After parliamentary and campaigning roles in Westminster, Jonathan began his Community Organising career in 2006 as Coordinator of the Independent Asylum Commission. This led to a nationwide campaign to end the detention of children for immigration purposes, which was made law in 2014.

He has secured wins with Citizens UK Leaders on the resettlement of 20,000 Syrian refugees and the pioneering of refugee Community Sponsorship, as well as the Communities for Ukraine scheme.

Jonathan has helped build Citizens alliances in South London, Thames Valley, Essex, Somerset, and also in Wales, where he grew up and now lives.

He was awarded an OBE in the King’s Birthday Honours List in 2023 for services to Community Organising and Refugee Resettlement.

As a cradle Anglican and a novice in the Third Order of the Society of St Francis, Jonathan is passionate about engaging Christians in justice work. He holds an MA in Community Organising from Queen Mary, University of London, and is an Associate Lecturer at Newman University, Birmingham.

He enjoys walking the Camino de Santiago, going on historically-themed campervan adventures with his wife and two children, and running at least a mile every day with Streak Runners International.

Sebastien has been involved in Community Organising since 2005, when, as a teacher in Greenwich, he first got involved in the early days of South London Citizens.

Prior to training as a Teacher and becoming a Community Organiser, Sebastien studied for a PhD at Cardiff University, where he wrote a thesis focusing on critical pedagogy.

As a Community Organiser, Sebastien has worked across South London, East London, and is currently supporting alliances across North London and Brighton and Hove. He is also supporting Citizens UK’s work with schools and colleges, working closely with Organisers and Leaders across our national network.

Sebastien founded La Fontaine Academy and was its Headteacher between 2014-2020, establishing what quickly became a thriving community school focused on student leadership and on ensuring that parents, teachers, students, and neighbours work together to take responsibility for the wellbeing of their neighbourhood. He was also, until recently, the Executive Headteacher of an all-through Special School in North London.

Sebastien’s positive contributions to civil society were recognised in 2012, when he received a Community Champion Award from then London Mayor Boris Johnson. More recently, the Company of Educators – a Livery Company in the City of London – decided to give him their Inspirational Educator Award for his contribution to education in the UK.

In his spare time, Sebastien is a Trustee of a Multi-Academy Trust in South East London, a Senior Associate with the Innovation Unit, as well as a member of the OECD’s Innovative Citizen Participation Network. Most importantly, he is also the father to a wonderful toddler who keeps him on his toes and who makes his Community Organising work deeply meaningful.

Sandra Lawson – Sandra is Italian and has connections with South Africa where she experienced the anti-Apartheid struggle. She is a Senior Community Organiser with an extensive background in education. In her time working in education she was Head of English as an Additional Language and spent 25 years teaching English to students from all over the world. Sandra holds a strong belief that schools need to be strong civil society institutions and teach students to be participants of society. She now organises with schools across the South West of England, training students to be the leaders of tomorrow and in civic engagement, and organising them to create positive social change. She is helping to lead voter engagement efforts ahead of the next general election.

Furqan Naeem has been a Community Organiser with Citizens UK for over 7 years. He initially helped to set up the Greater Manchester Citizens Chapter which was founded in 2017 ahead of the inaugural Mayoral Elections. He has now been redeployed working across a number of Citizens UK projects including Sponsor Refugees, Voter Champions and on the Living Wage.

His work in Greater Manchester around the Living Wage led to Greater Manchester being recognised as a Living Wage City-Region. He worked with leaders to campaign on Anchor Hannover - the largest care home for the elderly in England to become a Living Wage employer which resulted in £19 million back into the pockets of low paid care workers as well as wins around homelessness, social care, hate crime and mental health.

Furqan previously worked as a campaigner for Friends of the Earth and Stronger In on the European Referendum and is currently a trustee for Manchester Central Foodbank and Young Manchester.