Anti-Racism Action Plan - Independent Oversight & Advisory Panel

Chair

David has over 40 years of operational and strategic policing experience in the UK and internationally. He served with the Metropolitan Police Service and South Wales Police, where he became Assistant Chief Constable, leading on Corporate Intelligence and Communities & Operations. His senior roles included Divisional Commander for Cardiff and Bridgend, Head of Corporate Development, and Force Senior Diversity Policy Advisor.

He was a nationally accredited UK Gold Commander and has led national policing portfolios covering Race & Diversity, Community Cohesion, Drugs, and Professional Standards, and chaired a regional multi-agency resilience forum. He was a nationally qualified police trainer through the College of Policing.

A committed advocate for equality and inclusion, David was the founding Chair of the South Wales Black Police Association, an executive member of the National Black Police Association, and represented the Association of Chief Police Officers internationally on diversity matters.

Following retirement from UK policing, he served as Police Commissioner of the British Virgin Islands and later as UK Senior Policing Adviser at the British Embassy Jordan. Since returning to the UK, David has worked as an independent policing consultant. His roles have included Associate Inspector with HMICFRS, Independent Grievance Manager for SWP, and a strategic leadership and equality consultant with Deep Insight. He has also served as a lay member of the All-Wales Assembly Government Cross-Party Committee for Race Equality.

Recruitment and Support Officer at Education Workforce Council

Aminur has extensive experience engaging with minority ethnic communities at grassroots levels. With a background spanning the public sector, higher education, and the voluntary sector, he currently works as a recruitment officer promoting careers in education and leads on efforts to diversify the education workforce in Wales.  Prior roles include advocating for individuals facing discrimination at Swansea Bay Regional Equality Council, as well as volunteering as a Prison Chaplain.

Bharat is an academic based in the Law Department at Cardiff University, where he lectures on and researches the topics of racism, human rights, criminal justice, and miscarriages of justice. Bharat also sits on the Independent Monitoring Board for HMP Eastwood Park. His interest in race and criminal justice stems from his time working on death penalty cases in the United States of America 20 years ago, and how similar racial injustices occur in our own criminal justice system.

Carmel is a former Independent Domestic and Sexual Violence Advocate with experience in safeguarding through multi-agency working, high-risk assessment and coordinated safety planning. Her professional and academic work focuses on how structural and anti-Black racism contribute to disproportionate outcomes for Black communities. She holds a First-Class Honours degree in Criminology, Criminal Justice and Youth Justice and a Master’s with Distinction in Black Studies. Carmel has a deep commitment to advancing knowledge in areas that address inequality and promote justice.

BME Family and Youth Support Worker at EYST

Hajer works to provide targeted, culturally sensitive support to families and young people with additional needs. Hajer is currently completing a degree in International Relations with a special interest in race equality and is also a member of the Welsh Refugee Coalition, feeding in the lived experience of ethnic minority people in North Wales. She enjoys live music and is a member of a singing group in Wrexham.

Training and Engagement Officer at Race Equality First

Junior Seri is the Training and Engagement Officer at Race Equality First, where he delivers training sessions and workshops on anti-racism and the impact of gambling harm, particularly within minority ethnic communities. With a background in youth justice, Junior brings experience in working directly with young people and families affected by inequality.

A certified Emotional Freedom Techniques (EFT) practitioner and counselling student, Junior integrates trauma-informed approaches into his engagement work, supporting wellbeing alongside education and advocacy. He is fluent in French and has a long-standing involvement in grassroots community-building through Baha’i-inspired children and youth programmes.

Creative Director at Underground Artist Movement Ltd

Kene supports emerging and underrepresented talent and leads the delivery of creative and educational programmes. This includes the design and facilitation of cultural awareness education that promotes understanding, inclusion, and informed engagement with issues of race, identity and inequality.

He has a strong interest in anti-racism, equity, and the role of lived experience in shaping policy and practice and is committed to ensuring that the voices of marginalised communities are reflected in decision-making across Wales.

Irish Traveller currently undertaking a PhD fellowship and a researcher at the University of Northumbria

Martin is a committed activist and has worked in many organisations such as North Wales Police, Welsh Government, and the Senedd, to raise awareness of inequalities that Gypsy, Roma and Traveller communities face.

Melanie holds roles working to ameliorate outcomes for BAME in education across Wales, and in mental health in South Wales

Melanie has a strong interest in special educational needs and separately the importance of a trauma informed approach to inequality relating to poverty and migration. Melanie advises private sector organisations on DEI issues, and from time to time is asked to give media commentary on DEI matters of the day. Having lived in New Zealand she brings a depth of DEI experience relating to systemic inequity experienced by indigenous communities to her Welsh work. Prior to a near ten-year career in inclusion, Melanie was a UK solicitor specialising in finance, working in Italy, Japan and the City of London.

In her spare time, she runs a free community group stretch class bringing local residents together to benefit from company and exercise.

Serving magistrate

Moawia brings a wealth of public experience to the Panel. As a former member of the South Wales Police Authority, an Independent Custody Visitor and Chair of the Panel, Senior Selection Assessor for the National Policing Improvement Agency, member of the Independent Monitoring Board and a Lay Observer, Moawia has been a passionate advocate for change in policing, criminal justice and the judiciary. Moawia also holds senior roles within Judiciary, Coleg Gwent, Independent Custody Visiting Association, Care After Combat, Royal Military Academy Sandhurst, St John Ambulance, Hafod Housing, United Nations, Welsh Government, and City of London Livery Companies.

Community practitioner and EDI leader

Nkechi Allen Dawson is a community practitioner and EDI leader with extensive experience working across education, community cohesion and safeguarding. She is the co-founder of Cynefin Pamoja, an organisation focused on amplifying lived experience, promoting inclusion and strengthening community resilience across Wales. Nkechi’s work centres on equity, anti-racism and meaningful engagement with marginalised communities, supporting organisations to develop culturally competent, trauma-informed and inclusive practice.

Former Network Chair at University of Bristol, Non-Executive Director for Newport City Homes and Inclusion Consultant at Advance HE

Robiu brings a vast background in community engagement and working with different groups. He is an experienced Higher Education practitioner, with over a decade of experience in community engagement and inclusion. He regularly provides institutional guidance and expert advice on the principles and practice of equality, diversity, and inclusion, specifically issues affecting race and ethnicity in the UK.