Speakers’ Biographies
In this section
Speakers’ biographies are included for your information.
Speakers’ biographies (alphabetical order by surname)
Charlotte Armstrong
Charlotte is Policy Manager at the Higher Education Policy Institute, where she supports HEPI’s research and policy programme, HEPI’s media engagement and leads on the blog. She works closely with researchers, policymakers and sector stakeholders to support evidence-led debate on higher education policy, and is responsible for commissioning, editing and curating HEPI’s blog programme.
Charlotte has particular experience in issues relating to access and widening participation. Her current policy interests include social mobility and inequality in higher education, and the political and public discourse surrounding higher education.
Before joining HEPI, Charlotte worked at Queens’ College, the University of Cambridge as Schools Liaison Officer. She brings a strong understanding of how national policy debates connect with institutional practice and student experience. Since then Charlotte completed a Master’s degree in Nationalism in Global Perspective from the University of Edinburgh.
Amira Campbell
Amira [Ah-meer-ah Kam-Buhl] is the National Union of Students’ UK President. Her background in liberation campaigns, notably the black voices campaign during her time as an undergraduate at the University of Birmingham established her as the first remunerated community organiser at the Students’ Union and led her to then also take up office as Guild President there.
Amira continues her anti-racism work as a Board Member for BRIG (Birmingham Race Impact Group) and as an Executive for Talawa, a collective envisioning the interconnected futures of black feminism, climate justice and liberated education. Amira has hosted multiple roles in arts organisations including the Birmingham Royal Ballet, CBSO (City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra) and Underscore, a community orchestra that celebrates music of the global majority.
Anila DeHart
Anila is an Advisor, Researcher, and Executive Educator on education-workforce coordination and future-of-work. She examines coordination mechanisms that enable sustainable education-workforce partnerships and equitable pathways from learning to meaningful work.
Current collaborations include Higher Education Policy Institute (HEPI) on university-employer partnership infrastructure and the University of Oxford’s AI in Education (AIEOU) 2026 Shared Research Agenda on Future of Education, Work and Institutions. With twenty years at Deloitte, most recently as Global Managing Director leading talent strategy and workforce transformations for 500,000+ professionals globally, Anila brings deep expertise in future-ready skills systems and organisational change at scale.
Her career began in higher education, teaching at universities in Central Europe and as a Fulbright scholar in US, and leading organisational development and strategic recruitment at the University of Arizona. Anila serves as Executive Coach and Leadership Facilitator at Headspring Executive (Financial Times-IE Business School joint venture). She regularly briefs industry forums on transformation and skills development, and advocates for societal equity through initiatives supporting career advancement for youth and underprivileged groups.
Professor Bobby Duffy
Bobby is Professor of Public Policy and Director of the Policy Institute. He Chairs the Campaign for Social Science and the CLOSER Advisory Board, is a member of the Executive of the Academy of Social Sciences, a trustee of British Future and a Senior Fellow of the Munk School of Global Affairs & Public Policy, University of Toronto. He was previously Global Director of the Ipsos Social Research Institute, has been seconded to the UK Prime Minister’s Strategy Unit, and was a fellow at the Centre for Analysis of Social Exclusion at LSE.
His first book, The Perils of Perception – Why we’re wrong about nearly everything, was published by Atlantic books in 12 countries, drawing on a set of global studies on how people misperceive key social realities. His latest book, Generations – Does when you’re born shape who you are?, came out in 2021 and challenges myths and stereotypes around generational trends, seeking a greater understanding around generational challenges and intergenerational connection.
Josh Fleming
Josh is currently the Interim Chief Executive of the Office for Students.
In his substantive post, he is Director of Strategy and Delivery, overseeing strategy, delivery, communications, data and evaluation. He previously served as Sir Michael Barber’s Chief of Staff, helping to establish the Office for Students in 2018.
James Gray
James is the founder and CEO of Kortext, a business he started in 2013 and which is now the UK’s leading supplier of digital content, learning, analytics and AI solutions into UK Universities, helping improve the student learning experience and reduce student withdrawal by identifying at risk students early. Prior to Kortext, James spent 6 years in the US and was the CEO of Ingram Digital, a pioneer in the early eBook industry who set up Amazon’s eBook store prior to their launch of Kindle and built out digital content work flows for Apple, Sony, Google, Microsoft, and multiple global publishers across the world.
James started working with Universities in 1992 as the founder of Coutts Information Services, a global supplier of research content to university libraries across the world with offices in the US, Canada, the Netherlands, the UK and Southern Africa and which was sold in 2006 and is now a part of the Proquest / Clarivate organisation.
Kortext is based in Bournemouth and James lives in Poole with his family enjoying the delights of the South Coast!
Christina Lamb OBE
Christina is recognised as one of the world’s leading foreign correspondents and is Chief Foreign Correspondent for The Sunday Times as well as a bestselling author. Her despatches with the Afghan mujaheddin fighting the Soviet Union saw her named Young Journalist of the Year at the age of 22. She has since reported everywhere from Israel to Ukraine, Syria to Zimbabwe and been awarded Foreign Correspondent of the Year seven times as well as Europe’s top war reporting prize, the Prix Bayeux, the prestigious Lifetime Achievement Award from both the Society of Editors and Women in Journalism as well as the Chesney Gold Medal for promoting the understanding of war, previously awarded to Henry Kissinger and Winston Churchill.
Christina has always particularly focused on what war does to women, and her book Our Bodies, Their Battlefields about sexual violence in conflict was described by leading historian Antony Beevor as ‘the most powerful book’ he had ever read and recommended by Queen Camilla in a speech. She has written ten books including co-authoring the international bestseller I Am Malala. She is a Global envoy for UN Education Cannot Wait, Honorary Fellow of University College Oxford, on the board of the Institute for War and Peace Reporting, and an Associate of the Imperial War Museum. Christina was awarded an OBE in 2013.
Professor Dame Sally Mapstone DBE FRSE
Sally joined the University of St Andrews as Principal and Vice-Chancellor in 2016. She had previously served since 2009 as Pro-Vice-Chancellor for Personnel and Equality and Pro-Vice-Chancellor for Education at the University of Oxford. She is also Convener of Universities Scotland, a board member of Universities UK, a trustee of UCAS and of the Europaeum, and Vice-Chair of the Board of the Carnegie Trust for the Universities of Scotland.
Sally gained her BA and D.Phil. at Oxford, was a Fellow of St Hilda’s College (of which she is now an Emeritus Fellow) and Professor of Older Scots Literature in the Faculty of English Language and Literature. She is an expert on the literature of Scotland before 1707 and has published widely on literature both in Scots and in Latin, on political literature and on book history.
She was appointed Dame Commander of the Order of the British Empire by Her Majesty the Queen in the Queen’s Birthday Honours List for 2022 for services to higher education. She is the current President of Universities UK (UUK) and Chair of the Board of Trustees for HEPI.
The Rt Hon Baroness Smith of Malvern
Jacqui Smith was appointed Minister of State (Minister for Skills) in the Department for Education on 6 July 2024. This role also became part of the Department for Work and Pensions on 6 September 2025.
Since 4 March 2025, the Rt Hon Baroness Smith of Malvern has also served as Minister of State (Minister for Women and Equalities).
She previously served as a Government Spokesperson for Equalities between 8 October 2024 and 4 March 2025.
Jonathan Neves
Jonathan is Head of Research & Surveys. He joined Advance HE in 2015, bringing with him 16 years’ experience in customer insight and market research.
Jonathan also leads Advance HE’s co-delivery of the national pilot of the OfS-funded Pre Arrival Questionnaire (PAQ) project across institutions in England. Jonathan graduated from the University of Liverpool with a degree in Geography, and is a full member of the Market Research Society. Heading up the insights and student surveys portfolio at Advance HE, Jonathan is co-author of the Advance HE / HEPI Student Academic Experience Survey report, and is responsible for the overall strategy for the UK Engagement Survey as well as the Postgraduate Taught and Research Experience Surveys (PTES and PRES).
Rose Stephenson
Rose is the Director of Policy and Strategy at the Higher Education Policy Institute. Rose leads a high-profile programme of research, analysis and public engagement, shaping national debate on higher education. Her work focuses on strengthening the links between evidence, policymaking and practice. Rose also drives HEPI’s strategic direction, setting priorities that position the institute at the centre of national debate on higher education.
Rose works closely with policymakers, regulators, and sector leaders, and has particular expertise in the evolving student experience, lifelong learning, the impact of AI on higher education, and issues of social mobility and equality . She is known for her ability to translate complex evidence into clear, practical policy insight and for building constructive dialogue across government, institutions and the wider public.
Before joining HEPI, Rose held a series of transformational roles at the University of Bath, spanning student experience, policy development and programme delivery. She brings a strong understanding of how national policy decisions are implemented on the ground, and is a regular media commentator, speaker and chair on higher education reform.
Vivienne Stern
Vivienne took up the role of UUK Chief Executive in September 2022. She was previously the Director of Universities UK International (UUKi) which represents UK universities around the world and works to enable them to flourish internationally.
Vivienne has over 20 years’ experience of working in higher education policy and politics at national and international level. She is a member of the GREAT Private Sector Council; a Trustee of the Council for At Risk Academics; and a member of the Board of Trade. She was awarded an MBE for Services to International Education in the New Years’ Honours List 2022.
In 2021 Vivienne received the European Association of International Educators’ “Vision and Leadership” award and the PIEoneer “Outstanding Contribution to the Industry” award. Vivienne is a graduate of the University of Cambridge, where she studied English Literature.
Luke Tryl
Luke is the Executive Director of More in Common. Luke leads its ground-breaking UK public opinion and thought leadership work, shining a light on what the public thinks about topics as diverse as immigration, climate change, gender identity and mental health.
With a focus on the nuances and complexity of public opinion, he has helped policymakers, business and civil society navigate issues often regarded as tricky and divisive. He is a regular media commentator and has appeared on flagship current affairs broadcasts on BBC radio and television. He has written for publications including the Times, Telegraph, Guardian, New Statesman and the Spectator.
Before joining More in Common, Luke served as a Special Advisor to the then Secretary of State for Education, Nicky Morgan, during the David Cameron administration and as Director of Strategy at Ofsted, the UK government’s Office for Standards in Education, Children’s Services and Skills.
Dr Gosia Turner
Gosia has nearly 20 years’ experience in UK higher education. Gosia is a specialist in student surveys and social statistics.
She began her career at the Higher Education Academy, contributing to the early development of the NSS, PRES and PTES, before completing a PhD in Social Statistics at the University of Southampton. She later worked as a Senior Statistical Analyst at the University of Oxford and is now Head of Surveys at Jisc, where she leads the Graduate Outcomes survey.
Cheryl Watson
Cheryl is a professional with extensive expertise in education technology, business development, and strategic advisory roles. Currently serving as the Vice President of Education, UK at TechnologyOne, Cheryl leads initiatives to enhance digital transformation within higher education institutions, focusing on student experience and operational efficiency.
Previously, Cheryl has held multiple leadership positions at several Education Technology providers, driving strategy and market expansion while working closely with institutions to optimise enterprise solutions and gain crucial business benefits.
