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Dr Anwen Elias is a Reader in Politics at the Department of International Politics, Aberystwyth University. Educated at Ysgol Dyffryn Teifi, Llandysul, she is a graduate of Cambridge University and the European University Institute, Florence, where she completed a PhD in Political and Social Science. Her research interests include comparative territorial and constitutional politics, political parties, and citizens’ involvement in democratic politics. Dr Elias has an extensive knowledge of democratic innovations around the world and has a particular expertise in using creative methods to support citizen participation and deliberation.

Dr Anwen Elias was a Commissioner on the Independent Commission on the Constitutional Future of Wales. In that role, she contributed specific expertise in civic engagement, particularly in establishing the citizens panels and designing the Community Engagement Fund. Through her experience as a Commissioner, she will ensure that the Commission’s findings will continue to inform the work of the group.

Mo Alamgir is a technology entrepreneur and dedicated community leader who has spent the past 17 years working pro bono to drive meaningful social change. His initiatives focus on upskilling young people from Black and ethnic minority backgrounds, bridging faith and non-faith communities, and tackling workplace inequality and unconscious bias. Through his work, he has helped hundreds of young people gain the skills and confidence to access better career opportunities, supporting a more diverse and inclusive workforce.

Mo has also been instrumental in delivering educational programmes to schools, businesses, and public sector organisations, raising awareness about Islam to challenge misconceptions and reduce Islamophobia. His efforts have contributed to policy discussions on diversity, inclusion, and racial equality, supporting Wales’ vision of becoming an Anti-Racist Nation.

His contributions have been recognised at the highest levels, including an invitation to Buckingham Palace by King Charles and a nomination for the prestigious St David Awards (Gwobrau Dewi Sant), the highest civilian honour conferred by the Îʶ¦ÓéÀÖ Government.

As he takes on this new advisory role, Mo will continue to champion equity, inclusion, and social cohesion, ensuring that policy decisions reflect the needs of all communities in Wales.

Sarah Allan is one of the UK’s leading specialists in deliberative democracy. She has over a decade of experience designing, delivering and advising on public engagement in decision making, including as Director of Capacity Building and Standards and Director of Climate Programmes at public participation charity Involve. Sarah’s work ranges from local and hyper-local projects for local authorities, public services and civil society organisations, to high profile national citizens’ assemblies, such as Climate Assembly UK for 6 select committees of the House of Commons and the National Assembly for Wales Citizens’ Assembly. She has delivered public engagement on topics ranging from climate change, to policing, to building safety and youth mental health. Sarah is an Honorary Senior Research Fellow at the Constitution Unit, University College London, and an Associate Member of the Centre for Democratic Engagement, University of Leeds.

Jess Blair has been Director of ERS Cymru since 2017. She has led campaigns on votes at 16, increasing the size of the Senedd and deliberative democracy. She was a member of the Expert Panel to the Independent Commission on the Constitutional Future of Wales. She co-managed the Blaenau Gwent Climate Assembly and was on the Advisory Group of the Citizens Assembly for Northern Ireland. Prior to joining ERS, Jess was Policy and Projects Manager at the Institute of Îʶ¦ÓéÀÖ Affairs, a leading Îʶ¦ÓéÀÖ think tank. She was also Acting Director during 2016. Jess is the Wales member of the UK Open Government Network Steering Group. She holds a Masters in Îʶ¦ÓéÀÖand Politics from the Wales Governance Centre at Cardiff University. 

Mike Corcoran's work is centred around helping to get people excited about the things that really matter.

He is a a specialist in communication, engagement and co-production, having worked with clients across 3 continents, ranging from micro-enterprises to government departments. Presently, he holds positions including as a Consultant with Co-production Lab Wales and with the Co-production Network for Wales, as a Visiting Researcher at Wrexham University, and as a co-production and involvement advisor to bodies including the Wrexham City Board and North Wales Public Services Boards. Hailing from Wrexham, and a passionate advocate for public engagement with the arts and sciences, he is a voluntary Trustee of the Wrexham Community and Culture Trust, a voluntary director of FOCUS Wales Music Festival and voluntary Chair of the Trustees of arts organisation NEW Sinfonia.

Mike holds a degree in Physics and Philosophy from Durham University, and is an Associate Fellow of the Higher Education Academy.

Dr. Tomos Dafydd Davies is an experienced policy and public affairs professional with a strong background in both the public and private sectors, spanning the UK and international contexts. Elected as a councillor in Monmouthshire in 2022, he serves on the authority’s democratic services committee, focused on enhancing democratic engagement. A former adviser to three Secretaries of State for Wales, Cllr Davies brings extensive knowledge of the Îʶ¦ÓéÀÖ devolved landscape and civil society. He has served as a Member of Bangor University’s Council and as a Trustee of the London Îʶ¦ÓéÀÖ Centre. A fluent Îʶ¦ÓéÀÖ speaker, Cllr Davies is a graduate of Aberystwyth University.

Professor Sally Holland is Professor of Social Work in the CASCADE Children's Social Care Research Centre, Cardiff University. She is also Director of Equality, Diversity and Inclusion in the School of Social Sciences. Her current research includes evaluating the Basic Income Pilot for care leavers in Wales and measuring the outcomes of Flying Start services for children. Between 2015 and 2022, Sally was the Children’s Commissioner for Wales. In that role her priorities included developing a ‘no wrong door’ approach to children’s mental health services, removing the legal defence for the physical punishment of children and ending profit-making in children’s social care services. She worked with Îʶ¦ÓéÀÖ public services to involve children and young people in decision-making and supported the development of the Youth Parliament. In the 2021 Senedd Elections, she and her team ran a parallel children’s election. Originally from Scotland, Sally has lived in Wales for 33 years and has learned to speak Îʶ¦ÓéÀÖ. Over the last few years she has completed walking the Wales coastal path and is now enjoying gradually walking Offa's Dyke.

Yvonne Murphy is the Artistic Director and Executive Producer of Omidaze Productions and the creator of The Democracy Box and The Talking Shop which are innovative creative approaches to democratic education, information and deliberation. Yvonne is also the author of The Democracy Box report 'Beyond the Ballot Box'.

Yvonne has been a freelance creative since 1992 working as a theatre director, creative producer and consultant across the UK and Internationally. Yvonne is particularly interested in the intersection between cultural and democratic participation and how professional creatives and artists can be involved in creating innovative solutions to society’s most pressing problems.

In 2008, Yvonne created Omidaze Productions and in 2013 was awarded an Arts Council of Wales Clore Fellowship and seconded to cover the maternity leave for the UK Strategic Lead for the national arts and cultural movement – What Next? and founded the first What Next? chapter in Wales.

Yvonne has been an Associate Artist of Wales Millennium Centre, Theatr Iolo and Artis Community and a board member of Chapter Arts Centre and Awen Cultural Trust.

Yvonne was named one of Wales’ 100 Changemakers by the Future Generations Commissioner for Wales in 2022.

Julie Sangani is a public servant and community leader with extensive experience in policy development, citizen participation, and inclusive governance. As a Cardiff City Councillor and Cabinet Member for Public Health, Equality, and Diversity, she has championed initiatives that amplify underrepresented voices, including the development of a city-wide Equality and Diversity network and a new Community Participation Strategy.

Julie is the Vice Chair of NWAMI (Networking for World Awareness of Multicultural Integration) and Founder and Vice Chair of the Indian Women Association of Wales, advocating for diverse communities and creating safe spaces for dialogue. She also serves as an Independent Member of the Arts Council of Wales and a school governor, working to ensure educational equity and child safety.

With a background in business development at Learning Disability Wales, Julie has led strategic growth initiatives supporting marginalized groups. Her work in public sector partnerships and policy advising underscores her commitment to democratic innovation and community engagement.

As a woman of colour, Julie brings a vital perspective to policymaking, ensuring inclusivity in decision-making processes. She is committed to the Nolan Principles of Public Life and the promotion of bilingual policy development in Wales.

Professor Diana Stirbu is a well-established scholar with research interests and expertise in devolved and territorial governance, constitutional politics, and participatory democracy. She joined London Metropolitan University in 2010 and since 2023, she has been co-leading the Centre for Applied Research in Empowering Society (CARES). Prof. Stirbu has been an active member of the academic community researching the evolution of the democratic arrangements and institutions in Wales, contributing to public debates and consultations.

In 2017-2018, Prof. Stirbu was commissioned by the Remuneration Board, alongside with a team of researchers from the Wales Governance Centre to conduct a piece of research investigating barriers and enablers for a diverse range of individuals to run in elections to the (then) National Assembly for Wales. In 2020-2021, Prof. Stirbu undertook a major piece of research on the effectiveness of the Senedd committees during her Academic Fellowship. Subsequently, Prof Stirbu (2022-2024) was appointed as a member of the Expert Panel supporting the work of the Independent Commission for the Constitutional Future of Wales. She has developed a body of work around public engagement in parliaments, and participatory democracy in local governance using innovative participatory and eco-system and design thinking methodologies.

Daisy Thomson brings expertise in public engagement across a range of contested policy areas. She currently works for Involve where she leads deliberative democracy processes for local and national governments and NGOs. At Involve, she developed the Citizens’ Whitepaper, a roadmap for embedding participatory policymaking into the UK government. She is also a Sciencewise advisor to the Home Office on deliberative policymaking.

A former civil servant, Daisy has worked in both Îʶ¦ÓéÀÖ and UK governments on policy including disability support, devolved tax policy, and court reform. Daisy was citizens’ rights adviser to the Brexit minister before taking a leadership role in Grenfell recovery at the Ministry of Housing. Here, she developed the strategy for government decision making on Grenfell Tower and managed the community-led process to agree a future memorial. In all her work with the civil service, Daisy advocated for the system changes (external and internal) needed for those least represented to have a greater voice in decisions.

Daisy’s recent MPhil (Cambridge) focused on participatory policymaking, and took the form of a six month creative mapping project co-designed with the Aberfan community.

Leanne Wood has more than 25 years’ experience as a political activist. She has held many roles in political life including local councillor, MS for the Rhondda and leader of Plaid Cymru. She was the first woman to represent the Rhondda and the first woman to lead Plaid Cymru. Leanne was a Commissioner on the Independent Commission on the Constitutional Future of Wales. She is the Co-executive director of Community Energy Wales and the ambassador for Ramblers Cymru.

Leanne has championed many and various social and economic issues and is determined to work to ensure that whatever Wales’ constitutional future looks like, those who are struggling and those who are marginalised have a chance to see real improvements in their lives.