The judges assess the nominations against the criteria set out in the nomination forms.
Ruth Marks, Chief Executive WCVA, Chair of judging panel
Ruth is Chief Executive of Wales Council for Voluntary Action (WCVA), the national membership organisation for the third sector in Wales. Ruth was the first Older People's Commissioner in the world establishing the independent office and used her statutory powers to review health care for older people; producing the report “Dignified Care”.
An experienced charity sector activist and leader, she has led RNIB Cymru and Chwarae Teg and an independent review into health regulation in Wales.
Her post graduate qualifications are in human resource management and collaborative leadership. Ruth regularly contributes to inquiries and Advisory Boards on issues including diversity, equalities, volunteering and the charity sector. Ruth is a trustee of ACEVO and Cynnal Cymru, an advisory board member of Academi Wales and a director of the International Federation on Ageing.
Mike Lewis, Grant Manager Wales, Lloyds Bank Foundation
Mike is the Grant Manager for Wales. He joined the Foundation in 1997 after fourteen years in banking with Lloyds Bank. A Welsh speaker, he has held roles as a trustee with the Wales Council for Voluntary Action, as the Wales representative of the UK grants committee with Comic Relief and has chaired the Wales Funders Forum. He is presently a Wales National Advisory Committee member for BBC Children in Need. He lives in the Brecon Beacons.
Mike is very passionate about supporting and helping develop the role of small and local charities across Wales and takes a collaborative approach in working with others to achieve this.
Jonathan Levy, Managing Director, Class Networks
Jonathan has been working with charities for over 10 years with Class Networks where he is Managing Director.
From a background in electronics engineering Jonathan has accrued 40 years knowledge and experience of telecoms and IT markets in national, international and overseas roles with Mercury Communications, Cable & Wireless and Level 3 Communications before joining Class Networks.
Jonathan has a BSc Management from the University of Warwick and a post-graduate diploma in Marketing from the Chartered Institute of Marketing.
John Rose, Wales Director, National Lottery Community Fund
John has worked for the National Lottery Community Fund (formerly Big Lottery Fund and New Opportunities Fund) since August 2003. Having started as Head of Operations in Wales, he became Head of Programmes and later Deputy Director, before starting his new role as Acting Director for Wales in September 2010.
Prior to 2003 John enjoyed a varied work history including working as a chef and even selling door to door. After a period of overseas travel he entered Higher Education as a mature student where he studied in Environmental Systems and Applied Hydrobiology. Since graduating and prior to working for The National Lottery Community Fund, John worked in the voluntary sector for four years, before a five year stint with ENTRUST, the regulatory body working on the Landfill Tax Credit Scheme, where he was responsible for Wales, the West Midlands and South West England. In his spare time John enjoys gardening, cycling and providing a taxi service for his children .
Joe Brown, Founder- Director, designdough
Joe is the founder-director of designdough; a brand design agency home to a group of designers, developer and strategists focused on working with clients including WCVA, Llamau, Early Years Wales, Shelter Cymru and Sport Wales.
Started over 13 years ago; what sets us apart from other agencies is us; our team. designdough isn’t just about one person, every team member has a voice and is a stakeholder in the business, so we are all as equally passionate about our clients and their service users in order to deliver the best outcomes possible.
Catrin Pascoe, Editor, Western Mail
Cardiff-born and and Fiji, Cyprus and Pembrokeshire schooled, Catrin joined the Western Mail as a senior reporter in 2001. Soon news editor, she has risen through Media Wales' ranks playing a key role in the editorial and digital development of its website WalesOnline and print tiles. She became Editor: Daily Content and South Wales Echo in July 2014, then Editor of the Western Mail in March 2016. The mother of three read French at Reading and Grenoble universities, then completed a postgraduate journalism diploma at Cardiff University.
Mrs Margaret Thorne CBE DL
Mrs Margaret Thorne is Vice President of Wales Council for Voluntary Action (WCVA). She was awarded an OBE by the Queen in 1984 and was then enhanced to CBE in the Queen’s 80th Birthday Honours. She was granted the Honorary Freedom of the Borough of Neath in 2008 and the British Red Cross Queen’s Badge of Honour (which has only been given to 30 members in the world) in 1995. Mrs Thorne is a founder member of Neath Port Talbot Arts Club, was a Board Member of Ty Gwalia for over 20 years and for many years was the Vice Chairperson of a special school in Neath now called Maes y Coed.
Rachal Minchinton, Chair, IOF Cymru
Rachal has been a fundraiser for more than 14 years and has been Chair of the IOF Cymru Wales Committee for 2 years. She is employed as Head of Opportunity Management for Hafal & Cais, and before that as Head of Income Generation for City Hospice in Cardiff. She has experience in a wide range of fundraising specialisms, including Trusts & Foundations, Community, Events, Corporate and Retail. Passionate about the difference a thriving third sector can make to society, Rachal is an advocate for fundraisers and fundraising and believes in the incredible value of life long professional development.
Tahirah Ali, #iWill Youth Ambassador for Wales
Tahirah Ali is a #iWill Youth Ambassador for Wales. She likes to challenge barriers by highlighting how she is a female, Muslim (wears the head scarf) and is only 18. These stereotypes have been challenged by Tahirah’s hobby of weightlifting. She wanted to show that such a male dominated sport has become a big part of her life and that her outer appearance (the headscarf) has nothing to do with her ability. The sport has helped her grow as an individual but also inspired people, especially young women to not feel intimidated by something that may seem so daunting. This is one of the many factor that keeps her going to inspire more people to get into sports as well as challenge their own barriers and become the best version of themselves.
Llinos Iorwerth, Director, Ateb
Llinos has over 20 years’ experience as a communications professional and has worked both in-
house at senior management level and as an independent PR consultant for public and private sector organisations. She is a member of the Chartered Institute of Public Relations. Recently as a former Head of Communications in the housing sector, she developed and implemented communications and customer care strategies and led community involvement and customer services teams. She and her team won several sector communications awards including for Best Communications Team and Best Bilingual Communications. She is now one of the directors with Ateb and leads on the communications aspects of client work. She has provided internals communications support on the implementation of Welsh language standards for clients including BBC, Wales Millennium Centre and the Open University, as well as external and community
communications for local clients including Menter Môn, North Wales Housing, Gwynedd Council, and Gwynedd and Anglesey Public Service Board.
Llinos specialises in bilingual communications delivery and understands the importance of adapting copy and style to suit the audience and not always translating directly from one language to the other.
She is on the Board of Management of housing association – Grŵp Cynefin.
She studied French and Italian at Cardiff University and has a Masters in European Business from Southbank University.
Ashok Ahir, President of the National Eisteddfod Court and Chair of the Eisteddfod Management Board
David Notley, Impact Innovation
David Notley is an experienced entrepreneur and Venture Capitalist who specialises in advising and supporting high growth and technology businesses. David worked in the electronics industry in corporate planning and mergers and acquisitions before moving into venture capital where he latterly managed a fund investing in early stage technology companies. David has established and run several successful businesses and achieved exits from a number of these. David currently runs Impact Innovation which nurtures ambitious, high growth businesses. Impact Innovation is a consortium partner, with Winning Pitch, in the delivery of the Business Wales Accelerated Growth Programme which provides specialist, bespoke support to high growth businesses.
Lisa Morgan, Partner, Hugh James
Lisa Morgan is a Partner and Head of the Nursing Care department at Hugh James. She is regarded as an experienced and specialist solicitor leading in the niche area of continuing healthcare. She has been instrumental in developing a niche legal department in Hugh James, which comprises of 40 fee earners who solely act for the elderly and families in recovering wrongly paid nursing fees. Lisa has acted for hundreds of clients in England and Wales in challenging current and retrospective decisions to refuse NHS funded continuing healthcare to long-term nursing home residents. Her department has successfully recovered over £125 million in wrongly paid nursing fees, as well as savings for the future. Lisa won the prestigious and highly acclaimed Law Society Junior Lawyer of the Year 2010 Excellence Award due to her work in an area largely neglected by the profession, for encouraging others to get involved in this field of law, and for the large amount of pro bono work and mentoring she undertakes. In 2011, Lisa was also shortlisted for ‘Junior Pro Bono Lawyer of the Year’ and in 2015 was awarded the inaugural Simon Mumford Memorial award for outstanding contribution to law by Cardiff and District Law Society. Since 2006, Lisa has been supervising solicitor for the award winning Cardiff Law School’s Continuing Healthcare pro bono scheme. She is also a committee member for the South Wales’ Solicitors for the Elderly Regional Group.
Lisa lectures widely on the subject of continuing care to professionals and the voluntary sector and regularly gives media interviews and is called on by the press as a commentator and expert in her field. She has appeared on The One Show, BBC Breakfast News, Channel 4 Dispatches, BBC and ITV news and various radio shows.
