Our Team
Rebecca Mear
Chief Executive Officer
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Rebecca joined the Voscur team in September 2022, having spent the past seven years managing a school within the Faculty of Engineering at the University of Bristol, where she also led on equality, diversity and inclusion. Rebecca has run two voluntary, community and social enterprise (VCSE) organisations during her career: the first of these delivered frontline services for refugees and asylum seekers, the second provided support and development for the VCSE sector.
As a volunteer, Rebecca has spent time in Tanzania and Ghana, and more recently as a school governor and a community interest group board member.
In her spare time, Rebecca enjoys making use of Bristol’s green spaces with her two small children. Her favourite hobby is walking – ideally around Bristol harbourside – while listening to a good audio book.
Victoria
Finance Director
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Namiko Taguchi
Finance Coordinator
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Namiko joined Voscur in December 2020. Namiko has volunteered and worked in the charity sector for a few years as treasurer, finance administrator and account support.
Namiko enjoys working in the allotment on weekends especially weeding and watering. Namiko also likes going anywhere she can see nice views.
Sarah Martin
Head of Business Development
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Sarah has worked in the community and social enterprise sector in the West of England for the past ten years and enjoys creating connections and supporting organisations to thrive. Outside work Sarah plays in a community steel band and loves the natural world, trail running and hiking.
Lily Cabache
Projects, Marketing and Events Officer
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Lily joined the Voscur team in March 2026, having previously worked in the VCSE sector as a charity fundraiser and outside of the sector as an activities coordinator / carer in a residential care home. Lily is committed to supporting vulnerable people and doing good in the world.
Outside of work Lily loves to travel and experience new foods and cultures. She did some volunteering after university in Indonesia teaching English to children, and empowering young women at a Women’s Development Centre in Tanzania. Whilst saving up for her next adventure, Lily enjoys playing the piano, yoga, zumba, finding herself lost in a murder mystery, and getting creative with some arts and crafts!
Janine Starr
Head of Capacity Building Services
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Janine spent over 12 years working in Adult and Community Learning for Essex, North Somerset and Bristol City Councils followed by 10 years in the VCSE sector managing volunteering for several different community organisations. She is currently a volunteer Director at Weston Artspace CIC, helping to develop a new community art and cultural space in Weston-super-Mare.
Outside of work, Janine enjoys strength training at the gym, creating her own digital art and travelling around the UK in her campervan.
Rachel Varley
VCSE Development Advisor – Outreach
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Rachel has a background in education, having trained as a teacher before spending four years coordinating a community learning project in Lockleaze. She has worked with several small charities and community organisations in Bristol, combining a passion for community development, operations, communication, and creativity. She has experience of planning large events and managing volunteers, having coordinated a city-wide social action weekend for up to 1000 volunteers for five years.
Rachel loves to connect with different people and regularly shares her time and skills within her local community.
Sarah Hickie
VCSE Development Advisor
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Sarah joined Voscur in 2022 and has a background spanning higher education, youth services, arts and heritage, as an employee and consultant – with most of her roles to date having had a volunteer management component. Before joining Voscur she worked for a youth homelessness charity managing mentoring projects, contributing to funding bids and sharing learning, and service user voice, beyond the organisation.
Outside of work Sarah enjoys gardening, yoga, wild swimming in all weathers and taking care of a naughty border terrier.
Spencer
LGBTQ+ Partnership Manager and VCSE Alliance Partnership Development Officer
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Spencer previously worked for two NHS Trusts in Bristol and volunteered for eight years with a local community-based pride festival.
Spencer has a degree in Music and in his spare time he enjoys singing and learning instruments. He also has a rapidly growing collection of house plants to care for.
Sheika Johnston
Partnerships Manager
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Sheika is an advocate for the importance of travelling and grew up across several African countries (Senegal, Ivory Coast, Cameroon, Tanzania).
Sheika has a background in Construction Project Management and has worked for several multi-disciplinary construction/engineering consultancies before joining Soundwell’s administrative team, a Bristol-based voluntary organisation 10 months ago.
This was her introduction to the non-for-profit sector, which inspired Sheika to resume her Project Management career in this sector.
Sheika is passionate about running projects and seeing them through their lifespan (from inception through to completion) while managing the key stakeholders and assisting them to achieve their vision on time and within the available budget.
Outside of work, Sheika enjoys cooking and baking with her 2 daughters, loves gardening (new-found hobby during lockdown) and joins a local spin class very Wednesday evening!
Dani
LGBTQ+ Partnership Project Officer & Resources Coordinator
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Dani joined Voscur in 2022. Her role is to provide support to the Chief Executive Officer, and to support Voscur’s governance and internal processes.
Dani has worked in the VCSE sector since 2019, with previous experience in volunteer management and mental health support.
Outside of work, she enjoys running (slowly), walking (preferably with a dog), and developing a near-encyclopaedic knowledge of Bristol’s many independent restaurants and cafes.
Alice
Operations Manager
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Alice is responsible for the development and management of systems and processes to ensure the smooth running of Voscur’s core operations and internal support services.
She has worked at several local charities both as an employee and as a volunteer, and joined the Voscur team in 2022.
In her spare time, Alice enjoys music, spoiling her cats, and trying to keep her house plants alive.
Ian Hudson-Murt
Policy, Research and Communications Manager
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Ian joined Voscur in February 2023. He has a range of experience in the VCSE sector, from volunteering as an IT tutor to working in communications, compliance, and events. More recently Ian has been delivering services within the sector – in his last role starting up a social care service, but he has also managed community health projects, befriending, and advice services.
Ian is responsible for Voscur’s policy development, research, and communications.
In his spare time, Ian enjoys cycling, films and caring for his two cats.
