Reverend Professor Keith Magee is the chair of The Guardian Foundation. His career spans three decades spent in the pursuit of social justice. He is a senior fellow and visiting professor in cultural justice at UCL Institute for Innovation and Public Purpose, a fellow at its Centre on U.S. Politics, as well as being chair and professor of practice in social justice at Newcastle University.
A Commissioner on Diversity in the Public Realm for the Mayor of London, Keith also serves on the US-UK Fulbright Commission and Congressional Black Caucus Foundation. He is a regular contributor to CNN, NBC and LSE American Politics and Policy on issues of social justice, politics, race and religion.
Melody Patry is responsible for the Charles Stewart Mott Foundation's work on advancing digital rights that enhance civic space and addressing the root causes of closing civic space.
Before her current role, she was a Senior Director at Internews, serving as a global expert on the role of information in expanding democracy and human rights.
Previously, Melody was Advocacy Director at digital rights organisation Access Now, leading on communications and campaigns to protect the internet and those who use it, and ensure that human rights are respected online.
Before this, Melody was head of advocacy at free speech organisation Index on Censorship in London, where she managed global projects spanning from online censorship to threats to media freedom. She has also worked with Cairo-based grassroots organisations and artists on campaigns addressing women’s rights issues, assisted the Representative to the European Union for Doctors Without Borders, and acted as a political advisor for the Delegation of the European Union to the United Nations.
Nina Blackwell is the former Executive Director of Firelight. She has previously worked at Humanity United, part of the Omidyar Group, as Senior Strategic Advisor and Head of External Affairs. Nina also had responsibility for Humanity United’s award-winning partnership with the Guardian News and Media, reporting comprehensively on modern slavery.
Prior to joining Humanity United, Nina spent several years at Yahoo! Inc., where she led two global teams as Senior Director of Americas Communications and Senior Director of Global Public Affairs. Nina joined Yahoo! after seven years working for US Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton, first as Special Advisor and then as Press Secretary and Spokesperson. A native Australian, Nina began her career with almost a decade working in Australian national and state politics, including three years as National Campaign Manager for an Australian Republic, culminating in the historic 1999 national republic referendum campaign and vote.
Gary Younge is an award-winning author, broadcaster and academic based in London. Formerly a columnist at The Guardian he has been appointed Professor of sociology at Manchester University. He is also the Alfred Knobler Fellow for Type Media in America.
He has written five books: Another Day in the Death of America, A Chronicle of Ten Short Lives; The Speech, The Story Behind Martin Luther King’s Dream; Who Are We?, And Should it Matter in the 21st century; Stranger in a Strange Land, Travels in the Disunited States and No Place Like Home, A Black Briton’s Journey Through the Deep South. He has made several radio and television documentaries on subjects ranging from gay marriage to Brexit.
Russell Scott is senior independent director on the Scott Trust Ltd board, owners of Guardian Media Group. He also runs a consultancy business specialising in digital transformation and has held senior roles in publishing, digital and broadcast sectors across news, sport and consumer publishing.
Randeep Ramesh is a chief leader writer for the Guardian. His career at the Guardian has seen him tackle a variety of roles, including South Asia correspondent, social affairs editor and investigative reporter. Randeep, a former Scott Trust bursary recipient, edited the Guardian's instant history of the Iraq War.
Among his accolades is Scoop of the Year and What the Papers Say Investigation of the Year for his work on parliamentary lobbying scandals. Randeep is a trustee of the anti-poverty charity Z2K and on the advisory board for the University of Sheffield's Political Economy Research Institute.
Raquel Vazquez Llorente is a lawyer specialising in international human rights law and technology policy, with a focus on audio-visual evidence in conflict and human rights crises. She works on AI policy in Europe at Google. Previously, she was an Associate Director at WITNESS, where she led a team that critically examines the impact of emerging technologies, especially generative AI, on our trust in audio-visual media. Prior to WITNESS, Raquel was the Permanent Representative to the International Criminal Court for FIDH (International Federation for Human Rights). Raquel has extensive experience advising technology companies and non-profits on legal, operational and policy matters.
Tom Laing-Baker has spent over 20 years advising corporations and individuals across both the corporate and public sector. Previously a Private Secretary to Queen Elizabeth II and Director at KPMG, he currently sits on the leadership team of a fintech company, the board of LAMDA, and runs his own advisory firm. Alongside his professional experience, he has a Masters in International Relations and Cyber Security, specialising in how state and non-state actors use technology to produce and distribute ‘fake news’ to impact democracy and a free press.