Our Trustee Team
Samra Said
Chair
Samra is a Co-Director and Producer at Arts & Homelessness International. She works with stakeholders to create and bring positive change to people, projects and policy through arts and creativity. Samra coordinates and designs local government-based legislative theatre projects in order to enable policy makers to democratise decision-making with people who are or have been homeless. Samra has brought her expertise in fundraising, strategy and communications to the Board of Cycle Sisters, as well as coordinating the Cycle Sisters Hounslow group.
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Samra taught herself to cycle in 2010. Following a knee injury a few years later, she took up regular cycling as part of her recovery. Samra is now a keen cyclist who commutes, cycles with a local group, or takes on solo adventures most weekends.​
Asma Ahmed
Trustee
Asma is a tax and finance professional whose career has spanned a range of leading institutions, including HMRC, Big Four accountancy firms and Magic Circle law firms. Across these roles, she has advised clients on complex personal tax and financial matters.
Originally from Yorkshire, Asma moved to London 25 years ago and has also lived in the UAE and Pakistan, experiences that have given her a broad and international outlook.
Over the past few years, Asma has developed a real passion for cycling and is a regular rider in Richmond Park and has more challenging rides planned for the future. More recently, she has taken that interest a step further by beginning a bike mechanic course and is excited to continue her journey towards becoming a trained mechanic.
Raiyhana Noorgat
Treasurer
Raiyhana is a practising financial accountant holding dual certification with the Institute of Financial Accountants (AFA AFTA), having trained as a management accountant. Her finance-oriented career covers both public and private sector and she has worked overseas. For the past seven years she has successfully started-up and grown her franchise accountancy practice which supports local businesses with compliance.
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Learning cycling as an adult, Raiyhana is thankful to her spouse who painstakingly taught her to balance, then pedal, not long after they wed. She rode only with her family for many years, until she joined a Cycle Sisters ride in 2021. The inclusiveness, camaraderie and support inspired Raiyhana and she felt compelled to train as a Ride Leader in 2023 to help empower others. Soon after, she joined as the Treasurer on the Board.
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Charmian Beedie
Trustee
Charmian is Head of Marketing at a cycle parking manufacturer and service provider, based in Sydenham. Her role involves working with numerous stakeholders, including local authority and construction clients, end users and decision makers to help break down the barriers to cycling.
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From cycling as a mode of transport, through to exploring the world on two wheels, Charmian is keen to ensure others get the chance to enjoy the opportunities cycling offers.
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Charmian’s cycling trips have taken her as far as Ushuaia, the world's most southern city and have introduced her to many beautiful people and cultures.
She hopes to bring her passion for cycling to help to introduce more women to the freedom that cycling brings.
Zainab Arian
Trustee
Zainab is the Chief Executive Officer of a Community Interest Company based in Tower Hamlets which specialises in delivering primary and community health care for local residents and is one of the largest primary care providers within the UK.
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Zainab is a qualified Chartered Management Accountant (ACMA) with over 10 years of experience spanning across both private and public sector organisations.
Having rediscovered her love for cycling, Zainab participated in a women’s cycle event which had a number of Cycle Sisters participating. Inspired by their stories and the work Cycle Sisters has done to engage and promote cycling to a wider Muslim audience, Zainab joined the Board.
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Annie Hall
Trustee
Annie has over 20 years’ experience in the third sector, working across a range of causes including homelessness, disability, mental health and youth employment.
She specialises in fundraising, with a focus on corporate partnerships, major donors and events, and brings strong experience in relationship building, strategy and income. Her work is rooted in creating inclusive opportunities and communities, which aligns closely with the mission of Cycle Sisters.
Annie has been cycling in London for over 18 years and loves how it brings everything closer and brings the city’s streets to life, allowing her to explore more. She is passionate about making cycling more accessible and welcoming for women.
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Our Staff Team
Sarah Javaid MBE
Founder & CEO
Sarah started Cycle Sisters in 2016 after not finding any local cycle groups to help her to start cycling. Realising how a safe and supportive space that met the needs of Muslim women would have helped her, she set out to start a group of her own.
Sarah went on to train as a Ride Leader and Cycle Instructor and her work with Cycle Sisters was recognised with an MBE in the King's Birthday Honours List 2023.
Prior to Cycle Sisters, Sarah has held leadership roles in the charity sector for over 10 years including co-founding and leading a Muslim youth charity. Her experience includes organisational strategy, programme development and fundraising. ​
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Nileema Yesmin
Project Coordinator
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Nileema rediscovered her love for cycling during the Covid-19 lockdown, taking her first pedal onto the roads while traffic was still quiet. Soon after, she discovered Cycle Sisters and quickly fell in love with the group rides, which gave her the confidence to navigate London's roads.
She treasures these social rides for offering a fresh perspective on her city and the chance to connect with women from diverse backgrounds in a supportive, non-judgmental environment.
Beyond Cycle Sisters, Nileema has a diverse background in arts education, heritage, research, and Film and TV. She brings a breadth and depth of programme management and audience engagement work under her helmet.
Having been moved by the work of Cycle Sisters she is eager to support the transformation of the image of Muslim women in cycling.
Emma Pajarillaga
Director of Operations
Emma was one of Cycle Sisters’ first participants and hadn’t ridden a bike since she was a teenager when she joined her first ride back in 2016. It was love at first pedal! Emma quickly went on to buy a bike and then trained as one of Cycle Sisters' first Ride Leaders for our Waltham Forest group.
Emma has worked in the charity sector for the past 12 years where she has gained a broad range of experience in project management and volunteer management. She brings this expertise to her role at Cycle Sisters where she oversees the charity’s day to day operations. She currently also works part time at a local community organisation in Waltham Forest and was acknowledged in the ‘100 Women in Cycling List’ 2019
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Deryn Ellis
Communications & Media Coordinator
Deryn learned how to ride a bike as a child in Wales, but hadn’t ridden since she was a teen.
Cycling around a busy city seemed daunting to her as a visibly Muslim woman, but after joining her local Cycle Sisters group she fell back in love with cycling and gained the confidence to ride around on London’s roads. Now she’s a Cycle Sisters’ Ride Leader and Cycle Instructor and hopes to help other women fall in love with cycling too.
Deryn has been working in social media and content creation for over eight years where she’s led campaigns, and produced hundreds of videos for social media telling positive Muslim stories. She brings her love for content creation and storytelling into her role at Cycle Sisters to inspire more Muslim women to cycle.
Sabeha Miah
Project Coordinator
Sabeha learned to ride as a child and stopped as she became a teen. She got back into cycling 35 years later during lockdown, and absolutely enjoyed the freedom of being on a bicycle and exploring new parts of London that she never realised existed…all while also increasing health and wellbeing and really discovering how fantastic cycling is!
In addition to her Cycle Sisters role, Sabeha has been working in the charity sector for over 16 years. She manages, develops and delivers services for BAME women to overcome multiple barriers, exclusion and social isolation in East London. She is also an entrepreneur and co-founded an award-winning social enterprise, which trains and employs BAME women, providing empowering, meaningful and well-paid work.
Hajera Rahman
Finance Coordinator
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Hajera is a Chartered Accountant (ACA), having trained with one of the Big Four firms. Since qualifying, her career has spanned a wide range of industries, including pensions, sports and media, architecture, hedge funds, and the public sector, where she has taken on both financial reporting and management roles.
Alongside her professional work, Hajera also serves on boards and as a trustee for the community.
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Hajera can’t quite remember when or how she first learned to ride a bike. She likely practised, fell off, and got back on again. She feels especially grateful for her father, who encouraged her to ride and would always find a second-hand bike for her whenever she needed a replacement.
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Hajera stopped cycling in her teens, but years later, wanting to regain her confidence, she began looking for support, which led her to Cycle Sisters. She is now a regular bike commuter and has completed longer rides, like London to Southend.