Pen y Cymoedd welcomes new Board member Jamie and says goodbye and thanks to Victoria.

1024 576 rctadmin

As part of our commitment to renewing the skills and experience on the Board we regularly refresh our Board with new membership.
This October we are excited to welcome a new member, Jamie Smith.

Jamie was born and bred in and around the Afan Valley and has worked in innovation and research-related roles for over 20 years, across the local government, central government and third sectors. He has been Director of Innovation and Partnership at Hafod since 2018, where he has developed his interests in community involvement, service design and data analysis. Jamie founded Side-by-Side, Hafod’s social innovation and community engagement unit, in 2021. Side-by-Side was the first unit of its kind in Wales and has attracted significant funding and external partnership interest, as well as delivering benefits to communities.

Prior to his career in these sectors, Jamie completed a PhD in earth sciences, which ignited his passion for climate change and environmental sustainability.

We are saying goodbye and thank you to Victoria Bond.

Victoria was an exciting addition to the Board when she joined in 2020. Victoria is a Chartered Waste Manager with a focus on recycling and contemporary waste management. Her career took her from her hometown of Hirwaun to places like Australia and the Middle East, where she worked for engineering and environmental consultancies and served as a board member for the waste authority of the Western Australian government.

Being the owner of a nearby farm, she brought to the PyC Board a wealth of local knowledge, a love of the local communities, and a variety of skills. Victoria also served as a director of Afan Lodge for Pen y Cymoedd, assisting in the establishment’s post-pandemic recuperation. Victoria has some exciting new opportunities now in her career and has decided to step away from PyC but we hope to continue working with her and wish her all the very best.