Meet Our Team
Anita Motha,
Chief Executive Officer
Anita joined as CEO in May 2022, bringing over fourteen years of experience working and volunteering within Catholic youth ministry and international development. She holds a BA in Music from Newcastle, and a Masters in Education and International Development from the Institute of Education, University College London.
She has worked for CAFOD developing and delivering their young adult engagement strategy. Prior to this, she managed Bosco Volunteer Action, the international volunteering programme for the Salesians of Don Bosco for six years. She also has experience volunteering for Christian Aid and worked as a school chaplain in the north east of England. Most recently, Anita has served as Vice-Chair on the Board of Trustees for Million Minutes.
Having grown up across London, Hong Kong, and Dubai, Anita now lives in the Diocese of Brentwood with her husband and two young children.
Bernie Goddard,
Engagement Officer
Bernie joined our team in April 2024. With a Foundation Degree in Youth Ministry, she has worked in various Youth Ministry and Catholic Education settings over the last 16 years, as well as having been a keen CAFOD volunteer during this time.
Bernie hopes to bring her knowledge of social justice and youth engagement to Million Minutes to encourage voice, influence and participation of young people.
Michael Chambers,
Administrator
Michael joined the team in August 2023, having just graduated from the University of Kent with a BA (Hons) in Hispanic Studies and History.
He hopes to use his experience from working with local youth groups and his university’s CathSoc, to help bring the voice and ideas of young people to his work at Million Minutes, as well as his involvement with other charities and organisations.
Our Trustees
Ewan Day-Collins
CHAIR
Ewan was appointed the Chair of Million Minutes in January 2021, having joined the Board eighteen months prior. He is Head of Programme and Business Development at DePaul International, a global homelessness charity. He previously held programme management and business development roles in both international and domestic NGOs, latterly at the homelessness charity St Mungo's. He grew up and still lives in London, leaving the city briefly to study at Cambridge University, where he got a Double First in History. He believes passionately in the Church's renewal, and the role of young people in achieving it.
Nina Mattiello Azadeh
VICE CHAIR
Nina joined the Trustee board in March 2021. She has worked in media for the Catholic Bishops Conference of England and Wales, and is now a content producer at the Royal Opera House. She continues to serve Catholic communities, charities and groups as a freelance media consultant. She has written for publications such as Christian Today and The Tablet. She aims to work towards empowering young people to speak and act with confidence in Catholic and community spaces, and is particularly passionate about promoting the voices of women and people of colour. Nina says, "Having been on the receiving end of some of the amazing work of Million Minutes, I wanted to be able to give back and be part of building the future, and the 'now', of the Catholic Church in England and Wales".
Ann Nichols
Ann Nichols works for Edmund Rice England as their Network Facilitator, a role she took up in 2017. Prior to this role she was a Modern Languages teacher and senior leader schools. She comes from the Northwest of England - from Liverpool but has worked, lived and travelled around the UK and Europe. In schools, amongst other roles, she has worked in boarding as house mistress in a Jesuit-run boarding school, has worked with foreign nationals as an ESOL teacher and led many exchange programmes for her language students. Her interests were in Chaplaincy, Peace and Justice, pupil voice, student councils and student leadership as well as personal and social education.
Her current role involves liaison with schools around developing programmes to enhance charism and ethos, delivering well-being programmes to staff and students, working with schools on sustainability and advocacy work, working with Brothers communities and outreach with refugees and asylum seekers. She works closely with Edmund Rice Education Beyond Borders and with Religious Orders in Education.
Ann is married to Andrew and has 2 teenage children.
Fr Ryan Service
Fr Ryan is an ordained Priest, serving in the Archdiocese of Birmingham. He also has a Licence in Catholic Social Teaching and Public Ethics from at the Pontifical Gregorian University in Rome. Fr Ryan brings with him a wealth of experience, especially in regards to accompanying young people in the Church and he is excited to get to work with Million Minutes in providing a platform for young people in their discernment along the path of Christian discipleship. He currently teaches Catholic Social Teaching at St Mary's College, Oscott, a seminary in the UK. all the difference.
George White
SAFEGUARDING LEAD
George White is a transgender and Catholic teacher of Religious Education at a Catholic secondary school in Leicester. He holds a BA in Philosophy and Theology from Heythrop College, an MA in Global Ethics and Human Values from King's College London and a Secondary PGCE in Religious Studies from the University of Cambridge. He is particularly interested in LGBT Inclusion in Catholic Schools and works with school leaders, national education unions, Catholic organisations and dioceses to provide support and training sessions to improve pastoral care for LGBT staff and pupils within Catholic education.
Aseel Gilbert
Aseel joined the Trustee board in early 2023. She has been working in the Catholic Parish of Guildford for over 16 years; starting off as a part-time youth worker to become the Children, Youth and Families Coordinator, serving over 4000 parishioners. She runs three weekly youth groups and has accompanied hundreds of young people in life and faith. Aseel is passionate about empowering young people to their human flourishing. She holds a BEng in Electronic Engineering, a PhD in Computer Vision and an MA in Theology and Youth Ministry. She is married with a pre-teen and a teenager.
Jason Charewicz
Jason was born in the United States, and it was at the Catholic University of America that he developed a great love of theology and philosophy. His first experience working with young people came when he started teaching English in South Korea, working with much younger students that he would have ever imagined, and he found it a much richer experience that he had assumed. After three years in South Korea, he moved to Northern Ireland to marry his now-wife. He now lives in Bristol and works for the Diocese of Clifton as the Caritas and Environment Officer and is currently the Clifton Coordinator for the 2025 Jubilee. In his role he has led pilgrimages to Flame 2023 and to World Youth Day 2023 in Lisbon, as well as being involved in Clifton’s synodal journey. He is thrilled to join the Million Minutes board and to put his experience and ideas into practice supporting young people in England and Wales.
Join our Board of Trustees
Million Minutes is a small charity that has a significant impact in the Catholic community and beyond, achieved with the help of a committed board of trustees. As a charity, we exist to work with the Catholic Church to ‘place all young people at the heart of the Church’, in the words of Pope Francis. This means working via parishes and local Catholic communities, advocating within the internal structures of the Church, and building up a new generation of young leaders inspired by the gifts of Catholic Social Teaching.
Million Minutes maintains a diverse Board of Trustees with different skills and perspectives. As the terms of some trustees come to an end, the Board is looking for three new trustees with at least one individual having previous board and/or senior leadership experience.
The trustee will contribute to the governance of Million Minutes’ activities and development of the charity’s strategic direction. Board membership usually involves attending 4 meetings per year on weekday evenings. Virtual attendance is possible. There is also one full Away Day in January, held in London.
We are seeking to recruit multiple trustee posts on a rolling basis and particularly welcome applications from those with previous Board experience.
Please download a full role description here.
Application process: After reading the role description above, please send a CV and one page covering letter outlining why you would like to join the board of Million Minutes. The selection process will involve an informal interview with members of the board, and an opportunity to explore and discuss Million Minutes’ work with the team and volunteers. If successful in this, you would then be given an opportunity to observe a Board meeting before committing formally to the Trustee position.
Please email your completed application to info@millionminutes.org