WELLBEING PROJECT
Meet the team
Umbrella Lane is made up of a small staff team consisting of allies and Sex Workers, an advisory group of Sex Workers and many current and former Sex Worker volunteers
Our team
Dr. Anastacia Ryan
Pronouns: She/Her
Now Director of the charity, the lovely Anastacia founded Umbrella Lane in 2015. With a passionate belief in the transformative nature of leadership amongst marginalised groups, she works closely with our advisories and staff team to drive our vision of the role of sex worker leadership in policy making across Scotland. She brings heaps of knowledge on the development of lived experience-led health programmes to the running of the project, having worked globally with sex workers. Umbrella Lane is proud to be part of SiSu, a larger project founded by Anastacia, which empowers women and girls to build resilience from adversity and trauma. We couldn’t be in better hands! Anastacia’s priority is always at the heart of the community we serve, and you’ll find her around for support, advice or general strategising.
Prerna Menon
Co-ordinator
Pronouns: She/Her
As our Coordinator Prerna looks after the day to day operation of Umbrella Lane.
This includes working on community activities, short and long term projects and networking and awareness raising to increase the wellbeing of Sex Workers.
She is here to support, motivate and empower the staff whilst making sure our collective goals stay on track across the organisation and will use her past extensive managerial experience in the hospitality industry to make this happens.
Prerna is passionate about Human Rights and social justice issues and believes in a holistic, person-centred approach to supporting those within the community. Through her role Prerna hopes to help create a fairer and more inclusive Scotland that includes non-judgmental support and a stigma-free society towards Sex Workers, which will help to enable greater empowerment and wellbeing of the community.
Blue Fawkes
Communications and Partnership Officer
Pronouns: She/Her
Blue is our Communications Officer who shapes the foundations of all things social media here at Umbrella Lane.
Blue handles our blog and public communications.
If you need social media pro-tips or just want a chat, the warm and welcoming Blue is often found at our drop-in service. She’s got creative flair to be reckoned with and loves to be challenged to think outside the box.
Jake Jones
Community Support Officer
Pronouns: He/Him
Jake is our Community Support Officer, with us to ensure we provide the best support in house and through external partnership referrals to support your well-being. Jake is originally from Canada but has called Scotland home for five years. Whilst he works his way through a post-grad in politics and languages, specialising in the rights of minority groups, Jake has come on board with Umbrella Lane since September 2020.
Key roles –
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Community support for new and existing community beneficiaries
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Building positive partnerships with referral organisations
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Developing the diversity of the organisation by reaching out to marginalised groups and underrepresented demographics, whilst identifying the diverse needs of the community
communitysupport@umbrellalane.org
Community Members can reach Jake on 07935481866 Monday - Friday, 9am until 5pm.
Red Hamilton Russell
Admin & Verification Officer
Pronouns: They/Them
As our Admin and Verification Officer, Red brings their years of experience in disability, neurodiversity and LGBTQIA+ rights advocacy as well as their experience in working with asylum seekers and other vulnerable populations to their role. They are passionate about making Umbrella Lane’s services accessible and inclusive to the whole Sex Worker community.
Key responsibilities:
Verifying new members of our community through our Verification System
Admin support across the organisation
Document production support, including copywriting and copy-editing
Marin Scarlett
Advertising & Fundraising Officer
Pronouns: She/Her
Marin is our Advertising & Fundraising Officer and the newest addition to the Umbrella Lane team. She brings a wealth of experience devising fundraising strategies, managing social media and organising events.
Her lived experience gives her strong ties to the Sex Worker community in both England and Scotland.
Key responsibilities:
Leading community fundraising efforts
Advertising events and services
Managing social media
The advisory group
The Umbrella Lane Advisory group comprises of Sex Workers who came together to help us with strategy and activities for the project. This bunch are dedicated to representing the voice of the community and bring lived experience to the table to ensure a compassionate and supportive experience for our members. Our Advisory Group are crucial to the purpose of Umbrella Lane and always get the final say.