Meet the team
Dewi Knight, Director
As the first Director of PolicyWISE, I worked with colleagues to set-up and establish PolicyWISE’s unique mission and operation. I lead the team and our work across the UK and Ireland.
My background is education policy and strategy, having worked in government, universities, and international relations.
Prior to leading PolicyWISE, I was the Welsh Government’s specialist adviser for education reform where I authored the national education strategy and brand 'Our National Mission'. This was recognised by the OECD as a leading international example of successful system change.
I worked on UK–China education policy relations for the British Council and was Director of Policy and member of the Executive Board at the University of Bedfordshire. I am a board member at Seren Books and a Leadership Mentor for UKRI’s Future Leaders Fellows Network.
My research interests include inter-governmental relations, curriculum reform, higher education policy and funding, comparative policy analysis and education history.
Carla Williams, Senior Business Manager
In my role as the Senior Business Manager, I am responsible for overseeing operational management including finance, our ways of working and governance. In addition, I lead on corporate relationship management, raising awareness of PolicyWISE, and developing and maintaining our networks.
Before stepping into this role, I led on strategic projects for the Partnership, Skills and Development team at The Open University in Wales. Prior to my work in higher education, my background is in leading successful relationship management and business development teams within the technology sector. I am excited to be playing a part in the PolicyWISE journey, as we explore innovative ways to help solve policy challenges across the UK and Ireland.
Catherine May, Senior External Affairs and Communications Manager
As the Senior External Affairs and Communications Manager, I am responsible for building and maintaining our relationships with governments, partners, and wider society. As well as managing our communications functions, I lead on the development and delivery of strategic plans for external affairs for PolicyWISE, aligning these activities with the work of The Open University and our partners.
I have previously led research and communications projects in the housing and equalities sector, working across justice, health, and human rights in UK-wide and devolved nations. I am enjoying being part of the PolicyWISE team, meeting committed and inspiring people from across the nations, as well as seeking opportunities for research and evidence to help solve policy challenges across the UK and Ireland.
I have an MA (Econ) in Social Policy and Social Development from the University of Manchester
Lee Moore, Support Officer
I am the Support Officer for PolicyWISE. My responsibilities include day-to-day administration, diary management, travel arrangements, putting our Newsletter, The Bridge together and supporting different projects throughout the team including finance, marketing, and research.
I am currently studying Law with the OU. Working within PolicyWISE has given me a curiosity about issues that affect all our nations, and I am really enjoying learning about policy and comparative research. PolicyWISE is a unique environment to work in bringing together academics and policymakers and I am really enjoying seeing this project grow and develop as we support policy change throughout the UK and Ireland.
Molly Butterworth, Communications Support Assistant
As the Communications Assistant, I am responsible for creating digital content and maintaining PolicyWISE social media platforms and supporting the team with any design work from reports and Wise in 5 briefing to email graphics and presentation slides.
Sagun Shrestha, Research Associate
As a Research Associate for PolicyWISE, I'm eager to leverage my knowledge and skills to advance the comparative policy research, ultimately enhancing our success in securing new project bids.
I have served as a researcher at the Institute of Educational Technology, OU and contributed to EU-funded project 'Extending Design Thinking through Emerging Technologies' and OU-funded project 'Student Facing Learning Analytics Dashboard'. I did my PhD on affordances of ICT in education in secondary school settings during the crisis contexts from Dublin City University (DCU), Ireland, and earned Masters in ELT (Specialism in ICT) from the University of Warwick, UK and Masters in English Education from Tribhuvan University, Nepal. I have published several articles around ICT in education in top-quartile journals and edited a few books related to teacher education.
In 2016 and 2017, I served as a founding editorial member of The Warwick ELT ezine, which promoted informed discussion of developments in ELT and drew attention to research and innovative practices related to English language learning and teaching and teacher education. In 2021, I served as a reviewer of International Journal of Distance Education Technologies (IJDET), a peer-reviewed journal published by IJI Global. I also contributed as an expert evaluator of the abstracts of the dissertations (2020) in British Council’s Master’s Dissertation Award Scheme in which I ranked the abstracts and gave feedback.
Hannah Ellis, Research Assistant
As a Research Assistant with PolicyWISE, I contribute to projects at all stages of development, which allows me to develop my skills in comparative policy analysis while deepening my understanding of the devolved policy landscape. This follows an internship in Summer 2025, during which I completed a Wise in 5 on smart ports, and I am excited to join the team again at such a formative time for UK politics.
Academically, my background is in maths and physics, but it was during an MA in Naval History that my interest in comparative analysis arose. I explored how national bias shaped portrayals of the Anglo-German naval arms race before going on to examine the experiences of Wales and the Welsh within “England’s Navy.” Going forward, my research interests include the role of emerging technologies in society and in policymaking - both as a policy issue and as a policy tool.
