Our people
MAP is made up of a diverse team of specialists, all dedicated to building a future where every Palestinian can access quality, locally-led healthcare, and fully exercise their rights to health and dignity.
Our locally-led approach
Our strength is rooted in being Palestinian-led. Our work is guided by our local Palestinian teams and partners, whose deep knowledge, cultural understanding, and established trust within their own communities enables us to respond more rapidly, sensitively, and effectively to urgent needs.
Through mutual learning and investing in Palestinian expertise and leadership, our work promotes resilience, reduces dependency on external organisations in the long-term, and ensures that aid efforts genuinely align with the real priorities and lived experiences of Palestinians.
In the environments we work in, where access and safety are major challenges, we have found that a locally-led approach is not just more effective: it is essential.
Message from one of MAP’s founders
Sadly, after more than 40 years, MAP still has much to do as we stand with our Palestinian friends in their struggle for justice. The need for MAP’s work only seems to be expanding, rather than diminishing.
No one in this world is free until the Palestinian people are free, and I believe that MAP will be one of the vehicles that supports them on their journey to justice.
– Dr Swee Chai Ang
MAP President
The Baroness Patricia Morris of Bolton OBE DL – Patricia became a life peer in 2004 and has served as the Shadow Minister for Education, Children, Families & Women and as a Shadow Work and Pensions Spokesperson. Since 2007 she has also been a member of the Board of Trustees of UNICEF UK and in 2009 she became the President of World Travel Market. Baroness Morris is the Prime Minister's Trade Envoy to Jordan, Kuwait and the Palestinian Territories and was Chair of the Conservative Middle East Council.
Honorary patrons
Dr Swee Chai Ang FRCS – A founding Trustee of MAP, Swee is an orthopaedic consultant surgeon at the London and St Bartholomew's Hospital Trust. Working in Beirut during the 1982 invasion, she witnessed and survived the massacre at Sabra and Shatila, writing "From Beirut to Jerusalem" about her experiences. She returned to London to help form MAP and, as the first chair of the projects committee, helped launch the volunteer programme. She has also co-authored the "Manual of War Surgery" and received the 'Star of Palestine' award from the late President, Yasser Arafat.
Helena Kennedy KC – Helena is a barrister, broadcaster and Labour member of the House of Lords. She is former MAP President and an expert in human rights law, civil liberties and constitutional issues and is the chair of Justice - the British arm of the International Commission of Jurists.
Board of Trustees
Professor Nick Maynard – Nick is a leading consultant gastrointestinal surgeon at Oxford University Hospital, who has worked extensively in Gaza since 2010. He co-led MAP’s first emergency medical team to Gaza in December 2023, in response to the current crisis and has returned several times since to complete surgeries.
Vice Chair
Shireen Jayyusi – Shireen began her career in investment banking before transitioning into the startup world, where she has been involved with a number of consumer and technology startups, and has launched and run her own startup business. She is currently working as an independent business consultant, offering strategy, business and start-up support. Shireen is of Palestinian heritage, and has campaigned for Palestinian rights and dignity for many years.
Treasurer
Hilary Wild – Hilary has extensive international experience in finance, asset management, organisational management, governance and risk management, particularly in agriculture, food systems, and water and sanitation. She was previously Chief Financial Officer of the World Health Organization, has chaired oversight committees for various UN agencies and is a Fellow of the Institute of Chartered Accountants in England and Wales.
Trustees
Muna Abbas – Muna is the CEO of the Asfari Foundation, an organisation aiming to strengthen the sustainability of a resilient civil society infrastructure and empower youth through education, innovation, and entrepreneurship. With over 25 years in the humanitarian and development sector, Muna has a wealth of experience including with organisations like Save the Children and Plan International.
Ade Bamigboye – Ade is the Chief Technology Officer at the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea and a Trustee of Parents 1st UK. With 30 years in IT, he brings extensive cross-sector experience and is a certified Information Privacy and Cloud Security Professional. His focus is on leveraging emerging technologies to drive innovation and transformation, and using tech to enhance health and wellbeing through initiatives like tele-care and remote monitoring.
Jacob Burns – Jacob is a Director of Studies at the internal reflection centre of Doctors Without Borders / Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF), and previously worked for MSF in Palestine and across the Middle East in various communications roles. He has also worked in and on Palestine as a journalist with organisations including Amnesty International and Forensic Architecture.
Mike Egan – Mike is an experienced charity trustee, and is currently also serving with Homeless Link and Rainbow Migration. He was previously a trustee at War on Want and a governor of Heythrop College, where he is now an Honorary Fellow. Formerly Head of Audit at UHY Hacker Young, Mike took early retirement and went on to earn a Master’s in Voluntary Sector Management from Bayes Business School.
Sarah Eldon – Sarah has 20 years' experience in the charity and NGO sector across fundraising, communications and programme management, including working overseas in North Africa, the Middle East and Sub Saharan Africa. During her tenure in the Middle East she worked in Lebanon, the West Bank and Gaza, seeing first-hand the impact of living under occupation has on the dignity and health of Palestinians and she joined MAP to ensure she could continue to advocate for their basic rights.
Dina Hashem – Dina is Director of Institutional Funding at Lumos, an international charity supporting children. She is an experienced leader in global development, strategic partnerships and humanitarian programming, with over 20 years of work across West Asia, Europe and Africa. A member of the Palestinian diaspora raised in the UK, she has long been dedicated to justice for Palestinians - through UK-based solidarity work, volunteering at Birzeit University and ongoing regional engagement.
Richard Makepeace – Richard joined the Foreign and Commonwealth Office in 1976 after studying modern languages at Oxford University. He spent around 20 years as a diplomat in the Middle East, including roles as British Ambassador in Khartoum and Abu Dhabi, and Consul General in Jerusalem. He also worked in central Europe and at the UK Delegation to the EU in Brussels. From 2011 to 2023, he was Registrar of the Oxford Centre for Islamic Studies and a fellow of St Cross College, Oxford.
Dr Ramzi Nasir – Ramzi is a Developmental-Behavioural Paediatrician, practicing in London within the NHS and privately. Born in Palestine, he trained in the U.S., and now holds leadership roles in autism services at the Royal Free London NHS Foundation Trust and the Portland Hospital. Ramzi advises humanitarian organisations like MSF and MAP, developing training programmes and supporting care in crisis settings.
Mary O’Shea – Mary's most recent role was Director of HR at the Institute of Cancer Research in London. Prior to that, she led the HR function in a number of NHS organisations and has held director posts in both the public and private sectors. She is a Fellow of the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development (CIPD) and holds an MA in Industrial Relations from Keele. She is passionate about diversity and inclusion and believes healthcare is a fundamental human right.
Muna Wehbe – Muna is a strategic advisor to philanthropists, CEOs, and foundations, and former Chief Executive of the Stars Foundation, an organisation that supported disadvantaged children, young people and their communities around the world.
Prof. Graham Watt MD FRCGP FRSE FMedSci CBE – Emeritus Professor, General Practice and Primary Care, University of Glasgow. Graham is an elected Fellow of the UK Academy of Medical Sciences and the Royal Society of Edinburgh. He has longstanding links with Palestinian academic colleagues at Birzeit University and the University of Hebron, and currently chairs the steering group of the Lancet Palestinian Health Alliance. In the UK he initiated the GPs at the Deep End movement.
Dr Philippa Whitford – Philippa is former Member of Parliament for Central Ayrshire and a senior breast cancer surgeon. She first volunteered with MAP in Gaza in the 1990s and returned to Gaza in 2016 to support our breast cancer programmes, which she has continued supporting ever since.
Leadership team
Steve Cutts – Chief Executive
Steve has extensive leadership experience in the non-profit, governmental and intergovernmental sectors, from delivering major projects and organisational reform to advising on international development policy. He has previously served as Assistant Secretary-General at both the United Nations and the Commonwealth Secretariat; Chef de Cabinet and Deputy Executive Director at the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD); and CEO at an international education charity. Steve holds an Executive MBA from INSEAD and a First Class (Double) Honours degree, as well as an Honorary Doctorate, from Keele University.
Aisha Mansour – West Bank Director
Aisha has more than 20 years of experience in health management, systems and policy. Her background in the healthcare sector in the occupied Palestinian territory includes working for the Ministry of Health, World Health Organisation (WHO), and for local and international NGOs. She joined MAP in May 2019. Aisha currently serves on the fundraising committee of the Dalia Association, a local Palestinian community foundation. She is a regular volunteer at Farashe yoga centre and Hakurat Albireh community farm.
Fikr Shalltoot – Gaza Director
Fikr joined MAP in July 2001 and has been the Director of our team in Gaza since April 2013. Her background is in healthcare, having previously trained as a neo-natal nurse and then studied and qualified in public health. Since the 2014 Israeli military assault on Gaza, Fikr has worked to develop a sustainable programme that meets the healthcare needs of Gaza’s population.
Wafa Dakwar – Lebanon Director
Wafa joined MAP in 2010 and has worked in a range of different programme-related roles before becoming the Lebanon Director in 2023. She is dedicated to making a difference for Palestinian refugees in Lebanon and ensuring their access to their rights to health and dignity.
Shabby Amini – Director of Fundraising and Marketing
Shabby joined MAP in July 2024. She leads on raising funds for MAP’s work from the public, corporates, philanthropists and trusts and foundations. Shabby brings extensive experience as a strategic consultant supporting organisations including the UK for UNHCR, Anti-Slavery International, the Disasters Emergency Committee, Shelter, Lumos and CARE USA. She has previously held executive roles at CARE International UK, Comic Relief, FareShare and Freedom from Torture. She is also an experienced board member, having sat on the boards of Greenpeace UK, Africa Advocacy Foundation and Freedom from Torture.
Iain McSeveny – Director of Finance and Operations
As a chartered accountant, Iain has more than 35 years of experience in the charity sector, including roles at Greenpeace in the UK and China, and with Amnesty International. He joined MAP in 2014 and leads on finance, technology, risk & compliance, and supply and logistics, as well as supporting the CEO on legal and governance matters. Iain also currently sits on the board at Greenpeace UK.
Sameer Sah – Director of Programmes, UK
Sameer is a public and global health expert with experience across 35+ countries in Asia, Eastern Europe, the Middle East, Africa, and the Americas. He has worked extensively in tuberculosis (TB) prevention, serving on the first WHO Global Civil Society Task Force on TB, and is currently a member of the WHO Europe’s Regional Coordinating Committee on TB, HIV, and Viral Hepatitis. Sameer is the lead author of the groundbreaking publication 'Psychosocal Counselling and Treatment Adherence Support for People with Tuberculosis' and has authored two programme manuals for outreach health workers providing TB and HIV care and treatment. Sameer joined MAP in December 2022 and co-led our first emergency medical team into Gaza in December 2023. He has been honoured by the Palestinian State and was awarded the Humanitarian Medal by King Charles III for services in Gaza in 2025.
Rohan Talbot – Director of Advocacy, Campaigns and Communications
Rohan has been at MAP for more than ten years, and leads on the organisation’s strategies to promote the voices of Palestinians and mobilise the public, media and governments to act to address the barriers to Palestinians' rights to health and dignity. Before joining MAP, Rohan held a number of research, campaigning and advocacy roles, including with the Commonwealth Secretariat and Naba’a, one of MAP’s local partners in Lebanon.
