Rt Hon Alan Milburn

The Right Honourable Alan Milburn was a Member of the UK Parliament between 1992 and 2010. He served as Chief Secretary to the Treasury where he had responsibility for all aspects of public expenditure and the development of public-private partnerships.

As Secretary of State for Health he led a reform programme of health and social care services. As Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster he was responsible for co-ordinating and developing government policy across all departments.

After retiring from politics in 2010, Alan was appointed to review and report on child poverty and social mobility. Alan then became the Chair of the Commission on Social Mobility from 2012 to 2017.

Alan has led a successful business career, working with corporate and government clients across the world. He is senior advisor to PwC’s government and health industries practice. He serves on a number of other corporate boards and chairs Huma the digital health business.

Alan is Chancellor of Lancaster University, one of the UK’s leading higher education institutions. He undertakes work for a number of charities including the Yorkshire Sculpture Park where he is vice-chair and the Social Mobility Foundation which he chairs.

Alan Richardson

Alan has deep personal ties to the area having been born and educated in Barnsley and is looking forward to contributing to this hugely important work.

Alan joined the Evri board in 2018 and has over 20 years of varied experience in financial management, business leadership and corporate strategy. He previously worked at KPMG, Asda Stores, Morrisons Supermarkets and the Crawshaws Group.

Alan handles all the company’s financial functions, including accounting, tax and treasury, audit, corporate finance, commercial finance, and investor relations. He also oversees and manages all legal, public affairs and property functions for the Group.

Ben Harrison

Ben became Director of the Work Foundation in February 2020. He has 15 years’ experience of working across the public, private and third sectors.

Previously, Ben was a member of the Senior Management team at The National Lottery Community Fund. He was also the Director of Communications and Development at national think tank Centre for Cities. As well as that, Ben has worked as an economic development specialist at PwC.

In 2010 he established and led Future of London and began his career at the Institute for Public Policy Research.

Dr Cath Sleeman

Cath is the Interim Head of Data Science at Nesta - the UK's innovation agency for social good. She leads a team of 15 data scientists who provide new insights on Nesta's three missions. These include creating a sustainable future, a healthy life and a fairer start.

Cath has a particular interest in identifying and filling gaps in data ecosystems. Her projects show the potential of novel data and methods to deliver new insights. Her work blends economics, data science and data visualisation.

Dan Jarvis

Dan served as the Mayor of South Yorkshire from 2018 to 2022. He has formerly worked as a British Army officer and a member of the Parachute Regiment.

Dan actively works with businesses and stakeholders to support and develop the Barnsley economy. He campaigns to raise aspiration amongst young people, and to support skills and adult literacy programmes.

Denise Hampson

Denise is a behavioural economics and experience design expert. Between 1999 and 2004, Denise was a member of the highly successful Great Britain Track Cycling Team. She is a past British Women's Sprint Champion and British 200m record holder.

Before her athletic career, Denise was a Systems Engineer at BAE Systems. She specialised in human-system interaction and cockpit design on the Eurofighter Typhoon. This sparked her career-long obsession with human-centred design. She's especially interested in creating systems and services that are best matched to real human behaviour.

Dr Jennifer Dixon

Jennifer joined the Health Foundation as Chief Executive in October 2013. Before that, she was Chief Executive of the Nuffield Trust from 2008 to 2013.

In pervious roles, Jennifer has been Director of Policy at The King’s Fund and the policy advisor to the Chief Executive of the NHS between 1998 and 2000. Jennifer has undertaken research and written widely on health care reform both in the UK and internationally.

Oliver Coppard

Born and raised in the region, Oliver took office as Mayor in May 2022. He was elected on a platform of restoring the pride, purpose and prosperity of South Yorkshire.

After graduating from Leeds University, Oliver began his career at Barnsley Council working on low carbon regeneration projects. Since then, he’s worked in Parliament, in the US Congress and with the charity BookTrust. He was Chair of the Board at Sheffield Hallam Students’ Union and has worked on high-profile political campaigns within the region and abroad.

Salma Yasmeen

Salma was Deputy Chief Executive and Director of Strategy and Change at South West Yorkshire Partnership NHS Foundation Trust. She has recently been appointed as the Chief Executive Officer of the Sheffield Health and Social Care Trust.

From her time in health and care systems, Salma brings a wealth of knowledge and experience. She has vast experience of leading innovation and change in organisations and across systems with people at the centre.

Salma is passionate about public services and the role that they play in addressing inequalities. She believes in their role enabling every person to live a safe, connected, meaningful and healthy life.

Salma is also an advisory Board member at the Huddersfield University Business School and Thirteen Housing group.

Dr. Sue Pember CBE

Sue started her career as a teacher and has held senior leadership roles in colleges, local authorities and government. Sue started her career in teaching and believes that grounding still underpins everything she does.

Sue is now the Policy Director for HOLEX, the professional body for adult education services, centres and institutions. Her work concentrates on ensuring the voice of adult learners is heard and she is a keen advocate of lifelong learning. Sue's role includes building up an evidence base on why Lifelong Learning is vital to this country’s prosperity.

Torsten Bell

Torsten is the Chief Executive of the Resolution Foundation. He has a background in economic policy. Currently, his research focus is on how to renew the UK’s economic strategy to raise growth and reduce inequality. Before leading the Resolution Foundation, Torsten worked in HM Treasury, as a member of the Council of Economic Advisers during the financial crisis. He also worked as the Director of Policy for the Labour Party.

Torsten is a Fellow of the Academy of Social Sciences, school governor, and trustee of the Child Poverty Action Group. He is an Honorary Professor at the UCL Policy Lab.

Valerie Hannon

Valerie is the co-founder of Innovation Unit, and the Global Education Leaders Partnership. In the past, Valerie has been a secondary teacher and researcher as well as the Director of Education for Derbyshire County Council. Since then, she's been an adviser in the UK Department for Education (DfE). Now, Valerie works independently to support change programs across the world.

As a regular keynote speaker and facilitator at international conferences and workshops, Valerie draws upon her substantial research and collaborative publications.