Our Head Office

Dr Rachel Carr is the Chief Executive and co-founder of IntoUniversity. Previously, she was a university lecturer and Head of an English Department. She has over 20 years’ experience working with children and young people.

Hannah Purkiss is our Chief Operating Officer based at our Head Office and is currently on maternity leave. Hannah joined us as a graduate-trainee Education Worker in August 2010.

Dan Century joined us in March 2014 and is our Chief Finance Officer. Dan has a degree in Medieval and Modern History and has more than nine years experience working in the financial services sector.

Zoe Byrne joined us in November 2023. Zoe has a degree in Mathematics from Cambridge University. Previously, she was a Detective Chief Inspector in Metropolitan Police Services, National Police Liaison Officer at The Prince's Trust, Director of People and Communities at Princess Alice Hospice and National Services Director at Victim Support.

John Bleasdale is our Director of Development. John joined us in 2018 and has over 17 years of fundraising and grant making experience. He was previously Head of Trusts and Foundations at Teach First, and prior to that worked at the British Red Cross and the Big Lottery Fund.

Lizzie Boyce is our Assistant Director of Development. Lizzie has a degree in Biology and joined us as an Education Worker in August 2013. She previously interned at our Hammersmith centre, and has worked at Explore Learning and The Science Museum.

Hannah Padfield joined us in January 2022 as the Head of People and Culture. Hannah has an English degree from the University of Warwick and Masters degrees from King's College London and the University of Sheffield. Hannah is a Chartered Member of CIPD and has over 10 years of experience working within HR. Hannah was previously Head of HR-Corporate Centre at Royal Mail Group.

Adam Rahman joined us in June 2022 as Head of Communications. He has over a decade of communications experience including roles at TASO (The Centre for Transforming Access and Student Outcomes in Higher Education), National Zakat Foundation, The Silver Line and Four Paws UK. Adam has a BA (Hons) in International Journalism from the University of Central Lancashire and a Postgraduate Diploma in Charity Marketing & Fundraising from Bayes Business School.

Alex Quinn is our Head of Data and Impact. He has a degree in Natural Sciences from the University of Cambridge and previously worked for the Zoological Society of London.

Hannah Margetts joined us in September 2015 and is our Head of Fundraising, with a specific focus on managing our corporate partnerships. Hannah has a degree in French with International Relations from the University of Exeter.

Elly Rundle is our Head of Operations (Impact and Strategy). She has a degree in Modern Languages: German and Italian from the University of Oxford and a Masters in German and Italian Literature. Elly was previously Team Leader at our Haringey centre.

Becky Kendall is our Assistant Head of Operations. Becky joined us as an Education Worker in January 2014 and was Centre Leader at IntoUniversity Hackney South.

Anna James is our Policy and Inclusion Manager. Anna was part of the set-up team for our Haringey North centre, and was Centre Leader and FOCUS Manager, leading a team to design and pilot the Secondary FOCUS Programme. She re-joined the charity in April 2019 and now works on policy and research projects for our HR Team.

Farrell Monk joined us in March 2021 as our Financial Controller. Farrell has spent the best part of the decade working in finance for various charities, most recently at Causeway Education and The Royal Society.

Laura Morley joined the charity in September 2008 and has a degree in Communication and Media Studies from Loughborough University.

Xuan Pollard joined us in January 2024. Xuan is a practising solicitor having qualified as a company commercial lawyer almost 30 years ago. Xuan has worked in private practice, in industry as well as in the charity sector in a variety of roles including voluntary positions. As a result, Xuan has gained extensive experience in legal and compliance issues arising in the voluntary sector.

Becca Marsh joined us in June 2018. Rebecca studied History and Politics at the University of Leeds. She was previously a mentor at our Leeds South centre.

Adam Drew joined us in January 2018. Adam has a degree in Natural Sciences from the University of Cambridge and a Master’s in Plastic Electronic Materials from Imperial College London. He previously worked as a Senior Education Worker at our Hammersmith centre.

Leah​ ​Boyne​ ​joined us in January 2018. Leah has a degree in Politics from the University of Sheffield. She previously worked as an English Language Teacher in China, and was our Centre Leader at IntoUniversity Hammersmith.

Vicky Beard joined us in 2018 and is our Communications Manager. Vicky has a degree in Politics and International Relations from the University of Hull. She previously volunteered for a campaign group in Bedford.

Millie Radley joined us in August 2019 and is our Trust and Foundations Manager. Millie has a degree in English Literature and Italian from the University of Exeter and has worked as an Travel Coordinator for Discovery Summer, a summer school for international students, and as an English teacher in Vietnam.

Lois Plummer joined us in January 2021. Lois has a degree in Sociology from the University of Nottingham and a MSc in Ethnicity and Multiculturalism from the University of Bristol. Previously, she interned in the Widening Participation team at the University of Bristol and worked as an Education Worker at our Bristol East centre.

Grace Piette joined us in January 2024. Grace has a degree in Animal Science from the University of New Hampshire and a Masters in Global Public Health & Policy from Queen Mary University of London. Previously, she worked as an Operations Assistant and Program Manager at Partners for World Health, a global health non-profit based in Maine, USA.

Sharif is our Senior Corporate Partnerships officer and joined us in January 2022. He has over 8 years’ experience working in charities for children & young people having worked at ELHAP, an adventure playground for children & young people with disabilities, and The Kids Network, a mentoring charity for primary school aged children from disadvantaged backgrounds. Sharif has a Chemical Engineering degree from the University of Birmingham.

Anwar Malik joined us in July 2021 and is our Partnerships Manager. She has a degree in English Literature from King’s College London and a Master’s in Postcolonial Literature from the University of Oxford. Previously, she has volunteered for various education charities and worked as an English Language Assistant in Spain.

Conor Tallon joined us in October 2021 as our IT Assistant. Conor has a background in Computer Science and Maths. Conor has had work experience at Credit Suisse and previously worked at Tescos.

Shazia Ghamai joined us in March 2022. Shazia has a degree in BSc Psychology from Brunel University and a masters in Clinical Mental Health Sciences from University College London. Previously, she volunteered with Victim Support and The Forward Trust and has research experience from her placement at the National Hospital for Neurology and Neurosurgery.

Nathaniel Jones joined us in August 2022. Nathaniel has a degree in International Relations from the University of Durham and is currently studying a Masters in Psychology at UCL. Previously, he taught English as another language in Spain.

Maria Atter joined us in October 2022. Maria studied Social Sciences, on the Politics pathway, at the University of Manchester. Previously, she worked as a Programme Support Executive at Bookmark Reading Charity, a literacy charity supporting Primary school aged children and as an intern at Human Appeal, an international development and relief charity, supporting their volunteering team.

Beccy Davies joined us in January 2023. Beccy has a degree in History and Politics from Queen Mary University. Before joining IntoUniversity, she worked in retail and as a carer.

Taylor Ferguson joined us in June 2023 and is our Fundraising Officer. Taylor has a degree in Criminology from the University of Exeter and previously completed international volunteering placements in Fiji and Nepal.

Jordan Lee joined us in June 2023 and is our Fundraising Officer (Philanthropy). Jordan has a degree in Geography and a masters in Political Theory from The University of Sheffield. Previously, he worked for a philosophy journal and in music PR.

Elliot Owers joined us in August 2023. Elliot has a degree in Mathematics from the University of Warwick and previously worked in Retail.

Ceri Holloway joined us in October 2023. Ceri has an undergrad degree in English from the University of Oxford and MLitt in Postcolonial and World Literatures from the University of St Andrews. Previously, she worked with the Equality and Diversity team at St Andrews, and taught English in Malaysia.

Raechel Kuik joined us in October 2023. Raechel has a degree in Criminology from the University of Bristol. Previously, she worked as a freelance tutor for Primary school children and A Level students.

Hannah Lay joined us in January 2024. Hannah has a degree in Political Science from the University of Birmingham and a Postgraduate Diploma in Education from Canterbury Christchurch University. Previously, she worked as a Geography teacher in a Secondary school in Clacton-on-Sea and volunteered as a HR and Communications Manager at a small education charity.

Zaynab Ahmed joined us in March 2024. Zaynab has a degree in Classics from Newnham College, Cambridge and previously spent two years as an elected Sabbatical Officer at Cambridge Students' Union.