Ali is a born and bred South Londoner where she has spent all her life working and raising her five children. She is mother to a current pupil at Vanguard.  Ali has worked in Community Development for 20 years winning an award from Wandsworth Council in 2012 for her work in the borough. She is currently working as a Pastoral Care Lay minister at a local Church and is a Senior Support Manager for an Almshouse Charity.

Both roles bring her into contact with some of the most vulnerable people in the community and she has a track record of working across age groups and sectors, working in prisons, starting a Crack Cocaine programme and a playgroup, a portfolio of interfaith projects, and she regularly designs and delivers group work with both young people and seniors.

Ali passionately believes that education has the power to transform lives and has seen the truth of that for Ben who has flourished since leaving mainstream schools for Vanguard.