Staff Profiles

Professor Naina Patel OBE
Founder and Executive Director of PRIAE

Naina established PRIAE in 1998 after recognising that a dedicated body specialising in ageing and ethnicity was needed in the UK and across Europe. Such a body would provide support for black and minority ethnic organisations working on old age and, where necessary, across all ages through policy, research, information service developments and training. Naina has built PRIAE from zero finance to the unique and respected charitable institute it is today, having designed and secured the funding for the majority of its ground-breaking initiatives. In 2001, Naina received an OBE from her Majesty the Queen as recognition of her pioneering work to improve the quality of life of ethnic elders. She accepted the award saying that it was in recognition to the area itself and paid tribute to all the elders and organisations who work tirelessly with little resources to provide much-needed service support.

Her first book in this area, Race Against Time? Social Services Provision to Black Elders (1990, Runnymede Trust) was credited to the inspiration from her mother and late father, and informed the need for an organisation like PRIAE. PRIAE’s first contract was from the Royal Commission on Long Term Care for the Elderly - just three weeks after the formal establishment of the charity – and gave the perspectives of BME elders in the UK (HMSO 1999, downloadable report – see publications).

In year 2000 she designed and wrote the entire submission for the largest research at PRIAE and indeed in Europe, called the MEC Minority Elderly Care Research under the EC Fifth Framework Programme covering 10 countries and generating 12 equivalent full time research posts for 3 years. The research began in year 2001 and staff at PRIAE were duly appointed. Naina’s 86 years old mother, husband and family have been key family volunteers at PRIAE since its inception.

Naina is Professor in Ageing and Ethnicity at the Centre for Ethnicity and Health at the University of Central Lancashire. She is also the UK representative on the European Monitoring Centre on Racism, Xenophobia and Anti-Semitism (EUMC) and Observer on ECRI (Council of Europe). In addition, Naina is a member of Leadership and Race Equality NHS Panel. She is part of the Old Age and Mental Health Delivery Board at the Department of Health and is on the Partnership Group for Older People at the Department for Work and Pensions.

Naina has written extensively on the subjects of age and ethnicity, race equality and social work. At the Central Council for Education and Training in Social Work (CCETSW),Naina designed and led on the Curriculum Development Project, generating seven publications produced by academic-practitioner multi-racial teams for professional care training. These proved to be the organisation’s ‘best-seller’ for a number of years

Ahsan Malik
Project Director - CEMESME - Contribution of Ethnic Minority Employees to Small & Medium Sized Enterprises (SMEs)

CEMESME’s overall aim is to raise awareness to national SMEs of the importance of a multicultural workforce and its impact on international business and business performance. It concentrates on employment, enterprise and the corporate culture of British SMEs regarding diversity in the workplace. It does not aim to prove racism but to clarify the implications of diversity management on the firm’s general business performance and more specifically, on the SME’s internationalisation.

Ahsan’s role within CEMESME is to lead the CEMESME team to successfully deliver all aspects of the UK and transnational aspects of this ESF and EQUAL funded project, and to bring in processes and effectively delegate responsibilities to the team members. He also has responsibility of the project’s administration and ensuring CEMESME is delivered to the requirements of the funder’s guidance. He also manages the delivery of the Personalised Mentoring Programme whereby postgraduate students from various ethnic backgrounds will develop international trade activities in UK companies.

Ahsan is also Project Management Mentor to a number of PRIAE projects, assisting the project teams in successfully delivering to the administration and financial needs of projects and the funders.

Having worked in consultancy since 1995, Ahsan has worked with public sector institutions in developing and delivering initiatives that have developed SMEs in areas such as exports and management. He has had numerous years of experience in delivering specific initiatives to ethnic minority businesses in the Yorkshire area including promoting mainstream services and support available. Other attributes include a whole spectrum of project management skills and experience in bringing project ideas to life through various EU funding programmes.

Sunjeeda Hanif
Project Manager, Minority Ethnic Elders' Policy Network

Sunjeeda has worked with PRIAE since the organisation’s establishment when she helped to develop the prestigious commissioned report to PRIAE from the Royal Commission on Long Term Care for the Elderly. Working part time at PRIAE, she undertook a variety of roles in PRIAE’s projects from local to European levels.  She has had extensive contact with BME Elder organisations, multi-agencies & planners, practitioners, researchers / academics, commissioners & managers in health, social care & housing. She worked most recently on PRIAE’s Palliative Care PALCOPE project and coordinating PRIAE’s forthcoming film before the current Secretariat initiative which began in April 2006. Here as part of managing the Minority Ethnic Elders' Policy Network, she will establish BME elder-policy linkages through developing a comprehensive information and communication base, which will act as an important platform to help convey the voices of BME Elders and through their participation with policy and professionals, strengthen services in turn. Her high determination to create change via PRIAE’s work and with her personal experience of navigating the health and social care system as a Carer, and recently helping the media to reflect appropriately her local community of Beeston in Leeds and by so doing providing a voice for Muslim women in her neighbourhood, has provided her with a specific insight into exclusion and discrimination, experienced by BME Elders and carers. A graduate of business administration, Sunjeeda has worked for the Central Council for Education and Training in Social Work. She also spent five years in the field of mainstream education, in Section 11-funded work to support BME secondary school children, developing a series of workshops including assertiveness and confidence building.

Consultants

Dr Kathryn Watson
Research

Kathryn joined PRIAE in its MEC – Minority Elderly Care – initiative joining the project in its last phase as the principal researcher and helped to successfully conclude it. MEC research has produced ground-breaking statistical evidence on the circumstances and opinions of more than 20 different ethnic groups across Europe and is unique in the way it addresses service issues from three angles: minority ethnic (ME) elders, health and social care professionals and the ME voluntary sector.

Kathryn currently works on this project focussing on applying the research to local areas such as Leeds and Manchester; and extending the MEC research usage to other research applications at PRIAE.

Prior to joining MEC, Kathryn was a lecturer in marketing at the University of Bradford School of Management.

Dr Ranjit Arora
Anti- Discrimination Legislation

Ranjit represents PRIAE and its issues on the Age Reference Group which was set up to contribute to the Commission on Equality and Human Rights. PRIAE’s specific specialism of multiple discrimination (combining age and ethnicity with gender, religion, disability, sexuality) offers the Age Reference Group with a unique insight and Ranjit combines this with her considerable experience of race relations legislation, interpretation, application in a range of areas particularly in employment. Ranjit was previously the Head of Multicultural Unit at Bradford College.