About Us
Who are we?
The BAMEed Network is a movement initiated in response to the continual call for intersectionality and diversity in the education sector. We connect, enable and showcase the talent of diverse educators so they may inspire future generations and open up possibilities within education careers.
All steering group members are volunteers commit their time and efforts into creating a tangible support network to equip teachers and leaders with the tools to progress into and through the workforce. The group connects with other education organisations and individuals through events, regional networks across the UK, signposting, mentoring and support aligned with our vision.
Hear from Allana Gay, one of our Founding Members, and Trustees, about the BAMEed Network’s vision and the activity taking place to drive change in the education sector.
Video recorded at Bett 2022.
Meet our Trustees
Allana Gay is a headteacher at a North London Primary School. Her experience as an educator and school leader arches over secondary and primary schools all of whom have been in challenging or deprived circumstances.
Allana shares her leadership experiences across the sectors to encourage primary and secondary schools to work in true partnership. Allana seeks to change the outward face of education by ensuring equality for all within the education sector.
Allana co-founded the BAMEed Network to encourage more BAME educators into the profession and to ensure they are supported to progress within their careers.
![amjad]](https://www.bameednetwork.com/wp-content/uploads/elementor/thumbs/amjad-oxa5r7r91mu1rkowsgzbdwr8fsvdbbviaz15eoykxc.jpg "amjad]")
Amjad Ali is a senior leader and trainer. He has worked with all sectors from trainee teachers to headteachers providing training on teaching, learning and inclusion.
He is ambitious and committed to making a difference to the education system by inspiring changes. He teaches, tweets and tweaks his practice to help others improve theirs, which in turn helps him and his students too. For Amjad, education is about ensuring wherever you come from, whatever your parents do or not do, does not impact on the potential of success. Whatever success means to a young person it should be found and celebrated.
Amjad has previous co-organised the country’s largest TeachMeets, whilst also presenting keynotes, offering workshops and inspirational addresses at others. Amjad has also been involved in setting up initiatives such as #TwitterCoachingED which has helped hundreds of colleagues online, and #CultureBoxED to help address the imbalance of diversity across the country.headt
His current role is the Equality, Diversity & Inclusion manager at Milton Keynes College Group. Prior to this he was a Specialist Leader in Education (specialising in Mathematics, and project management). His highlights have included being the programme lead for a DfE funded Equality & Diversity programme #BAMEintoLeadership, where he created a network of over 400 people passionate about making leadership in our schools more representative. He was also instrumental in creating and delivering professional development to thousands of educators in over 85 countries through the #LDeduchat series. He launched a second
Lizana Oberholzer is a senior lecturer in teacher education at the University of Wolverhampton. She is passionate about teacher development and is the BERA special interest group convenor for teacher education in England, BELMAS research interest group convenor for governing and governance, BAMEed Trustee, CMI fellow, Chartered College of Teaching Founding Fellow, principal fellow of the Higher Education Academy, CollectiveEd fellow, Vice Chair of the UCET CPD Forum, and MAT Director.Lizana supports the IPDA annual conference as the Conference Committee Chair, and is a member of the IPDA England Committee.
Penny Rabiger was a teacher for over a decade and later became one of the founder directors of The Key, the leading information and guidance service for School Leaders and School Governors. She has worked with a number of social enterprises in the education sector, including Challenge Partners, and Lyfta. Penny is a long-serving school governor and a MAT Trustee. She is passionate about issues around social mobility, education and equality of opportunity. She is an associate at Leeds Beckett University, a coach on the Centre for Race, Education and Decoloniality’s Anti-Racist School Award and is a Phd researcher exploring unlearning racism in a school context.