I am a woman of colour with lived experiences and more than 20 years' experience as a senior manager within Students Services, Accommodation Services, and the voluntary sector.
Laura leads the Student Accommodation, ResLife and Reception teams at the University of Kent with a focus on inclusivity, sustainability and personal development for all.
Izzy Watkins is the Senior Programme Manager for Student Space at Student Minds.
Her role leads on the management and delivery of Student Space, a website providing: psychoeducational resources; access to support services; and a directory of services available through individual HE providers.
I am currently a member of UAL Accommodation Services Senior Management Team, where I contribute to and lead on strategy to enhance the student's experience.
Most recently I have been working with my team and key stakeholders to encourage students with disabilities and health conditions to disclose at the point of application so that we can engage, provide support and enhance the student’s experience. As a result we have received an increase in disclosures and engagement.
I have had the privilege of being the ASRA South East representative which enabled me to work with so many wonderful colleagues across the HE and PBSA sector.
During my 4 year tenure the regional meetings covered a range of topics that were relevant to the sector such as the impact of student fees, student disciplinary issues, applications, housing management, youth breast cancer, students with disabilities, mental health, resident life, policing campus through to offering campus study tours.
I have managed several projects whilst working with homeless and vulnerable people such as implementing and facilitating various groups that offered a safe space, through to mobilising women only hostel and introducing a student Head Leasing Scheme.
I have served as Chair for UAL Black workers group which has grown and evolved to Equality of Minority Staff (GEMS) of which I am still a member.
I am a mentor and a member of the B-Mentor network facilitated by UCL and a member of Black Equity Organisation (BEO).
I have been described as having many superpowers which include personable, friendly, compassionate, trustworthy, reliable, effective listener, effective communicator and collaborative leader.
As your CUBO EDI I aim to harness my superpowers to embed EDI.
Laura joined the University of Kent in 2014 and started her role as Head of Accommodation and Customer Services five years later.
Izzy worked closely with Andy Owusu, Colourful Minds and a steering group of 8 Black students in the co-creation of the ‘Life as a Black student’ resources on Student Space.
Prior to joining Student Minds, Izzy held various roles in the HE sector, beginning as the Vice President Community for the University of Surrey Students’ Union where she was also awarded the Vice Chancellor’s Award for Outstanding Contribution to Student Life. Izzy later worked within Residence Life at the University of Exeter, leading on the creation of psychosocial intervention activities. Izzy also sits on the Board of Directors for Crew 2000.
Izzy’s areas of interest include: DEI; drug education; psychoeducation and co-creation.
Tom is one of the co-founders of Investor in Students which currently measures the experience of over 150,000 students over 25 members in the UK and Europe.
Vic is the Code Complaints Investigator at Unipol and deals with hundreds of student accommodation complaints every year so has a deep understanding of current issues and effective approaches.
Saundre is an inclusive leader, passionate about providing a voice for, recognising and supporting the potential of students from diverse and less privileged backgrounds.
Investor in Students are passionate about using evidence-based data to enhance students’ experiences within residences.
With over ten years’ experience working in Student Property, Vic has been with Unipol since 2015, performing roles including Housing Management and Tenancy Support.
She has substantial experience leading in senior roles in compulsory and Higher Education, in both paid and voluntary work. This work reflects her commitment to ensuring an inclusive, positive educational experience for student from all backgrounds.
As a Manager for a specialist Higher Education provider, Trinity Laban Conservatoire, she collaborated with students, and academic and professional services staff to enhance the student experience and engagement. Her work contributed to closing awarding gaps for students with protected characteristics, such as ethnicity and disability. As a Manager in Higher Education at Trinity Laban Conservatoire, Saundre worked closely with senior leaders and heads of departments. She led on a range of student experience projects across the student lifecycle: from pre-enrolment, transition into programmes, continuation on, and completion of programmes, and progression into post-graduate employment or study.
Saundre is also the Chair of Governors for a local secondary school actively working with the Senior Leadership Team to provide a voice for students and families from less privileged backgrounds, to support their needs, create inclusive spaces and to ensure they attain their optimum potential.
Saundre is eager to advance strategies designed to facilitate students' belonging and success. Her role as Co-Chair of the Living Black at University working group and membership in the BAME Staff Network reflect her active engagement. Saundre's training, leadership experience and lived experience empower her to develop and implement strategies to promote equity and inclusivity, aligning with Kent’s objectives. Saundre is an ardent supporter of Kent's commitment to diversity: evident in strategies such as the APP 24-28, which is a key deliverable in her role as Assistant Manager for Student Success. Saundre brings her substantial coaching experience to her work in the voluntary and paid sector, recognising that the potential for transformation lies within each of us.
Rebecca O’Hare is the Interim Deputy Director of Residential Services at the University of Leeds and has worked in student accommodation for 16 years.
Sam is CampusLife’s superstar comms guy. With his finger on the pulse of student culture he knows how to craft content to engage with student communities.
Tom has 10 years of experience in the Higher Education sector, specifically within commercial services departments with a responsibility for and focus on acquisition and revenue generation.
She holds an MA in Student Affairs in Higher Education where her research ‘Working in purpose built student accommodation: An Exploration into the Induction and Training Practices of Accommodation Managers & Deputy Accommodation Managers’ was awarded a distinction.
She previously worked for global PBSA operator Campus Living Villages as their Head of Residence Life and University Relationships and also provides external consultancy in the area of student experience to consortiums involved in DBFO projects. Rebecca is a participant on the Unite Students ‘Living Black at University’ commission, was previously the chair of the ACUHO-I Global Initiatives Network, a former member of the ASRA committee and was awarded the APSAA Student Accommodation Journal Writers Award in 2023 and the CUBO Residence Life professional award in 2019.
He’s been a key player on some of Campuslife's biggest projects and his work has received millions of page views.
Laura Palmour is the Associate Director of Residences at the University of Southampton with responsibility for Operations and Student Experience in Halls for 6,500 bed spaces.
Melissa has worked within the student accommodation sector since 2009 and has gained invaluable experience within the Private and HEI sector. Melissa is the Deputy Director of Commercial Services and Estates at the University of Kent, she has been in post since 2022.
Andy Owusu is a doctoral researcher in Psychology at London South Bank University.
Laura has a passion for leading transformational change in Residences with student voice, internal and sector connectivity at the heart of the process. A particular interest for Laura is championing and leading work to ensure students feel seen, safe and supported in halls at Southampton.
Building strong partnerships with nominated providers, Students’ Union and colleagues across Student Experience e.g Sports and Widening Participation and Social Mobility builds a fantastic foundation for positive change.
Prior to this role Laura has worked in various Residences and Student Support roles over the past 13 years spanning roles that capture various aspects of the accommodation student journey.
She has extensive experience gained in managing both in-house and 3rd party contract staff, with direct strategic and operational management responsibilities, including managing Soft Services Contracts, New Builds, Mobilisation and Refurbishment Projects, Capital Investment works, Third Party Lettings/Commercial Summer Lettings and Outsourced and Inhouse Catering.
Melissa has been a member of various Senior Leadership Teams throughout her career. As a trained life coach Melissa has focused her career on the importance of investing and developing people to create effective, diverse and happy working environments which will allow teams to ‘thrive’ and achieve organisation goals and objectives. She specialises in Leadership development, building training programmes, managing teams through organisational change, promoting Culture and EDI initiatives within organisations whilst meeting commercial objective and targets.
Melissa's vision for her role at CUBO is to create a CUBO L&D framework that supports the goals and ambitions of the CUBO members. Working actively with current and new members to create impactful training and mentoring opportunities for leaders and their teams which will add value to organisations and the people within them.
He is an author and a consultant in higher education specialising in the mental health of Black and Minority Ethnic students, working with organisations such as Student Minds and Unite students to develop the Black student experience in their respective organisations and services. His current research focuses on cultural competencies for mental health advisors in higher education.
Evangel Onwuaso is an international student from Nigeria, having recently completed her MSc in Public Health and Community Wellbeing at Anglia Ruskin University.
Taj Donville-Outerbridge is an unapologetic Black, Queer award-winning human rights activist, writer, and student.
She's passionate about all things mental health and dedicated to making a difference in this field.
They are an active champion and advocate for LGBTQ+ rights, mental health, sustainability, intersectionality, decolonization, and anti-racism at the university level, national level, and internationally. Taj recently obtained their BSc (Hons) in Global Health and Social Medicine from King’s College London and is now working on their masters.
