Skip to main content Skip to navigation

Meet the team

The Community Values Education Programme (CVEP) team

Our team forms part of the Dean of Students' Office. We are proud to be a diverse team who are passionate about improving the student experience. The Programme Managers (job-share) oversee the strategic direction of our work and the day-to-day implementation of activities and resources. Our course Tutors facilitate Active Bystander activities, and input on sub-projects. The Student Engagement team are current students at Warwick and support specific tasks or projects related to wider CVEP goals.

Sam Parr - Programme Manager (Job-share)
Sam

Welcome! I'm Sam (he/him), and I'm the Programme Manager for the Community Values Education Programme (CVEP). I'm passionate about connecting people with the knowledge, skills, and confidence they need to tackle barrier to becoming active bystanders and upholding community values. My background is in campaigns management and activism, helping people engage with work to improve their institutions and make their communities safer and more inclusive. I'm also the lead coordinator for the Queering University programme at Warwick, which supports staff and students at Warwick to develop, implement, share and sustain queer pedagogies and perspectives, and encourages teaching & learning, pastoral, and other practices that are inclusive of LGBTQUIA+ people.

Sam is currently on secondment from his role as the CVEP Programme Manager. Please contact Puja Laporte with any queries.

Puja Laporte - Programme Manager (Job-share)
Puja, outside

Hi! I am passionate about raising awareness of the Active Bystander approach and helping students to increase their confidence in taking safe action where appropriate. I enjoy co-creating resources with staff and students, engaging students in CVEP's activities, and listening to feedback to help improve the programme. I am currently focused on introducing new Warwick students to our offer and working with departments and the SU to implement our activities.

Sarah Matthews -
Programme Support Officer
Headshot of Sarah Matthews

Hi I’m Sarah (She/her) and I’m Programme Support Officer.

I have a background in marketing and communications as well as a wealth of knowledge having worked across various departments at the University of Warwick and Warwick Student Union. I work with the CVEP programme managers to provide facilitation support across all programme activities and help coordinate the diverse portfolio of initiatives to positively engage with staff and students.

Nick Cherryman - Tutor
nick

My name is Nick. I am a PhD Student in the Department of Sociology, and I broadly look at how gender is constructed and deconstructed. I founded a research group called queer/disrupt, and am openly non-binary and use they/ them pronouns. I am a member of Warwick Sport, teach SCUBA diving, and play underwater rugby and underwater hockey (which are as strange as they sound). I think that whilst discrimination and sexual violence need to be tackled on a government level (i.e. laws like the Equality Act), we also need to tackle it ourselves for instance through checking our biases and challenging them in safe ways. In lockdown, I spent most of my time reading Sci-Fi. I also am a drag queen so have been playing with make-up and pretending it’s relevant to my PhD when, to be honest, I could be doing more research. I also sometimes sing (badly) to my elderly Jack Russell, The Miadog (who often features in my classes in a lazy sort of way).

Alison Sham - Tutor
alison

Hi, I’m Alison (She/Her). I have just completed an MSc in Intercultural Communications with Business and the Professions at Warwick. My dissertation explored identity construction within virtual meetings. Alongside delivering the CVEP workshops, I am a Progress Coach, mentoring those who are not in education, employment or training (NEET). In the past, as a CIPD Associate, I have worked in various HR functions. I have also taught Mandarin as a foreign language and worked in the University well-being team providing support services to SEND students. I strongly believe that everyone should be treated with dignity and respect. Alison enjoys watching Modern Family and Chinese chat shows and game shows.

Matt Ross - Tutor
headshot of matt ross

Hi, i'm Matt (He/Him), a professional Career Coach, CDI accredited and Masters in Career Guidance.

Specialist in supporting the employability of students, graduates and workers of all ages in a range of settings from Public Sector including school, FE, HE the Prison Service to the Private Sector, incorporating learners with varying abilities and challenges.

By developing meaningful relationships, (I also work with The Prince’s Trust and One Million Mentors), I empathise with my clients and tailor my guidance to help them make informed decisions about their career choices.

I am particularly passionate about supporting social mobility, widening participation, BAME and first-generation students.

Outside of my professional life, I have an interest in many sports, love travelling, binge watching Spanish soaps (to learn the language…honestly), reading and cooking.

Leiyun Ni - Tutor

Photo of Leiyun

Hello everyone, my name is Leiyun Ni, and I use she/her pronouns. I completed my Ph.D. in History from the University of Warwick and am deeply committed to feminist and anti-racist activism. Over the past several years, I have been actively involved in various feminist and East and Southeast Asian (ESEA) groups, facilitating dialogues on gender and racial equality. I've facilitated interactive and creative activities to engage our participants such as zine-making workshops and printmaking workshops. I have also completed the Active Bystander Intervention course and am excited about the opportunity to contribute to its dissemination among a broader Warwick student body. Outside of my academic and activism activities, I have a passion for cooking and climbing.

Bing Lu - Tutor

Photo of Bing

Bing received her PhD in the Department of Education Studies (DES) and is currently an Associate Fellow in the Institute of Advanced Study (IAS) at University of Warwick. Bing has also been serving as the Director of Student Experience and Progression in the Faculty of Arts at Warwick since February 2023. Bing has been recently awarded the SRHE Newer Researcher Award 2023 as one of the three prize winners in the UK and is currently leading a project on 'Migrant supervisors learn to supervise in UK institutions - an inclusive perspective' as PI.

Bing has substantial experience in term of working with students from diverse backgrounds. Bing has an orientation of developing pedagogical flexibility through breaking staff/student barriers. Bing has a belief in community, connectivity and communication.

dipbuk - Tutor

dipbuk (uses they/them pronouns) is neurodivergent, and engages this aspect in their pedagogy and praxis. They have significant experience in the field of equality, diversity, and inclusion, and are passionate about supporting meaningful change in these areas.

dipbuk is supportive and considerate in their facilitation style. dipbuk enjoys meeting students and understanding more about their experiences.

Jess Saunders - Student Engagement Supporter
jess

Hi everyone! My name is Jess and I use she/her pronouns. I am a second-year BA French and Linguistics student here at Warwick. Due to my cultural studies, I am particularly interested in striving for equality and empowering everyone, regardless of differences, to reach their full potential. Through my study of linguistics, I have also developed an appreciation of the importance of inclusive language, considering that language is such an important part of the process of crafting identities for ourselves as well as our social interactions with peers. After having completed the engaging and informative Active Bystander Intervention Course, I felt empowered and motivated to apply the skills and knowledge I had developed to our university environment, which led me to pursue this role. The team behind CVEP has done some brilliant work to raise the profile of our university’s values on campus and I am grateful to be able to play a role in the continued development of their initiatives.

Lauren Ketteridge -
Student Engagement Supporter
lauren

Hi there! I’m Lauren, I use she/they pronouns, and I am a PhD student on the Midlands Integrated Bioscience Translational Partnership based here at Warwick. Having completed the Active Bystander Intervention course whilst I was doing my undergraduate studies (also at Warwick), I was keen to keep supporting the programme and consider ways to get more students engaged with Warwick's community values. I am particularly interested in engaging STEM students in such work, as I sometimes think we can get too wrapped up in the data and "hard facts" without considering the implications of our actions and how we play into broader societal processes. In my free time, you can usually find me bouldering or practising the Serdo as part of Canley's Samba band.

Yuqi Wang - Student Engagement Supporter
yuqi

Hello there! My name is Yuqi Wang and I am a year 3 undergraduate economics student. A funny thing about me is that the primary reason I participated in this active bystander program is I thought it was mandatory. But after I went through the whole program, I found it really inspirational, and gave me many ideas about how to treat everyone in your life properly! In my daily life, I consider myself a person with a little social phobia, which means I’m not that good at dealing with a lot of people at the same time. But I’m always trying to be helpful and show my best part to everyone. It’s an honour for me to become this champion, and I’m looking forward to participating in various activities that help build our inclusive community.

Ilina Joshi - Student Engagement Supporter

Hi name is Ilina Joshi and I am a year 3 undergraduate Sociology student. I joined CVEP in 2024 after completing the Active Bystander course and I'm now working as a student engagement officer. I participate in all kinds of volunteering activities such as pop up events around campus and other student projects such as filming.