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SCA Team
Meet Our Team
Janpal Basran
Director
Janpal Basran works as the Director of Southall Community Alliance.
Janpal has been working in this leading role at the charity since 2003 but prior to that he had worked for 10 years as a Racial Equality Officer for Hounslow Racial Equality Council. During that time he dealt with numerous cases of people affected by racial harassment or racial discrimination in employment or service delivery. This provided Janpal with experience of dealing with legal cases and representing clients at employment tribunals.
In April 2003 an opportunity to work for Southall Community Alliance arose and Janpal was employed as the Network and Community Development Manager. During this initial period SCA became known for its resource centre support, capacity building assistance and development of its Southall network.
In the years that have followed Janpal has helped develop the organisation to become more financially sustainable and resilient and at the same time to develop projects based upon identified local needs. As a result, the organisation has developed a number of innovative projects tackling contemporary issues such as female genital mutilation, re-development of Spikes Bridge Park community cohesion, establishment of Southall Food Hub, poverty alleviation, teaching of anti-racist history, health and social isolation initiatives and many more. SCA is recognised as an important local voice for Southall partly due to the breadth of this work.
In his spare time Janpal is an avid reader, amateur gardener and a keen badminton player.
Kamaljeet Sembhi
Anti-Poverty Support Officer
Kamaljeet Sembhi has been serving as an Anti-Poverty Support Officer at Southall Community Alliance since June 2022, building strong relationships with local community groups. She works closely with voluntary organisations, identifying their needs, and empowering them by helping secure resources and trainings. Kamaljeet also assists in breaking language barriers and addressing digital exclusion, with a strong focus on community development.
She played a key role in bringing London Challenge Poverty Week events to Southall, creating a platform for organisations to engage in meaningful conversations and debates about poverty, current challenges, and the struggles faced by vulnerable individuals.
In addition to her work in poverty support, Kamaljeet has secured training for young people in sports. She is also a radio presenter, Community Cricket coach, and an ambassador committed to increasing the participation of women, girls, and children in sports.
A passionate promoter for arts and culture, she proudly hosted and represented Southall at the Newgen Festival in 2023 and 2024, organised by Ealing Council.
Marta Patrício Álvares
Well-Being Outreach Worker
Marta joined SCA as the Well-Being Outreach Worker in May 2025. She is leading the Caretaker’s Cottage project which aims at providing holistic early mental health support to children between the age of 5 and 12 and caring for the well-being of children and their families in our local community. Marta has worked in education, early years, and children’s media. She has an academic degree in drama and psychodynamics of human development. Marta aspires to become a child psychotherapist, using art and drama in her practice. In her spare time, she likes to go for swimming, spoken word and comedy events.
Yomna Abdelgawad
Office Manager
Yomna is the Office Manager at Southall Community Alliance, dedicated to ensuring smooth operations that allow the team to focus on making a positive community impact. She handles administrative coordination, resource management and office organisation, creating a supportive environment for staff and volunteers.
Since joining SCA in September 2022, Yomna has been passionate about serving the diverse communities and creating systems that enable SCA to focus on its core mission of connecting and inspiring communities.
Clara Kraebber
Human Rights Outreach Officer
Clara is the Human Rights Outreach Officer at Southall Community Alliance. She holds an MPhil in History from the University of Cambridge and brings extensive knowledge of the history of social justice movements to her everyday work at SCA. Clara is passionate about empowering communities to speak out against human rights abuses. Her work focuses on increasing knowledge of human rights among residents, community organisations, and public authorities in Southall. She hosts free workshops on human rights and is currently establishing a Southall Human Rights Network to empower voluntary sector organisations in Southall to embed a human-rights-based approach in their work.
Prior to working at SCA, Clara worked for The American Civil Liberties Union of Texas and The Bail Project. She currently works part-time at the Howard League for Penal Reform. Outside of work, Clara loves to write short stories and spend as much time as she can in the sun.
Since joining SCA in September 2022, Yomna has been passionate about serving the diverse communities and creating systems that enable SCA to focus on its core mission of connecting and inspiring communities.
Mehak Bajaj
Community Energy Adviser
Mehak is a Community Energy Adviser at Southall Community Alliance, where she supports residents through the ‘Safer Southall’ Project with practical guidance on energy efficiency, gas safety, and signposting to essential services. Her work focuses on empowering vulnerable households to make informed choices that improve their safety.
With an academic grounding in Human Rights from the London School of Economics, where she completed her MSc, and an undergraduate background in Sociology, Mehak has long been committed to social impact and community-centred work. Throughout her academic and professional journey, she has consistently engaged in volunteering and has worked exclusively within the NGO sector, driven by a deep interest in equity, justice and community empowerment.
Alongside her energy-focused role, Mehak also contributes to the Human Rights Project at SCA, working to increase public awareness of the Human Rights Act and its relevance to everyday life. She is currently undertaking an extensive research survey exploring the human rights landscape and lived experiences of Southall residents, with the aim of bringing community perspectives into conversations on policy.
Beyond her professional commitments, Mehak enjoys exploring creatively through cooking, spending her free time reading about human rights issues (even in her downtime!), and staying immersed in music-discovering new artists and revisiting old favourites.
Natalie
Operations and Capacity Building Manager
Natalie is the Operations and Capacity Building Manager at Southall Community Alliance. Her professional background is in Higher Education, focusing on building community, improving resident belonging and providing frontline support to university students. Over the last 10 years she has also volunteered to support asylum seeker and refugee communities in Leeds and Birmingham. She is deeply committed to empowering Southall’s residents to be active members of their communities and brings extensive project and volunteer management experience to SCA.
Natalie holds an MA in Professional Language and Intercultural Studies from the University of Leeds, alongside a joint honours undergraduate degree in History and French. At SCA she is responsible for building capacity internally and supporting with the management of SCA projects, staff and funding.
Outside of work, Natalie enjoys being active outdoors, exploring new places and cooking.
