Maggie Galliers is President of the Learning and Work Institute Board. She is also Chair of the National Housing Federation, Pro Chancellor and Chair of Council at Buckinghamshire New University, a member of the Further Education Advisory Panel for the Queen’s Anniversary Prizes for higher and further education and a member of the Board of NEBOSH, the National Examination Board in Occupational Health and Safety. Maggie served for sixteen years as Principal of two further education colleges, Henley College Coventry and then Leicester College, and was elected President of the Association of Colleges in 2012/13. A strong advocate for lifelong learning and inclusion, she was chair of the Learning and Work Institute from 2016 to 2022. Maggie has extensive experience at Board level. This includes having been a member of the Ofqual Board, the Further Education Funding Council (FEFC) Quality Assessment Committee, the Quality Improvement Agency (QIA) Board, the National Learning and Skills Council (LSC), the LSC’s Young People’s Learning Committee, the Higher Education Funding Council for England (HEFCE) Teaching Quality and Student Experience Committee and the Teaching Excellence Framework Review Advisory Group. She has also been Chair of City College Coventry leading up to a merger in 2017, Chair of NIACE, a member of the Council of the Open University and Vice Chair of the Learning Without Limits Academy Trust. Maggie was appointed CBE for services to local and national further education in the Queen’s Birthday Honours’ List 2009. In 2013 she was awarded the honorary degree of Doctor of Education by the University of Bedfordshire for “her outstanding contribution to further education and support for access and progression to higher education.”

Jeremy was until recently Director-General for Policy at the Department for Work and Pensions. He now has a portfolio career. Previously, at the Department for Education, he worked on both schools and HE policy and was for 4 years a non-executive director of the Student Loans Company. He spent 2 years on secondment to HM Treasury heading the Housing Urban and Transport team. He also worked for a number of years at the Economic and Social Research Council. Jeremy is deeply interested in human capital issues and the critical importance of lifelong learning. He is also strongly committed to the use of evidence and analysis in policy making.

Chris is a businessperson who has worked in large international corporations (like Mars, Allied Domecq, Grand Met and Coca-Cola, where he was Managing Director of Great Britain) and small local start-ups, including his own food and drink businesses. In parallel, Chris was Deputy Chair of the National Employment Panel (NEP), which advised the Government on Welfare to Work reform and was author of the influential report, ‘Welfare to Workforce Development’. He was a founding member and subsequently Chair of the National Council of the Learning and Skills Council (LSC). He undertook an Independent Review of Fees and Co-funding in Further Education, on behalf of the department for Business, Innovation and Skills. Chris was Deputy Pro-Chancellor of the University of Birmingham and subsequently Chair of the Quality Assurance Agency, with responsibility for overseeing the quality of UK Higher Education. He was a Chair of the Birmingham University School and remains a member of the School. He is currently a Governor of Cobham Free School and the ACS group of International Schools. In 2003 Chris was awarded a CBE for services to young people and the unemployed.

Paul is a retired civil servant who worked for the DWP, for 19 of them as a chartered public finance accountant.  He served as Finance Director for two of the department’s arm’s length bodies (NEST and BPDTS) as well as a senior finance officer within the core department.   Since retiring he has served as treasurer to a local charity in Harrogate, as well as non executive roles in the not for profit sector.

Lauren Harris is a director in the Standard Chartered Group Internal Audit function. Prior to this, she spent most of her career providing audit and advisory services at KPMG in the financial services and charity sectors. Working closely with board and audit committees to promote best practices in corporate governance and risk management. She has also held key roles in developing learning strategies, and currently chairs a global network with a mission to equip and accelerate the careers of women.

Nicky is a Chartered Fellow of the CIPD with over 20 years HR experience covering generalist and specialist HR roles. Nicky is currently the Head of Talent at Channel 4 and is a qualified Coach. At C4 she has responsibility for talent acquisition, talent management, early careers, apprenticeships, onboarding, and workforce planning. There is a strong focus on diversity and inclusion woven through all aspects of Nicky’s role, to enable C4 to improve representation at both the broadcaster and in the wider industry. In addition to Talent, Nicky has previously held roles focused on employer brand, employee engagement and employee communications, following her early career as an HR generalist. Currently she is a Board Trustee for the ’Early Careers Foundation’, and dance charity ‘The Lisa Ullmann Travelling Scholarship Fund’, and is also on the Advisory Committee for the Royal Television Society Academy. Outside of work she watches lots of TV, travels whenever possible, and is a lifelong supporter of her home town football club Leeds United.

Hâf Merrifield is currently Director of Strategy at the Open University. Before joining the University sector Hâf spent much of her career in the Civil service, including as Director for Children and Learners for the East Midlands for the Department for Education with previous roles in the Department of Trade and Industry, Cabinet Office and, briefly, the European Commission. She also has experience as a senior manager in local government. She has a longstanding interest in the power of education and skills to transform life chances.

Tim had a long career in local authorities, retiring as finance director of a major Midlands local authority. Since then he has had a portfolio of activities including finance and organisational consultancy for the local authority, private, higher education and voluntary sectors, and non-executive roles in the public and private sectors. He is currently Chair of Audit for the local authority and Clinical Commissioning Group in North East Lincolnshire, and a non executive director of a tenant-led housing association. He was a governor of a local further education college for 17 years, and is a Trustee and local school governor for the Midland Academies Trust . Tim is a trustee of several local charities including a foodbank, Worklink Hinckley, that provides training into work for people with learning disabilities; and is Treasurer of his local Anglican church.

Ruth Spellman was the first and only female chief executive in the 116 year history of the WEA - the UK’s largest voluntary sector provider of adult education in England and Scotland. She recently stood down from this role to become an Ambassador. Ruth uses her extensive knowledge and experience of how education can change people’s lives, to shape the future of WEA and in her capacity as Board Member for various education charities. Ruth was awarded an OBE in 2007 for services to workplace learning and she holds three Honorary Doctorates. Ruth’s early experience in the public sector saw her lead the HR consulting practice at Coopers and Lybrand and at NSPCC as a HR Director, modernising the organisation’s approach to developing its people and winning the Employer of the Year Award in 1996. Ruth progressed to lead Investors in People where she overhauled the IIP brand, which subsequently became an acknowledged Superbrand. She departed achieving IIP for 33,000 employers, of which 15,000 were SMEs. Ruth was the first female Chief Executive of the Institute of Mechanical Engineers, where she led a strategy that focussed on retention of female talent, development path for young engineers, admittance to professional membership and engaged with public policy on transport, energy and the environment.

Ayo has over 20 years experience in financial services. He has held a number of senior appointments in governance, risk management and regulatory roles for various organisations in the finance and financial services sectors. He has served as Chair of the Audit and Risk Committee for a large multi academy trust and is passionate about education and attainment particularly as it impacts underserved communities in the UK.

Belinda has had a varied career spanning industry, management consulting, financial services and the voluntary sector. For the last 15+ years she has focused on helping organisations achieve sustainable social impact. During this time, she was a founding trustee and subsequently Chair of the charity National Numeracy, Head of Research at New Philanthropy Capital, and a member of the inaugural board of Nesta Impact Investments. Belinda is particularly interested in developing innovative ways in which education, skills and experience can create better opportunities for all.

Alison is the Sir Roy Griffiths Professor of Public Management at Kings College, and a cross-bench peer in the House of Lords. She specialises in the relationship between education and the labour market. In March 2011 she completed the Wolf Review of Vocational Qualifications, and in 2015/16 was a member of the independent panel member on technical education, chaired by Lord Sainsbury, which formed the basis of the Government’s Skills Plan.

Professor Dame Carol Black is currently Chair of the British Library, the Centre for Ageing Better, and Think Ahead, the Government’s fast-stream training programme for Mental Health Social Workers. She chairs NHS Improvement’s Advisory Board on Employee Health and Wellbeing, and is Adviser to NHSI and PHE on Health and Work. She is also a member of RAND Europe’s Council of Advisers, and of the Board of UKActive. On 27th February 2020 Dame Carol’s Independent Review for the Home Office on illicit drugs was published. She recently completed her seven-year term as Principal of Newnham College Cambridge, where she was a Deputy Vice-Chancellor. She still sits on the University’s Advisory Board for the Centre of Science and Public Policy, and the Strategy Board on Student Mental Health and Wellbeing. She is a Patron of the Women’s Leadership Centre in the Judge Business School.

Charlotte is the director at Reform thinktank. She was previously the Capitalism Editor and columnist, and then Managing Editor, of the media start up UnHerd.com. Charlotte has worked in a variety of roles across the public, private and third sectors looking at how to reform public services in order to deliver better outcomes and better value for money, including Department for Work and Pensions and Centre for Social Justice.

David Hughes became Chief Executive of the Association of Colleges in September 2016. Before that he was CEO at Learning and Work Institute, a leading think tank, research and policy organisation which was formed in 2016 from a merger he led between NIACE and Inclusion. From 2000 to 2011, David worked in senior roles at the Skills Funding Agency (SFA) and the Learning and Skills Council (LSC). At the LSC and SFA David led the funding and improvement relationships with colleges and providers and successfully took on trouble-shooting roles to rescue crises in capital funding and Educational Maintenance Allowances. Prior to that, David worked in the voluntary sector across a wide range of roles and organisations in the UK and Australia, in social housing, co-operatives, welfare, regeneration and community development. David has held many Board and Committee roles, including a few years as Vice-Chair of the East Midlands Regional Assembly in the 1990s. He played a leading role in establishing the new Education and Training Foundation in 2013 and has established and supported several third sector organisations.

Ian was the 2016/17 President of the Association of Colleges. He was Principal of Hackney College between 2007 to 2016 and prior to that a Principal and Senior Manager in two London Colleges. He previously worked in the local government and voluntary sectors and is now working as an executive coach and in educational consultancy.

John is the member of the Welsh Assembly for Newport East. He worked as a lecturer in Further and Higher Education, prior to becoming a solicitor and then being elected to the Welsh Assembly. He has previously served in a number of Ministerial positions and is currently Chair of the Equality, Local Government and Communities Committee.

Sir Alan Tuckett OBE is Professor of Education at the University of Wolverhampton, Past President of the International Council for Adult Education and Honorary Fellow of UNESCO's Institute of Lifelong Learning. He led the work of L&W's predecessor NIACE from 1988-2011, and since then has been an honorary life member and emeritus research fellow. At NIACE Alan started Adult Learners' Week in 1992, and saw its adoption by UNESCO and spread to more than fifty countries. Alan worked at the Friends Centre Brighton 1973-81, where he helped start the national adult literacy campaign; was Principal of Clapham-Battersea AEI in ILEA 1981-88, and policy adviser to ILEA's Chair FHE 1987-8. Alan has honorary doctorates from eight universities, he is a Fellow of City and Guilds, of the College of Teachers and of the Assessor's Guild. he was inducted to the International hall of Fame of Adult Educators in 2006, and made Distinguished Professor of the International Institute of Adult Education in Delhi. He has worked recently with UNESCO, the World Economic Forum, CREFAL in Mexico, OECD and numerous governments. He is Vice Chair of the 2019 Commission on Adult Education.

Dan Finn is professor emeritus at the University of Portsmouth and an international expert on the design and delivery of public employment services, activation policies and partnership working between public and private providers. Over the past 30 years he has been published extensively and has supervised and managed a wide range of policy-focused comparative research projects and evidence reviews. Dan has been an expert adviser or consultant for international bodies, including the World Bank, the European Commission and the ILO, and for UK bodies including the National Audit Office and the House of Commons Work and Pensions Committee.

Dave Simmonds OBE was the chief executive of the Centre for Economic & Social Inclusion up until its merger to form Learning and Work Institute. Dave was the co-founder of Inclusion in 1996 and built it to be a respected voice in UK ‘welfare to work’ research and policy. Dave has also worked as a special adviser to the House of Commons Work and Pensions Select Committee, and the OECD. Dave has advised the Scottish and Welsh governments, as well as the Northern Ireland Executive and the Republic of Ireland on their work on unemployment. Dave was awarded an OBE in the honours list for summer 2005 and is an Honorary Fellow of the Institute of Employability Professionals. Prior to Inclusion he was interim director for England at the National Lottery Charities Board, now Big Lottery, and held various posts at the National Council for Voluntary Organisations, where he was responsible for economic policy and voluntary sector involvement in labour market programmes.