About us

The Bike Project is a community of refugees, cyclists, mechanics and volunteers.

Our mission is simple: to take second-hand bikes, fix them up in our workshop and give them to refugees.

We also run group cycle training for refugee women in London and Birmingham. The lessons empower and inspire women to feel the freedom of their very own bike – perhaps for the first time in their lives.

As well as our charitable activities, we sell a proportion of our wonderful refurbished bikes to the general public through our online bike shop. Every single penny we make from bike sales is ploughed straight back into the charity. This much-needed cash injection helps secure our long-term sustainability – and that means even more refugees cycling!

We’re a fast growing project and have a warm welcome ready for anyone keen to volunteer, learn practical skills and meet funky people. If that’s you, drop us a line!

Operations Team

Headshot of Lizzie Kenyon, our CEO, in black and white

Lizzie Kenyon

CEO

Lizzie is responsible for leading the team and the overall running of the The Bike Project.

Lizzie is responsible for leading the team and the overall running of the The Bike Project. She joined the team in January 2023, bringing with her over 17 years of voluntary sector experience gained in a variety of roles in local and national charities. She has spent her whole life campaigning on various social and environmental issues and is particularly interested in the relationship between the two – that combined with her love of bikes made The Bike Project a perfect fit!

When she’s not at work, Lizzie can most often be cycling to parks and museums around London with her young family, attending the occasional Arsenal game, cooking or buried in a good book.

Nicola Hill

Head of Impact

Nicola was a major force behind organising our Critical Mass bike ride to Calais in 2015.

Nicola was a major force behind organising our Critical Mass bike ride to Calais in 2015. She then began volunteering as an instructor at our cycle training for refugee women on Wednesdays. With a mixed background of consulting, operational management, cycle programme delivery and migrant sector experience under her belt, she was a natural choice to take up the role of Head of Impact at The Bike Project and has been a full timer since June 2016.

Olena Khomych

London Operations Manager

Olena looks after all our drop off points and referral partners across London.

Olena looks after all our drop off points and referral partners across London.

“In May 2022 I came to London from Ukraine. My life turned upside down at that moment, to be honest I didn’t even know what I want to do in my life.

Fate brought me to The Bike Project and once I realized what they do on a day to date basis and what great help they are to refugees and asylum seekers I had no doubt- I needed to be involved!

The Bike Project not only gives people freedom through a means of transport, but they also build community, which is so crucial for people who are starting their lives from scratch again.”

Headshot for our Fundraising Manager in black and white, standing in front of some flowers

Ryshel Patel

Fundraising Manager

Ryshel is our Fundraising Manager, working on events for supporters to get involved in, supporting our fundraisers and finding ways to illustrate the impact our community has.

Headshot for Ryshel Patel in black and whiteI really feel finding a place to belong, and in turn, feeling that you are a part of a community can really change the trajectory someone’s life. This is especially in times where you have gone through so much loss and periods of intense limbo – feelings which people we support will have felt intensely during their journeys to the UK and beyond. That is why I really believe in charities like The Bike Project are so important. It isn’t just about the bike, but the nurturing of joy, confidence and community that it can bring.

I am so proud of the work we do as an organisation and of all the people a part of it – right down to our bike recipients.

I’m hoping as part of my Fundraising Manager role, that I will not only create and develop really strong relationships with individuals, teams and corporates who already deeply care about our work, but also inspire others to feel the same as well. So, if you’re reading this and ever want to have a chat about The Bike Project and the difference your support could make, then please do pop a message over!

Apart from working, I find it very hard to stay in the house! You’ll either find me at a local cafe digitally illustrating on my iPad, exploring the glorious restaurants London has to offer, and planning my next trip abroad in an attempt to tick off locations on my bucket list.

Workshop and Retail Team

Without our mighty mechanics and fantabulous shop team members, we couldn’t refurbish so many beaten-up bikes and get them into the hands of refugees and the paying customers who help fund the project. Love them!

Maria Domenech Serrano

Workshop Manager

Leaving her little coastal town near Barcelona nearly 20 years ago, London is what Maria calls home.

Leaving her little coastal town near Barcelona nearly 20 years ago, London is what Maria calls home. After a long stint in the food industry, she trained as a Cycling Instructor and has been teaching children, adults and anyone who cared to listen for the last 8 years.

She qualified as a mechanic whilst instructing, and 3 years ago started doing the odd week at the Project’s workshop.  She’s been part of the family since the start of Summer 2020, and could not be happier!

Joshua Norbury

Workshop Manager

Joshua is the West Midlands Workshop Manager In Birmingham. He is a very keen cyclist and is as enthusiastic about fixing bikes as he is riding them!

Joshua is the senior mechanic at the West Midlands Workshop In Birmingham. He is a very keen cyclist and is as enthusiastic about fixing bikes as he is riding them! Throughout his childhood he always tinkered and repaired anything he could get his hands on including an old 1976 Honda CB125 motorbike which he later crashed and wrote off – opps! Joshua is also very enthusiastic about life and making the most of it, he often takes part in cycle camping and touring around Europe.

During his later years Joshua always wanted a vocation where he could use his skills and knowledge to help enrich other people’s lives, which this offers him. He thoroughly enjoys sharing his knowledge and helping other progress in their mechanical journey!

Resom Michael

Senior Mechanic

Resom grew up in Addis Ababa, the capital of Ethiopia. Hard to believe it now, but he never had a bike growing up and had to save up just to hire one for a couple of hours.

Resom grew up in Addis Ababa, the capital of Ethiopia. Hard to believe it now, but he never had a bike growing up and had to save up just to hire one for a couple of hours.

Resom came to London as a refugee 7 years ago and first heard about The Bike Project from a friend.

He jumped at the chance to get one of our free bikes and soon became a fixture in the workshop as a keen volunteer.

After finishing his City & Guilds Level 2 bike mechanic qualification in 2015, Resom joined the team as a fully fledged mechanic and has been absolutely integral to improvements in our workshop playlist ever since. 😉

Resom rides a gorgeous Iro single speed and enjoys cycling the Paddington canal path on his way to work.

A man of many talents, Resom balances his time in the workshop with training as a software engineer (don’t leave us!) and long and short distance running. He loves a flapjack.

Cath Palgrave

Workshop Assistant / Cycle Instructor

Cath’s first bike was rescued from a skip by her uncle, which she learned to ride and unfortunately break straight away!

Cath’s first bike was rescued from a skip by her uncle, which she learned to ride and unfortunately break straight away! She has ridden a number of both rubbish and quite good bikes ever since. Her work in environmental campaigning encouraged her to cycle for transport rather than drive, including cycling to her previous job- teaching English in Hungary! She has had a number of jobs and roles, including recycling, primary school teacher, helping schools gain School of Sanctuary awards (making then a place of welcome for refugees and asylum seekers) and leading Forest Schools. She left the woods for her current role as a workshop assistant and Pedal Power instructor in July 2019 when she joined The Bike Project, bringing her environmental and refugee supporting roles together.

Matthew Miller

Senior Mechanic

Matt is a Senior Mechanic in the London Workshop, handling jobs from servicing to shelf construction and everything in between.

Matt is a Senior Mechanic in the London Workshop, handling jobs from servicing to shelf construction and everything in between.

Our Trustees

Our trusty trustees are a treasure trove of experience, full of invaluable business and charity know-how that has been a huge factor in our success and our ambitions for the future. Hat tip.

Doug Krikler

Chair of Trustees

Doug has extensive experience in both the non-profit and private sector with roles ranging from commercial and business development to international development work in the Middle East.

Doug has extensive experience in both the non-profit and private sector with roles ranging from commercial and business development to international development work in the Middle East. Prior to becoming our Chair of Trustees, Doug has supported and watched The Bike Project grow and change over the years. In Doug’s view, “The organisation takes a commercial approach to a social need and achieves great results through that. The Bike Project has identified the fact that transport and mobility is key to social integration, participation and inclusion in general, and access to services and employment opportunities in particular. This is really important, and recognising that the transport hurdle remains a key deterrent to autonomy for individuals. It’s wholly true that we can only participate once we have access to transport.”

Annie Kurian

HR Trustee

Annie Kurian is a Global Human Resource professional with over 12 years of end-to-end HR experience in diverse industries.

Annie Kurian is a Global Human Resource professional with over 12 years of end-to-end HR experience in diverse industries.

Jeremy Sandelson

Corporate Partnerships Trustee

Pro-Chancellor of the University for the Creative Arts, Trustee of the Clore Duffield Foundation and Trustee of the Hampstead Theatre Tickets.

Jeremy Sandelson is Pro-Chancellor of the University for the Creative Arts, Trustee of the Clore Duffield Foundation and Trustee of the Hampstead Theatre Tickets.

Jeremy is a partner of Clifford Chance, solicitors where he was head of the firms dispute resolution practice from 2009-17 having previously been regional partner in the UK and the Middle East.

He has wide experience of resolving complex disputes and is a qualified CEDR mediator.

Will Cardy

Digital Marketing Trustee

Will is an online marketing expert from an agency called Platypus Digital.

Will is an online marketing expert from an agency called Platypus Digital. Like many of our volunteers, he approached us offering his skills rather than the other way round. He helped us secure a Google grant worth $10k per month in in-kind support and has managed our online marketing ever since. His work has directly contributed tens of thousands of pounds in the form of donations and bike sales not to mention a whole host of other benefits. He does speak mainly in three letter acronyms (PPC, SEO, ROI) but whatever he does it seems to work! We’re delighted to have him as a trustee.

Hala Mkhallalati

Trustee with Lived Experience

With my background as a pharmacist and public health researcher means I know how important these things are.

With my background as a pharmacist and public health researcher means I know how important these things are. I’m excited to help the organisation highlight this aspect of our work even more.

Comfort Adeyemi

Trustee with Lived Experience

I’ve gone through every part of the bike project. Participant, volunteer, bike recipient, instructor.

I’ve gone through every part of the bike project. Participant, volunteer, bike recipient, instructor – I know as much as possible what it is like for the average person going through the process. I believe I will be able to share that experience with those on the Board.”

Victoria Kershaw

Legal Trustee

Victoria is a solicitor specialising in corporate law, and has over 25 years of experience working at City law firms, commuting by bike.

Victoria is a solicitor specialising in corporate law, and has over 25 years of experience working at City law firms, commuting by bike. She currently works at international law firm Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer in a professional support role, advising on corporate law and corporate governance matters. Victoria has previously volunteered as a charity trustee for a local school charity

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