Meet the team & our trustees

Syed Miah is an experienced community engagement and volunteering professional dedicated to strengthening connections between organisations and the communities they serve. With a background spanning Macmillan Cancer Support, The Scout Association, and MakeAWish Foundation UK, Syed specialises in community outreach, volunteer recruitment, and programme development. Skilled in building collaborative partnerships and engaging people from diverse backgrounds, Syed is committed to empowering individuals and fostering positive social change. Multilingual and an effective communicator, Syed brings a passionate, strategic, and peoplecentred approach to supporting Doncaster’s voluntary sector and creating meaningful, communityled impact.

Jana brings close to a decade of experience in the voluntary sector, with deep expertise in grants management, grant making, and hands-on support for community organisations. Through her role as Senior Infrastructure and Development Officer at Voice4Change England, she works closely with Black and Minority Ethnic VCSE organisations of all sizes, but mostly with small grassroots groups. She delivers workshops on topics such as developing effective fundraising strategies, writing strong grant applications, monitoring impact, and digital fundraising, and provides tailored one-to-one support for organisations in their organisational development. Earlier in her career, Jana worked as Grants Coordinator at Variety, the Children's Charity, managing wheelchair grants for children living with disabilities. She recently completed an MA in Philanthropic Studies at the University of Kent, grounding her practical experience in a deeper understanding of the sector. Jana sees her trustee role at Voluntary Action Doncaster as a natural extension of her commitment to strengthening grassroots organisations and the communities they serve, particularly those from marginalised backgrounds.

Cath has been involved in community activism and co-operative enterprises for more than 25 years, and is experienced in embedding values of equality and democracy in groups’ policies and practices, because the way groups work is as important as what they achieve.

Relatively new to Doncaster, since 2022, she brings a desire to meet interesting people, to foster connections and collaborations between projects and to share/spread ideas and knowledge.

She is a core volunteer at Bentley Urban Farm and a founding member of Doncaster Skate Co-operative, Good Intentions Housing Co-op and A Commune in the North. She is also involved in the development of Powerful South Yorkshire, a project to build confidence and power in communities across the county.

Nicky has over 22 years’ experience in Doncaster’s voluntary sector, holding both middle and senior management roles in organisations such as YWCA (now Changing Lives), Doncaster West Development Trust and the British Association of Sport and Exercise Medicine.

Nicky is also founder and director of small local social enterprises supporting people into self-employment, supporting women facing adversity and providing services for adults with a learning disability. Nicky’s expertise includes operational and strategic management, as well as extensive work with Companies House and the Charity Commission. Nicky is also a Trustee of Helping Hands in Edlington.

Nicky is currently employed in a business development role for South Yorkshire Climate Alliance and is passionate about the role communities can play in tackling the climate and nature crises.

Nicky sees her role as Trustee at Voluntary Action Doncaster as an opportunity to connect with grassroots organisations, listen to what matters to people locally and find solutions together

Lisa is the owner of Unwind with Lisa and the non-profit community group Create and Connect Doncaster. With over 20 years of experience in sales and marketing, she has developed strong skills in social media management and audience engagement.  
 
Lisa understands how to grow and nurture online communities by creating authentic, relatable content that encourages conversation and connection. She focuses on building trust through storytelling, consistent posting, and meaningful interaction to increase visibility and engagement.  
 
Experienced in growing social media pages organically, Lisa also promotes events and initiatives that turn online followers into active community participants. Combining strong communication skills with a passion for wellbeing and creativity, she brings people together through relaxed workshops and mindful activities that encourage connection, confidence, and community. 

Lai is the current Chair and is one of the founding members of VAD.

She has over 30 years’ experience in Doncaster’s voluntary sector and a professional background in teaching. She is the Director of Doncaster Central Learning Centre CIC (DCLC), whose work evolved from the Doncaster Chinese Women’s Group & Resource Centre.

Lai supports new local groups and volunteers, with extensive experience in education and training. She believes learning is a powerful tool for empowerment and success.

Lai has a strong interest in research that develops learning and understanding within the sector. She works collaboratively to explore issues, influence positive change and address challenges faced by voluntary and community organisations. She is also an “Expert by Experience” member of the VCSE Workforce Research Study Group at the University of Sheffield.

Lai enjoys promoting the valuable work of the sector and encouraging greater collaboration between organisations, ensuring charities and volunteers in Doncaster are better supported.