Who We Are

Heather Savory
Trustee

Heather Savory has NED roles for UK Parliament’s Information Authority, the Big Yellow Group PLC and His Majesty’s Prison and Probation Service. Heather is a member of BSI’s DSAG and Trustee for USPUK, a charity set up to assist Ukrainian Refugees. Her previous roles include as co-Chair of the UN Global Working Group on Big Data, Director General for Data Capability at UK ONS, Chair of the UK Open Data User Group and with RICS Regulatory Board.

Louise Smith
Trustee

Louise Smith has a background in HR and business with 2 global companies before leading a City of London based Search and Selection firm for 29 years. She was Vice Chair of an Independant School for 9 years and is currently a Board member of Herts Sport Partnership, a Regional Ambassador for parkrun UK, a Magistrate on the Bedfordshire Bench and a Trustee of Welwyn Hatfield Community Trust. She has been a Trustee of USPUK since it was founded in March 2022.

Nicholas Vetch CBE
Trustee

‍Nicholas Vetch CBE is executive chair and co founder of a FT250 listed public company, the Big Yellow Group PLC. He was vice chair at Bedales Schools, chairs the Finance Committee at the Royal Drawing School and is a member of the Board of the Conduit Club. He has been engaged in Human Rights issues for 10 years; co founding the Uyghur Tribunal, served on the China Tribunal and is a member of the Board of The Fund For Global Human Rights. In 2022 he founded the charity USPUK in response to the Homes for Ukraine scheme. He was awarded a CBE in the 2023 Honours list for services to refugees.

George Crawley
Senior Consultant

George Crawley is the Co-Founder and CEO of SEJA Hubs, a charity dedicated to the acceleration and education of social leaders in Brazil and London. SEJA is based upon three core themes, community leadership development, support for local projects, and cultural development. George joined USPUK when it was founded as a Managing Consultant, to support the start-up and running of the organisation. George hires and trains Ukrainian consultants to assist displaced Ukrainians by providing information and support on the Homes for Ukraine scheme. George organises working trips with partners, funders, and journalists to Poland, to both support the team on the ground and to raise awareness of USPUK’s work.

Peter Mumford
Sponsor Coordinator

Peter Mumford leads the USPUK sponsorship initiative to recruit sponsors to host Ukrainians in the UK. He is a recent graduate with a Master’s degree from the University of Cambridge and currently works in London. His role at USPUK involves managing sponsor applications, interviewing prospective sponsors, arranging matches between sponsors and guests and providing information and advice about USPUK’s sponsorship scheme. His family are hosting a guest from Ukraine and he would like to help others to have equally positive and rewarding experiences of sponsoring.

Anastasiia Spivak
Field Manager

Anastasiia Spivak leads a team of consultants to support fellow Ukrainians in coming to the UK. Anastasiia was studying for her Masters degree in Lviv, Ukraine, when the war suddenly changed the course of her life. After leaving Lviv she volunteered in Kraków at the railway station and at centres for displaced people before joining USPUK. Anastasiia also supports Ukrainians coming to the UK through Communities for Ukraine, our joint project with Citizens UK.

Maya Burnand
Head of Technology

Maya Burnand has a background in technology, social enterprise, and charity startups, and has been part of USPUK since it was founded in March 2022. Maya works as the Head of Technology and Development for the Communities for Ukraine Project. Maya works with the Project Lead across multiple teams improving the systems, processes, and communications. Maya was nominated for and made the top 10 finalists for Young Digital Leader Award for her work with USPUK in 2022.

Miranda Alsop
UK Marketing & Comms

Miranda Alsop is a Eurasian analyst based in Tbilisi, she has a background in corporate intelligence and a Masters in post-Soviet politics. Miranda joined USPUK in August and has since been running the U.K. based comms, helping to organise events, and supporting on the writing of content to recruit new hosts and keep up the momentum of support towards Ukraine.

Tanya Naimanova
Digital Manager

Tanya Naimanova joined team as a Digital Manager in April 2022 from Poland, where she escaped after start of full-scale invasion. Later she found sanctuary in the UK herself. She is from Zaporizhzhia, Eastern Ukraine. With previous experience in product management and a passion for helping people, Tanya is using her expertise to develop new strategies and set up efficient processes to facilitate the resettlement of refugees in their new communities.