NFER has grown steadily over recent years and is now comprised of over 200 staff, including over 100 research staff and 50 specialist research operations staff. Our teams are mainly based in our head office in Slough but we also have an office in York.
As a not-for-profit organisation and registered charity, NFER is governed by a Board of Trustees. They are responsible for agreeing the aims and direction of the Foundation, with the day-to-day management delegated to the Chief Executive and Senior Management Team. The Trustees approve the annual budget and provide strategic guidance on the role and mission of NFER. They also have critical roles advising on a number of important NFER working groups to provide additional insight and perspective.
Our Trustees bring together a wealth of expertise and experience from across and outside education, in both the public and private sectors.

Lorna Cocking
Chair of the Board of Trustees
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Lorna Cocking
Chair of the Board of Trustees
Lorna Cocking became Chair in May 2017 and has been a Trustee of NFER since 2015. She has a BA (Hons) in Ancient History and Archaeology from the University of Birmingham and an Honorary Doctorate from Middlesex University.
Having spent the first 17 years of her career as a classroom teacher in Norway, Canada, Finland and England, Lorna has a wealth of experience in the education sector. She became an Advisor at ILEA's Television and Publishing Centre in 1980, was appointed Publishing Director at The Open College in 1990, and Director of Learning Development Services at the University of Sunderland in 1992. From 1993 to 2010 she worked at Pearson Education, first as UK Publishing Director and then as Director of Education.
Lorna was a member of the Confederation of British Industry Education and Training Council from 2003 to 2007 and of the Board of the Specialist Schools and Academies Trust from 2009 to 2012. She has been Chair of the Governors of Amherst School, Hackney (2000-2004), and of the Boards of Middlesex University (2004-2010) and Learning Light (2005-2007). From 2007 to 2014 Lorna was Chair of the Council of the Girls' Day School Trust.
She is currently Chair of the Board of Governors of Kent College, Chair of the Board of the Association of Governing Bodies of Independent Schools, and Pro-Chancellor of Middlesex University.

Neil Hollister
Honorary Treasurer
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Neil Hollister
Honorary Treasurer
Neil Hollister is currently CEO at the Learn Centre. He has an MA from the University of Cambridge in Computer Science. Neil has held a variety of technical, sales and management roles within the IT and business information industries. He was Strategy and Marketing Director at OnCue (2000–2001) and Managing Director at Datamonitor (2001–2005). Neil also has a broad commercial background, most recently leading a management buy-in of Cryptocard in 2006, and serving as Chairman and CEO until the sale of the business to the industry leader Safenet in 2012. Neil has a keen interest in education – practically, as a father of three children, but also based on his belief that better education leads to a better world. Neil was Vice-Chairman of the governing body and head of the finance and personnel committee of a local school for many years. Neil has been closely involved with NFER's work in e-assessment and has been a trustee of NFER since 2007.

Fiona Capstick
Trustee
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Fiona Capstick
Trustee
Fiona Capstick is currently Associate Partner at Ernst & Young. She holds a BSc (Hons) in Mathematics from the Open University and an MBA from Manchester Business School. Fiona began her career in IT Operations at Brooke Bond Oxo and Conoco before she joined IBM as a Software Customer Engineer in 1984. In 1989 she was promoted to Services Sales and Operational Support of Financial Services before she was appointed Executive Assistant to the General Manager of Global Services in 1996. In 1997 Fiona was promoted to CIO Leader for UK & Ireland, Netherlands & MEA and she was subsequently appointed CRM Solutions Leader in 1999 and Learning Services Executive in 2000. In 2002 she progressed to the role of Director of Service Delivery for the Global Account and was subsequently appointed Director of Business Operations for the Office of the CIO in 2004 and Vice President for the Office of the CIO in 2007. In 2010 Fiona was appointed Chief Executive Officer of South West One before she again served as Vice President for the Office of the CIO in 2012. She assumed her current role in 2014.

Professor Michael Day
Trustee
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Professor Michael Day
Trustee
Michael is currently a freelance Education Consultant and assumed this role in 2016. After a number of different roles in education, Michael joined the Civil Service holding director roles first at the Teacher Training Agency and then the Training and Development Agency. Prior to his current role, he worked at the University of Roehampton as Professor and Director of the School of Education. Michael also advises as Council Member for the National Center on Education and the Economy (NCEE) International Council on International Educational Benchmarking.

Susan Douglas CBE
Trustee
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Susan Douglas CBE
Trustee
Since leaving school headship in 2006, Susan has held a number of key roles with a wide variety of national and international organisations including the British Council (2006 – current), the National College for Teaching and Leadership (2007-2012) and Teaching Leaders (2015-16). Since 2012, she has also held the position of Chief Executive Officer of the Eden Academy Trust.
In her position as Senior Adviser at the British Council, Susan provides sector expertise and advice to a wide number of educational programmes involving ministries of education, school leaders, teachers and young people across approximately 60 countries worldwide.
As CEO of the Eden Academy, Susan works with a talented leadership team to drive the strategic vision and direction of the multi-Academy Trust in West London comprising 5 schools (including Pentland Field School, a free school which opened in 2015). The academy, which provides education for children aged 3-19 with a range of complex needs, has recently been approved to open a further two free schools in 2020 and is looking to expand provision into other geographical locations.
Susan has also held a number of non-executive roles, including being a founding member and trustee of STIR Education, an Advisory Member for the Department for Education Headteacher Standards Review Board and a member of the Leadership Faculty at Teaching Leaders. In 2016 she was an Advisory Member for the Department for Education Expert NPQ Review Group.
Susan was appointed a NFER Trustee in March 2018 and holds a BA (Hons) in Maths and Music from the University of Warwick.

Nick Hillman
Trustee
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Nick Hillman
Trustee
Nick is currently Director of the Higher Education Policy Institute and assumed this role in 2014. He began his career in 1995 as a Teacher of History at St Paul’s School. In 2000 he joined the UK Parliament as a Senior Research Officer and moved to the Association of British Insurers as a Pensions Policy Advisor in 2003. In 2010 he was appointed as a Special Advisor to the Minister for Universities and Science at the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills.

Paul James
Trustee
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Paul James
Trustee
Paul James is Chief Executive of the River Learning Trust, a Multi Academy Trust in Oxfordshire and Swindon, which also includes a Teaching School Hub and a large School Centred Initial Teacher Training provider. He has a MA (Cantab) in Natural Sciences (Neurophysiology) and a PGCE from the University of Cambridge.
Paul began his teaching career in 1994 as a teacher of science and has held various senior leadership roles in a range of secondary education settings. He has also been a primary school governor and Interim Executive Board member. Until 2016 he was Headteacher of The Cherwell School, a comprehensive school of over 1900 students, which is currently a Teaching School Hub. He was accredited as a National Leader of Education in 2013 and is the founding Chief Executive of RLT.
Paul is also Chair of the steering group for the Community Impact Zone in Oxford which seeks to tackle inequality and increase social mobility. He also Chairs the Oxford Strategic Partnership which brings together senior representatives from the public, business, community and voluntary sectors to help provide direction for the city's future, respond to local priorities and engage more effectively with local concerns.

Melvyn Keen
Trustee
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Melvyn Keen
Trustee
Melvyn Keen has an MA in Engineering Science from the University of Oxford and is a Fellow of the Institute of Chartered Accountants in England and Wales and of the Royal Society of Arts. Melvyn began his career in finance in 1976. During the 1980s he had various roles in consulting and finance in companies such as Andersen Consulting and Argyll Group. Melvyn was a Senior Manager in the Consulting Division of Price Waterhouse in the 1990s, serving as Deputy EMEA Training Leader and Global Training Operations Leader for the final four years of his time at PW. In 2000 Melvyn transferred to the Higher Education sector by first joining the University of Cambridge as Interim Finance Director and then Middlesex University as Director of Finance and subsequently Deputy Chief Executive, a post he held until 2014. He was, until recently, a Trustee of CASE Europe, has been Chair of the Board of Governors at his local primary school, a Governor of Tottenham University Technical College from 2013 to 2014, and recently a Trustee of Chase High School.

Karen Kroger
Trustee
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Karen Kroger
Trustee
Karen Kroger is currently Chief Financial Officer at Queen Mary University of London, where she has responsibility for finance, strategic planning and a project management change function.
Karen started her career at KPMG, before spending a number of years working in professional education with BPP, where she was both an accountancy tutor and responsibility for the management of the courses for the Scottish qualifying body.
In 2005 she moved into international development, holding a number of finance and support service roles with global third sector organisations, both in London and overseas. During her time at Save the Children International, Karen oversaw the financial integration of the in-country operations of 17 global Save the Children member organisations.
Karen moved into higher education in 2015, initially at the University of London where she held the role of Finance Director, before joining Queen Mary in 2020.
She is a fellow of the Institute of Chartered Accountants in England and Wales, and has a BA in Economics and Politics from the University of Warwick.

Sam Macdonald
Trustee
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Sam Macdonald
Trustee
Sam Macdonald is a partner at Farrer & Co, solicitors. He has a BA (Hons) in English Language and Literature from the University of Manchester and CPE and LPC from the College of Law, Guildford. Sam began his career in 1995 as a trainee at Farrers, qualified at the firm and was promoted to Partner in 2004. He specialises in charity law and advises charities on governance and regulatory issues, fundraising and tax, and in a range of related fields. He has a special interest in educational charities and advises a number of schools and universities. He has a particular specialism in the law relating to public benefit. Sam was a governor of Sherborne School from 2002-12 and is now a governor at St John's College School, Cambridge. He is also a trustee of a grant-making charitable trust and sits on the executive committee of the Charities Property Association.

David Madoc-Jones
Trustee
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David Madoc-Jones
Trustee
David Madoc-Jones is a former KPMG Partner and retired from the firm in 2020. He holds a BA (Hons) in English Language and Literature from Durham University. In a 17 year banking career, David had a number of roles in retail and corporate banking. He left Bank of America in 1999 to join KPMG’s Debt Advisory business. Over the next 20 years, he advised a wide range of public and private companies and not for profit organisations, including charities and universities, on all aspects of their debt financing. David is also a Governor at the University of Portsmouth.

Conor Ryan
Trustee
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Conor Ryan
Trustee
Conor Ryan is the former Director of External Relations at the Office for Students. He has a BA and an MA in Political Science from University College Dublin. Conor started as a Communications Officer for the British Youth Council in 1984. He then worked for the Inner London Education Authority as a Schools Press Officer. In 1993 he joined the office of David Blunkett as Senior Press and Research Officer and was his Senior Special Adviser, when David Blunkett served as Secretary of State for Education and Employment. In 2005 Conor became senior education policy adviser to Tony Blair. In 2012 he assumed the role as Director of Research and Communications at the Sutton Trust which he held for six years before joining the Office for Students in 2018. He has also been an adviser to many senior education leaders and written and edited several education policy books as well as writing for many newspapers. Since 2002 Conor has been a governor at Wellsway School in Keynsham, and he is also a Director of the Wellsway Multi-Academy Trust.

Donya Rose
Trustee
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Donya Rose
Trustee
Donya is currently a Managing Director at Deutsche Bank, where she is the Global Head of Deutsche Bank’s internal consulting division. She holds a Bachelor of Arts in Psychology from Georgetown University and a Master of Business Administration from Harvard Business School.
Donya is a seasoned financial services executive with global strategy, general management and leadership experience, and a strong track record of delivering results over a 20 year plus career. In addition to her banking experience, she has a combination of general management as well as classical management consulting and entrepreneurial/start-up experience. Prior to relocating to London from New York, she was Chief Market Strategy and Innovation Officer of Carver Federal Savings Bank, a NASDAQ listed New York-based. In addition, she held a number of senior general management and management consulting roles, including at American Express Company and Accenture. She was also a founding partner of RLP, a management consulting firm that provided strategy and operations counsel to small and medium-sized businesses, as well as divisions of large corporations. As the author of white papers including “Big Data Turning Data into Insight” and “Delighting Customers & Democratising Finance: Digitalisation & the Future of Commercial Banking”, Donya is recognized as a thought leader and innovator. She continues to maintain a keen interest in the intersection of banking and technology and fosters close ties to the fintech industry.
NFER is managed on a day-to-day basis by the Chief Executive and Senior Management Team. The Chief Executive reports to the Board of Trustees.

Carole Willis
Chief Executive
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Carole Willis
Chief Executive
Carole Willis is Chief Executive of the National Foundation for Educational Research (NFER). She joined NFER in December 2013. Widely respected across the education sector and social science community, Carole has extensive experience of leading research and analysis in both the public and private sectors. Her focus is on raising NFER’s profile and increasing our impact, ensuring that our robust research and assessments actively inform education policy and practice. She is passionate about promoting quantitative analysis in education, and making better use of the rich administrative data sets available to understand how to improve education outcomes.
Prior experience and professional background
Before joining NFER, Carole was Director of Research and Analysis at the Department for Education (DfE) and the Department’s Chief Scientific Adviser. She had responsibility for leading DfE’s community of analysts, setting direction for the Department’s research activity, and building capability to use analysis and evidence effectively to drive education policy reform.
Her earlier roles included leading analysis of immigration and crime at the Home Office, research into productivity and growth at the Department of Trade and Industry (now the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills), and delivering pension reform at the Department for Work and Pensions. She worked as an Economic Consultant on competition and transport policy at National Economic Research Associates (NERA) and undertook research on poverty, equity and growth at the World Bank.
Carole has a BA (Hons) degree (first class) in Economics from the University of Nottingham and an MSc in Economics from the London School of Economics (LSE).

Richard Birkett
Commercial Director
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Richard Birkett
Commercial Director
Richard joined NFER as Commercial Director in June 2014. His primary responsibility is for the commercial performance and business efficiency of the Foundation and he also leads on its financial management and reporting. He also oversees the ICT and facilities management of the company.
Prior to joining NFER, he worked for 20 years as the Finance and Operations Director of CfBT, another charity which provides education services for the public benefit. He has an MA in English Literature from Cambridge University and worked for several years in Italy as an English teacher prior to qualifying as a Chartered Accountant in London.

Lesley Duff
Director of Research
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Lesley Duff
Director of Research
Lesley joined NFER in January 2015. She leads the research department which designs and delivers research and evaluations, specialist information and reviews, develops assessments and provides expert advice. The department also manages the Foundation’s bid development function.
Prior experience and professional background
Lesley is an experienced and respected researcher, who has led multi-disciplinary teams in the Home Office, the National Policing Improvement Agency, and the Royal College of Nursing, covering a diverse range of social policy issues. Motivated by improving service users’ experience of public services and committed to helping policy, she has designed and tested survey instruments, developed evidence-based national clinical guidance for government agencies, including the National Institute of Health and Care Excellence, and delivered programmes of research and analysis to understand and discover effective ways of responding to issues.
Lesley has a BSc in Psychology from Goldsmiths College, an MA in Social Anthropology from the School of Oriental and African Studies and a PhD in Public Health from the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine.

Maddie Wheeler
Director of Communications
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Maddie Wheeler
Director of Communications
Maddie Wheeler is Director of Communications.

Greg Woodcock
Director of Operations
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Greg Woodcock
Director of Operations
Greg Woodcock is Director of Operations

Alan Read
Chief Digital Officer
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Alan Read
Chief Digital Officer
Alan Read is Chief Digital Officer – IT Department
NFER has a multidisciplinary staff that includes over 200 qualified researchers, statisticians, psychometricians, economists, assessment experts and information professionals; data collection and survey management experts; communications and marketing professionals and experienced HR, IT and Finance support teams. Our experts and specialists balance their professional skills with a deep knowledge about and commitment to education, along with independence to help deliver balanced insights.
NFER Departments:
- Chief Executive’s Office
- Research Department
- Centre for Assessment
- Centre for Policy and Practice: Programmes
- Centre for Policy and Practice: Development
- Centre for Research Planning and Knowledge Management
- Centre for International Education
- Centre for Statistics
- Education Trials Unit
- Research and Product Operations
- Sales, Marketing and Impact
- Commercial Services
- HR
- IT
Our Trustees bring together a wealth of expertise and experience from across and outside education, in both the public and private sectors.
NFER is managed on a day-to-day basis by the Chief Executive and Senior Management Team. The Chief Executive reports to the Board of Trustees.
NFER has a multidisciplinary staff that includes over 200 qualified researchers, statisticians, psychometricians, economists, assessment experts and information professionals; data collection and survey management experts; communications and marketing professionals and experienced HR, IT and Finance support teams. Our experts and specialists balance their professional skills with a deep knowledge about and commitment to education, along with independence to help deliver balanced insights.
NFER Departments:
- Chief Executive’s Office
- Research Department
- Centre for Assessment
- Centre for Policy and Practice: Programmes
- Centre for Policy and Practice: Development
- Centre for Research Planning and Knowledge Management
- Centre for International Education
- Centre for Statistics
- Education Trials Unit
- Research and Product Operations
- Sales, Marketing and Impact
- Commercial Services
- HR
- IT