Class of 2025

Meet the Greater Manchester Policy Fellows who are joining our fellowship scheme for the upcoming year.

We are delighted to welcome our second cohort of Greater Manchester Policy Fellows and look forward to working with them across 2025.

Find out more about them below:

  • Portrait of Liz Atherton

    Liz Atherton

    Liz Atherton is Climate Action Now (CAN) Programme Manager at Stockport Council with responsibility for developing and delivering climate action strategy, policies and projects. Over the last three years she has set up their Stockport CAN engagement programme working with businesses, communities, colleagues and young people to inspire local climate action. Liz was named Rising Star at the 2024 MJ Awards.     

  • Portrait of Amelia Behrens

    Amelia Behrens

    Millie works in the Department for Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS) in the central Strategy Unit, as the Strategy & Policy Lead for Place, Local Growth and Communities. She leads on developing a cross-cutting departmental approach to place-first policymaking, working closely with colleagues in Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government across a variety of policy areas. Millie has worked at DCMS in a range of roles for the past four years, coming to the civil service from the sports sector where she worked closely with communities, local government and organisations.

  • Portrait of Shona Boyle

    Shona Boyle

    Shona Boyle is Lead Analyst at the Greater Manchester Combined Authority predominantly supporting the Safer and Stronger Communities directorate. Her work utilises both qualitative and quantitative methods to better understand and inform policy direction and service delivery in Greater Manchester. She is particularly interested in ensuring that the voice of communities is incorporated into policymaking.

  • Portrait of Katrina Hann

    Katrina Hann

    Katrina Hann is an Assistant Director in the Research Team at Greater Manchester Combined Authority. She is responsible for leading the Research Team and championing the use of information, analysis, and intelligence in policy development. Prior to this, Katrina has worked at Deloitte and Experian as a consultant working with Central/Local Government and sub-regional organisations across the country. Katrina holds a first-class degree in Geography from Oxford University.

  • Portrait of Hassan Hoque

    Hassan Hoque

    Hassan is working as a Research Infrastructure Policy and Project Officer at the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology. Prior to this, he worked at Manchester University NHS Foundation Trust on the Community Diagnostics Centre Programme. Hassan holds a Masters in Health Management and a Bachelor’s degree in Biomedical Science. 

  • Portrait of Harry Leah

    Harry Leah

    Harry Leah is a Senior Policy Advisor at DESNZ where he works on delivering cross-cutting policy centred on the circular economy, green gas generation, and decarbonisation of the gas grid. Harry has a master’s in Earth Science from The University of Manchester and a PhD in Structural Geology and Geophysics from Cardiff University. He previously worked in geotechnical engineering and a geoscience energy consultancy before moving into policy.

  • Portrait of Joe Pacey

    Joe Pacey

    After completing a bachelor's and master’s in political sciences, Joe spent nearly 10 years as an educator in Wuhan, China until the Covid-19 pandemic forced a return to the United Kingdom. Joe began a second career in the civil service, eventually joining the Department for Science, Innovation and Technology as a Senior Space Policy Advisor, focussing on long-term space R&D.