Our team is the beating heart of the Centre; all of them bring special skills and experience to the organisation and our users. Here you will find more details about each of them and their roles.
Shantele has been the Director of the Race & Equality Centre since the end of 1999. She holds a law degree and qualified as a barrister before going into discrimination casework, working previously for the old Merseyside Racial Equality Council.
Shantele is the chief operating officer and she has overall responsibility for the organisation, supervising all aspects of the services as well as the running of the Unity Centre. She has recently taken her immigration exams and is now qualified to provide immigration advice at Level 1.
Karen joined the casework team in 2018 doing discrimination and employment work. She has an LLB (Hons) Law degree through Open University and has previously worked for Citizen’s Advice as an Employment and Discrimination Caseworker. In 2019 she qualified as an immigration adviser at Level 1 and now works solely on immigration matters. She is registered with the OISC.
Anita Dean has been working for CHAWREC and The Unity Centre since 2010. She is responsible for the administration, reception and accounting for CHAWREC and The Unity Centre. Previously Anita worked for over 30 years as an Administrator in the printing industry.
Valerie Donnelly has been working for CHAWREC and The Unity Centre since July 2012. She has a degree in Modern Languages and has previously worked for various charities and educational organisations. She is responsible for the administration, reception, and social media for CHAWREC/The Unity Centre.
Ruth was an ESOL Tutor with CHAWREC for 4 years before moving into a support role. If you contact us about ESOL classes Ruth will be the person you speak to!
Dina forms part of our ESOL teaching team working specifically with Syrian refugees through the Vulnerable Person’s Resettlement Scheme. She initially started as a volunteer interpreter to support our classes and help refugees settle in, but she was taken on as staff in 2017 as part time teaching assistant.
Nicola runs the advanced Conversational English Class in Chester and a lower level in Ellesmere Port as well as accredited ESOL classes in Chester. She is also one of the key tutors delivering bespoke English classes to refugees.
Abi joined the team in 2022 and teaches ESOL to asylum seekers from a wide range of different countries and cultures. She also runs the women’s group at The Unity Centre with Liz Hignett. She is a Modern Languages graduate and speaks fluent French and Spanish.
Amy joined CHAWREC in March 2023. She has a BA(Hons) degree in Health Studies and a Master's degree in (Msc)Business Management. Amy is part of the Transforming Engagement with BAME Communities project which involves finding out about health care needs of Gypsy/ Traveller service users throughout Cheshire East and feeding back to services to ensure equality through education and cultural awareness .
Zoë joined CHAWREC in January 2022 as a BAME Health Inequalities Officer, working on the 'Bridging the Gap' project in Cheshire West. She holds a Psychology degree obtained through The University of the Western Cape and University of South Africa. Most of Zoë’s career has been in community healthcare with a focus on mental health. At CHAWREC, Zoë is focusing on bridging the gap in health inequalities within BAME communities throughout Cheshire West.
Lydia joined CHAWREC in February 2022. She has a Business Administration degree from The Chinese University of Hong Kong. Moved to the UK from Hong Kong in 2021 via the BNO scheme, she is enthusiastic to assist and support Hong Kong BNO holders to settle in.
Lionel joined CHAWREC in February 2022. He has a Business Administration degree from The University of Warwick. Lionel moved to the UK from Hong Kong in 2021 via the BNO scheme. As the Project Officer for Hong Kong BNO support, his role is to assist and support Hong Kong BNO holders in their integration to the local community
Emmanuel joined CHAWREC in 2023 as our Community Engagement Officer, working on a project called ‘Transforming community engagement with BAME communities’. The project focuses on access to primary care for Black, Asian and Minority Ethnic (BAME) communities in Cheshire East.