Jan Marsden

Jan was a primary school teacher for many years. She is now a school inspector, part time lecturer and assessor in Early Years Child Education. She is also now working as an education consultant. She has recently been part of the National Assembly/BECTA Project to promote Numeracy in primary schools through the use of IT. This was project managed by the School of Education, Bangor and is presently being evaluated. She recently played an important role in evaluating Pathfinder Centres of Vocational Excellence and developing a national evaluation framework. She is actively involved with a number of schools and in professional development for teaching staff.

Richard Maddrell

Richard has a degree in Business from the University of Wales and a Masters in Management Learning from Lancaster University. He currently runs his own management development and internet consultancy delivering practical approaches to help people develop their own management and business potential. Experienced in leading change programmes, researching, designing and implementing training strategies, applying facilitation skills, mentoring and coaching individual managers and management teams. Richard has worked extensively with managers and management trainees predominantly within small and medium sized businesses.

Jeff Cocks OBE

Jeff is a former Principal of Pontypridd College with a distinguished career in all levels of education in Wales and more widely. He has been a member of the FEFCW and chair of its quality committee and was a founding member and chair of Fforwm and a board member of FEDA, Chair of BBC (UK) FE Advisory Committee and a member of the BBC Education Committee. He has served on the Boards of SEWTEC (and its predecessor bodies) and Business Connect as well as many local economic development and training initiatives. His interests and expertise are in education management and organisational and staff development in educational settings. He is currently Chair of Careers Wales. Jeff has a keen understanding of educational developments, especially the 16-19 agenda and the role of work experience and careers advice.

Mal Jenkins

Mal Jenkins BSc. CEng DMS is experienced in the implementation of change, the development of supportive cultures, the development of existing management teams, and improving managerial, and interpersonal skills at all levels in a wide range of organisations. Significant assignments have been carried out in the Financial, Industrial, Retail, IT and Local Government sectors and have included team building and change management programmes with multi-cultural groups in Asia, Africa, and mainland Europe.

Einir Burrowes

Einir is an independent consultant working on human resource development issues. She has considerable experience of working with Training and Enterprise Councils in Wales and was formerly Head of Strategy and Policy for Mid Wales Training and Enterprise Council (where responsibilities included the TEC’s engagement in the Structural Funds, including membership of the Wales Agri-Food Partnership and the Powys European Partnership). After the formation of the National Council – ELWa, Einir was retained on a consultancy basis by the Council to develop an evaluation framework for the new organisation. Since taking up consultancy, Einir has also worked with CRG on developing a framework for evaluating the Youth Gateway Programme, undertaken a study for the National Council – ELWa on farmers attitudes to learning and helped to facilitate a national conference for CCETs (Community Consortia for Education and Training). Einir is bilingual in Welsh and English.

Judy Edwards OBE

Judy has a long history on the academic teaching staff of the University of Wales at Cardiff, Swansea, Wrexham and Newport, incorporating educational and curriculum planning at undergraduate and postgraduate levels. She has contributed to teaching of medical and nursing students as well as GP trainees and students undertaking Masters programmes in Public Health and Child Health. This included teaching epidemiology to overseas students at Cardiff and Swansea.

Judy was involved in the planning and development stages of Teamcare Valleys and is familiar with a wide range of primary care settings throughout Wales. She was also a non-executive member of South Glamorgan FHSA during the development of Fundholding Practices subsequently setting up a Community Nursing Development Unit in one of them.

Judy is familiar with recent developments in the education of health professional and was a member of the second United Kingdom Central Council for Nursing, Midwifery and Health Visiting and an elected member of the Welsh National Board. She has also been involved in the successful completion of three all Wales projects funded by the Welsh Office, all related to community nursing and primary care and has recently signed a co-editor contract to complete the second edition of a text book for undergraduate community nurses, which brought together academic staff from the Universities of Wales and Southampton.

Gill Bowles

Gill holds an MBA and has a career which covers operating businesses on her own account, advising small businesses on a variety of performance and skills development issues, community-based development and learning projects and full-time research and consultancy. A highly experienced interviewer and policy analyst, she has worked on a range of projects for government departments, local authorities and development agencies. She has worked on assignments for many of the ‘key players’ in relation to SME support within the Principality and combines expertise drawn from providing policy advice, ‘front-line’ support for SMEs and operating businesses for herself.

Chris Davies

Chris is a graduate of Liverpool University and the Army Staff College, Camberley. He served for almost 20 years as a Royal Engineer Officer, rising to the rank of Colonel. Training and Operations were key themes throughout a varied and successful Military career and his last posting in the Army was in a key position (Col(W) MDS WV Division) at the Royal Military College of Science. Earlier staff tours in the Procurement Executive and Operational Analysis were complimented by regimental duty which included command of an Independent Squadron and a Regular regiment of the Royal Engineers.

Since leaving the Army in 1990 he has gained experience as a Defence Consultant (BAe), in manufacturing, in Executive Recruitment and in Project management. Working as an independent Consultant in a variety of roles which includes Business Analysis, the implementation of Change, and Management Training. Chris is an associate of CRG and capitalises upon his proven leadership and communication skills by working with various companies, at all levels from main boards to operational units, to achieve corporate goals.

Richard Lord

Richard has held senior management positions with the Employment Service and South Wales TEC. Originally from Anglesey, he is a fluent Welsh speaker, and understands the training and labour market context within the Principality well. More recently, he has carried out a very wide range of training and development programmes, in both Welsh and English, building up extensive experience of group facilitation, data capture and analysis techniques.