Committee members

UCU members at the University of Leeds elect a committee to run union affairs in between the all-member general meetings. (General meetings of all members are the primary decision making mechanism locally, committee meetings are the secondary one.) Election is for one year from 1 September. The committee can appoint up to four additional committee members.

Committee members 2024-2025

Committee members for the academic year 1 September 2024 to 31 August 2025. This page should show current committee members – see footnotes for changes since initial elections.

Officers of the committee


President (vacant)12
Vice-president Jenny Rivas Perez3
Immediate past president: Aisha Walker
Honorary secretary: Vicky Blake
Treasurer: Nigel Bubb
Membership officer: Emily Haikney
Health and safety officer: Neil Maughan
Equality officer: Jenny Rivas Perez
Campaigns officer: Anja Komatar4
Anticasualisation officer: Dan Howdon and Sandy James (role share)
Casework officer: Jane Holgate5

Ordinary members of the committee

Alex Seehaus
Andi Rylands
Chloe Wallace
Fozia Bora
Hugh Hubbard
Kate Hardy
Laura Loyola Hernandez*

Mark Taylor-Batty*
Mette Wiggen
Omar Al-Shehabi
Rachel Walls
Stuart Hodkinson
Tom Haines-Doran
Xanthe Whittaker

(*Members of UCU’s national executive committee are automatically on the committee of their local branch. Other changes6)

UCU members at University of Leeds elect a new committee each year at or after the Annual General Meeting. Find out more at standing for election to the UCU branch committee.

Committee leads

The committee often appoints ordinary members to lead on specific priority areas of the committee’s work. This is not the same as an elected branch officer position – committee leads are typically not allocated facility time and are supported by a branch officer who has overall responsibility for that area of work.

The roles below are included only as placeholder text. The 2024-2025 committee has not yet appointed lead roles.

Black members equality:
Migrant members equality:
LGBT+ members equality:
Disabled members equality:
Women members equality:
Issues affecting academic-related professional services members:
Issues affecting members who are postgraduate students:
Climate change and the ecological emergency:
Pensions:
Communications: Rachel Walls

  1. Agreed by the committee 1 October 2024 that Aisha Walker would be acting president until 31 December 2024, decision ratified by general meeting 17 October 2024 ↩︎
  2. Aisha Walker has now retired from the university, from 1 January 2025 president’s duties routinely carried out by the vice president ↩︎
  3. Jenny Rivas-Perez was co-opted as vice president by the committee 15 October 2024 (from being equality officer) ↩︎
  4. Anja Komatar was elected as campaigns officer as a role share with Abdul Shiakh; Abdul stood down in November ↩︎
  5. Jane Holgate was elected as ordinary committee member, then elected to the new role of casework officer on 21 February 2025 ↩︎
  6. Lisa Wainwright was elected as an ordinary member of the committee but has now left the university ↩︎

This page was last updated on 21 February 2025