Meet Our Team

Julia Alexander graduated from the University of Dundee with a Masters of Social Work and has 20 year’s experience working in the public and charitable sectors. She worked for many years as a Regional Manager in a youth justice charity, delivering youth and parent mentoring services in the Republic of Ireland, introducing prison-based mentoring as well as leading the expansion of mentoring projects across the country. Julia took up the Trailblazers CEO post in November 2021, having been Service Delivery Director since February 2020.

Sarah Ball started with Trailblazers in 2015 as a volunteer mentor as part of her degree in Criminology, Criminal Justice and Law, and has since progressed into her Service Delivery Director role. Her personal life-experience of the criminal justice system has driven her passion in creating better opportunities for people leaving prison. Sarah is a strong advocate in the voluntary sector providing direct support to care leavers, prevention work with the youth offending team, and sits on the board of directors for the WCVA as an expert within the Criminal Justice System.

Ezgi Ozkan began with Trailblazerss as a volunteer mentor in 2014, and has been the Project Manager at HMP/YOI Isis since February 2017. Ezgi studied BSc in Criminology & Criminal Psychology and MSc Psychology. The experience of mentoring both in custody and in the community, and seeing the positive impact it has on mentees, is the driving force behind her passion for this role.

Yemi Obiwumi has been with Trailblazers for 2 years. She has a Law Degree & a Masters in Youth & Community Work, and over 10 years experience working in including schools, youth clubs, international charities and now prisons. Yemi aims to change the perception of offenders through education, leadership and partnerships. She is dedicated to creating
opportunities for mentees to empower the younger generation in their
communities through preventative work and mentoring.

Clare Haynes started as a mentor with Trailblazers in 2018, and has been in her current role since September 2023. Clare began mentoring whilst studying Criminology and Criminal Justice at University. During her time as a mentor, she would see first-hand how systems had failed individuals and their circumstances then led them to make poor choices. She was motivated to be someone that could support without judgement, guide mentees to rebuild their lives and help them break free from the cycle of reoffending.

Steph Smith has been with Trailblazers since 2020 – initially as a volunteer mentor. She began her journey with us whilst studying BA Hons Criminology and Criminal Justice at Wolverhampton University. With her own lived experience, she understands how important it is to not judge someone on their conviction or circumstances. Being able to advocate, support and be a guide for the mentees fills her with joy every day. She believes every mentee is a credit to Trailblazers and, more importantly, a credit to themselves.

John Edu-Amuah has over 10 years Welfare-to-Work experience supporting diverse communities, contributing to the continual improvement of service effectiveness, ensuring that service users receive a high-quality outcome-focused service. In this endeavour, John has created a pathway of development, growth and expansion in areas that promote positive outcomes.

Lisa Ross is a qualified accountant who works in the charity sector out of a desire to use her skills to help others. She became particularly interested in the criminal justice system after completing a sociology degree in York. Whilst in York, Lisa worked at a YACRO hostel – a small housing and mentoring charity for people leaving prison. She believes the problems people face when leaving prison require support from charities like Trailblazers to ensure that they have a real chance of changing their behaviour and lifestyle.

After completing a BA and MA in History from the University of Leeds, Kate began her career working in Corporate Social Responsibility, before moving to China for three years and falling in love with teaching. After returning to the UK, she worked for the best part of a decade as a Secondary School history teacher. Most recently, Kate has pivoted from education to the charity sector by training to become a certified Salesforce Administrator. She is now utilising this Salesforce expertise with her past experiences and transferrable skills to support Trailblazers’ fantastic volunteers and partners, as our Volunteer and Partnerships Coordinator.

After studying business management at Wolverhampton University I started my career in retail. I decided to move into a supportive role to embark on a career I could be proud of by creating meaningful opportunities for people leaving prison and have a real impact by being a life line for someone who is  in crisis.