Our Team

Jacob is the Director for External Relations and Culture. His main responsibilities include advising senior stakeholders including Government Ministers to implement the Well-being of Future Generations Act. In 2019 he established the Future Generations Leadership Academy and has worked internationally to promote the world-leading legislation. He is Non-Executive Director of Literature Wales and Theatr Genedlaethol Cymru. He is a former BBC Wales Journalist and is a UN Foundation Next Generation Fellow for Future Generations.  

Heledd is a member of management team and leads on a number of our work areas. Like the rest of the team, her main role is to work with the public sector to help them change their practice and culture in light of the Well-being of Future Generations (Wales) Act. Heledd works closely with Audit Wales on monitoring the progress of public bodies in meeting the legislation and helps to develop advice and resources to speed up change.

Heledd is from Carmarthenshire originally and speaks fluent Welsh, but now lives in North Cardiff, where she loves having a daily walk along the River Taff.

At university, Heledd was in a Gospel, Soul, Acapella and Pop choir called GASP!”

Helen Nelson is our Director of Strategic Planning, and also overseas the Climate and Nature mission. She takes a lead in organising our work, supporting staff with planning, delivery and impact, and being responsible for areas of corporate governance including the Commissioner’s Audit, Risk and Assurance Committee (ARAC), Annual Report, and statutory Advisory Panel. Helen was a key author of the Commissioner’s new seven year strategy – Cymru Can and before that the Future Generations Changemaker 100 list. Before joining Future Gen Cymru, Helen led environmental organisations including Ymlaen Ceredigion and Cynnal Cymru–Sustain Wales, which provided over 20 years of experience on climate and nature issues. Originally from Aberdare, Helen now lives in Mumbles, spending 10 fab years in Aberystwyth in between. She is a Mumbles community councillor and enjoys getting out and about around Gower, including with the sea swimming group the Knobbling Knockers.  

Louisa (Lou) has over 20 years experience in the field of Human Resources, having led people operations teams mainly within the Welsh housing sector and formerly within private industry. Lou is an HR game changer, constantly searching for exciting and progressive ways to craft a better future of work and move beyond traditional HR practice. She is Mum to two teenage boys and spends most of her spare time on the athletics tracks and rugby pitches cheering on her sporting young future generations. An avid lover of dance and known  to belt out the odd karaoke tune when the occasion arises, Lou also loves to walk her very interesting bichon frisée/chow chow cross named Blake!

Jonny thinks Wales is going to change the world – by showing how it is possible to fight social inequality and climate change all at the same time. He supports the team’s international work, leads on private sector engagement and is responsible for the Future Generations Leadership Academy. Jonny spends too much time reading about politics and eats too much pasta. He says his favourite musical is Little Shop Of Horrors but if you press him it’s actually Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat. 

Lisa is a Chartered Accountant, she honed her craft over 15 years in Practise and Industry before taking the plunge into Public Sector. She is eager and excited to be a part of the changing Wales, lead by FGC, and is looking forward to all the challenges and opportunities that will bring.

Lisa lives near Cardiff with her husband and two young daughters. When not in her “mum” role she enjoys a few relaxing hours with friends partaking in afternoon teas or brunches. She has a keen interest in Quantum Physics theories (not the dreaded math!) and her guilty pleasure is all things UFO and Conspiracy Theory related – the truth is out there!

Rhiannon is supporting public bodies in Wales to go net zero by 2030 and to take action to address the climate and biodiversity emergencies.

Rhiannon has previously worked in the public sector across Welsh Government, NHS, Senedd and local authorities where for 10 years she led the Rural Development Programme team at Bridgend CBC supporting sustainable and cohesive community development and thriving rural economies.

Rhiannon also has a charity background both as Wales Manager with active travel charity Living Streets advocating for everyday walking, clean air and transport decarbonisation and was a Trustee and co-Chair of the Wales Centre for International Affairs for some years.

Her main areas of interest are housing and transport decarbonisation including getting her own life on track to net zero. Rhiannon lives in Cardiff with her husband and two eco-warrior kids. “There is no PLANet B!”

Pep is our lead for the work on long-term thinking and foresight, health and prevention. Her role includes supporting the implementation of the five ways of working through developing training, tools and resources such as the Ways of Working Journey Checker. Her role also includes working with the Deputy Commissioner in all aspects of legal advice work. Outside of the office, Pep likes to read fantasy books, take pictures of her dog, slowly kill her houseplants and compare Welsh and Bulgarian weather. 

Sandy works with the whole team to ensure that our work is informed by meaningful conversations and that we engage with people from a wide variety of backgrounds across Wales. Outside of work Sandy is active with a number of community and environmental groups, and volunteers as a befriender. Sandy loves to be outdoors and close to nature, cycling, running or walking with friends and family and is a serial instigator of book clubs.

Jenny is working with public bodies and Public Service Boards across Mid and West Wales to help them deliver the Well-being act to the fullest. The ‘monitoring and assessment’ part of her role draws upon her background in evaluation. She is tracking the objectives of Public Bodies and Public Service Boards to review how they have changed in line with previous recommendations made by the Future Generations Office.

Prior to joining the office, she has worked in both politics and social research in Wales, London and Brussels. Outside of work, Jenny enjoys hiking, surfing (badly), and going to gigs and exhibitions.

Alice supports members of the team with research and analysis, particularly focusing on the delivery and follow-up of the Future Generations Commissioner for Wales’ first Section 20 Procurement Review. Alice is also working with the Office’s Change Maker Support team, building relationships with public bodies to ensure the interests of future generations are placed firmly at the heart of all they do. Alice is a Point of Contact for several public bodies in North Wales. In her spare time, Alice enjoys hiking, learning to cook new recipes, and traveling.

Najma works on our office’s international programme which aims to promote Wales as a globally responsible nation and manages the Alumni Network of our Future Generations Leadership Academy.

Najma is passionate about making Wales more equal and was a part of Cardiff Council’s Race Equality Taskforce and mentors young black, Asian and minority ethnic students from Cardiff South.

Natalie has an extensive background in team working and office management, supporting other people to fulfil their roles and reach their potential is what she enjoys doing the most. Natalie lives with her young family and two very pampered cats, and enjoys getting out to enjoy the great outdoors every chance she gets, or reading whenever she gets some quiet time (which is not very often!).

Originally from South Korea, Sang-Jin has lived in Wales since 2004.  He has responsibility for finance and corporate governance. Much of Sang-Jin’s spare time is taken up with his two dogs & baking cakes. He’s also an enthusiastic practitioner of yoga.

Patience’s background is in Politics and International Development, with focus on Diversity, Inclusion and Representation in Policy and Implementation.  

She has worked in various roles in the Public, Private and Third sectors. 

Her participation as a member of the Socio-economic sub-committee of the Welsh Government Covid Advisory Committee has built upon her skills, experience and passion to embed diversity in an Anti-racist Wales. These and her lived experiences are what Patience infuses into her role in the OFGC to offer support and advice on achieving a more equal Wales for future generations.  

Patience is the 2021 Ethnic Minority Welsh Women Achievement Association (EMWWAA) award recipient for Self–Development; and the Rhodri Morgan. She loves music and singing, amongst other things; and is mother to a teenage son.

Hollie is responsible for dealing with the emails that are sent to our office by members of the public. She also produces our monthly FGC newsletter and supports any and all publications. Outside of work, Hollie enjoys reading, logging her entire life in a bullet journal and rewatching Gilmore Girls for the thousandth time. 

Christian’s work is focused on supporting Public Services Boards (PSBs) in Wales, helping them apply the principles of the Well-being of Future Generations Act to the way they work and the action they take in their communities. 

Sam is in one of our Change Maker Support roles. Currently, the team is working with public bodies to ensure the interests of future generations are placed firmly at the heart of all they do. Sam is a Public Body Lead for several national public bodies and local public bodies in Gwent. He is passionate about the work of the Commissioner and takes pride in helping to shape a globally responsible Wales that is leading the way in creating a fair and sustainable world for our future generations.

Zuzana is our new Support on the Future Leaders Academy. She will be helping with organising the Graduation Event for our almost finished cohort 3.0 and with anything from editing videos to anything administrative. The Future Generations Leadership Academy recruits and supports young people from across Wales. It helps to develop skills and knowledge reconnected to the Well-being of Future Generations Act as well as developing their leadership skills. Zuzana is very interested in engaging young people in the conversation and decision making. Zuzana loves to play the guitar and sing in her free time, and she also loves to read and listens to lots of podcasts. She is currently also working as a Station Co-ordinator for the Radio Platfform station, which is a charity community station, based in Porth in the Rhondda Valleys, supported by The Wales Millenium Centre. She adores to go out on walks in the nature, to dance and go to live gigs and spend time with her friends.

Cara is responsible for making sure that work is getting completed and sent efficiently and correctly. Cara joined the team after completing a Masters degree in Welsh Government and Politics from Cardiff University. After an insight to the public policy sphere, her dissertation focused on promoting national identity, whilst looking at policy networks, nation building, Welsh language policy and the inter-relationship between the third sector and national-level policies, for example, Cymraeg 2050: A Million Welsh Speakers. This was built from her undergraduate dissertation, which discussed how to promote the everyday use of minority languages by using Urdd Gobaith Cymru intervention called Cymraeg Bob Dydd.

Ola is a support team officer working as the first point of contact to provide efficient and definitive support to the Office of the Future Generations Commissioner. Ola enjoys going out and spending time with friends and family. Ola also has a kitten named Cairo!

Our Solutions Architect maintains the smooth day to day running of our workplace. Susan also oversees management of all our IT systems including IT training, and supports with our HR function. She is a natural problem solver who is always looking for ways to maximise our well-being with an engaging and inviting workplace environment. The Solutions Architect also manages the Commissioner’s complex and fast-moving diary and logistics. Outside of the office, Susan likes to sew, bake, watch most sports and is a season ticket holder at Cardiff City FC.