OpenDorz

OUR TEAM

Meet some of the people who Help OpenDorz achieve its goals

We see big potential in every moment and care deeply about what we do every day. Our team reflects a group of diverse individuals with breadth and depth of experience across the organisation.

Emily Ashmore Director/Founder

(Nominated community champion for Birmingham Awards 2023)

"Hey, Everyone I am Emily and I am the proud founder and Director of OpenDorz. Growing up in a poverty driven area, I found myself surrounded by many people with not much hope or aspiration. After going through many Adverse childhood experiences alongside 'Hanging around' with the wrong people, getting in trouble with the criminal justice system was pretty much what my childhood was all about.

I Know the value of having positive role models in your life, as most of mine where bad. It is only recently that I have realised that education has always been a life line for me and although I never left school with any GCSE's I still continued to stay in education. Enrolling on many different courses and still not knowing what to do with my self I found my passion in helping people and that was one of the many reasons behind my thinking when I created OpenDorz. I have recently graduated from Newman University where I have met some of the most inspirational people of my life who have also supported me along my journey.

I believe that if you have one person that has your back then you can take on the world! Everything that we do at OpenDorz has the the community at its heart" <3

Ben Osborne Director

Hey, Everyone I am Ben and I am a Director of OpenDorz. I currently work for University of LAW as the Business and Employability manager and have the responsibility for the delivering various projects and offering consultancy services to local businesses throughout the West Midlands. I have a passion for helping others both as an individual or part of the community and enjoy seeing the continuous projects are delivered by ODZ and what a difference it is making. The drive of OD is through Emily and her team but I offer support and guidance from a strategic point of view and help wherever I can. I truly believe that everything that we do at OpenDorz has the community at its heart.

Jamel Harrison

Youth worker/ Support Worker
Hi my name is Jamel, I am 35 years old I am a father of 4 children. I am a mature student at Newman University studying of Criminology.
I have had a vast amount of experience working with Youth throughout my years of working I have worked as a youth worker for 10 years. During my years of working as a youth worker, I have had first-hand experiences that have helped me work collaboratively with children and young people, I like to think of myself as someone who looks at solutions and is a problem solver. I am happy to be working for Opendorz as this truly reflects my ethics of work practice and the company truly has “Opendorz” for all. They are such a welcoming community of people from different backgrounds who bring something unique to the table for a bigger and better cause.

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Louise Doherty

Youth mentor/ support worker
Hi my name is Lousie, I am 44 years old and I am a mother of 4 as well as a nan of 4. I am a mature student at Newman University currently studying Criminology.
Volunteering for Opendorz has made me fully appreciate and understand that there is a need for children and young people to have a safe space where they can feel comfortable and have somewhere to go. Especially from my own experience growing up, I have had first-hand experience with youth centers. I enjoy working with children and young people and believe that they should have a voice and be heard. Opendorz has provided an open platform for children and young people to be able to speak freely without judgment. This is part of the reason why I have joined the Opendorz community.

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Amarpreet Mandier

Youth worker/ volunteer
Hello my name is Amarpreet but people call me Preet, I have a passion for working with children and young people and feel like my own life experiences can contribute as a experience to help others around. I like to think of myself as a contributor and like to give back to the community. I feel that Opendorz have given me a opportunity working with to implement this. Working with Opendorz has been a safe haven and we are all one big family that are here to support one another.

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Molly Turton

Content Creator/ Dance Teacher
Hey! My name is Molly, and I am currently studying Drama, Theatre and Applied Performance at Newman University. I have been volunteering with young people since I was 12-years-old and started volunteering with Open Dorz in 2022. I really enjoy working with children and young people, especially through dance and drama sessions! I run the Open Dorz 2 Youth TikTok page where I mainly post videos of TikTok dances taught to me by our amazing young people.
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Huma Imran

Volunteer
My name is Huma and I am currently a 2nd year student with a passion for working with young people and families, working with OpenDorz has been a real eye opener and I am happy to be apart of an amazing organiation who offers support to everyone.
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Cornell Fox (Goal Driven CIC)

Sports Coach
I am a qualified football referree and sports coach. My passion is delivering sports provision so that young people can engage in physical activity and try new sports, make new friends and have a positive rolemodels that will support them. Wellbeing is key and I believe that everyone is intiltled to the same opportunities regardless of status, so working with OpenDorz helps me to acheive my organisations aims and I am privilaged to be in collabroation with such a fantastic team!
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Leanne Sermon

Volunteer
Hi, my name is Leanne and I am
volunteering with Open Dorz to
help give young people in life
advantages they may not
already have. I am a student at
Birmingham Newman university
and studying criminology. Ideally,
I'd like to use my degree to
work with young offenders or
rehabilitation in the future.
Working, with Open Dorz is Something
i'm passionate about giving
age 4+ the opportunities that
aren't easily accessible.
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Leanna Farquharson

Programme Leader
Hi, I’m Leanna and I am a Youth Mentor and Programme Leader at Open Dorz. I have a degree in Applied Social Sciences and I’ve volunteered in the youth sector since I was around 17 years old. I eventually went on to start a family and found myself busy in a completely new way. I went back to University at the age of 25 and that’s where I met Emily. I’ve always had an interest and passion about working with young people within the community. Being around like-minded people helped reignite that passion and I was lucky enough to have the opportunity to join Open Dorz. I had a fantastic mentor when I was growing up and almost 13 years later and I still remember the impact that she had on myself.
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Joe Clarke

Project/ Campaign co-ordinator
Hello everyone, my name is Joe and I am the project/ campaign coordinator for OpenDorz. I have a strong passion for helping others, especially the less fortunate people of our communities. Since contacting ‘OpenDorz’ I have been given great responsibility, trust and respect, therefore, making me feel apart of the amazing team instantly. I hope to continue contributing to the amazing campaigns ‘OpenDorz’ has to offer, alongside my studies.
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Hollie-Mae Clifton

Youth worker/ volunteer
I am currently in my third year studying working with children young people and families, I also have a background in childcare and I have a passion for supporting children and young adults with SEN as I support my little brother who has learning difficulties.
I had the opportunity to learn about Open Dorz and since I've joined I have enjoyed every minute .I've loved making an impact in young peoples lives providing opportunities and skills in a safe environment for them to thrive.I believe everyone should have a safe space to come to and I love that we can provide this
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