Staff
John Osmond Director
Director of the IWA since April 1996. Born and brought up in Abergavenny, John graduated from Bristol University before starting his career in newspapers with the Yorkshire Post. In the 1970s he became Welsh Affairs Corrrespondent with the Western Mail. During 1980-82 he edited ARCADE - Wales Fortnightly, a cultural and current affairs magazine. He then moved into television, becoming a current affairs journalist and later producer with HTV. He produced a 10-part documentary series The Divided Kingdom for Channel 4 in the mid-1980s. From 1988 to 1990 he was deputy editor with Wales on Sunday, helping to launch the new newspaper. During the early 1990s he worked as a freelance journalist and television producer.
He is the author of numerous books on Welsh politics and culture, including Creative Conflict: the Politics of Welsh Devolution (1977), Wales - the national question again (Ed.) (1985); The Divided Kingdom (1988), Welsh Europeans (1995), Birth of Welsh Democracy (Ed.) (2003), and Crossing the Rubicon: Coalition Politics Welsh Style (2008). He is a Fellow of the University of Wales Institute, Cardiff, and has been awarded an Honorary MA by the University of Wales.
Kirsty Davies Deputy Director and Company Secretary
As Deputy Director she is responsible for all marketing activity at the IWA. She joined the IWA in September 2008, fresh from studying philosophy as a mature student at the University of Glamorgan. She had previously run her own sales and distribution company. She is also a Liberal Democrat councillor on Cardiff Council.
Emma Brennan Events Manager
As Events Manager she is responsible for all event promotions and organising for the IWA. She joined the IWA in September 2009 as a consultant to launch the IWA Inspire Wales Awards and was made a permanent team member in April 2010. Emma was previously employed as the Events Manager for Media Wales (formerly Western Mail & Echo Ltd) where she worked for 11 years following her Business Management Degree from Cardiff. Emma is also an accredited Prince2 Practitioner.
Dr. Stevie Upton Research Officer
Responsible for supporting all the IWA's research projects. A Cambridge geography graduate, she worked in local authority planning and transport departments in Cardiff and Cambridge, before specialising in regeneration studies. She has majored on regional innovation strategies and the role of universities in regional economies - the latter the focus of her doctorate with the School of City and Regional Planning at Cardiff University. She worked as a researcher on the Joseph Rowntree Foundation-funded Coalfields and Neighbouring Cities project.
Dr Helen Sims-Coomber Finance & I.T. Officer
Responsible for the IWA's IT systems and finances, and the IWA's Quality Manager. She has been a staff member of he IWA since 1997 and holds a BSc in Maths and a PhD in Geometry and Computer Graphics, both from the Cardiff University.