Meet the Team

Kate began her journey with Amma as a volunteer postnatal companion before becoming a Perinatal Team Leader. Kate has an extensive employment history in Women’s health, neonatal nursing & the homelessness sector in Melbourne, Australia, supporting newly arrived refugee and asylum seeking families. After moving to Scotland she worked as a nanny, providing family support. With her Special Care Nursing experience Kate has expertise in the postnatal period, caring for premature babies, twins, breastfeeding education, and support & memory making during infant loss. Kate is passionate about pregnancy and birth, maternal well being, access to care, advocacy and support for marginalised people.

Comfort is a former Amma client. She was involved in many community projects in her home country and has experience of supporting vulnerable groups.

She is very passionate about giving back and is someone that others naturally migrate to. She has been involved with setting up the virtual peer groups within Amma and is a great advocate for our other clients.

Vongayi is a former banking professional with a degree in banking and finance. She was previously supported by Amma during a complicated pregnancy in 2020.

She is the Secretary for Information and Publicity of the UK Chapter of Restoration of Human Rights (ROHR) Zimbabwe and is involved in campaigns to end human rights violations and violence against women and girls in her home country of Zimbabwe.

As the Advocacy & Community Engagement Manager, Vongayi plays a vital role in leading Amma’s advocacy work and driving community engagement initiatives. She leads and manages our Experts by Experience group and also advocates for policy changes and improved services by developing strategies, coordinating research, collaborating with stakeholders, and participating in community events.

Maree has nearly 20 years’ experience of working in the third sector in Scotland, having worked with organisations that tackle homelessness, poverty and marginalisation. She was previously CEO of the International Network of Street Papers (INSP), a Glasgow-based NGO that leads and develops a network of 90+ social enterprise organisations (including The Big Issue magazine) in 35 countries worldwide.

Throughout her career, Maree has been involved in work that supports and provides opportunities to vulnerable and marginalised people, and she is passionate about women’s rights and reproductive rights.

Maree is also a trustee of A Moment’s Peace – a theatre company that focuses on social justice, activism and community engagement.

Miana is Amma’s Team Administrator, joining us after working for the British Red Cross for many years. Miana looks after our Amma Home, making sure that our office and groupwork rooms are up to scratch. She’s the first point of contact for volunteers and clients who come to visit us, answers the phones and keeps the day to day Amma operations running smoothly.

Jenny is an experienced postpartum doula, breastfeeding counsellor and birth educator. She has extensive experience providing doula support to families from all walks of life and is committed to contributing to a fairer and safer landscape for all birthing people.

Jenny initially worked with Amma as a senior postnatal companion and mentor to the postnatal volunteers before taking on her current role as our Volunteer Manager.

Christelle is an experienced administrator and bookkeeper with a good financial background.

She has volunteered with the Scottish Refugee Council in Glasgow and has an extensive knowledge of the asylum process and realities asylum seekers face.

Christelle has been involved with Amma Birth Companions since 2019, starting as a volunteer before joining the staff team in 2021.

Beti first became involved in Amma as a birth companion, later training to provide postnatal support. Her background is in community art and activism. Beti uses textile and fibre arts to explore the subversive power of traditionally feminised craft practices, and she has experience in facilitating art workshops with diverse groups including people with additional support needs and survivors of trauma.

As an activist and organiser, Beti has been involved in movements for reproductive justice, the safety and labour rights of people working in the sex industry and disability rights. Beti is also interested in therapeutic gardening and folk herbalism and hopes to bring these interests into her role with Amma to support the wellbeing of the members of the Amma Family Programme.

Leah joined the Amma team in September 2023 as the Peer Support and Learning Manager. She has an extensive background in social care where she worked with many groups of people from varying walks of life but all who faced marginalisation through disability, gender, trauma, race, poverty, addiction, and autism. Leah has a real passion for true inclusion, equity, and for learning.

She left her post as the Learning & Development Advisor after hearing about Amma and the work they do to support women’s rights and creating communities. Her aim is to empower new parents to create safe and nurturing environments to live and raise their children in.

Leah loves rural Scotland and spends her free time with her family and going on epic long walks with friends.