Our former members

Deanne is a Jamaican who comes to decolonial and anti-racism work through liberation psychology, critical community psychology and ecopsychology. She is a Senior Lecturer in Psychology at Nottingham Trent University. Increasingly persuaded that the route out of racism and classism begins with a radical increase in critical consciousness of coloniality Deanne’s work focuses on revealing how coloniality operates and affects psychic life. She uses a decolonial framework both within the university, where she is involved with decolonising the university, and more broadly where she continues to study the psychosocial effects of coloniality on the majority world.

Olimpia (she/her) is a post-doctoral research fellow in the Department of Politics and International Relations at the University of Westminster. As a white, lesbian/queer migrant, Olimpia’s work has focused on issues of inclusion/exclusion and the transformative potential of queer activism. She is currently working on a project on the global politics of homocapitalism in the Global South, looking at the relationships between LGBT politics and multinational corporations.

Rifa Ferzana is currently in her final year, pursuing a BEng (Hons) in Software Engineering at the University of Westminster. She is highly passionate about women's empowerment. During her tenure as the Women Students’ Community Organiser at the University of Westminster Students’ Union, Rifa had the privilege of immersing herself in the critical topics of decolonising women's empowerment and sociology. This experience served as a platform to showcase her unwavering dedication and commitment to addressing social issues. In 2022, Rifa further expanded her responsibilities by taking on the role of Student Partnership Ambassador and also assuming the leadership of the Google Developer Student Club at the University of Westminster. Additionally, she serves as a Student Panel Advisor (Validation), underlining her dedication to promoting social justice and women's empowerment within her academic community. recognition of her commitment to positive change, Rifa made contributions to the SDG (Sustainable Development Goals) reading list, emphasizing her dedication to advancing global sustainability through education and collaboration.

Cheyenne Holborough is a graduate from the University of Westminster with a degree in English Literature with Creative Writing. Her academic journey revealed a lack of relatable literature from the Black perspective, inspiring her dedication to making a change as an EDI rep for her course, as an EDI champion for the School of Humanities and as a member of the Pedagogies for Social Justice. Currently a full-time staff member of the University of Westminster Students' Union as the Academic Representation Coordinator for over a year, Cheyenne continues her mission. Her role involves training academic reps in Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion (EDI) and integrating EDI principles into the SU's academic representation functions. This work is an extension of her commitment to amplifying voices that resonate with her own experiences.

Naseem Joban is a Pakistani woman with roots in Bihar, India and earlier roots in Mashhad Iran. She passionately enjoys her EDI lead role in the School of Management and Marketing, where she is a Senior Lecturer in Management. Naseem has always had a love of learning and developing, and this was severely hindered and disrupted by the formal education system. As such Naseem has always strived to provide educational experiences which lead to personal, professional, and therefore societal transformation. Naseem has over three decades of experience in both higher education as well as in people development through her private coaching practices.

Having completed her bachelor's degree at the University of Westminster, Tino intends to continue her career in the world of biomedicine and healthcare. Tino has a keen interest in merging all disciplines and a belief that multiple perspectives are key for social progress. Born in Zimbabwe; she has been inspired by the voices of black writers and academics, taking inspiration to make science anti-racist and accesible. As a young woman navigating identity, in her final year she aims to draw on her own personal experience to create tools that forge a safe, open and de-colonial space at Westminster.

Having completed her Master's degree in Journalism, Shivangi is interested in the fine workings of society and how different communities interact with each other. She believes that the histories and cultural differences do not create a divide but can actually facilitate bringing everyone together to build a better functioning and more tolerant world. Through her work she hopes to bring forth the stories of Asian communities, their sufferings and how marginalisation has changed the course of their lives in order to promote a deeper understanding of the intricacies of their history and culture. Coming from India and being a former student of Literature, she understands the power of narration and the importance of stories in creating an environment that is conducive to growth and positive change. By sharing the experience of her community, Shivangi aims to help build a space in Westminster that will be more appreciative of the differences of various cultures and will serve as an example to inspire students of all ethnicities and social groups.

Having completed her Master's of Journalism degree from the University of Westminster, Lubna seeks to explore stories that are reflective of her passion for culture, history and the everyday lived experience. As a Canadian of mixed heritage (half Arab and half Indian), her ethnicities inform many of her own experiences, especially that of belonging, identity politics, and identity creation. She aims to continue searching and writing stories that seek to connect people and deconstruct colonial, racists and limiting beliefs especially in the areas of the Middle East and Islamic history.