In April, the Young European Movement (YEM) elected its National Board for 2024/25, tasked with leading the organisation into the future, championing the policies and ideas which matter to young people and organising events nationwide to help build a national movement for change.
Cecilia Jastrzembska - President
Cecilia Jastrzembska was Head of Events & National Coordination last year and is now the first female President of YEM. She is also on the Young Fabian National Executive Committee and is an elected Control Commission member for the Young European Socialists. She has been a civil servant for 6 years in a range of departments, predominantly as a senior policy advisor. Cecilia speaks on feminism, climate change and AI, and writes as a freelance journalist for several political publications including the OPR, Europinion and Policy Network. She is also a policy contributor to the Ditchley Foundation and EuropeTalks.
El Blackwood - Head of Communications
El Blackwood has been recognised by the United States Government as one of "Britain's rising young leaders aged 18-30". Her significant experience includes leading communications teams at venture-backed tech startups, to founding two organisations aimed at increasing youth engagement in politics. El holds two first-class degrees from Oxford and LSE, with specialisms in health and policing policy. El is also passionate about the reflexive relationship between the arts and policy change, and is an award-winning playwright. Her debut play, Tending, uses verbatim interviews to explore the inner lives of nurses working in the NHS and is going on tour in late 2024.
Chris Eibich - Head of International Affairs and Partnerships
Chris has experience at international law firms like Slaughter and May, Clyde & Co, and Edwin Coe, and currently consults at Pinsent Masons in Intellectual Property. His experience also includes commercial litigation, particularly class actions and regulatory frameworks. As Head of International Affairs & Partnerships, Chris aims to expand our global presence, focusing on projects in Poland.
Minnat Allah Mohammed - Membership and Recruitment Officer
Minnat Allah Mohammed is a student of History and Politics at the University of Cambridge. She is Vice Chair of the Newham Fabians and a member of the national Young Fabians Executive Committee. She writes for the 3/57 Campaign and volunteers for Migrant Leaders, Zero Gravity, and schools across the UK. At university, she is a member of the Speaker's Committee for the Cambridge Union and the Charities Committee for the Islamic Society.
Amina Hassan - Head of Diversity, Equality and Inclusion
Amina Hassan is currently in their third year of university, and is passionate about youth empowerment. Amina is a Youth Global Ambassador, and is engaged in European youth events and Commonwealth Youth Forums.
Tommy Monahan - Head of Finance and Administration
Tommy Monahan is the new Head of Finance and Administration for YEM UK. A software engineer by vocation, he has considerable previous experience in the field of politics and advocacy with a particular interest in political and civic youth engagement, peace and reconciliation, and LGBTI rights. He is the current International Officer for Alliance Youth and is part of the LYMEC Young Changemakers Academy (Class of 2024), and previously served on the UK-German Connection Alumni Council for three years.
Leah Rea - Head of Policy and Political Engagement
Leah is a PhD Researcher in Law at Ulster University, and works as a Policy Officer.
She has strong experience in parliamentary and policy research and political engagement. Her research includes monitoring and evaluating state compliance with international and regional human rights obligations. She holds a Masters in Violence, Terrorism, and Security, a Masters in Conflict Transformation and Social Justice, and a Law degree, all from Queen's University Belfast. Leah is interested in international law and diplomacy, including within the UN and CoE Treaty monitoring bodies. She is active within several ECR thinktanks, and is an alumnus of the Washington Ireland Program.
Lea Rattei - Head of Campaigns
Lea Rattei is the newly elected Head of Campaigns and has been involved with YEM UK for over 3 years. She has previously headed up the Edinburgh branch, the Erasmus campaign, as well as served as Head of Policy on the previous board. She has an acute understanding of the political landscape, campaigning and communication. Through her full time role as a Strategy Analyst, she also has deep expertise about how to use data to drive operations forward.
Dorothy Herson - Vice President and Head of Events
Dorothy attained an MSc in Law and Business Management and qualified as a lawyer in 2018; she left private practice in 2020 but continued working on a pro-bono basis for non-profit organisations, offering council and legal aid to those otherwise unable to afford it.
Dorothy has experience volunteering for The Young Fabian’s Women’s Branch as Press and Sponsorship Officer. She also works as a freelance journalist, reporting on a range of topics; mainly with a focus on politics and mental health. She founded her own events company in 2020, hosting private and non-profit events for individuals, companies and support groups.