
Meet The Team
2022-23
The Executives
Hana is currently a second year Philosophy, Politics, and Economics student. With a great passion for influencing social change, she volunteered and collaborated with various refugee-based organizations both in Manchester and abroad. Having an interest in informing policy and increasing student voice, Hana aims to foster the growth of The Peterloo Institute and its talented members to create a tangible impact within the community!
Hana Al-Wakeel
Executive Director
Harry studies BSocSc Sociology at the University of Manchester. His main topics of interest involve power, marginalisation, and how history shapes injustice in the modern world. As Research Strategist, he hopes to continue to develop the role and bring policy attention to regional and racial injustice within Manchester.
Harry Thornton
Research Stategist
Safia is a second year Economics and Data Analytics undergraduate at University of Manchester. She is interested in the active engagement of students in policy-making and research on capitalism’s impact on migration from the developing world and women’s liberation through gender abolition. Her aim is to increase credibility of the institute, especially in the field of social sciences research and help lead the institute to make great impact in the local region.
Safia Zainab
General Strategist
Inclusivity & Accessibility
Josie is a Politics graduate from the University of Liverpool. Throughout her studies, Josie’s research’s and interests lay specifically within addressing inequalities in modern society, such as racial politics and the effects of colonialism. Josie aims to develop the institute to encourage inclusivity throughout its processes and approaches in her work as Director of inclusivity and accessibility.
Josie Mae Harrey
Director of Inclusivity and Accessibility
Solene is a final-year Politics student at the University of Manchester. Through her studies, her particular research interests have focused on post-colonial politics and linguistics, observing how both factors can combine and perpetuate certain social norms. With this specific lens, Solene aims to help maintain the Institute's goals of being an inclusive and accessible body, by helping to reduce objective biases.
Solene Imre
Deputy Director of Inclusivity and Accessibility
Tallulah is a final-year Politics student on a BASS pathway. As a volunteer tutor for Tutor The Nation, she has developed a particular interest in how we can close gaps in accessibility to higher education and progressive career opportunities through better-informed policy, for a more inclusive society and workforce. As an inclusivity officer, she wants to ensure The Peterloo Institute caters to everyone and represents society proportionally.
Tallulah Leona
Inclusivity officer
Jasjot is studying a Bachelors of Law and interested in bringing forth change. As an inclusivity officer this year, Jasjot aims to be as inclusive as ever at the Peterloo Institute and to advocate for diversity and inclusivity at all levels. Aside from this, it’s inspiring to be a part of such a hard working team and institute.
Jasjot Kaur Khattra
Inclusivity Officer
Ieva is a third year Social Anthropology and Sociology student. Her academic interests are focused on queer theory and intersectional feminist theories; for their dissertation project, they are currently researching the inclusivity of alternative queer spaces across Manchester. Having had experience with community-focused charities and organisations, Ieva is enthusiastic about making working environments inclusive, accessible, and welcoming to everyone.
Ieva Pojuner
Wellbeing Officer
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Paula Rincon
Inclusivity Officer
Communications & Marketing
Maisie is studying her MA in political science specializing in governance and public policy and she’s enjoying the great experience of working for a think tank that researches topics she feels passionately about.
Maisie Tharme
Head of communications
Elsa is a Development Studies and Economics student, currently doing a placement at the university as a research assistant. She is interested in sustainability, poverty alleviation, and critiques surrounding aid and global development practices. She aims to contribute to the Institute’s online presence and share its research as far as possible.
Elsa Holm
Deputy Head of Communications
Events
Wilf is in his fourth and final year studying Spanish and Chinese. Working in the events team for over a year, he hopes to contribute to a space that is both inclusive and far-reaching, so that the Peterloo Institute can interact meaningfully with the student body and the wider Manchester community. The events team will be focused on amplifying all of the valuable work done in relation to Regional Inequality and Structural Racism.
Wilfred Forrester
Events manager
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Mengdie Zhu
Events Associate
Editorial
Ellie is a third-year Arabic language student with a professional background in proposal writing for humanitarian and community development NGOs. Having provided practical support to asylum seekers, refugees, and vulnerable migrants in both Oxford and Manchester, she is interested in how economic policy disproportionately affects these communities, as well as how grassroots social movements can achieve political change.
Ellie Hughes
Editor in Chief
Tom Walker is a third-year undergraduate History student at the University of Manchester. He is currently undertaking a dissertation project researching cultural anxiety in the British popular press 1955-1965. His research interests include the relationship between politics and the media, and the works of Mark Fisher. As an editor, Tom wishes to utilise his academic background to further develop the quality and insightfulness of The Peterloo Institute’s research.
Tom Walker
Editor
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Hamza
Editor
Regional Inequality Research Team
Shannon is an MA student of Political Science. Her research interests lie in governance and public policy. Through her work she aims to understand how decentralised policymaking can support the levelling up agenda. She is interested in innovative methods such as participatory decision-making. In her research, she employs both quantitative and qualitative methodologies.
Shannon Sinclair
Head of Research
Carys is a third-year Social Anthropology student at the University of Manchester, she also does an intermediate Spanish module and hopes to be fluent one day. Her favourite part of her degree is discovering more about the world through ethnographies and ethnographic film. At the institute she would like to expand her research skills and she is interested in regional inequality after witnessing it first-hand growing up in rural Wales.
Carys Patterson
Research-Events Collaborator
Ines is a third year BA Politics, Philosophy and Economics student. Much of her research at University has focused on exploring gender bias in policy. She is passionate about exploring the links between gender and the insecurity of zero-hour contracts, particularly in the context of students in Manchester, whilst she is at The Peterloo Institute.
Ines Mackenzie-Hardy
Researcher
Laura is a third-year student of Politics and International Relations at the University of Manchester. Her research interests have always surrounded gender inequalities, especially in the politics arena and the disproportionality in health resources regionally. She is also part of the Young European Movement UK as the Leader of the Gender Equality Team, where she deals with EU policies and campaigns in empowering women. Her expectations with the institute are to learn how government policies are currently affecting the lives of students and try to come up with some resolutions that could help changing their situation.
Laura Herranz Burgos
Researcher
Megan is a third-year Sociology student and works as a policy advisor in the Regional Inequality team. She is interested in creating policy to better the lives of students in regards to employment whilst at university, as well as gender differences within this work and harm reduction government policy. At the Peterloo Institute, she is eager to contribute her knowledge of this, whilst working to develop her research and policy-making skills.
Megan Howells
Policy Advisor
Jacob is a second-year sociology and politics student, as well as an activist within progressive social movements. His interests constitute political ecology, Marxist geography, and counter-hegemonic projects. Jacob hopes that The Peterloo Institute will not only allow him to gain experience in research methodologies, but to contribute to and construct alternative horizons in the ‘North-South divide’ debate.
Jacob Marshall
Deputy of Research
Richard is currently studying Politics and German at the University Of Manchester with a particular interest in political economy and development. As for his interests outside of his degree, he is particularly keen on reading especially works by Madeline Miller and Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie, as well as animal documentaries.
Richard Bridge
Researcher
Daniel is currently studying MSc International Development: Public Policy and Management, having studied History at undergraduate level; his primary interests being development economics and public policy. Daniel is keen to become involved in the policy world and work with the Peterloo Institute to help develop policy outcomes that can affect real change in combatting regional inequality.
Dan Chen
Researcher
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Emmanuel Edwards
Researcher
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Becky Devonshire-Pay
Research-Events Collaborator
Ibrahim is a first year student pursuing a degree in BAEcon Economics and Data Analytics. His interests encompass political economy, economic philosophy and international relations. At The Peterloo Institute, he is working on investigating regional inequality from an analytical perspective encompassing both quantitative and qualitative values.
Ibrahim Al Jahwari
Researcher
Alicia is in her third year reading History. Her interests currently involve increasing accessibility to information and resources. This is seen by her being a Citizens Advice Manchester volunteer, and by her winning second place at the 'University of Calgary's Community Challenge' where she and her team proposed an educational campaign for the 'Centre for Newcomers' to increase awareness of forced displacement caused by climate change. Alicia aims to utilize these experiences within her research of university students' experiences with zero-hour contracts.
Alicia Peacock
Researcher
Matt is a history masters student specialising in colonial history. He is particularly interested in the plans for levelling up for Greater Manchester and how they'll be carried out. Through the Peterloo Institute he is excited to use the report findings to effect change across the city.
Matthew Bradbury
Policy Advisor
Sam is a second year of studies of Politics and International Relations, with a keen interest in policy and its influence on injustice around the world. Through the values, work and ideas he share with the Peterloo Institute, he hopes to make my own contribution to pressing and contemporary debates about inequality, insecurity, and precarity. His experience as a contributing editor has so far brought me into conversation with those both fighting and facing the frontline of poverty in Greater Manchester, from its residents sleeping rough to members of FareShare, committed to tackling the tension between food waste and hunger.
Sam Joshi
Researcher
Structural Racism Research Team
Dylan recently graduated from his BA in Politics and Philosophy. He is particularly interested in humanitarian aid, having previously volunteered with activist groups in Palestine and refugee charities in Calais. Dylan hopes the insight gained from his activism will equip him in leading the Structural Racism team for its current research project, which focuses on issues faced by refugees in Greater Manchester. Dylan's other research interests include colonial existentialism; specifically the work of Frantz Fanon, which he reimagines through critical and cultural lenses (i.e. Afrofuturism) in his undergraduate dissertation. Aside from his role at The Peterloo Institute, Dylan currently works as a Research Assistant.
Dylan Bhopal-Myers
Head of Research
Jessica is a second-year Politics and Modern History student. Her interests lie in research, and how social justice should be implemented through research-informed policy. Jessica aims to use her time at the Peterloo Institute to explore the barriers to education and work that structural racism presents - especially the problems faced by refugees - and thus how these barriers can be deconstructed.
Jessica Tubb
Research-Events Collaborator
Having recently graduated in Economics and Sociology, Penny now works for an educational inequality charity based in Greater Manchester, City Year UK. Throughout university, Penny chaired the Feminist Collective, volunteered with Queen Bee Coaching and acted as the SU's Women's Officer to run the annual Reclaim The Night protests. She currently chairs the fundraising group for Refugee Women Connect and is looking forward to contributing towards policy that supports refugees in the UK further.
Penny Meek
Researcher
Tamara is an undergraduate Economics and Politics student. Her interests lie in the politics of policy-making, particularly on finding the best possible methods to ensure that marginalised groups are heard and that policy is tailored to those groups. She also has an interest in humanitarian intervention in developing countries, and the ways they need to be enhanced so the populations of those nations have more of a voice. As a researcher in the Structural Racism team, Tamara is looking forward to working with a group of like-minded individuals keen on influencing public policy for positive change and a fairer society.
Tamara Alfarisi
Researcher
Paige is currently pursuing her Political Science Masters’ degree in the Public Policy and Governance pathway. Her research interests focus on the rhetoric of the hostile environment and the impact of such rhetoric on voting behaviour and public opinion. As a Policy Advisor in the Structural Racism Team, Paige hopes to further her research to formulate informed, people-led policies to counteract many of the structurally racist policies in place in the UK.
Paige Bayliss
Policy Advisor
Mia is a graduate of Politics and International Relations from Manchester University. She now works full-time at the Welsh Refugee Council. She is particularly focused on how the Refugee Project can shine a light on silenced stories, platforming and validating the voices of underrepresented groups in Manchester. She is super excited that the Peterloo Institute has partnered with MRSN – volunteering and building meaningful relationships with individuals who have lived experience with a hostile and ineffective Home Office. She hopes our research can highlight the dangerous incompatibility of the current BRP system with the governmental enforced ‘Move On’ period.
Mia Cartwright
Deputy Head of Research
Jess is a third-year student of Politics, Philosophy and Economics at the University of Manchester; she has a keen interest in postcolonial politics and policy making. As a volunteer who teaches English to Syrian refugees through the organisation Elmbridge CAN, she looks forward to bringing her passion for improving the lives of refugees into this role.
Jess Noyes
Researcher
Nithini Mamidi is a first-year student at the University of Manchester studying economics. She works as a researcher in the structural racism team. She has always been interested in research and public policy. It started when she worked as a research intern for a political consulting firm and enjoyed the process of research and learning something new every day. At the institute, she hopes to learn new skills and produce research that can make a difference for the refugee community in Manchester. She also volunteers at a primary school, teaching English to immigrant parents in her free time.
Nithini Mamidi
Researcher
Sofija is a recent graduate in Geography BA. She is particularly interested in shedding light on the effects that the increasingly exclusionary UK policy has with regards to migrants’ sense of self and autonomy. Having previously researched migrants’ lived experiences and national identities, she hopes to further explore the mundane, everyday and sometimes overlooked ways through which migrant lives are affected by policy.
Sofija Zindule
Researcher
Isobel is a researcher on the Regional Inequality team. She is a fourth-year American Studies student and writing her dissertation on indigenous climate resistance movements in North America. She hopes to become a public policy professional in the US.
Isobel Dye
Researcher
As a first year Criminology Student, Celine’s passion lies in the fight for justice. Having started as an activist for climate justice and volunteered with a Sponsorship Agency for Refugees, she is especially interested in structural racism within politics and the Criminal Justice System. She is hoping that her work and research can help shaping policies in the fight for a just system.
Celine Giese
Research-Events Collaborator
Trinity is a second year Politics, Philosophy, and Economics student. Her interests lie in exploring the ideological motivations that inform government policies, especially the intersection of racism and national security. With The Peterloo Institute, she hopes to carry out rigorous research and data analysis to highlight harmful ideologies, with the aim of reducing their impact on communities.
Trinity Block
Researcher
Emily is a third-year BSocSc Politics and International relations student hoping to apply her experience in activism and local groups to the structural racism team. With her keen interest in feminist and post-colonial theory, Emily hopes to administer intersectional theory throughout her time at the Peterloo Institute to ensure everyone is addressed in her policies.
Emily Talbot
Policy Advisor
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Arth Malani
Researcher