MEET THE BOARD
The BAFTS’ Board is made up of both shop and supplier members who, together, offer a diverse range of experience, skills and backgrounds. Our quarterly meetings are animated and often challenging as we grapple with the issues facing our movement both internally and externally. We welcome enquiries from BAFTS members who are interested in joining the Board to continue our growth and development as a national membership organisation. The roles are largely voluntary.
Meet our current Board Members:
Lenshina Hines
< CHAIR
Joined the board in
2021
Lenshina grew up with a strong sense of social justice from her father, who helped to introduce the Jamaican National Minimum Wage. She worked as an engineer for years, but needed a change after becoming a mum. So Fair and Fabulous was born. As well as being a vibrant BAFTS shop, Fair and Fabulous is the heart of the Fair Trade movement in the area, driving Newcastle Emlyn to be a Fair Trade Town since 2014. Lenshina is very proud of Wales’ status as the world’s first Fair Trade Nation!
Arshad Khalid
< TREASURER
Joined the board in
2023
Arshad is a social entrepreneur and a fair trade proponent passionate about sustainable development. He spent more than 21 years in the field of IT before launching Ethiqana - a social enterprise focused on preserving earth friendly, nearly extinct crafts through sustainable livelihoods. Arshad was featured in the Social Entrepreneur Index 2022 and will also be representing the UK at the Commonwealth Study Conference in June 2023.
Martin Mikhail
Joined the board in
2018
Martin comes to the Board with more than 30 years’ experience in campaigning for Fair Trade, sustainability, human rights and social Justice. As Centre Coordinator of Reading International Solidarity Centre (a founding member of BAFTS), he works with schools and community groups to raise the profile of global issues and promote action. He is a WFTO Associate Member and keeps up to date with developments in Fair Trade and trade policies in Europe and the rest of the world; attending WFTO Conference and AGM in Milan representing BAFTS.
Marvi Scala
Joined the board in
2018
As co-founder of Lost in Samsara, Marvi works directly with the public and with producers, bringing first-hand understanding of both sides of BAFTS’ work to the Board. Having participated in organisations like IANSA (International Action Network on Small Arms) and Friends of the Earth, she has experience in liaising with members, organising events, campaigning and outreach. She hopes to help BAFTS develop and strengthen its relationship with current members and get its work more widely-known by the public.
Sarah Shepherd
Joined the board in
2020
Sarah is founder and managing director of Just in Leicester. Sarah first heard about fair trade as a teenager at Greenbelt festival in the early 80s. This led her to buy Traidcraft products for herself and friends. The tea became known as 'Sarah's save the world teabags' by her nurse colleagues at Leicester Royal Infirmary! After a couple of years working in a small rural mission hospital in Tanzania with her husband, also a medic, she talked a group of friends into running a fair trade Christmas pop up shop with her in Leicester city centre in 1996. After a few years of successful pop ups Just Fair Trade Ltd was set up in 2000 as a workers' co-op social enterprise. Just is now a large city centre shop over 3 floors selling all things fair trade, ethical and sustainable and also has an e-commerce website. Sarah was on the Fairtrade group when Leicester became a Fairtrade City in 2002 and was a founder member of the Fairtrade Foundation's National Campaigner Committee giving a voice to Fairtrade campaigners around the country. Sarah is a season ticket holder at Leicester Tigers. She likes singing, and socialising (preferably with red wine) and still goes to Greenbelt festival every year!
Millie Sibley
Joined the board in
2022
Millie began her career in 2005 with her Saturday job working in a fair trade shop on the Isle of Man. After gaining her degree in Psychology, Millie returned to the Isle of Man in 2013 and resumed her role full time working within fair trade retail. Between 2015 and 2023, Millie worked at Lanka Kade, the UK's largest fair trade toy supplier. She visited the artisans in Sri Lanka and, as the Marketing and Sales Manager, grew Lanka Kade's online presence and actively promoted fair trade through both B2B and B2C channels. In May 2023, Millie started at new job as Events and Conference Coordinator at the British Psychological Society. Millie is sharing her many skills with BAFTS and its members along with sharing new ideas on how to raise awareness of the fair trade network within the UK!
Lydia Trezise
Joined the board in
2023
Lydia, with a love of creativity has a passion for people & the planet. She studied jewellery at university which, along with her desire to support others, led her to spend time volunteering in Tanzania with Susie Hart at Neema Crafts Center. After finishing her studies and working her way through the ranks of a well known coffee chain she decided it was time for a change and fulfilled that call by moving to Ecuador. For the next 2 years, alongside her husband Mark, Lydia worked to establish Artizan International’s Ecuador base training people with disabilities in the art of paper making and other crafts. Now back in the UK Lydia spent time working with Artizan International in Harrogate as their Volunteer & Retail Coordinator and now works as Stories Researcher at Christians Against Poverty in Bradford. Lydia is still involved in the wonderful world of Fair Trade by running her own business, importing bright and colourful Tagua beads from Ecuador and turning them into beautiful necklaces which are selling successfully throughout the UK through life style brand WoolOvers.
MEET THE BAFTS STAFF
BAFTS could not do all that it does without our hard-working and committed staff. More than just employees, they are themselves passionate ambassadors of the fair trade movement and all that BAFTS stands for.
To contact the BAFTS staff please email admin@bafts.org.uk.
Joanna Abena Fianu
< MEMBERSHIP AND MONITORING COORDINATOR
Joined the team in
2021
Joanna served six years on the Board of BAFTS including four as Chair and has been involved in dealing with new applications and renewals for over a decade. In 2018 she became Co-ordinator for Fairtrade Yorkshire and was the face of the campaign to Keep KitKat Fairtrade in summer 2020. In addition to her role at BAFTS leads the eBay for Change programme supporting social and fair trade enterprises. Joanna is currently part of Fairtrade Lancashire and the Chocolate Has A Name project working in cocoa growing communities in Ghana. She is passionate about bringing people together, nurturing talent and supporting everyone to achieve their potential. She believes fair trade is the best way to tackle global poverty and is continually inspired by the work BAFTS members do in their communities and around the world.
Julia Crellin
< ADMINISTRATOR
Joined the team in
2019
Julia is currently helping BAFTS with membership management and other admin work while some structural changes are made within the organisation. Having set up and run her own fair trade jewellery business in Peru for many years, she is no stranger to this world and loves being involved again. She also teaches Spanish and English, likes walking her dog, eating good food and drinking good coffee.
MEET THE APPLICATIONS PANEL
This panel is made up solely of shop members. It was set up to strengthen our internal monitoring and mentoring processes and to help members to set targets and complete their applications and renewals forms more accurately. The panel lends greater rigour to our internal monitoring system, which is required as a member of the WFTO and is vital as a networking organisation striving to apply strict standards.
Martin comes to the Board with more than 30 years’ experience in campaigning for Fair Trade, sustainability, human rights and social Justice. As Centre Coordinator of Reading International Solidarity Centre (a founding member of BAFTS), he works with schools and community groups to raise the profile of global issues and promote action. He is a WFTO Associate Member and keeps up to date with developments in Fair Trade and trade policies in Europe and the rest of the world; attending WFTO Conference and AGM in Milan representing BAFTS.
Martin Mikhail
Joined the panel in
2016
Jackie’s interest in fair trade was sparked when she saw the negative effects of international trade practices while living in the Republic of Benin. Determined to do something to counter this trend, she started buying fair trade products and investing in the first fair trade shop in Leeds. After a move to Bolton, she helped her church to become a fair trade parish and is now joint manager at Justicia, Bolton’s Fair Trade Shop. This role has helped her to value the work that BAFTS does in supporting fair trade shops and suppliers.
Jackie Tomlinson
Joined the panel in
2019
Martin is one of the founder members of BAFTS and has worked at Justicia, Bolton’s Fair Trade Shop for over ten years. He has visited suppliers across India and Peru as well as studying master’s modules in the subject of fair trade.Using many of the skills he gained as a teacher to promote fair trade in schools, churches and community groups, Martin’s commitment to fair trade is unstoppable and we are very grateful to be able to draw on this wealth of experience as he serves on our panel.
Martin Roe
Joined the panel in
2019