Our Team
Kate Nation
Managing Director
Kate has been involved in children and youth work since she was 18 both at a local and an international level where she has worked with at risk young people and children in a variety of settings. On returning to Cambridge she worked with a charity called Romsey Mill where, as a Young Women’s Worker, she saw first-hand the unique challenges that affect this demographic.
With one of the most obvious problems being a lack of confidence, Kate piloted a one-off event: a “Cambridge meets Brazil” family fun day involving young women through the youth support programme she was running. The event’s success and its positive affect on the young women gave birth to the idea of Turtle Dove.
Kate feels most alive when riding a motorbike, horse riding, dancing or in the favelas of Brazil.
Jess Evans
Operations Coordinator
Jess has over 25 years of experience supporting top executives and businesses and has been working as a freelance Business Operations manager since 2017.
As a certified NLP Trainer, Jess loves helping people elevate their businesses and mindsets. She’s all about identifying those tricky pain points and showing people how to simplify their processes so they can focus on what they truly love—both at work and in life… Jess has a knack for making the complex simple and the chaotic calm. If it needs organising, Jess is on it!
In her spare time, you’ll find Jess either at the gym, frequenting bars and restaurants with her friends, along with lots of gigs and live music. She also loves to travel and considers herself ‘solar powered’.
Erin Genockey
Events Coordinator
Erin has always had a great passion for working with people. With almost 15 years of experience of working in schools, various supportive roles in the community alongside a career of managing a variety of events for high end businesses in Cambridge. She has extensive experience in the catering, hospitality and events industries.
She has also been involved working with various festivals supporting and managing volunteers whilst immersing her creative skills on the production side.
Erin is ecstatic to be a part of the Turtle Dove team and give her energy and enthusiasm to those who work with Turtle Dove.
Her happy place in her spare time is singing and dancing to music, going to gigs, practising yoga, long walks with friends and doggies, getting to her family beach hut with her mum and sister as well as cooking and eating yummy food!
Katie Fryer-Olliffe
Young Women’s Development Worker
Katie has a background in working with women during pregnancy, postpartum and throughout the transition to parenthood. Katie also trains and mentors others to support in this type of work. Katie’s work has often taken her into working with vulnerable women and in particular many years of focus has been in the private and self-employed sector as a women’s advocate supporting women survivors of domestic abuse.
Katie has been part of several projects, including multi-agency projects within her birth, postnatal and advocacy support with a key goal to support, mentor and coach women to achieve their full potential, to engage in their communities and to live a life free from harm. She is a passionate advocate for active listening, emotional authenticity and compassionate communication and has committed to many years of continued professional development in those areas.
Katie is incredibly excited to be part of the team at Turtle Dove to support, guide and mentor the young women who engage with our Alternative Education program and Events as our Young Women’s Support Worker.
Outside of work, you will find Katie in a field, woodland, by the water (or in the water as she likes a cold water dip!) with her dogs and a cup of tea. Katie loves reading, roller-skating, travelling and spending time with her blended family.
Aimee Clasby
Apprentice – Chef and Training Youth Support Worker
Aimee has recently discovered that her passion for helping people could be used to become youth support worker.
Whilst also working as a chef and receiving support from turtle dove, Aimee has decided that as turtle dove have helped and supported her and so many others, she wanted to be involved in empowering young women too.
Aimee has been a chef since she was 16 and has always enjoyed cooking especially with her Mum and Nan from the age of 2. She uses this skill in her role to support the young women to learn simple cooking skills to encourage their independence.
We are lucky to have her in-house so we can provide catering with our events assistance and Aimee can pass her skills on to other young women we work with.
In the future Aimee would like to set up her own business where she can use both her catering skills and desire to help people through providing supportive employment opportunities for other people who really need it.
Outside of work Aimee enjoys going to the gym, going on long walks and spending time with her family
Sarah Khan
Alternative Education Lead
Sarah has 34 years of combined experience in Hospitality, Youth Work and Education.
Her passion is giving all young people, but particularly young women, the same opportunities to be the best version of themselves and to thrive not just survive.
Having trained in Performing and Community Arts, Youth Work, Forest Schools, Teacher and Trainer skills as well as being a registered ELSA – this has given her lots of opportunity to work with a wide range young people with varying degrees of educational, emotional and mental health needs. This has led to her having a wealth of experience in dealing with related issues and challenges and learning how to best support people to overcome them.
Sarah has witnessed some incredible journeys, this inspires and motivates her to continue to support people to break down the barriers they face that can prevent them from growing, achieving and becoming an inspiration to others.
Sarah is extremely proud to be working at Turtle Dove and delivering the Alternative Education Program.
When Sarah is not at work you will find her in her garden, workshop or studio, being creative, re-inventing furniture, clothing and interior spaces. Music is her everything and she enjoys singing, dancing and going to gigs. Eating out with friends and family is another of her passions, enjoying good hospitality service!
Kate Shore
Alternative Education Youth Support Worker
Kate has 20 years’ experience in advice and information giving roles. She worked at Cambridgeshire County Council for 11 years, providing support to unemployed and at-risk young people regarding training, learning and employment opportunities.
Kate is social-minded and is a passionate advocate for young people. She believes in active listening, and respectful, clear communication. She feels privileged to contribute to the positive well-being and self-esteem of young people.
She has assisted in the support and training of college students with SEND at fundraising music nights and performing arts workshops as a Music Mentor, encouraging students to participate, celebrate their talents, work together and grow in confidence. She feels her own experience as a neurodivergent person enables her to think creatively and is very useful in working with young people.
Kate is proud and excited to be supporting young women as part of the Turtle Dove team, in the role of Alternative Education Youth Support Worker.
Kate loves music and performs in an all-female band. She also enjoys drawing, socialising, cooking global veggie food (and eating it!), vintage fashion and going to gigs.
Event and Casual Staff
We have a bank of experienced youth workers, trainers and teaching staff who often also have hospitality experience. By working alongside the young women at the events and workshops they provide invaluable skills, support and encouragement that helps us get the job done!
We are always looking to add to this section of our team - do drop us an email if you would like to find out more at hello@turtledovecambridge.com.
Volunteers
From ironing our uniform to helping with events and administrative tasks we have an amazing team of volunteers! If you would like to know more about how you might be able to get involved do contact us here.
Directors & Advisors
Edwina Mullins
Director
edwina@turtledovecambridge.com
Edwina started her first events business in 1997, with an aim to provide a platform to promote her school friends’ bands. With a degree in Hospitality Business Management, she has worked in events and marketing for a range of companies and currently leads a marketing team within a Cambridge technology company.
Edwina brings her marketing and events experience to Turtle Dove as well as knowledge of the local Cambridge business landscape for corporate partnerships and fundraising opportunities.
At the weekends, she plays taxi to her kids and has a passion for food so is usually found cooking up something in her kitchen.
Laura Atkin
Director
Laura has been a teacher for over 8 years, and for the majority of those years has worked in a pastoral role. Laura really enjoys supporting young people and enabling them to create brighter futures for themselves.
Laura decided to start working with Turtle Dove to be able to support young women in a different way to how schools are able to work.
Laura enjoys weight training at the gym, travelling and hanging out with her friends (largely eating food with the occasional spa day).
Natasha Davies
Director
natasha@turtledovecambridge.com
Natasha is the CEO of Jimmy’s Cambridge, an almost thirty-year-old charity which provides accommodation and support to people experiencing homelessness and rough sleeping in the City. Jimmy’s has pioneered the use of modular homes for the population it serves, in addition to providing the only accommodation in the City for people experiencing homelessness in addition to dual diagnosis (poor mental health and drug and alcohol addiction issues).
Natasha joined Jimmy’s Cambridge from the Royal National Lifeboat Institute (RNLI) where she held the post of Head of Business Performance and Strategic Services. Natasha led diverse teams supporting maritime policy, assurance, performance, systems support, asset decision making, strategic projects and the RNLI’s Operations Room. Natasha was also the RNLI’s first ever lead for Women in Search and Rescue, pioneering international opportunities for operational women and was Maritime UK’s honorary lead for Working Parents, sitting on the National Diversity Task Force.
Natasha started her career in the voluntary sector working on consortia programmes with RSPB, BBC, RNIB and British Red Cross. She then moved on to work in the NHS on Practice Based Commissioning, and the national Health Visitor Target (under the Cameron Government), before moving over to NHS England in 2012 to support the set-up of the organisation, Board and policy initiatives.
In 2016 Natasha joined NHS Health Education England to lead on the creation of the National Volunteering Strategy and led the National Volunteering Unit. The Unit aims to support, develop, design and promote education, training and development opportunities for all volunteers within the NHS. Natasha also led programmes on carers, family and faith.
Natasha lives at home with her husband, son, and three rescue dogs.
Sarah Hewett
Advisor
Sarah is a finance professional by training and a social entrepreneur at heart. She has worked for Innocent Drinks and Abcam in financial business planning roles, but also founded her own social enterprise Monthlies, a subscription service for environmentally friendly menstrual products, with a strong campaigning ethos, working to improve access to menstrual products for women globally. She is highly passionate about gender equality and environmental issues. Before becoming an Advisor, Sarah volunteered with Turtle Dove for three years and continues to do so.
Ali Rice
Advisor
Ali has held various senior positions throughout her career including 12 years as Managing Director in the Childcare & Leisure sectors leading a company which is now the UK’s largest and most successful operator of activity day camps. Since 2016 Ali has run her own consultancy business working with a variety of small business owners to help them grow their business with a range of services aimed at increasing brand awareness, attracting new customers, transforming customer experiences and revising systems. Over the past 15 years Ali has contributed to a number of boards and committees and in her spare time she enjoys a very happy (& busy!) family life with her husband and 3 children.
Monika Jerszynska
Advisor
Monika is a project manager with 15 years of experience across various industries. She has played a leading role in full product life-cycles, as both: operations lead and product lead. Currently supports business model replication at People Powered Retrofit.
Previous work has included leadership roles at Bridgemark Education and before that at the Oxford Prospects and Global Development Centre (OPGDC) which is an interdisciplinary centre that aims to promote discussion and inspire new ideas among students, scholars, academics, policy makers and industrial leaders.
Before that she was dividing her time between being a full-time graphic designer and working as a Project Development Manager at a Community Interest Company in Manchester. In 2013 they received an award from the Manchester City Council: “The International Women’s Day Women’s Award: Women Protecting Our Environment”.
As an Advisor Monika hopes to utilise her skills and network in a way that benefits Turtle Dove and its cause.
Malcolm Williamson
Advisor
Malcolm is an innovative entrepreneur with a broad commercial background at senior level, primarily in the service sectors, notably having been responsible for UK Commercial Services at the Automobile Association; Managing Director of a Hogg Robinson Group plc subsidiary global events business, and Commercial & Enterprise Director at leading UK business support provider, Exemplas. In addition, he has established, grown and successfully divested his own businesses in marketing, design and publishing and is also a producer of professional theatre and concerts.
Over the past 15 years Malcolm’s prime interest and focus has been on supporting the UK SME sector and entrepreneurship, more recently as an independent business consultant, coach and mentor. He also has a strong interest in, and a passion for the Third Sector and especially social value creation. He has worked extensively with social enterprises in particular. Malcolm brings a wealth of business, creative and production experience and works with the team to support the continued development and growth of Turtle Dove and to making a positive difference to the lives of young women.
Safeguarding Support
We work closely with Safeguarding consultants and experts to support the work of Turtle Dove Cambridge. If you would like to know more or are interested in supporting us in this way, please do get in touch with us via hello@turtledovecambridge.com. We are currently working with Kim Mabbutt.
Kim Mabbutt
Kim is an experienced practitioner, leader, and manager who has dedicated her career to children and families within the NHS and Local Authorities.
Kim has a particular interest in supporting organisations within the third sector who have an interest in supporting children, families, and the most marginalised and vulnerable in our society.
Kim offers safeguarding and operational consultancy support to Turtle Dove Cambridge.
