Dr Yasmin Fitzpatrick is currently awaiting placement as an academic mentor to help children affected by the current pandemic measures. She was raised in Belfast, Northern Ireland and has also lived and worked in Germany. She spent most of her career in television, working as a documentary researcher and news television journalist, before working as an Executive Producer at the BBC and a Commissioning Editor at Channel 4 throughout the 1990s, where she was responsible for documentary programmes such as White Tribe, Britain’s Slave Trade and Oscar-nominated The Farm, filmed in Louisiana State Penitentiary.
Yasmin relishes a challenge: she changed careers to work as an NHS Project Manager, studied for a Masters in Epidemiology and Public Health and gained a doctorate in health and patient knowledge. She also set up and ran a maths and English study centre in Brixton for local children. Yasmin was a Trustee for NESTA, the National Endowment for science, technology and the arts and chaired the GLA’s first Cultural Strategy Group. She is the founding Trustee of the recently-formed Brixton Chamber Orchestra.
Gabriella has emerged as one of the most versatile and exciting cellists of her generation. She was awarded the coveted Tagore Gold Medal at the RCM. She made her Wigmore Hall debut with soprano Ruby Hughes in 2013 and in 2016 made her BBC Proms debut with Guy Johnston and his 12 Cello Ensemble.
She is passionate about new music and has given many world premieres including a double concerto with Guy Johnston by Colin Riley. She has toured Europe with Hugh Jackman in 2019 and in 2020 began a tour with Rob Brydon before Covid struck and it was cut it short.
Gabriella has featured on Jess Gillam, Voces8 and Gareth Malone’s albums all on Decca Classics and looks forward to continuing her tour with Rob Brydon, concerts with Jess Gillam and a tour with Beverly Craven as soon as it’s safe to do so.
Alka Sehgal Cuthbert is an educator, writer and co-ordinator of Don’t Divide Us. She writes on education and cultural politics for academic and professional publications. She is co-editor of the 2nd edition of the recently published ‘What Should Schools Teach? Disciplines, subjects and the pursuit of truth.’ and is a big fan of Debating Matters.
director, Future Cities Project; honorary research fellow, XJTLU, Suzhou, China; author, China’s Urban Revolution; series editor, Five Critical Essays.
Austin Williams is the author of several books, including Enemies of Progress: The Dangers of Sustainability, New Chinese Architecture: 20 Women Building the Future, and co-author of The Lure of the City: From Slums to Suburbs. He co-founded the mantownhuman manifesto and hosts the Professional Practice Podcasts.
He recently convened Shanghai Jiaotong University’s Urban Design summer school, and judged the World Architecture Festival China in Luzhou.
Shyama was writing music reviews for the NME while still at school, cutting loose at at 16 with the ambition of being a reporter. She joined The Guardian’s Home News staff aged 23 before moving to broadcasting where she worked as a current affairs host/presenter on TV and radio.
She is the author of three novels, a history of contraception, numerous short stories and essays, and a short play. Shyama currently teaches creative writing and blogging, mentors and edits new writers, reviews theatre, is a contributor to BBC Papers, and has spent lockdown manning the local Mutual Aid phone…
As Chair of SADAA, the South Asian Diaspora Arts Archive, she has spearheaded multi-dimensional projects for the HLF and ACE. She is an active trustee on the Youth United Foundation board which funds uniformed youth groups for disadvantaged young people.
Luke Gittos is a partner at Murrays Partnership solicitors. He is the Director of the Freedom Law Clinic which uses legal education to offer free legal help to those who cannot access representation. He regularly appears in the media to comment on legal and political issues.
Dr Joanna Williams is the founder and director of Cieo. Joanna taught at the University of Kent for over ten years and was the director of Kent’s Centre for the Study of Higher Education. Most recently, she worked as Head of Education and Culture at Policy Exchange. Joanna is the author of Women vs Feminism; Academic Freedom in an Age of Conformity and Consuming Higher Education Why Learning Can’t Be Bought. Joanna is associate editor of the online magazine Spiked and a regular news reviewer for Sky News.
Dr Emily Ryall is a Reader in Applied Philosophy at the University of Gloucestershire. Emily has appeared on and written for national, local and international media such as The Moral Maze, BBC News 24, BBC Radio 4’s Today, The World Tonight and World at One programmes, ABC news, The New York Times, The Guardian and BBC World Service.
She has given talks on issues related to sport, games and play to international audiences around the world. She is also the author of Philosophy of Sport: Key Questions (2016), Philosophy of Play as Life (ed.) (2017) Philosophical Perspectives on Play (ed.) (2015) The Philosophy of Play (ed.) (2013) and Critical Thinking for Sports Students (2010) as well as a number of book chapters and peer reviewed journal articles.
Dr Eliot Forster is the CEO of UK-based biotechnology company, Levicept which is currently developing a novel, efficacious biological therapy, LEVI-04, for the treatment of chronic pain.
Eliot has over 30 years’ experience in the biotech and pharmaceutical sectors. He was Chief Executive Officer of F-star Therapeutics (NASDAQ:FSTX) until its acquisition by inovX Pharma limited in March 2023, and formerly Chief Executive Officer of Immunocore (NASDAQ:IMCR), Chief Executive Officer of Creabilis, and President and Chief Executive Officer of Solace Pharmaceuticals. Earlier in his career, he held positions at Pfizer and GSK. Eliot currently serves as the Non-Executive Chairman of Avacta Group (AIM:AVCT), as the Non-Executive Chairman of Protalix Biotherapeutics (AMEX:PLX), as a Non-Executive Director of Immatics NV (NASDAQ:IMTX) and as the Chairman of Ochre Bio and Tessellate Bio, private biotechnology companies. He is an honorary visiting Professor at the Universities of Pavia Italy and Liverpool, UK.
An educationalist and historian, Nicola gained a First in Independent Studies from the University of Lancaster specialising in the politics and history of the Middle East. Nicola continued her studies at Lancaster completing an MA in Historical Research. She then went on to pursue a successful career in education., working as an history teacher and Senior Leader at both Secondary and Primary schools. During the course of her career Nicola gained an MSC in Educational Research from the University of Oxford. She is currently working in the FE Sector.
