Meet the team

Carrie is the CEO of the Faith & Belief Forum, the UK’s largest interfaith charity, and a trustee of the Religious Education Council. Carrie’s expertise lies in programme development, partnership building, strategy and fundraising.  

With a Master’s in Religious Studies from the University of Edinburgh, Carrie has 12+ years of experience in interfaith work, and 7 years+ experience in leadership roles in the charity sector, working with organisations and communities in Scotland, Seattle, Serbia and now across the UK. 

Carrie is driven by a passion for faith and belief diversity, and social change through education. This was crystallised through her experience managing an educational centre for refugees and asylum seekers in Belgrade for 2.5 years, empowering students by celebrating their cultures and worldviews, building a safe space for people stranded along the Balkan Route. 

Amy has responsibility for our School Linking Programme. She has 20 years of experience of working with children, young people and professionals in education settings. For the past 15 years, she worked for Save the Children in education and participation focused roles involving direct work and programme delivery with children, young people and parents. Most recently she has focused on designing, delivering and evaluating training for professionals ranging from Teachers, and senior school leaders, to Local Authority staff, inspectors, and corporate volunteers. Amy managed a team of trainers in the South of England who supported parental engagement programmes of work.

Having worked in the education sector for 20 years, Amy believes that empowering children, young people, parents and professionals to develop their voice and understanding of the world is key to change. She has seen the powerful impact that collaborative and person-centred education can have in making this change.

Amy is working towards her CIPD professional qualification in Learning and Development. She holds a post-graduate qualification in Youth and Community Work and undertook a masters level module in Children’s Learning and Development.

Rebecca is managing F&BF’s 3-year, National Lottery-funded project to bring Restorative Justice approaches to faith-based hate and faith conflict in Glasgow & Solihull.

Rebecca has an array of experience in managing UK projects in the equalities sector, facilitating and educating groups in complex and sensitive topics, and advancing social change at all levels. At The GREAT Initiative and Beyond Equality she led on delivering a 3-year EU-funded project with partners in The Netherlands and Sweden to engage men and boys in gender equality. She then broadened her reach to include all kinds of inequalities by leading impactful in-person and online D&I programmes with corporate, third sector and public sector clients for Fearless Futures and in a freelance capacity. More recently she has led Psychoeducational and trauma-informed groups on understanding and healing from domestic abuse for Fear Free.

Rebecca is a Director of Frome community space The Good Heart, works to improve community resilience via a Transition Movement initiative for Frome Neighbourhood Network, and volunteers as a Let’s Talk Restorative practice facilitator.

When not working Rebecca can be found in the Wiltshire/Somerset countryside with her dog Coco, practicing yoga and meditation, engaging in creative projects, and spending time with her family.

Rachel is part of the University team delivering the ParliaMentors programme.

Rachel was born and raised in the Jewish community of Toronto. She holds a BA in Peace, Conflict, Justice Studies and Philosophy from the University of Toronto, and a MSc Conflict Studies from the London School of Economics. 

Rachel’s passions are experiential education and peacebuilding. She has facilitated dialogue programs between Israelis and Palestinians, run backpacking programmes in Israel-Palestine, and she was the Manager of Communications for a grassroots peacebuilding initiative in the West Bank. She has also taught Jewish education in Toronto, been the leader of a youth movement, and delivered many projects that focus on cultivating social leadership amongst young people of all backgrounds.

Sara is an HR professional with a background in operations and people management. She has completed her CIPD L5 Associate Diploma in People Management and is passionate about nurturing talent, advocating for equity, diversity, and inclusion, and enhancing employee and stakeholder engagement. Sara strives to foster an environment where people are empowered to excel.

In her spare time, she enjoys playing tennis, listening to music, studying philosophy, and taking long walks in nature.

Sophie (she/her) is part of the Community Team, working with local faith communities across London and leading on the LGBTQ+Faith programme.

She has a BA in Theology and Sociology from the University of Bristol and has recently finished an MA in Religion from King’s College London. Her MA dissertation was titled, ‘Courage in Crisis: Re-igniting the interfaith youth movement in the UK’.

Before joining F&BF, she worked in a variety of charity sector roles, including at a university multifaith chaplaincy, at a Church of England Diocese, and at the Student Christian Movement. She is also the author of a published chapter on the importance of interfaith dialogue in Victoria Turner eds. Young, Woke and Christian : Words from a Missing Generation (London: SCM Press, 2022).

Outside of work, she loves running (especially Parkrun), wild swimming (literally any body of water) and choral singing (carols at Christmas are a highlight of the year)!

Mahmooda has been involved in many initiatives in Birmingham and some beyond, to enhance relationships with people of all background. She’s a strong believer of human race having more things in common than differences. By working together as one humanity, putting aside differences, she believes we can achieve many great things and make this world a better place.

She has a degree in Industrial Information Technology and a Post Graduate Certificate in Education. She has taught in secondary schools.

She’s worked with HOPE not hate for 4 years. She works for Ella Baker School of Organising one day a week, who she joined in April 2020. Currently, she’s also the Birmingham Branch Coordinator for Islamic Society of Britain.

In her spare time she enjoys gardening, travelling and going on tandem bike rides with her better half.

Matthew is part of the Community Team and helps to plan and deliver events and programmes across London, as well as source new partners and audiences for F&BF to engage with.

He has a BA in Politics and Economics from the University of Manchester and an MA in Public Policy from King’s College London. One of Matthew’s academic fascinations was how hate can be mobilised as a strategic tool in politics and he believes that through interfaith work and education we can all help to combat social divisions.

Matthew completed the ParliaMentors programme in 2018/19, subsequently joining the F&BF London Youth Council and becoming its Chair in June 2022. He is Jewish and has previously participated in Jewish organisations such as JLGB and RSY, including their summer and winter camps as a participant and leader. He also enjoys volunteering and has previously worked with charities across a range of topics including world peace, terminally ill children and offering free tech support in his local community.

Alejandra is the education officer within the Schools team.

She was born and raised in Bogotá, Colombia where she completed her undergraduate degrees in Literature, and in Languages and Socio-Cultural Studies from Universidad de Los Andes. She also holds a MA in Education and International Development from UCL – Institute of Education.

Alejandra has worked in the education sector for more than 10 years, from teaching young people and facilitating workshops to designing, implementing, and monitoring education programmes and projects. She believes that education, formal and non-formal, contributes not only to individual development but also to the upholding of societal values.

In her spare time, she enjoys reading literature, listening to music, cuddling her dog, and running.

Ben manages our finance function and budget processes.

Outside of the office he is a yoga teacher specialising in gong baths!