NUS Awards 2011

In her 10 years of representing Great Britain, Fran has racked up an impressive array of medals, including 12-world championship and 6 Paralympic medals.  As the current World Champion in the 50m backstroke, Fran is looking to add to her international repertoire of titles in London 2012. 

Fran was born in Sunderland in 1985 and went to Anglia Ruskin University to study for a degree in Social Policy. She is currently working on Masters Degree in Disability studies with Leeds University, focusing on the study and development of Paralympic sport.

Fran is excited when she is able to share her unique knowledge and experiences to raise the profile of Paralympic sport, and disability issues in general. She has a great passion for trying to encourage young disabled people to take up sport and realise their potential.

Fran will be deciding the winner for the NUS Campaign of the Year and NUS Equality and Diversity Awards.

Nicola has been Chief Executive of Universities UK since September 2009. Universities UK is the representative organisation for the UK’s universities. Founded in 1918, UUK now has 133 members and offices in London, Cardiff and Edinburgh. Its mission is to be the definitive voice for all universities in the UK, promoting the strength and success of UK universities nationally and internationally.

Nicola was previously Chief Executive of Equality Challenge Unit, the higher education agency which promotes equality and diversity for staff and students in higher education in England, Wales and Northern Ireland. Formerly a partner and head of equality at Thompsons Solicitors, the UK’s largest firm of solicitors acting for the trade union and labour movement, Nicola qualified as a lawyer in England and initially worked in the City specialising in industrial relations, before qualifying in Scotland and working in Glasgow for 10 years. She has published numerous books and articles on equality and the law, and has also worked for the European Commission on equality initiatives in Europe.

Sarah Veale is Head of the Equality and Employment Rights Department at the TUC. The Department leads on employment rights, both individual and collective, employment relations and equality at work.

Before becoming Head of Equality and Employment Rights, Sarah was Senior Employment Rights Officer at the TUC, in which role she was responsible for the development of TUC policy on employment law. She co-ordinated TUC activities in relation to the introduction of the Employment Relations Act 1999 and wrote the TUC Guide to the Act. She was also responsible for various TUC submissions to the Government, and was a member of the TUC team which negotiated the national agreement with the CBI and the Government on temporary agency work.

She regularly briefs senior union officers on developments in employment and discrimination law and policy and speaks at conferences and events. She is co-author of “Your Rights at Work”, the TUC’s book on employment rights.

Sarah is a member of the Government’s Regulatory Policy Committee and the Government’s Employee Engagement Task Force and was formerly a member of the ACAS Council and the Women’s National Commission. She was awarded the CBE for services to diversity in the Queen’s Birthday Honours List in June 2006. She was awarded an Honorary Doctorate in Laws by Oxford Brookes University in June 2011.

Sarah will be deciding the winner for the NUS Campaign of the Year and NUS Equality and Diversity Awards.

Dr Terry Ryall is the founding Chief Executive of vInspired, the national youth volunteering charity set-up in May 2006.  vInspired provides 14-25 year olds with volunteering and social action opportunities to improve their life skills and employability.  vInspired has mobilised a new generation of young volunteers to act on the things they care about and change the world for the better.

She has an amazing passion for youth, reflected in her three degrees associated with the issue, and a string of roles working with young people, Director of The Prince’s Trust and Chief Executive of Girl Guiding UK amongst them.

She's undoubtedly an expert in her field. Recently she's given evidence to the Education Select Committee on youth services, has been a member of Demos’ Character Inquiry focussing on young people’s character development and published articles including her most recent review of 'No Excuses', the Centre for Social Justice report on school exclusions.

Terry will be deciding the winner for NUS Club or Society of the Year Award and NUS Community Relations Award.

Martin Doel took up his appointment as Chief Executive of the Association of Colleges (AoC) in 2008, after a successful career in the Royal Air Force.

Martin's final appointment in his former career was as the Director of Training and Education for all 3 Armed Services, working in the Ministry of Defence; the MOD is the largest employer of apprentices in the UK.

Prior to this he filled several operational support, personnel and training posts in the RAF, including service as the equivalent of a Director of Studies at the Joint Services Command and Staff College providing post-graduate level education to officers from across the world. He has published articles on military assistance in humanitarian aid operations and strategic planning. He was appointed OBE in 1998 for his work in support of operations in the Balkans and for his contribution to Anglo-German relations. He holds a Masters Degree with Distinction from King's College, London and a First Class Honours Degree in Education from King Alfred's College Winchester.

AoC's role is to represent and support the interests of Further Education, Sixth Form and Specialist Colleges and to provide them with a range of support services.

Martin will be deciding the winners for NUS Further Education Students' Union of the Year Award, Endsleigh Student of the Year Award and Small Students' Union of the Year Award.

Gideon is the Project Manager for Attitude is Everything, the UK’s leading charity working with the music industry, audiences and artists to improve access for Deaf and disabled people to live music.

Working with venues from the biggest stadiums to your local music venue, including O2 Arena, Motorpoint Cardiff, The Roundhouse, KOKO,  O2 Academy’s, Band on The Wall and Cecil Sharp House, and festivals from Glastonbury, Reading /Leeds, Rewind to YNot, we give solutions, guidance and support.

Gideon’s role is to assist music venues and festivals to implement our Charter of Best Practice – our Charter is a practical way of making sense of the Equality Law (Disability Discrimination) and provides solutions to access barriers.  

Previous to working with Attitude is Everything, he has had 15 years experience working in the events and access industries including Graeae Theatre Company, CandoCo Dance Company, Inclusive Fitness Initiative, Doha Asian Games Torch Relay as well as working as a freelancer at festivals, venues and theatre and events.

He is really excited to be involved with the NUS Awards and thinks the Access Challenge is a fantastic tool for getting others to understand that access is for everyone is a corner stone of Student Union Provision across the UK.