Meet our team

CEO

Across his more than two-decade career in the social sector, Kye has held several CEO positions, including establishing an award-winning social enterprise and leading three distinctly different charities before joining DataKind UK. His early work centred around addressing both systemic and individual health, wellbeing, poverty and social justice challenges. Teams Kye has led have been shortlisted for the Charity Awards, and won the Santander Social Enterprise Development Award and Mayor of London’s Volunteering Awards. He also demonstrates an ongoing commitment to his belief in the power of collaboration and community to achieve the best results for the social sector, building effective partnerships and representing communities and the sector on a range of advisory boards, panels and at high-profile events. These varied ventures have armed him with extensive experience of the challenges faced by the sector, and the successes possible when they are overcome.

Kye’s focus is now on bringing opportunities to build success and amplify impact to as many organisations in the sector as possible. This is fuelled by a belief that the tools, resources and skills that help drive organisation development in other sectors can be available to civil society, and that they should be used responsibly, ethically and for the benefit of society.

When not working Kye loves cooking, harking back to his days as a professional chef, and exploring Europe through walking and seeking out food markets. He is also a board member at ACEVO, the Association of Chief Executives of Voluntary Organisations.

Head of Data Science

Our Head of Data Science Dulcie leads the development and delivery of DataKind UK's pro bono data programmes, providing technical oversight to ensure solutions are impactful and that data is used responsibly.

Dulcie also leads conversations around responsible data science/AI use in the social sector. Before joining DataKind UK, Dulcie completed a PhD in medical biophysics at the University of Toronto and was a neuroscience researcher at UCL. She loves helping organisations use data and evidence to understand what works. In her free time she enjoys cooking and spending time with her two small children.

Head of Volunteer Programmes

Being updated!

Comms & Community Manager

Nicole ensures the world knows as much as possible about DataKind UK's work and impact, and that the community is inclusive and happy.

She has been working as a charity communicator for more than a decade, with a background in literature and journalism. Before joining DataKind she worked for homelessness fundraiser Church Homeless Trust.

In her spare time she enjoys fostering cats, singing in the London Humanist Choir, and is on the organising committee of Sunday Assembly London.

If you would like DataKind UK to be involved in or speak at your event, please contact nicole [at] datakind.org.uk

Chair

Sophie is currently the Chief Executive of Elevate Great, a data science-led equity catalyst on a mission to create a society where everyone can thrive, irrespective of background. She has been working at the forefront of social change and innovation for a fairer society across multiple sectors. With a background spanning political science, public policy, economics, education and law, her leadership experience ranges from start-ups, research, and public services, to non-profits. Sophie has led projects for multinational and government clients, such as Allianz, Deutsche Bank, SAP and the European Commission.

Sophie likes finding a different angle to anything in her life – not just work. She is particularly passionate about rethinking our social contract and the cognitive load, and her happy places are the gym and bookshops.

Vice-Chair

Lindsey joined DataKind's board in November 2020 as Vice-Chair of Trustees. She is passionate about tackling inequality and creating a charity sector that delivers on the promises it makes. She believes that effective and ethical use of data is central to this and unlocking charities’ potential to increase their impact.

She has seen this in action in her career in the social sector. She is currently CEO of Magic Breakfast, who believe that no child or young person in the UK should be too hungry to learn and was previously Managing Director of Street League. She won a UK ‘Women of the Future’ award in 2017 and in 2018 earned her MBA with distinction at Bayes Business School.

Lindsey had previously earned her doctorate at Brunel University, exploring ‘who really benefits’ in sport for development and peace initiatives, whilst embedding what she learned in the charity she co-founded, the Homeless FA. Lindsey is Vice Chair of the Sport for Development Coalition, that brings together member organisations to demonstrate and make the case for sport’s contribution to wider social outcomes and impact.

Treasurer

Courtney is a data scientist with over a decade of experience in project and organisational management across international development, government, and the private sector. In her current role at Kantar, she designs and implements solutions in big data analytics, natural language processing, and generative AI.

She has managed complex projects with responsibilities spanning financial oversight, compliance, and operational delivery. Her work has included overseeing multi-million-pound development programmes aimed at advancing gender equity and governance reform in Nigeria, delivering university scholarships for African students, and improving primary education in Ghana.

Courtney has been an active DataKind UK volunteer since 2022, serving as a volunteer data scientist, data ambassador, and a member of the Scoping and Impact Committee. She is passionate about DataKind’s mission to empower the third sector to embrace data science.  

She holds a Master’s in Data Science (City University, London) and a Master’s in International Development (RMIT University, Melbourne).

Board member

Ed brings a wealth of experience and skills from a varied career across the social sector and central and local government to bear in his efforts to drive change, collaboration, and innovation. He's passionate about making better use of the information available in the social sector to direct resources to the people and organisations who can make best use of them. A long-time supporter of DataKind UK, he first got to know the organisation in the early days of its life, during his time at Nominet Trust (now Social Tech Trust).

Ed is currently the head of Research, Impact and Learning at Fidelity Uk and International Foundations. Prior to this, he was Learning and Evaluation Lead for the Community Hubs Programme in the London Borough of Redbridge, Director of Practice Development for the Centre for Youth Impact, and Strategy and Policy Manager at Access Foundation. Ed began his career with roles in performing arts education, community development, education consultancy, and conflict resolution, before making the move to Whitehall and social sector regulation. He is a Clore Social Leadership Fellow, and is also a Trustee of London Plus.

Board member

Martin has worked in the third sector for Christians Against Poverty for nearly 20 years, a national charity which gives churches the tools to holistically support people in their community who are struggling under the weight of unmanageable debt and low income. While he started in facilities management, in the last 10 years he has worked in insight-based roles, and CAP has benefitted from the work of DataKind UK on many occasions.

He is a big believer in charities, and at work is passionate about people, communication, strategy and numbers, where his role means he gets to help people break down problems and solve them with evidence. He lives in Yorkshire with his wife and two children, and in his spare time enjoys comedy, snooker, and being outdoors.

Board member

Bethia is Chief Executive of the Centre for Youth Impact and YMCA George Williams College, She has been with the Centre since its launch in September 2014, and more recently oversaw the merger between the Centre and the YMCA George Williams College.

Prior to joining the team to set up the Centre, Bethia worked at the Dartington Social Research Unit, the Young Foundation, the National Youth Agency and NIACE (now the Learning and Work Institute), in a variety of policy and research roles. She has also worked in further and higher education as a teacher and trainer. Bethia is particularly interested in the relationship between quality and impact in youth work and provision for young people, and in the theory and practice of measurement, especially within collaboratives. Bethia is a 2012 Clore Social Fellow and a Senior Visiting Fellow at Nottingham Trent University.

Board member

Shamim is a Deputy Director at the Department of Health and Social Care, where she leads multidisciplinary teams using data to shape national policy on mental health, neurodiversity, women’s health, and maternity. She directly advises Ministers, and has secured billion-pound funding for national services by making the case for change through evidence and analysis.

Shamim works closely with the NHS, researchers, and third sector partners to drive impact where it matters most. She has worked across government and the private sector in education and transport and has represented the UK internationally on global health policy. Passionate about the third sector, she volunteered with Amnesty International for five years, teaching young people how to campaign for human rights. Shamim brings deep analytical expertise, a strategic mindset, and a strong belief in the power of data science to drive enduring change, especially when shaped in partnership with communities and the social sector.

Board member

Ajay has over 30 years of commercial experience in the technology sector, spanning data and cybersecurity – helping to identify and deliver transformational, data-led projects across commercial and Government clients. This experience has shaped a deep belief in the power of data to drive positive societal change, aligning closely with DataKind UK’s mission.

Ajay is now leveraging his operational and financial experience in his current role as Principal Consultant at ERA Group, providing strategic cost intelligence, actionable insights and sustainable procurement optimisation to organisations across all sectors.

Throughout his career, Ajay has remained committed to the third sector, from previous hands-on support with the NSPCC and The Prince’s Trust, to his current role as Treasurer of a school Friends association, supporting governance and financial management. Ajay is currently pursuing an Executive MBA at Quantic School of Business and Technology, based in Washington, DC.

Board member

Lauren is CEO of DataKind Global. She has spent 25 years working at the intersection of technology, development, and policy. Most recently, she was the CEO of NetHope, a consortium of 60 of the largest global nonprofits and tech companies from 2014-2020.

Before that, she held a variety of positions in the private sector, government, and the UN, including managing Microsoft’s global education and government programs for more than a decade and serving as an executive at the Software and Information Industry Association. Currently, she is a member of the World Economic Forum’s Board of Stewards for its Initiative on Digital Economy and its Trustworthy Data Collaboration. Lauren holds degrees from the Johns Hopkins School of Advanced International Studies and Smith College. She lives in Seattle with her partner and two daughters.