Welcoming Three New Trustees to Asylos

We’re thrilled to introduce three exceptional individuals who have joined Asylos’ Board of Trustees in 2025. Each brings unique expertise and passion to our mission, and we couldn’t be more honoured to have them on board.

Teslim Adeyanju – Treasurer

Teslim joined us in May 2025 as our new Treasurer. As a Chartered Accountant and Financial Data Analyst, he brings a powerful combination of financial expertise and data science skills. Teslim is passionate about promoting transparency, accountability, and evidence-based decision-making. He works with organisations to harness financial data as a tool for strengthening strategy and maximising impact.

Tesfalem Habte Yemane – Trustee

Tesfalem serves as a Post-doctoral Research Associate at the University of Liverpool, where he’s working on an ESRC-funded research project examining Channel Crossings in the English Channel. His PhD from the University of Leeds explored the experiences of Eritrean refugees and asylum seekers in the UK through postcolonial and decolonial frameworks. Currently, he also holds a Visiting Scholar position at the Centre for Ethnicity and Racism Studies at the University of Leeds. His research focuses on migration politics, critical refugee studies, the post/decoloniality of asylum, and border violence.

Yiğit Aksakoğlu – Trustee

Yiğit has shared his personal reflections on joining our board in a thoughtful piece, which you can read below.

We’re excited about the perspectives and expertise these three trustees bring to Asylos, and we look forward to the positive impact we’ll create together.

“Why I Joined the Board of Asylos”

I am one of the newest members of the Board of Trustees at Asylos, alongside Tesfalem Yemane. I am honoured and excited to contribute to the crucial work that Asylos is doing.
This is not only a new responsibility but also a deeply personal commitment for me.

For over two decades, I’ve worked at the intersection of human rights, civil society, and systemic change, across local, national, and international contexts. This new role offers me a way to continue contributing to the lives of those who have been forcibly displaced, and who often find themselves caught within the machinery of migration policies rather than protected by them.

Asylos’ mission to provide high-quality, case-specific country-of-origin information (COI) is critical. I’ve seen first-hand how such information can shape life-altering decisions made by
caseworkers who are too often under pressure and without the full context. In asylum systems where people are reduced to file numbers, Asylos plays a vital role in ensuring that
each story is heard and taken seriously.

What drew me most to Asylos is its clear commitment to centering lived experience in all aspects of its work. Too often, even well-meaning organizations that aim to support migrants do so without including them meaningfully in governance, strategy, or staffing. Lived experience is not a checkbox in a DEI framework. It is essential for legitimacy, relevance, and impact. Asylos recognizes this and is actively working to embed it into its practices. I am grateful and eager to contribute to that journey.

I am also excited to work alongside a distinguished Board of Trustees and a passionate, dedicated team. I look forward to learning from their insights and contributing to the vision
we collectively uphold.

Yiğit Aksakoğlu