice, where she was Funding Development Manager, and shorter periods at other organisations in the education and social welfare fields.  Mid-career, Helen undertook a degree and ESRC-funded post-graduate studies at the LSE in Social Anthropology, with fieldwork in rural Chhattisgarh, Central India.  Before this she worked in various campaigning, lobbying and media roles, again, chiefly in the charity and community sector.  Helen comes from a family of artists and musicians, and enjoys creative writing and cross-cultural perspectives.  She divides her time between the very ‘urban’ Shepherd’s Bush area of West London and the very historic, South Shropshire market town of Ludlow, where her teenage stepsons live.  On joining, Helen said, “I’m delighted to be working for Article 25, which is such a wonderful organisation and cause, with some great projects and highly professional and committed staff and volunteers.”

Lisa Dayanandan became Article 25’s Office Manager in June 2007 and moved to fundraising full time in early 2009 as Fundraising Officer.  Lisa originally decided to move from Edmonton, Canada to London to teach English at GCSE and A-level.  Lisa has a lifelong interest in literature and runs her own book group which has been flourishing for 3 years. Seeking a career change from teaching she then went on to work in office environments and further developed her skills in business administration and customer services by working as a freelance administrator/book-keeper.  Lisa had a  strong desire to work in the charitable sector and this led Lisa to Article 25 where she has worked tirelessly to keep the business running smoothly and efficiently. She handed over to Stephanie Johnston on taking up her new role in the Fundraising department. Lisa collects Fridge Magnets from around the world. You should SEE her fridge. She never has.

DESIGN TEAM

Catriona Forbes joined Article 25 in December 2008 as a volunteer Architectural Assistant, having previously completed her Part II Diploma at the Bartlett School, UCL.  Catriona gained her Part III in 2009, and is now a fully qualified architect and significant member of our design team, working on the development of a National Park Headquarters, Staff Village and Community Facilities for the Gola Forest Programme in Sierra Leone.  She has been involved in a number of projects at Article 25 including: a sports related HIV Centre in Lesotho, a prototype school for Sierra Leone, a timber bridge facilitating an orphanage on the Thai-Burmese border, and has completed a feasibility trip to remote Papua New Guinea.  In September, Catriona will be relocating to Sierra Leone, representing Article 25 and overseeing the site during the construction of the Gola Forest Headquarters Building.  The local communities better be prepared because Catriona may even kick start a football team while she’s there.

EDUCATION AND COMMUNICATION

Stephanie Johnston moved from her former capacity as Office Manager to Education and Communication Officer in June 2009 followed by Education and Communication Manager in June 2010. Having started volunteering for Article 25 in 2008, Stephanie joined the organisation after a Masters in Development and Planning: Building and Urban Design in Development (Devlopment Planning Unit, Bartlett, UCL). Stephanie is closely involved in the Community Participation Strategy of Article 25, in addition to her work supporting the activities of the Education and Communication team under the DFID funded programme.

Nina Neeteson first joined Article 25 as an intern in January 2010, working for the Education and Communication team.  After a brief spell working as a Human Rights Educator for Amnesty International, she recently returned to the EC team (who were delighted to have her back on board full time!), to take on the role of Officer in support of Stephanie Johnston. Before joining Article 25 Nina was involved in several major European Youth-led Development networks campaigning for heightened effectiveness and transparency in the international development programmes of donor governments. She is a qualified Development Manager with a special focus on Global Public Health, particularly emerging infectious diseases and their link to social and economic vulnerability.

OFFICE MANAGER

Alick Macleod started volunteering for Article 25 in June 2009 before moving into the Office Manager role in November 2009. Following graduation from Durham University, Alick taught English in South Korea before returning to pursue an interest in international development. Alick manages our human resources and internal systems to keep the organisation running smoothly and on a tight budget and even keel. Alick combines his work with studying for a part-time Masters degree in Poverty Reduction and Development Management from Birmingham University: a terrible decision that means he can no longer enjoy weekends!