CEO

Josh is Just Love’s CEO. He is based in Teesdale, in the North East of England and heads up our team of Directors as well as working with Just Love Durham. Josh loves reading, teaching and developing others. Outside of Just Love, Josh enjoys walking, gardening and pretty much all sports.

josh.smedley@justloveuk.com

Director of Groups and Funding

Anna is Just Love's Director of Groups and Funding. She heads up the department that defines and shapes what our groups get up to and how staff support them. She also heads up our funding, looks after Just Love Exeter and is involved in Just Love's overall oversight. She is a die-hard Bristolian but currently lives in Exeter where she moved for her undergrad because of the high tree-student ratio. Anna is passionate about those who know Jesus growing in intimacy with God, and everyone coming alive in faith. Outside of Just Love, she can usually be found by or in the sea, or in a dance class.

anna.vernon@justloveuk.com

Director of Operations, Finance & Strategy

Lisha is the Director of Operations, Finance & Strategy. She has spent over a decade working in international development and is now based in Twickenham, looking after our Operations and Strategy departments. She's really passionate about finding effective ways to improve the lives of the most vulnerable, and is excited about helping Just Love be as effective as possible in our pursuit of social justice.

lisha.reece-smith@justloveuk.com

Head of Training

Roseanna lives in Devon and supports the student committee of Just Love Exeter. She leads our Training Department in running events that equip our students in a holistic, fruitful and sustainable pursuit of justice and she also oversees our safeguarding. Outside of Just Love, Roseanna is part of a house church and loves an outdoor adventure.

roseanna.holt@justloveuk.com

Head of Network

Tim is originally from the Essex coast, but these days lives in West London, where he is part of a small community church. He studied Geography at the University of Cambridge, where he got involved in Just Love, alongside climate justice work. He helped co-ordinate campaign strategy for Zero Carbon Cambridge, and co-authored their report 'Fossil Fuel Divestment at the University of Cambridge.' Tim has worked for Just Love for 6 years, and currently co-leads the Just Love Network with Rhosanna. He also teaches a bit of English on the side, including through grassroots charity Nova New Opportunities.

tim.lornie@justloveuk.com

Co-Head of Network

Rhosanna is a missionary kid who grew up in India, Singapore and Wales, but is currently based in Kent. She studied Linguistics at Cambridge, before training with Teach First and teaching secondary English, and has recently finished an MA in Ecological Design Thinking. She heads up the Just Love Network alongside Tim Lornie, and is particularly excited to design and facilitate the new Justice Practices Course. She is passionate about the need for justice activism to be holistic and sustainable, and dreams of taking the Just Love Network global. Rhosanna cares deeply about education, seeing people grow, and good coffee.

rhosanna.rigden@justloveuk.com

Head of Communications

Eilidh is based in Edinburgh but proudly calls the west of Scotland home. She works with the Just Love groups in Edinburgh and St Andrews, as well as leading Just Love’s Communications Department. She got involved with Just Love while studying at St Andrews and after graduating, moved to Belfast to complete an MA in Global Security and Border Studies. Eilidh is passionate about seeking justice for those who have experienced forced displacement and using creative communications to inspire our pursuit of justice. Her other passions include: macaroni pies (i.e. Scotland’s greatest treasure), Eurovision and Dundee United F.C.

eilidh.harbison@justloveuk.com

Operations & Strategy Manager for the Network

Hannah lives in Manchester, but is proudly Northern Irish and will happily rave about NI's beaches at a moment's notice. Hannah's work in Just Love focuses on strengthening the Just Love Network's strategy, impact reporting and systems. Alongside Just Love, Hannah supports her church's local community hub with their strategic thinking, and is on the students team. She loves creating new pasta recipes, cozying up with a good book, and salted caramel anything.

hannah.simpson@justloveuk.com

West Midlands Coordinator

Joseph is based in Birmingham, where he studied Philosophy, Religion and Ethics at university, Joseph supports Just Love Brum and Just Love Warwick. He’s also part of the comms, funding and groups departments, and is doing work on the theology of social justice - something that he is always keen to talk about! Joseph also loves painting, movies, and discovering new music.

joseph.liley@justloveuk.com

South East Coordinator

Rachel was born in London (and has a big heart for the city!) and grew up in Malaysia and Hertfordshire. She graduated from LSE with a degree in Social Anthropology. Based in Cambridge, she supports the student committees in Nottingham and Cambridge, works on developing how Just Love equips and supports students, and is part of the Partnerships department. Rachel loves gathering people around food and will take any opportunity to do so! Alongside her love of coffee, drawing and singing, she is passionate about integral mission and conflict transformation.

rachel.evans@justloveuk.com

Scotland Coordinator

Kathryn lives in the bonnie granite city of Aberdeen! Kathryn works with Just Love groups in Aberdeen and Dundee and is part of our Training department. Kathryn also coordinates the Just Love Network in Scotland & would love to connect with graduates and young adults. She previously worked as a career coach in high schools & with 24-7 Prayer in Scotland. She is particularly passionate about prayer, discipleship and seeing young people go deep in their faith!

kathryn.ritchie@justloveuk.com

Scotland Coordinator

Judith is based in Edinburgh, just south of her home town St Andrews. She works with the Just Love Groups in Glasgow and Newcastle, as well as being part of our Training and Partnerships Department, particularly taking a lead on partnerships across Scotland. She studied Theology at Durham University. She is passionate about the Church being practical in how it loves it's neighbours, and cares deeply about individuals being released into the fullness of God’s plan for them. She also loves being beside, if not in, the North Sea; pouring over theology books; and hosting anyone and everyone for dinner.

judith.holmes@justloveuk.com

South West Coordinator

Ellie is a Londoner who found home in Cardiff when she moved there to study Religion & Theology in 2018. She works with the Just Love groups in Cardiff, Bristol, and Bath, and is a part of Just Love’s funding department. She cares deeply about discipling young people to discover who God has made them to be and how they can use their gifts, which she has previously done in both church and charity contexts. Outside of Just Love, you will find Ellie passionately cheering on Wales in the rugby, mentally preparing for a sea swim, or in a local coffee shop drinking an oat latte and trying to spot cute dogs.

ellie.heard@justloveuk.com

Beth works across the Communications and Funding departments at Just Love, helping to share the movement’s impact and engage supporters. She is based in London, where she studied, and is passionate about sustainability and finding creative ways to inspire others to pursue justice.

Outside of work, Beth enjoys hosting dinner parties with friends, visiting coffee shops, exploring London’s parks, and getting involved in worship events. She also loves photography and has a keen interest in fashion and sustainable living.

Chair of Trustees

Alison is our chair of trustees, and is also the Health Services Director for Thrive Worldwide, which provides specialist health services, training and consultancy to mission and humanitarian aid organisations and NGOs. She has a background in NHS management, public health, and leadership development consultancy, and started off life as a geography graduate – the very best! She is a member of the General Synod of the Church of England, and is passionate about being a Christian every day, committed to ensuring that the Church makes a difference in every place.

Jo works for Tearfund as their Theology and Networks Manager for Europe and the USA, having previously worked in the Youth and Emerging Generation team. She has also recently finished a Masters in Youth Ministry, writing her dissertation on millennials and integral mission. She strongly believes that we can all build justice into our daily decisions, and is keen to encourage others to join her in this - be very careful what you order if you are in a restaurant/cafe with Jo. She has been a huge source of wisdom and encouragement to the Just Love team since the very beginning, helping us to develop our vision when we first launched.

Tayo is a multi-skilled professional with 25+ years work experience within the commercial and voluntary sectors. She has held senior management roles within strategic management, finance, operations management and human resources; and she has managed various projects including envisioning and reengineering projects. Tayo is particularly passionate about keeping individuals, teams and organisations focused and engaged during times of change.

David has finished his economics degree at Bath University and has just begun working for Nationwide Building Society in Business Transformation. During his second year at University, he was involved in setting up Just Love Bath in 2015 as a co-president (and still likes to keep in touch with what's going on!) He enjoys helping people explore what it means to be disciples of Jesus and is excited for how Just Love can help students do that. It turns out that Bath is a beautiful city to live in and so has stayed there after graduating and appreciates spending time with people, normally drinking coffee, port or whiskey with them (not at the same time!)

Nina works part time for Tearfund, developing theology in the area of diversity and inclusion (D&I). She is currently in the final weeks of her PhD at the University of Edinburgh, through which she has been using organisational theory to explore how faith influences the practice of faith-based organisations. She is passionate about D&I and safeguarding, and recently co-edited the book ‘Theologies and Practices of Inclusion’, which was published by SCM Press in 2021.

Bethany has just finished her Masters in International Development and undergrad in Computer Science (yes - quite different!) at St. Andrews. She was co-president of Just Love during her third year at university and has really loved seeing the group grow and get more excited about Jesus and justice. She has just moved to London to work for Defra in the Civil Service having lived in St. Andrews for the last five years. Although it’s quite a change she has been looking forward to the chaos of being in a big city again having lived in Mumbai for half her life. However, she really misses the sea and is excited to look for the rare outdoor place to swim in London (once lockdown ends!)

Ben is in his fourth year at the University of St Andrews, studying economics, with a Masters to come. He served on the committee of Just Love St Andrews for two years. As the son of a council estate minister, Ben grew up surrounded by deprivation, making him eager to see God’s Kingdom realised through justice and mission. Besides Just Love and his studies, Ben enjoys the Yorkshire Dales, watching rugby union (opting to support the Newcastle Falcons after a years consideration), reading, debating politics, discussing theology, and over-explaining economic policy.

Philip Powell works at Tearfund as Theology and Network Engagement Manager (UK) and is the Co-director of the Justice Conference. He has previously worked at the Cambridge-based Christian think tank Jubilee Centre with responsibilities for leadership development and training programmes. Born in India, Philip has lived in the UK for over 20 years and has spoken around the world on topics including biblical theology, post-colonialism and ecological justice. Philip has a Masters degree in International Relations and is passionate about connecting the Christian faith with the world of international politics and global justice issues. He lives in Cambridge with his Dutch wife Renate and their daughter Josephine.

Mick Kane is Chaplain and Coordinator of Spiritual Life at Nazarene Theological College (NTC) in Manchester where he lectures in Christian Spirituality and delivers training in Mental Health First Aid. He is also the Pastor of Brooklands Church of the Nazarene in Wythenshawe, Manchester. He is a founding leader of Red Letter Christians UK and a founding trustee of Seedbeds (formerly The Community for Reconciliation). Mick is particularly passionate about the ways prayers and spirituality shape and form justice practices (and vice versa!) among followers of Jesus. He lives on site at NTC with his wife Debbie and his son Mikey and in his spare time he’s cheering on his hometown football team, Glasgow Celtic!

Katie is Senior Pastor at Lighthouse, a Christian community for those who have been battered and bruised by storms such as addiction, trauma, homelessness and mental health crisis. Katie is passionate about inspiring and equipping the church to love some of the most hurting and vulnerable in our society in ways that are both radical and sustainable. She lives in Leeds, loves long walks and a good brew.

John Swinton is Professor in Practical Theology and Pastoral Care and Chair in Divinity and Religious Studies at the University of Aberdeen. For more than a decade John worked as a registered mental health nurse. He also worked for a number of years as a hospital and community mental health Chaplain alongside of people with severe mental health challenges who were moving from the hospital into the community. In 2004, he founded the University of Aberdeen’s Centre for Spirituality, Health and Disability. He has published widely within the area of mental health, dementia, disability theology, spirituality and healthcare, end of life care, qualitative research and pastoral care. John is the author of a number of monographs including his latest book: Finding Jesus in the Storm: The spiritual lives of people with mental health challenges. (Eerdmans 2020) His book Dementia: Living in the memories of God won the Archbishop of Canterbury’s Ramsey Prize for excellence in theological writing.

Miriam Swaffield is the Global Student Mission Leader for Fusion. She is an evangelist and communicator based in Middlesbrough but travelling all over the UK to equip the local church to reach students. She is passionate about this generation sharing their faith in the way they speak and live, authentically in their everyday lives alongside their mates. She is totally committed to seeing this happen through the local church and believes that justice and serving those most in need is a vital part of sharing the good news. Anything to do with students living for and with Jesus and she's in. Hence 'Just Love'. She is also a fan of Tom Christmas because of his surname.

Jenny has worked in charity fundraising for a variety of social justice and environmental charities. She studied Environmental Biology at Sheffield University and has since worked at a variety of charities including BMS World Mission and FareShare South West. She currently works as Fundraising Manager at a local Bristol charity called Life Cycle, that works with prisoners, refugees, and other vulnerable groups, tackling financial, health and employment inequalities through cycling. She attends Woodlands Central Church in Bristol where she is part of an environmental group keeping the church accountable to environmental justice. Jenny enjoys festivals, skating, live music, getting out into nature and engaging in activism in her spare time.

Steve recently retired as Vice President at the University of Bath, where he remains an honorary professor. In 2014 he was awarded a CBE for services to Higher Education and was recently appointed as a governor of Bath Spa University. During his career Steve has been responsible for national policy implementation on sustainable development, equality, diversity and inclusion and strongly believes in the power of education to transform individuals and society. Steve also enjoys learning Spanish, refereeing American Football and he is a PCC member at his local church.

Bajo Akisanya serves as the Director of Youth ministry at Jesus House for All Nations. He also serves as the National Coordinator for Youth for the Redeemed Christian Church of God (RCCG) in the United Kingdom. His overriding passion is for young people. He also ministers at various citywide and international training and mentoring events and is a regular speaker at youth conferences in Europe, North America and Nigeria. He is married to Chizor and they have two beautiful girls, Risachi and Rinnah.

David is the CEO of International Justice Mission in the UK. International Justice Mission is a global team of lawyers, social workers, community activists and other professionals working to protect people in poverty from violence. Our teams combat slavery, trafficking and violence against women and children, and other forms of abuse.

David previously served as International Director for Tearfund, responsible for Global Programmes, including advocacy, media, network engagement, international communications, global volunteering, as well as developing approaches to tackle sexual and gender based violence and enhance peace-building.

David Lawrence is a political adviser to an NGO working on trade policy. He previously worked in Parliament for three Labour MPs and trained as a community organiser. He helped set up Just Love Oxford in 2013. He lives with his wife Hannah in east London, and they worship at St Peter's Bethnal Green.

Pete Wynter is married to Sarah and Dad to Beth, Molly and Samuel. He's the founder and a trustee at Onelife, who work with young leaders in all spheres of society across the UK. Pete is on the clergy team at HTB and is Director of the Leadership College London. He's passionate about mobilising local churches to engage in justice and righteousness and sits on a UK board at Tearfund.

Dr. Krish Kandiah is Founder of Home for Good, a charity seeking to find forever families for children in care in the UK; recently this work has taken him to Number 10 as he has campaigned for homes in the UK for refugee children. Krish is Honorary Vice President and Chair of the Theological Panel of Tearfund, and he is a Lecturer at Regents Park College, Oxford. Krish has authored eleven books including "Home for Good" and "God Is Stranger". He is also a regular broadcaster on radio and television. Krish lives in Oxfordshire with his wife Miriam and four children.

Andy Flannagan is an Irish singer-songwriter, a Director of Christians in Politics and the Director of the Christians on the Left. Previously he was a hospital doctor but whose proudest moment as an Irishman was captaining England’s Barmy Army during the Ashes in Australia. Well known as a broadcaster, author, songwriter and musician, Andy has championed campaigns for many leading development agencies. His audiences have ranged from MPs at Westminster to Young Offenders’ institutions, from skiers in the Alps to Gordon Brown at the Labour Party Conference. A key driving passion of Andy’s is to see a just re-wiring of the global economic system.

Dr Ruth Perrin has 20 years experience as a student worker, mentor, trainer, Bible teacher and researcher into young adult faith. Based in Durham, UK, she has worked for churches and various para church organisations as a consultant, advising on discipleship and faith development. Ruth is passionate about supporting students and young adults in their faith journey, has written several books on the subject, and trained as a life coach to help them discover ongoing vision and passion for their lives and ministries: www.ruthperrin.net

Justin Thacker is married to Cathi, has three wonderful children and lives in Chesterfield. More than anything he loves speaking and writing about global justice issues and helping people see how Jesus loves justice. He is currently a tutor at St Hild College, Mirfield. He has previously worked for Christian Aid, Tearfund, Church Action for Tax Justice and in East Africa as a paediatrician. His most recent book is Global Poverty: A Theological Guide.