Terri Harrington – Board Chair

Terri is a semi-retired project professional who worked primarily in the Public Sector on major projects and programmes. 

She spent most of her career working in HMRC leading portfolios of major transformation programmes. She then spent 2 years in the Infrastructure and Projects Authority based in the Cabinet Office as the Portfolio Lead for the Government Major Projects Portfolio (GMPP). In this role she devised and lead Project X, a cross government/academic/professional body collaboration which sponsored research focussed on improving the outcomes of project delivery. This was primarily funded by ESRC with contributions from others including government, APM and PMI. 

Prior to her semi-retirement, Terri was the Sponsorship Director for the Complex Infrastructure Programme in National Highways. In this role she was accountable for overseeing the delivery and engagement with government on >£20bn major infrastructure projects. She also provided access to data, information and people to support several research projects sponsored by Project X. 

Terri left National Highways in March 2023 and has since provided consultancy support for several projects, is an assessor for APM’s the Chartered Project Professional standard and most recently has been appointed to the Chartered Project Professional Team to help oversee and support assessors. 

Terri is also the Chair of the Board of a Bedford based charity which engages volunteers to reduce loneliness and social isolation of the elderly in care homes. 

Katie Barnes

Katie Barnes, Executive Director of the National Preparedness Commission (NPC), is a ‘big picture’ thinker who is confident dealing with ambiguity and complexity, and skilled at revealing and navigating conflicting agendas. Her driving motivation is to understand how a system works and ensure that it is fit for purpose – that motivation means she is never afraid to ask the difficult questions.  Her role at NPC is to direct the Commission’s thought leadership and policy influence towards a UK that is better prepared for major crises and disruptions.  

Prior to joining the Commission, Katie worked for Sonnet Advisory – a specialist consultancy providing strategy, social impact and impact measurement advice to purpose-led organisations, charities, non-profits and public bodies.  Key clients there reflected Katie’s strong interests in better (and fairer) social outcomes and resilience, including work for a local authority, a major hospice provider, NHS England and several charities supporting groups facing complex and multiple disadvantages. During this period she was also a Visiting Fellow at Sheffield Hallam University, partners of Sonnet.

Before joining Sonnet, Katie co-led the Governance and Policy workstream on the EPSRC-funded ‘Liveable Cities’ research programme, investigating models for cities that could prioritise wellbeing whilst functioning within the contexts of increased urbanisation, climate change and finite global resources.

Having graduated in modern languages from Cambridge, Katie began her career at the IET (then the IEE Institution of Electrical Engineers), initially organising a programme of technical seminars and lectures before recognising the limitations of the Institution’s structure in the face of evolving working practices.  Her proposed re-design of the institution’s operational model was acknowledged by the then President as being pivotal in meeting the future needs of the profession.  Katie went on to work in organisational change in the legal and insurance sectors, before moving into a role in strategy with a major UK insurer. 

She has recently completed a ten-year term as trustee, then Interim CEO, of an East London education charity providing outdoor science and nature workshops for primary school aged children and their teachers.  

Anna Evans

Anna leads the delivery of Public Sector works for Lendlease Construction (UK). Previously Anna was Project Director of Perry Barr Residential Scheme (PBRS). PBRS was a major regeneration project, for Birmingham City Council, delivering 968 new homes for the Perry Barr community.  

Prior to joining Lendlease, Anna worked at the Ministry of Justice (MOJ) as Deputy Director with responsibility for the Design and Construction of the Prison Estate Transformation Programme and was also Deputy Head of Profession for Project Delivery across the MOJ. Before that, she worked for the Education Funding Agency as a Regional Project Director on the Priority School Building programme and spent four years as Head of Property and Projects for the National Museums of Science and Industry.  

Anna started her career working in local government, initially as a building surveyor and then as a Project Manager and Programme Director. During this time, Anna was responsible for the delivery of a broad range of construction new build and refurbishment projects, valued from £5m to £45m. 

Ebru Gencer 

Ebru Gencer is the Founder and Director of the Centre for Urban Disaster Risk Reduction and Resilience (CUDRR+R), a non-profit research centre based in New York City. She is also an Adjunct Associate Professor of Architecture, Planning, and Preservation at Columbia University, a Research Affiliate at Columbia Climate School, and a Faculty Adviser at the Columbia Global Centers. 

Ebru Gencer’s scholarship and practice focuses on the intersection of disaster risk reduction, climate resilience, and sustainability. She is the author of several books and articles and recently held positions and roles as the Senior Urban Resilience Adviser at the World Bank, the Chair of the Urban Planning Advisory Group to the UN Secretary General’s Special Representative for Disaster Risk Reduction, and a Steering Committee member of UNDRR’s Making Cities Resilient Campaign. 

Toby Harris

Lord Toby Harris, chair of the National Preparedness Commission (NPC), is a highly experienced and influential figure in the field of emergency preparedness and public service. As chair of the National Preparedness Commission, he has played a crucial role in the development of the UK Government Resilience Framework, establishing the Commission as a leading body in promoting better preparedness for major crises. 

In addition to his role on the Commission, Lord Harris is a Visiting Professor at Imperial College London and Cranfield University, and until recently was President of the Institute of Strategic Risk Management. He also chairs the General Dental Council and the Fundraising Regulator, overseeing regulatory bodies responsible for dental professionals and charitable fundraising, respectively. 

 Lord Harris has held various leadership positions since he graduated from Cambridge where he was President of the Cambridge Union. His leadership positions include as a Council Leader, Chair of the Metropolitan Police Authority, and Chair of National Trading Standards. He has conducted independent reviews on topics such as London’s preparedness for terrorist attacks and deaths of young people in prison custody. 

With a background in economics and public service, Lord Harris brings a wealth of experience and expertise to his various roles and responsibilities. He continues to be actively involved in shaping policy and governance in areas related to security, ethics, consumer protection, and public safety. 

Leon Kapetas 

A hydrologist by training, Dr Leon Kapetas is Lead for Climate Resilience and Programs at Resilient Cities Network. Leon works closely with cities to support them in developing along climate resilient pathways. He is interested in Nature-based Solutions (NbS) as a vehicle for adapting to climate change, protecting natural capital, and meeting social development objectives. 

Leon has experience in research and consulting environments across high- and low-income countries. He has previously worked as climate resilience consultant for the World Bank with a focus in the Africa region. His work in South America focused on water resources development in Andean catchments. Leon also worked as expert for the Urban Innovative Actions of the European Regional Development Fund to support mainstreaming of blue-green infrastructure programs. As Research Associate at the University of Cambridge, Leon developed NbS valuation methods in the context of adaptation planning. Over the years, he has engaged in numerous capacity building schemes on climate resilience & NbS mainstreaming. 

James Kemp 

James is a highly experienced senior leader in strategy & change, building capability for digital change. His primary strengths are a combination of people leadership, understanding technology, and rapid analysis leading to sound evidence-based decisions.  

His work in Cabinet Office focuses on leading the implementation of the UK Government’s shared services strategy, coordinating a £300m portfolio across government to provide assurance to Ministers, Accounting Officers, and SROs that the strategy is being implemented and the outcomes set out in it are delivered. 

Henrietta Moore 

Professor Dame Henrietta L. Moore is the Founder and Director of the Institute for Global Prosperity and the Chair in Culture Philosophy and Design at University College London.  

A leading global thinker on prosperity, Professor Moore challenges traditional economic models of growth arguing that to flourish communities, businesses and governments need to engage with diversity and work within environmental limits. Her recent policy work focuses on new economic models, Universal Basic Services, Artificial Intelligence, environmental degradation and decarbonisation, displaced people and the gender pay gap.  

In 2016 Professor Moore was made Dame Commander of the British Empire for services to social sciences, business, policy and the arts. She is also Chair of the London Prosperity Board, a Fellow of the Clean Growth Network, a Fellow of the British Academy, a Fellow of the RSA, an Academician of the Learned Societies for the Social Sciences, and a Member of the IOD. 

Formerly William Wyse Chair of Social Anthropology at the University of Cambridge, the LSE Deputy Director for research and external relations, and Director of the Gender Institute at the LSE from 1994-1999, she has held numerous Visiting Appointments in the United States, Germany, Portugal, Norway, and South Africa. 

Paul Morrison 

Paul Morrison started as Chief Executive of the Planning Inspectorate in December 2022. He comes to this role from the Ukraine Humanitarian Task Force where he helped create and lead the UK’s operation to allow Ukrainians displaced by the current conflict to find safety in this country. 

He started his career by joining the Home Office in 1996 as an Administrative Officer. He has since spent time in a range of operational and policy roles across several Government departments including the Department for Levelling-up, Housing and Communities (DLUHC), Food Standards Agency (FSA), Home Office, Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) and Northern Ireland Office. 

Kathy Oldham 

Kathryn has been Greater Manchester’s Chief Resilience Officer since 2017, providing strategic leadership for the city region’s approach to resilience. She is responsible for a specialist unit delivering disaster risk reduction and an emergency response service for Greater Manchester’s ten local authorities. Kathryn has led the development of Greater Manchester’s 10-year Resilience Strategy and provides a strategic advice function to the Greater Manchester Resilience Forum with a focus on multi-agency collaboration to deliver safer, stronger, and more resilient communities in Greater Manchester. 

Kathryn heads up Greater Manchester’s participation in several international partnerships including the Resilient Cities Network, UNDRR’s Making Cities Resilient 2030 (MCR2030) partnership and the Counter Terrorism Preparedness Network (CTPN). She is a member of MCR2030’s Regional Coordinating Committee for Europe and Central Asia and sits on CTPN’s International Board.  

Kathryn holds a medical degree and has previously held a wide range of positions in local government. 

Emily Taylor-Dawson 

Emily brings 19 years’ experience working in the not-for-profit and public sectors to communicate and maximise the benefits of major investment programmes.  

She excels in developing strategic partnerships to maximise value from public sector investment, supporting business growth and delivering impactful socio-economic benefits for communities. 

She is a Chartered project delivery professional with the Association of Project Management, and a graduate of the Infrastructure and Projects Authority’s Project Leadership Programme.  

Tom Wheatley 

Tom Wheatley is the President of the Prison Governors Association. He is a prison/ corrections professional with thirty years’ experience in both public and private sector organisations. He has experience of managing large scale (700+) public to private employer TUPE and of leading the mobilisation and transition of critical public services in the policing sector. He has governed five public sector and one private prison. 

He has Trustee/ NED experience in the Voluntary and Community Sector and is proud to be a trustee of both Unlock and Life Skills Education. 

Kristine Zaidi 

Dr Kristine Zaidi is Associate Director of Programmes at the Arts and Humanities Research Council (AHRC), UK Research and Innovation. Her portfolio includes International Partnerships, Public policy and Public engagement as well as interdisciplinary programming in the area of security and resilience. Prior to joining AHRC, Kristine held various positions in the Economic and Social Research Council.  

Her portfolio of work included data policy, research infrastructure, security and urban studies. Kristine started her professional life as a civil servant in the government of the Republic of Latvia, working in international relations in the Ministry of Defence, and strategic planning in the State Chancellery. In 2022 and 2023 Kristine led on the Future Leaders Forum of The Riga conference (security and foreign policy). Kristine’s academic background is in political science and security studies.