CO-DIRECTOR (ARTIST)

leah@compasscollect.com

Leah Gayer is the visionary Artistic Director and a co-founder of Compass Collective. Since day one, Leah has been at the heart of Compass, overseeing major projects and fostering partnerships with renowned organisations such as Shakespeare’s Globe, Somerset House, TATE, Southwark Playhouse, BAFTA and the National Youth Theatre .She leads on the developments and partnerships, creating impactful collaborations, and driving Compass's mission forward.

Leah’s knack for juggling multiple tasks (possibly attributed to her unicycling skills!) makes Compass an ideal partner for any creative venture. If you have a project or collaboration in mind, feel free to reach out.

CO-DIRECTOR (EXECUTIVE)

dorothy@compasscollect.com

Dorothy joined as Compass Collective’s Executive Director in February 2025. She has a wealth of experience in small and growing arts organisations, most recently having worked for Create, the UK’s leading charity empowering lives through the creative arts.

Dorothy is a Trustee of Fairbeats, a music charity working with young refugees and asylum seekers; she is also Co-Founder and Co-Director of Anthem Music, a CIC delivering creative community music-making projects in south London and beyond. She is also a freelance choral singer. Dorothy is passionate about harnessing the power of the arts to build creative, compassionate communities.

YOUTH PARTICIPATION MANAGER

mhairi@compasscollect.com

Mhairi is a Co-Founder of Compass and has been there right from the beginning. She has a background in the arts, having trained as an actor at Guildhall School of Music and Drama. She has developed and led many of our projects and is passionate about supporting our Young People to reach their full potential.

She is currently our lead Fundraiser and Young Persons Coordinator, welcoming new young people into the Collective. When not working, she can be found climbing, hiking, running and cycling, most likely in the mountains. 

YOUTH BOARD CO-ORDINATOR

sanam@compasscollect.com

Sanam is a poet and activist who strives to use her creativity for social justice. She likes to explore her gender, sexuality and ethnicity through drawing, writing and a lot of talking. Throughout her political science studies and her internship at Minority Rights or UN Women, she kept volunteering with refugees and asylum seekers. She wrote words of revolution with refugees in Switzerland.

She wrote words of poetry with refugees in London. She is still to find the words with refugees in Morocco. At times she gets dragged into projects and her words turn cardboard constructions and demonstration. In her free evenings, she makes fesenjoon and cycles through the city for a chat and a friendly tea.

WELFARE OFFICER

sara@compasscollect.com

Sara is a Higher Education professional and Yoga Teacher who is passionate about the wellbeing of all those she works with. She has volunteered with the Red Cross Young Refugee Services for the past seven years as caseworker, project volunteer and yoga teacher.

Sara joined the Compass Team as the Welfare Support Officer in October 2021 and is responsible for ensuring Compass’s young people have access to the support they need as they transition and integrate into life in the UK.

FINANCE & OPERATIONS OFFICER

leila@compasscollect.com

Leila joined Compass Collective in 2020 as a Young Person Coordinator and is now our Finance and Operations Officer, as well as the organisation’s Lead Safeguarding Officer. A French musician with a background in International Relations, she holds a Master’s in Development Studies, where she explored how music can support refugee integration in the UK.

Leila previously spent five years at the British Red Cross supporting young refugees and has led numerous cultural projects using music and the arts to empower vulnerable communities. Having lived in Palestine, Jordan, and Lebanon, she recently returned to the international development sector, working with WFD and War Child on democracy and education programmes in the Middle East. She’s currently learning Arabic and loves spending time in Corsica, where her family is from.

LEAD FUNDRAISER

tom@compasscollect.com

Toms role is to help identify potential sources of funders and work with the team to write and submit applications.

He is also leading on the development of our individual giving programme! The aim is to ensure we can maintain our current work and build capacity to do even more in the future.

Tom works as Senior Producer at Counterpoints Arts where his role includes supporting artists and organisations with project development and fundraising, as well as programming events, performances and festivals.

COMMUNICATIONS & SOCIAL MEDIA OFFICER

bo@compasscollect.com

Bo is the Communications and Social Media Officer at Compass Collective, and has been part of the team since 2022. Leading on all things digital and content creation — Bo works closely with the Youth Board to amplify the voices and talents of young people with Compass.