SHELTER CYMRU - Key Persons
Job Titles:
- Chartered Accountant
- Treasurer
Andy is a Chartered Accountant with over 20 years' experience in the financial services sector.
Andy was recently appointed as the CFO of Quantile Technologies, a London based technology company providing services to the financial derivative market.
Prior to this Andy spent over 15 years at the American investment bank JPMorganChase, in various accounting, regulatory and operational roles, mainly based in in London. Andy originally qualified with Deloitte where he started his career as an auditor.
Andy is a proud Welshman and fluent Welsh speaker, with a particular interest in sport, especially Welsh rugby.
Board Member since 2018. Ceri retired from the Welsh Government in 2017 where, as a senior civil servant, he led teams in health and housing, and a major public inquiry. He was responsible for national policies, major programmes and the development of new legislation, working across policy areas with organisations in the public, private and third sectors, and with UK Government departments. He has also worked extensively with the European Commission and as a Temporary Adviser to the World Health Organization. Over and above his role on the Board, Ceri is a voluntary mentor to young people for The Prince's Trust Cymru, and works in consultancy and research roles.
Cheryl has worked within the housing sector for the last 12 years, holding a variety of roles across community regeneration, housing management and more latterly business improvement and transformation. She is currently Head of Business Improvement at Monmouthshire Housing Association and is responsible for leading and delivering the association's change programme.
She holds a MA in Housing, is a Chartered Member of the CIH and has previously held non-exec roles at Valleys to Coast and CIH Futures. She absolutely believes a great quality home is fundamental to living a good life and is excited about her new role with Shelter Cymru.
Away from work, she enjoys tending to her indoor jungle(!), walking along the coast and getting lost in a good book.
Originally from N. Ireland, Felicity is a final-year history PhD student with a master's in public health and is interested in social justice and intersectionality. She has been involved in movements to bring equal marriage and abortion access to N. Ireland and, most recently, movements to address climate change.
She is a trustee and ambassador for Discovery Student Volunteering Service, and also runs training around resilience and looking after your mental health for students. She teaches at Swansea University and in the community via the Brilliant Club, encouraging students who might not otherwise attend university to explore it as an option.
She has previously sat on national and regional committees for the National Union of Students (NUS), representing disabled students and helping to inform policy on issues such as housing, cost of living and student fees. This led to her working with the research team at Disabled Students UK, leading to the publication of the report ‘Going Back is Not a Choice' that explored the impact of Covid.
When not studying, researching or otherwise working, she likes to be creative and makes dice for roleplaying games and 3D prints ‘ear savers' for NHS workers still wearing masks regularly.
Gareth lives in Llandudno Junction and works for Cartrefi Conwy. He has worked there since 2015 in roles related to performance management, risk, audit, data protection and all the other exciting things that Governance has to offer! He is currently in a programme management role supporting the senior leadership team with delivery of strategic projects. He is Chair of the CIH Housing Futures Cymru panel and a member of the UK-wide CIH Futures board. Gareth is also a trustee of Conwy Arts Trust, a small charity supporting arts and culture in local communities.
Gareth believes Shelter Cymru is an impactful organisation and wants to help make a difference. He is driven by always looking to improve the way things are done, and is inquisitive and always looking to learn. He likes to challenge traditional ways of doing things and drive a continuous improvement mindset.
Outside of work, Gareth has an energetic young son who keeps him on his toes with many games of eye spy, play wrestling, and general running around. When Gareth has a bit of extra time after all that he tries to fit in golf, 5 a side, cycling and generally getting out and about seeing the world.
Job Titles:
- Head of Housing Services
- Joint Head of Housing Services
JJ has worked for Shelter Cymru for over thirty years as a volunteer adviser, a specialist housing caseworker, a regional services manager, a Head of Strategy and Development and now as a Joint Head of Housing Services.
JJ is a member of the Welsh Government's National Advice Network and is particularly familiar with the delivery of social welfare advice. He has undertaken a secondment with the Welsh Government, where he led on the development of regional advice networks.
Current pre-occupations include the use of technology to better deliver services, service user involvement and system-thinking approaches to service delivery.
Job Titles:
- Head of People and Organisational Transformation
- Member of the Senior Management Team
As the newest member of the Senior Management Team, Keeli joined in July 2022 as Head of People and Organisational Transformation.
Keeli is supporting Shelter Cymru's journey from where we are now to where we want to be through the delivery of people projects that form part of the 2025 Shelter Cymru Strategy.
Keeli has over 13 years' experience working in Human resources/ Organisational Development roles as well as a BA (Hons) in Human Resource Management and her Level 7 CIPD qualification.
Keeli is responsible for all HR, Wellbeing and People related matters and is the Data Protection Officer for Shelter Cymru.
Job Titles:
- Head of Fundraising
- Board Member of the Chartered Institute of Fundraising
Kerys joined the Senior Management Team in 2017 and is responsible for fundraising and income generation. Kerys has worked in the third sector at a senior level for over 17 years in charities of all sizes as a practitioner, coach and trustee.
Currently Head of Fundraising at Shelter Cymru, Kerys also has direct fundraising experience in the arts, youth, education and hospice sectors.
Kerys is a Board Member of the Chartered Institute of Fundraising and Cardiff City FC Foundation. She serves on the Campaign Council for Remember a Charity and is Chair of the Governing Body of Welsh-Medium primary school, Ysgol Bryn Onnen.
Job Titles:
- Trustee
- Chairman of the Statutory Welsh Language Board
Meri joined the Board in 2019. Her early career as a community social worker in North Wales led her into higher education and a long career as a welfare law lecturer, head of various university departments and responsibility for civic engagement and widening participation at senior university level in two Welsh universities, throughout this time Meri sought to nurture active operational links with further education providers, third sector bodies and business. Effective lines of communication with individuals, communities, public and private organisations and national bodies operating at both Welsh and UK level have been critical throughout her working life.
Meri was appointed Chair of the statutory Welsh Language Board in 2004 and in 2012 was appointed to the role of first Welsh Language Commissioner, a statutory position held until 2019. Whilst seeking to operate as an effective regulator across the public sector in Wales and beyond, she was as interested during her time as Commissioner in securing positive engagement with the challenges and opportunities of being an officially bilingual country with a multilingual population.
Meri is an independent member of Board of Community Health Councils Wales; and an independent member of Welsh Government Health and Social Care Audit and Risk Committee.
Job Titles:
- Trustee
- Commissioner With the Welsh Government 's Independent Commission
Miguela is a culture and inclusion specialist who is currently the Head of Diversity and Inclusion at Abcam, a global biotech firm. She has spent more than two decades working and volunteering in the arts and media, and is a former journalist at the BBC, where she also carried out data analysis, project management and subject matter expertise roles. In her role as the BBC's Diversity & Inclusion Lead for the UK Nations, she designed, project-managed and implemented the extensive consultation that led to the broadcaster's current 3-year Diversity and Inclusion strategy.
Miguela is also a Commissioner with the Welsh Government's Independent Commission on the Constitutional Future of Wales and a visiting academic at Cardiff University's School of Journalism, Media and Culture.
She brings to her role, as a trustee with Shelter Cymru, insights gained from wide-ranging experiences in a number of committees, governing bodies, teams and projects, including innovation funds, art installations and music festivals.
Job Titles:
- Chairman
- CEO of Foothold Cymru
Mike is the CEO of Foothold Cymru, a social justice charity in West Wales. He is an experienced leader and non-executive Director. He started his career working for a stock broker in the London Stock Exchange before joining local government and working for a number of Housing Associations in London, becoming Deputy Chief Executive at Community Housing Association at the age of 28. Mike went on to lead Paddington Churches Housing Association(now Genesis) though a period of expansion and change, leading a number of new initiatives to combat homelessness.
In Wales, Mike was a member of the Programme Management Committee delivering Objective One EU structural funds where he chaired the Monitoring Committee as well as the partnership which set up the Welsh Development Bank. For eight years, he was a member of the Big Lottery Board in Wales chairing a number of funding committees and represented Wales on the UK Funding Committee.
Mike currently sits on the WCVA Social Business Grant Fund Panel. He chairs the Alternative Learning Company Limited and as a Town councilor is the Chair of One Voice Wales, the representative body of all Town and Community Councils. Mike also sits on the Ministerial Partnership Council in Wales.
Nuria's background lies in tackling poverty and social exclusion. Nuria has worked in the third sector, local government and has worked closely with central government and the private sector, especially in tackling fuel poverty. She has extensive experience of strategic leadership and management and delivery of practical projects and services in communities.
Nuria does freelance research and policy work. She is currently a Non- Executive Director of Swansea Bay University Health Board and a member of the Welsh Government's National Advice Network for Wales. She was also a member of the Children's Commissioner Advisory Panel; and the Director of National Energy Action Cymru, leading policy campaigns and implementing practical projects to tackle fuel poverty. Prior to that, Nuria led the City and County of Swansea Anti Poverty/Social Inclusion work.
Nuria was born in Spain and made Swansea her home after meeting her partner. She is passionate about tackling inequality and poverty. She's a strong advocate for the principles of co-production, asset-based working, systems thinking and tackling health inequalities. She has a strong record of building coalitions and partnerships to deliver benefits nationally and internationally as well as impactful social policy campaigns.
Rhian is an experienced CEO and NED. Rhian's career started in the Financial Services Sector, but in 2007 a move into the Logistics Sector saw her broaden her experience. During this time, Rhian gained extensive strategic and leadership experience across a range of high-profile organisations supporting many of them with global transformational change programmes.
In 2017 Rhian moved to work in the charitable sector as the Director of a Cancer Charity, where she was responsible for Research, Policy, and Support Services, which included Social Welfare advice. Rhian has experience of working with the Health and Social Care Sector (England and Wales) and campaigning the Government and other partners to influence policy and drive service improvements. Rhian currently works as the CEO of the Hospice of the Good Shepherd, Chairs the Cheshire and Merseyside CEO Hospice Collaborative, and is a member of the Cheshire & Mersey Palliative and End of Life Care Delivery & Oversight Board.
Ruth has enacted a commitment to social justice in various service delivery, policy and leadership roles in the third and statutory sectors. She started out in local authority and housing association housing and homelessness services in Cardiff and London, and then set up and ran a women's refuge, and a teenage mother and baby unit for a black-led housing association.
After five years as London Director at Advice UK, she held national policy and commissioning roles in criminal justice. She worked with partners to improve housing, health and social care outcomes for prisoners and received a national award for developing alternatives to custody. Ruth joined Shelter Cymru as CEO during the pandemic.
Job Titles:
- Head of Finance & Internal Services
Samantha joined Shelter Cymru in 2011, as Head of Finance. She started out in Private Accountancy Practice undertaking Audit and Accounts preperation functions. She moved in the Not for Profit sector in 2003.
She is a fellow of the Chartered Association of Certified Accountants and also holds the ICAEW Diploma in Charity Accounting.
Samantha has responsibility for Finance, IT and central facilities.
Sarah is Development Coordinator for Amgueddfa Cymru and is passionate about their new strategic commitments towards an Anti-Racist Wales, Climate Justice, and Cultural Democracy.
A proud Trustee of the award-winning Tiger Bay Amateur Boxing Club, Sarah advocates on behalf of their members and the wider community. In 2021 Sarah was invited to help inform recommendations for Cardiff Council's Race Equality Action Plan, as a member of the Criminal Justice Taskforce sub-group. advocating against disproportionality on behalf of the young members of Tiger Bay ABC. Sarah is currently leading a five-year Home Office project with Citizens Cymru and grassroots community partners to reduce Knife Crime and Youth Violence, through the Youth Endowment Fund for Butetown and Grangetown.
With lived experience of domestic violence, homelessness and the subsequent impact that has on mental health. Sarah hopes her adversity will add a valuable perspective to Shelter Cymru and reduce the stigma associated with homelessness. Sarah spends most of her free time with her four children, watching sports and Scorsese films.