Meet The Team
Here are our UDB Staff Team. We also have many wonderful volunteers who are a central part of all that we do.
Amy Heyes
CO-DIRECTOR
Amy leads our team alongside Emma and has over 20 years youth work experience. Apart from a year in London, she has lived in Birmingham her whole life. Amy has three children and loves welly walks and getting creative. Her interesting facts are she has always walked on her tip toes and has an irrational dislike of cotton wool.
Emma Winmill
CO-DIRECTOR & SAFEGUARDING LEAD
Emma leads our team alongside Amy. She has three daughters and a dog called Beans, and loves paddle boarding, camping and crazy dancing in the kitchen. Her interesting fact is she was born in Minneapolis, USA.
Melissa Goodlet
THERAPEUTIC SPECIALIST & WELLBEING LEAD
Mel is a fully qualified counsellor and works with a range of children and young people in their schools each week. She is a mum of three, loves long walks in beautiful places, singing and good catch-ups with friends. Her interesting fact is she spent half her childhood living in Belgium!
Liam Llewellyn
COMMUNITY ACTIVITY DEVELOPER
Liam leads all our work in Perry Common, as well as being the go-to for all our maintenance needs. When he’s not at UDB, Liam runs his own bakery ‘Hope Kitchen’. He is a dad of two and loves good coffee, football, rugby, surfing and music. Liam’s interesting fact is he once won a game of Chubby Bunnies with a total of 27 marshmallows.
Sophie Crew
GOSPEL CHAMPION
Sophie leads the team in creating spaces for young people to engage in conversations about faith and explore what it means to follow Jesus! She loves being around people and spends her free time either creating content for her YouTube channel - ‘SophandRach’ or getting creative on her sewing machine. Her interesting fact is she once ate a whole chocolate gateaux in two minutes without her hands.
Steph Porter
PLAY LISTS DEVELOPER & DEPUTY SAFEGUARDING LEAD
Steph leads Play Lists, a project designed to integrate more play into our young people’s lives. She is also our deputy safeguarding lead. In her spare time, she will either be crocheting a blanket in front of the tv or writing her next song! Her interesting fact is she played in a football match at Wembley at the age of 12.
Harriet Spencer
TEAM ENABLER
Harriet does all our behind the scenes administration including finances and supplies. In her spare time, Harriet loves burying into a good novel, heading out into nature, and spending time with her little nephew.
Jack Huxley
MENTORING CHAMPION
Jack spends most of his time in schools, mentoring, or making sure the rest of the team are mentoring to a high standard. Outside of UDB, Jack is a netball coach. He also knows a lot of good jokes (ask him for one when you next see him!). Jack’s interesting fact is he grew so fast as a teenager he tore a hole in his lung!
Callum Hodson
COMMUNITY ACTIVITY DEVELOPER
Callum leads all our work in Erdington Hall and is one of our school mentors. He came to UDB straight from a degree in Mechanical and Materials Engineering and is a big fan of rugby and surfing. Callum’s interesting facts are he once ate a whole loaf of white bread in a few hours and reckons he sneezes about 8 times a day!
Dawn Franks
COMMUNITY CHAMPION
Dawn leads all our work in Wyrley Birch and can often be found inventing crazy new games to play. Outside of work, Dawn is likely to be hanging out with her nephew or riding a voii down the high street. Her interesting fact is she’s been in a submarine 15,000 feet under water.
Gavin Page
OPERATIONS LEAD
Gavin oversees the operational aspects of UDB and loves to get involved in some of the family and children drop-in clubs. He has grown children and a mad Cockapoo called Oscar. When not at UDB, Gavin is training to become a Contemporary Chaplain and loves to play tennis.
Jenny Hampson
SCHOOLS CONNECTOR
Jenny can be found facilitating UDB's relationship and presence within Primary and Secondary schools across Erdington, coordinating the school delivery team and helping to deliver the junior drop-ins throughout the week. Jenny loves to bake in her spare time or go exploring in nature for long walks. A fun fact about Jenny is that she has worked in Antarctica on a cruise ship, and did a sky dive when she turned 21 (sadly a while ago now).
Maddy Lee
YOUTH CONNECTOR
Maddy is often found helping at our youth drop-ins and mentoring in schoos. She’s passionate about connecting with and investing in young people. One thing to know about Maddy is that she grew up in Cornwall and once chose to live in a caravan on the beach for 8 months. If you want beach advice, she’s the person to ask!
Sam Stables
YOUTH CONNECTOR
Sam leads our drop-ins at Pype Hayes and helps in our deliveries across Erdington. He also co-ordinates all our volunteer work. His desire is to see communities come together to serve one another. Sam's interesting fact is that he has lived in three different continents.
Ife Obakin
YOUTH CONNECTOR
Ife helps out at our youth drop-ins and also does mentoring in schools. She loves hanging out with young people and seeing young people released in their gifts and talents. When she's not at UDB, she also works as a doctor and loves doing spoken word and playing music. One thing to know about Ife is that she is a keen Arsenal fan and has even met Thierry Henry!
Ash Porter
YOUTH WORK AND COMMUNICATIONS DEVELOPER
Ash oversees our external communications and the continuous development of all our community youth work. In his spare time he enjoys reading, quality films, walking in places with lots of trees and watching Tottenham Hotspur play football. If you want any book recommendations, ask him!