Meet the Board of Directors
Ken Babaran
Meet our globe-trotting board member, Ken, a true citizen of the world! Born under the tropical sun of the Philippines, this adventurer's journey took an exciting turn as he grew up amidst the desert sands of the Middle East and the snowy climes of Canada. Through his travels, he's witnessed the challenges faced by East and Southeast Asians (ESEAs) across various cultural contexts, igniting a passionate drive to advocate for equality.
When not championing the cause of ESEA representation in the UK, you'll find him decoding the intricacies of new languages or planning his next culinary expedition. Whether it's embedding cross-cultural awareness in the workplace or savouring a steaming bowl of pho, this board member brings a zest for life and a commitment to making the world a more inclusive place, one delicious bite at a time.
Eileen Wada Willett
Founder of the East Asian Girl Gang, Eileen was born in Vancouver to Japanese parents, trained in fashion in Paris and San Francisco and worked at Billboard in Tokyo before settling in London working at Nicole Farhi helping to grow the menswear brand. She launched the multi-award-winning Cucumber Clothing brand with her Co-founder in 2017 making ‘luxurious clothing for everyday’. She formed the East Asian Girl Gang during the pandemic, an informal sisterhood and supportive space to share thoughts and experiences based on a common cultural and ethnic heritage and to increase visibility of this community. She was shortlisted for the 2020 Asian Woman of Achievement Awards and is a regular speaker and runs events on female entrepreneurship/East Asian community. She co-hosted i:Entrepreneur’s Wednesday Lives series of interviews with entrepreneurs from diverse backgrounds. Eileen acts as Trustee for the charity South East and East Asian Women’s Association.
James Olabre
James works as an Operations and Development manager in the public sector. A co-founding member of EVR, he has helmed EVR’s recruitment and helped steer internal operations (including line management of staff) and advocacy.
Olivia Khong
Born and raised in Malaysia, Olivia arrived in Sheffield in 2008 to study a Masters in Politics and never looked back. From a young age Olivia has always been passionate about social justice, cultural awareness and acceptance, and this augmented after years working in corporate environment in Big Tech trying to fit in, find her tribe and experiencing burn out and structural challenges as well as finding networking, support and mentorship difficult to achieve for people who look like her. With the growth in DEI space and changes in global landscape it's more important than ever to step up.
Olivia spent 2.5 years volunteering with crisis textline Shout over the Covid-19 pandemic, learning to listen and talk to those in crisis. Compounded by her own experiences navigating neurodiversity, mental health support and stigma it's now her mission to helps others do the same via representation and advocacy, exploration of intergenerational trauma, sharing of lived experience and creating safe spaces for dialogue. Her hope is to create understanding, kindness and change in the community, one individual at a time.
Rachelle Adad Mesley
A teacher, stay at home mum and social justice activist, Rachelle's passion for social justice only intensified when she moved to the UK seven years ago. Born and raised in the suburbs of Toronto, Canada, Rachelle was lucky enough to grow up in a diverse city, so when she moved to the UK countryside, it was quite a culture shock to be the only person of colour in her workplace.
Since then, it has been Rachelle's mission to raise awareness through schools and her local community on the importance of diversity and inclusion, and the need for decolonisation in order to create a better world for our children and future generations.
Jenny Pattinson
Born in the UK with a Malaysian Chinese and Scottish heritage, Jenny has always been passionate about human rights and minority rights, whether within the UK or abroad and she is a supporter of Amnesty International and Reprieve. Her dissertation whilst studying for a Postgraduate Diploma in Law was on the Macpherson Report and institutional racism following the tragic death of Stephen Lawrence.
Having been a victim of racism herself during the Covid pandemic, Jenny has been a vocal advocate to stop ESEA hate crime and has contributed to Prof. Binna Kandola’s report on Covid 19 and Anti-Chinese Prejudice which led to her speaking to several national newspapers including the Huffington Post and being interviewed on RT News. As a Board Director, Jenny uses her background in law and corporate governance to support EVR’s work and strategic vision.
Meet the Team
Ankita Banerjee
HEAD OF OPERATIONS
(She / Her)
With a background in inclusive education and 7 years of experience working with marginalised communities across 5 different countries, Ankita brings with her extensive expertise in trauma-informed programming. Her experience spans across the education, child protection and mental health sectors alongside cross-cutting issues such as disability and gender inclusion. In her free time you can find her bouldering, hiking or cooking. She loves cooking so much she has set up a work desk in her kitchen; now that’s what we call a good work-life balance!
Jason Sung Chi Kwong
OUTREACH OFFICER AT ON YOUR SIDE
(He / Him)
Jason is 100% made in Hong Kong and has lived in the UK for the past nine years. He is a historian and his thesis explores the intersection of race, colonial labour system, and the Chinese Labour Corps during the First World War. He has been volunteering as a Community Champion before joining the team so you might have seen him at some events already. Beside working on outreach initiatives, he also enjoys reading, music, exercising and cooking. He loves the sea and the sound of the waves (and most definitely dislikes the noise and buzz of London, particularly the sirens). He hopes to bring his outgoing personality to the team and remind people that there is always someone on their side.
Julia Hirata
PROJECT SUPPORT OFFICER
(She / Her)
Julia Hirata has diverse experience in the non-profit sector, including a focus on gender-based violence and social justice. With a BA in Psychology and an MSc in Global Health and Development, Julia brings a multidisciplinary approach to designing and implementing effective strategies for positive change. Julia is a person of mixed race including Japanese and Irish heritage.
Eden Ng
OUTREACH AND SOCIAL MEDIA OFFICER
(She / Her)
Eden is a young, queer, Chinese Malaysian woman and lover of learning who is committed to seeing and creating meaningful, community-led, intersectional change in her lifetime. Eden also cohosts the podcast of global nonprofit Dear Asian Youth, called Dear Asian Generation, which uplifts and celebrates the stories of Asian girls, women, and all those who identify with the feminine lived experience. In what time she has left, she reads (Tash Aw, more often than not), plays her instruments (piano and guitar), and walks her black and tan miniature dachshund (Missy, who has an affinity for cheese).
Meet our Project Volunteers
Hannah Fraser
(She / Her)
Jasmine Liu
(She / Her)
Daniel Whittle
Dylan Chan
(He / Him)
(He / Him)
Leanne Chan
(She / Her)
Gabrielle Boni
(She / Her)
Eu-Fern Lai
(She / Her)