Our people
Meet our skilled team, expert Civic Scholars, and influential Community Advisory Board
Holly Smith
Civic Scholar
Holly is a PhD student at University College London, where her thesis looks at community action. She has a focus on high-rise estates in Britain from 1967 to 2015. An interest in social justice is at the heart of her research.
Islam Jalaita
Community Advisory Board
Islam brings 15 years’ experience, knowledge, understanding and strategic thinking, working with diverse communities to empower people to lead and nurture resilient communities.
Dr Jack Layton
Senior Researcher
Jack is passionate about making our towns and cities better places to live. As part of the team at the Institute for Community Studies, he works to ensure people’s voices across the country are heard and their needs prioritised.
Judith Parry
Civic Scholar
Judith is studying the wellbeing impact of grassroots ‘community-led’ housing for her PhD. Her work is focused on green space and infrastructure.
Kevin Dixon
Community Advisory Board
The Chair of Healthwatch Torbay and the Torbay Patient Participation Group Network, Kevin has a particular interest in health, social care and community responses to poverty.
Louise McLaughlin-Borlace
Community Advisory Board
Louise is keen to represent peoples’ views from Co. Fermanagh and exchange skills and best practice, identifying projects that may help develop the community sector within Northern Ireland.
Nahed Ahmed
Civic Scholar
Nahed is doing her PhD in Female Entrepreneurship and social capital. She is a British council (HESPAL)-awarded researcher, and is based in York. She has worked for many years as a lecturer and tutor, and has held managerial positions at universities in Gaza.
Nahim Ahmed MBE
Community Advisory Board
Nahim serves the most vulnerable members of society through his work in the private, public and third sectors. His professional experiences in a range of sectors help create positive sustainable changes in areas affected by poverty.
Nisha Waller
Civic Scholar
A criminology PhD ESRC Scholar at the University of Oxford, Nisha’s research focuses on the application of complicity law with reference to serious youth violence and the criminalisation of young black men.
Ranjit Dhillon
Community Advisory Board
Chief Executive of a local community-based organisation, Ranjit has lived in the London borough of Richmond for 34 years and is a trustee of a local infrastructure support organisation.
Ryan McKay
Community Advisory Board
A youth worker and intergenerational practitioner with a background in community education, Ryan is based at the Citadel Youth Centre in Leith, Edinburgh, Scotland.
Samanthi Theminimulle
Senior Researcher
Samanthi is interested in participatory research methods, inclusion and accessibility. In addition to her role at the Institute for Community Studies, she is is a facilitator with Civic Square and Enrol Yourself, and a trustee for the community land trust, RUSS.