Contact

Sam Mclean

+44 (0)20 7451 6807

sam.mclean@rsa.org.uk

David Halpern is Director of Research at the Institute for Government. He previously worked as Chief Analyst in the Prime Minister's Strategy Unit (2001-2007).  He led numerous reviews, including the UK Government's Strategic Audits and recent Policy Reviews; set up the Social Exclusion Task Force and drafted its Action Plan; and authored many of the Strategy Unit's most influential papers, such as on Life Satisfaction and on Personal Responsibility and Behaviour Change. He has published widely including books on Social Capital (2005); Options for Britain: a strategic policy review (1996), and Mental Health and the Built Environment (1995).

Matthew Taylor became Chief executive of the RSA in November 2006.  Prior to this appointment, he was Chief Adviser on Political Strategy to the Prime Minister.
Matthew was appointed to the Labour Party in 1994 to establish Labour's rebuttal operation. His activities before the Labour Party included being a county councillor, a parliamentary candidate, a university research fellow and the director of a unit monitoring policy in the health service. Until December 1998, Matthew was Assistant General Secretary for the Labour Party. During the 1997 General Election he was Labour's Director of Policy and a member of the Party's central election strategy team. He was the Director of the Institute for Public Policy Research between 1999 and 2003, Britain's leading centre left think tank.
Matthew is a frequent media commentator on policy and political issues, and has written for publications including The Guardian, The Observer, New Statesman and Prospect'.

Irene Lucas was appointed Director General of Local government and regeneration, Communities and Local Government in September 2009. Her remit covers Local Government finance, policy and performance, and regeneration, and she will be leading work to improve the quality and delivery of public services as well as promoting the continued regeneration and improved economic performance of communities. Prior to this appointment she worked as Chief Executive of South Tyneside Council for seven years, during which time she turned the authority into one of the country’s highest-performing councils. She has had a long and successful career in local government spanning 34 years and a variety of local authorities. She has also held a number of public appointments, including at the BBC and the Sports Council of England and has worked with the FA, Premier League, Department of Culture Media and Sport, and Sport England to redistribute television rights funding to grass roots soccer across the UK. She was awarded a CBE in the 2008 New Years Honours List.

Marco Cereste is the leader of Peterborough City Council, deputy chair of the board of the East of England Development Agency (EEDA), Chair of its resources committee, and the chair of NHS Peterborough. His vision includes using strong leadership, fresh business investment, improved education and a louder voice for councillors as key components to ensuring a brighter future for Peterborough. He is also the chair of a group of family businesses and holds a number of non-executive directorships, including Peterborough Renewable Energy Ltd and Green Energy Parks Ltd. Marco has been chairman of the Italian Community Association, based at the Fleet in Fletton, since 1984. In 2002 he was awarded the honour of Cavaliere Grande Ufficiale (Cav. Gr.Uff) in L’Ordine Della Stella Della Solidarieta’ Italiana, the oldest and the highest honour bestowed by the Italian Republic. He also has two other Italian knighthoods.

Andrea Stark was appointed as Executive Director of Arts Council England East and South East in September 2009, as is part of a new streamlined national leadership team. She previously worked as Chief Executive of East England Arts from 1999, and has also worked as the Chief Arts Officer for the City of Dundee, and director of the £10 million Dundee Contemporary Arts Centre, the largest arts Lottery project in Scotland at that time. Andrea began working in arts development in the mid 1980's in the North of England, where she became Head of Arts Development for Sunderland City Council. During this time, she established the largest arts development agency for the arts in the north and was associated with setting up the National Glass Centre and the Year of Visual Arts.

Bob and Roberta Smith is the persona of contemporary artist Patrick Brill, whose art focuses around the power of art to act as a social force to challenge society’s assumptions and values. A subversive sense of humour can often be found in his work, which often uses everyday reclaimed materials in a variety of media, including installations, painting and sculpture. Brill studied art at the University of Reading, and was subsequently awarded a scholarship to The British School in Rome, which he followed with an MA at Goldsmith’s College London. He has had more than 15 solo shows; in 2005 Bob and Roberta Smith were commissioned to curate a series of five public art projects in the Thames Gateway called Art U Need, and in 2007 a sculpture proposed by Smith was shortlisted for the fourth plinth in Trafalgar Square and is currently on display at the National Gallery. Most recently in 2008 he collaborated with Electric Pedals to create a fully interactive christmas tree for Tate Britian entitled Make Your Own Xmas.