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Who we are

Our Team

We are policy experts, political strategists and pollsters drawn from politics, academia, business and civil society. 

Josh Simons, Director

Josh’s first book, Algorithms for the People: Democracy in the Age of AI, was published in 2023. He was previously a Research Fellow at Harvard, a Visiting Research Scientist in AI at Facebook, a Technology Policy Fellow at New America, and a researcher at the Institute for Public Policy Research. He also worked for the Labour Party as a Policy Advisor. Josh is the founder and a Trustee of the Civic Power Fund and a Trustee of Engage Britain. 

Josh Williams, Deputy Director

Josh is a speechwriter and strategist. In 2018, he co-founded The Draft, Britain’s leading speechwriting firm, with Tony Blair’s former speechwriter. He has written for and advised politicians in the UK and abroad, and chief executives at some of the world’s top companies and charities. He has previously worked as an aid worker and in business and writes a regular column in CityAM.  

Terrie McCann, Director of Operations and Partnerships

Terrie worked in the charitable sector for over fifteen years, running funding campaigns for a variety of organisations including the Natural History Museum and Sadler's Wells, as well as leading operations and strategy at think tanks and civil society. Her previous role was in the Fundraising team at Labour, first leading the team, then working with senior leaders across the Party to guide and advise on fundraising and strategy. 

Christabel Cooper, Director of Research

Christabel spent fifteen years working as a data analyst in the private sector, specialising in Big Data. She has worked with DataPraxis in analysing the 2019 General Election result and carried out extensive research and polling with YouGov after the Brexit referendum. She was formerly a Labour councillor in Hammersmith and Fulham. 

Kevin Ferriter, Chief Economist

Kevin is an economist with a specialism in macroeconomics. He was previously co-head of research for the >$1 trillion multi-asset department at BlackRock and was a Fellow at Harvard, teaching macroeconomics and conducting research across a range of policy areas.

Eleri Kirkpatrick-Lorente, Operations Manager

Eleri previously worked for Oliver Coppard, the Mayor of South Yorkshire. She has also worked as a Parliamentary Assistant to Paul Blomfield MP, as the lead organiser in several Parliamentary selections, and interned with YouGov.

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