Steering Group
Sado Jirde
Director, Black South West Network.
Born to parents of Somali origin, Sado Jirde moved to the UK in 1999. After obtaining a BA in financial management and business information technology at Gloucestershire University, Sado started working at BSWN in 2007.
Just five years later, Sado took over as the Director of the organisation and has worked tirelessly to raise the profile of racial inequality at strategic and policy levels regionally and nationally, as well locally in Bristol. Sado has over 10 experience working in the Civil Society sector in the UK & Internal. She was awarded The African Achievers Award in 2015. Sado has also been leading on the discussion around inclusive growth and the role social investment could play in addressing economic inequality in Bristol.
Sado sits on a number of Boards of local and national charitable organisations. She is also a member of a number of partnerships/networks; member of Coalition of Race Equality Organisations (CORE) .
Professor Saffron Karlsen
Professor of Sociology, University of Bristol.
Saffron’s work aims to enable a better understanding of the different ways in which ethnicity and religion has meaning and relevance in people’s lives, both for developing awareness of potential group affiliations and as a driver of health and other inequalities in the UK and elsewhere in the Global North and South. Her research was instrumental in establishing empirical evidence regarding the role of racism in the development of ethnic inequalities in health in the UK. She has made a significant contribution to understandings regarding the ethnic inequalities in experiences of the global coronavirus pandemic, including to work referenced by the Government’s Scientific Advisory Group for Emergencies (SAGE). She has also made a significant contribution to evidence regarding the problems of FGM-safeguarding policy in the UK and elsewhere. Her work is motivated by the need for the more effective engagement of marginalised groups in the co-production of research, policy and practice, locally, nationally and globally. As well as working closely with community partners, Saffron has been an advisor to the Scottish Executive, Cabinet Office and New Zealand Health Department and has worked with the WHO and UN. She is currently a member of the Inclusive Data Taskforce for the UK Statistics Authority.
Angelique Retief
Research and Policy Officer at Black South West Network and PhD student in the School for Policy Studies, University of Bristol.
Angelique works at BSWN alongside her PhD in Social Policy at the University of Bristol. Having emigrated from South Africa in 2006, her work thus far has focused on social policy in South Africa, particularly on the impact of structural adjustment policies on poverty, unemployment, and social unrest in post-apartheid South Africa. Her current research looks at the role of social enterprise in the provision of housing in townships in Cape Town. Angelique has worked on various projects with BSWN in areas such as Housing and the VCSE sector and is particularly interested in the role of indigenous knowledge, local power contexts and local ethical protocols to build on an agenda that seeks to empower and improve the well-being of marginalised communities.
Professor Therese O’Toole
Professor of Sociology, University of Bristol.
Therese’s research interests are in the fields of ethnicity, governance, political activism and social movements. Her book: Political Engagement amongst Ethnic Minority Young People: Making a Difference (2013, with Richard Gale (University of Cardiff) addresses changing forms of political activism among ethnic minority young people, their experiences of participatory decision-making, the ways in which ethnicity, race, religion and gender shape political engagement and the different scales at which their activism is focused. This research builds on Therese’s previous work on young people and political participation, which critically engaged with crisis narratives of youth political apathy. Therese’s other work on Muslim Participation in Contemporary Governance examines the significance of Muslim participation within governance across a range of policy areas at national and local levels, including equalities, integration/cohesion, faith-based welfare and regeneration and security/counter-terrorism policies. An on-line forum on religion and public policy stemming from this work - Public Spirit engages researchers, policymakers, politicians and practitioners from the voluntary and community sectors to debate recent developments in religion and public policy. Therese’s work on the project Productive Margins: Regulation for Engagement examines the development of a local Muslim umbrella group, Building the Bridge, as a mechanism for the inclusion of Muslim groups within local governance, with a particular focus on spaces for Muslim women's effective engagement in decision-making.”
Dr Barbara Brown
Trustee of Black South West Network and Diversity Strategy & Research Consultant.
Dr Barbara Brown is a Diversity Strategist with a strong portfolio of facilitating cultural change. With a doctorate exploring gender processes in patriarchal organisations, her experience spans the private, public, education and voluntary sectors. Barbara currently holds Director and Non-Executive roles. Barbara has spent 17 years working locally, nationally and internationally within the Fire Sector. Her work has included leading national work-streams including racial equality, shaping strategy and policy for inclusion within the British Fire Service, and supporting an outcomes led approach to equality internationally. A self-confessed systems ‘agitator’, she has strong foundation in supporting organisational cultural change. Whilst holding Board roles to support the progression of gender and race equality, more recently Barbara has been a member of a global think-tank for racial justice, is a member of the Race Equality Strategic Leaders Group for Bristol and worked as part of systemic coronavirus pandemic emergency planning and recovery processes.