STAR National Office
STAR is a network of independently constituted student union societies which affiliate into the national STAR network. This network is co-ordinated and financed by the STAR national charity. Each STAR group is a member of this charity and makes decisions about its management and direction by voting at the Annual General Meeting and getting involved in consultations throughout the year.
What does the national team do?
The STAR national team do all sorts of things to help STAR members improve the lives of refugees in the UK including:
- Organise big events such as the annual conference
- Provide free training for members e.g. asylum issues, child protection, recruiting volunteers
- Make and distribute STAR branded resources
- Help set up new STAR groups
- Help with committee handovers and freshers events
- Host the STAR website
- Support volunteering projects
- Organise national campaigns
The STAR national team has offices in Bethnal Green and STAR members are very welcome to pop in and say Hi or book the space for their meetings.
Who works for the national team?
Emma Williams, Chief Executive
Emma joined STAR as Chief Executive in June 2008. She has been working with refugees in the UK since 1995; first as coordinator of a Vietnamese refugee community organisation in East London and since 2000 as National Development Manager at the Medical Foundation for the Care of Victims of Torture. Emma has overall responsibility for the management of the charity and leads on agreeing policy, setting up new work and fundraising.
Emily Crowley, Volunteering Project Co-ordinator
Emily joined STAR in October 2009. She has been working in the voluntary sector since 2002 for organisations including, the Glasgow Volunteer Centre, North Glasgow Community Food Initiative and Mind. She has been working on refugee projects for about three years and she also has an MA in Communities, Organisations and Social Change which focused on Refugee Studies. Emily’s role is to support STAR volunteering projects. This includes giving advice on volunteering issues, skills sharing, training and trouble-shooting.
Jennifer Allsopp, Student Network Co-ordinator
Jennifer joined STAR in July 2011. She was President of STAR Oxford from 2007 to 2008 and has coordinated events for Refugee Week and Still Human Still Here. She has blogged on refugee issues for OpenDemocracy and volunteered with refugees at Campsfield House detention centre and at Venda youth club. She has an MSc in Refugee and Forced Migration Studies and an MA in Modern Languages. Jennifer supports student groups with campaigning by distributing resources, facilitating skills-sharing and offering advice on running a STAR group.
Sinead Parsons, Administrator
Sinead joined STAR in July 2011.She has been working with refugee organisations since 2008 including Zimbabwe Association and Asylum Support Appeals Project. Sinead’s role is to coordinate the annual conference, manage the day to day finances and support the team.
Imogen Richmond Bishop, Communications Volunteer
Imogen joined STAR in 2011 as a Communications Volunteer. She updates and writes content for the website and researches asylum conditions in the UK for STAR. Imogen is a second year Human Rights and Social Anthropology student with a special interest in ethnic conflict and refugee studies.
Ellen Kiely, Fundraising Volunteer
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Ellen joined STAR in July 2011. She is a third year International Relations student at Queen Mary University of London. Ellen supports student groups with fundraising, creates resources for the website and organises STAR national fundraising opportunities.
Jessie Potts, Campaigns Intern
Jessie joined STAR in January 2012. She recently graduated from Durham with a BA in Geography. Her final year dissertation focused on how young refugees and asylum seekers negotiate a sense of identity and belonging. Jessie’s role is to support students during STAR Action Week 2012!
