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Five new board members at Sport Wales

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Five new members have been appointed to Sport Wales' board by the Welsh Government.

Sport Wales is the national organisation responsible for developing and promoting sport and physical activity in Wales.

They are the main adviser on sporting matters to the Welsh Government and are responsible for distributing National Lottery funds to both elite and grassroots sport in Wales.

Candidates were sought who:

  • promote the benefits of sport and physical activity and the positive benefits they have for Wales' diverse society, in line with Sport Wales' vision as a main deliverer of Government policy on sport;
  • are able to challenge Sport Wales to ensure it meets its aims, objectives and performance targets;
  • act in a way that promotes high standards in areas including protection of public finance;
  • have an appreciation or understanding of the importance of corporate responsibility and risk management to ensure that Sport Wales' activities are conducted effectively and efficiently;

Lord Elis-Thomas, Deputy Minister for Culture, Sport and Tourism said:

"Organisations are at their best when there is a diversity of culture, thinking and perspective. I'm very pleased to see such a diverse field, all of whom have a wealth of experience. Diversity and inclusion on boards is so important to the business agenda."

Chair of Sport Wales, Lawrence Conway, said

"I'm delighted that the Minister has appointed five new board members to join the Sport Wales Board in September. They bring a wealth of experience with them from a range of sectors. Most importantly, they are all passionate about bringing that experience to the table as we work to embed our new strategy across the organisation"

Rajma Begum

Rajma has over 10 years' experience in Project Management. Currently she is the Strategic Lead for Equality, Diversity and Inclusion (BME) in Sport across Wales - (WCVA), primarily delivering inclusion training to NGBs, clubs, local authority sport development and leisure trusts to educate on cultural/religious barriers to sport, equality duty and offering support to make clubs/facilities inclusive for diverse communities of Wales. Previously Rajma has been involved in the WOW film festival developing partnerships and supporting film screenings for BME women and diverse communities across South Wales as well as Streetgames UK where she established the first Women and Girls Sport Forum in Wales.

Dafydd Trystan Davies

Dafydd has vast experience of leading and achieving in the fields of organisation management. He is Registrar of Coleg Cymraeg Cenedlaethol (Welsh National College) and Chair of the Advisory Board of Run Wales encouraging people to run socially, also founder and leader (LiRF) of a multicultural and multilingual running group.  His previous responsibility as Chief Executive of Plaid Cymru was managing the staff team, budget and implementing the political strategy.  Dafydd has been involved as Chair of award-winning social enterprises that includes Cardiff Bikes Workshop, which recycles in excess of 500 bikes per year, and TooGoodToWaste which recycles hundreds of tons of household furniture helping dozens of people into employment every year.

Hannah Murphy

Hannah is an experienced external affairs professional with established reputation within the sports industry. She is Head of Public Policy at the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB), responsible for designing and leading the organisation's engagement with key external stakeholders including Government and external sporting agencies to enhance the ECB's reputation. Hannah previously was policy advisor to the UK Government Cabinet Office, responsible for advising departments on their deregulation strategy and was also a senior political advisor to the leader of the opposition based in the National Assembly for Wales.

Delyth Evans

Delyth is currently a self-employed consultant in the public policy sphere; previously she held the position of Chair and non-executive director at Volunteer Space, a technology start-up developing digital platforms for volunteering in charities and corporate sectors.  Delyth was a Member of the Welsh Assembly, appointed as Deputy Minister for Culture, Environment and Rural Affairs, and previously was a News and current Affairs journalist for the BBC and ITV providing extensive broadcasting reports for HTV Wales and Sky News. Delyth's previous voluntary roles were as a Board Member, Film Agency for Wales and as a Trustee, United Response (UK-wide learning disability charity).

Nicola Mead-Batten

Nicola is a Partner in Capital Law Limited, and lead in the public law/regulatory law team. She is a key advisor to UK Anti-doping on law matters including responses to Freedom of Information requests concerning athletes/testing data, as well as providing legal advice to the Gambling Commission. She has worked closely with the Future Generations Commissioner (Wales) advising around the Well-being goals in her enabling legislation and with challenges connected to public bodies' approaches to the Act. She was advisor to the BBC Trust working on high profile investigations and the Professional Standards Authority for Health and Social Care advising on issues with governance and bullying.