Employee-owned and driven to make an impact – our team cares deeply, works boldly, and delivers change.

Meet the Co-Owners

We’re a team of campaigners, developers, creatives, and strategists working to build people power and drive change. As employee-owners, we’re fully invested in every project. When you win, we win too.

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Ali Walker Davies

Chief Executive Officer (Interim)

Ali is currently Forward Action’s Chief Exec (maternity cover), steering the team and the work toward greater impact. She loves helping brilliant partners crack big digital challenges – and learning from the passionate people she works with every day. She has a background in Latin, which turns out to be excellent training in persuasive communication. Based in St Leonards, she’s active in local art initiatives and has volunteered on a range of feminist and environmental causes. She has two kids, and is eternally grateful to be parenting in the age of Bluey.

Connect with Ali on LinkedIn
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Anna Xue

Digital Creative Expert

Anna is a Digital Creative who helps partners nail the messaging that gets people to act – from attention-grabbing ads to emails that hit the right tone and raise vital funds. She came across the world of digital mobilisation by chance when applying for a Strategy Intern role, and has been with Forward Action ever since. She cares most about standing up to injustice and amplifying voices that are often sidelined. She’s also a keen reader and always after her next book recommendation.

Connect with Anna on LinkedIn
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Anya Muir Wood

Head of Creative

Anya is Head of Creative and thrives on sparking ideas in collaborative workshops with partners and our creative team, finding unexpected creative approaches that cut through the noise. She started working for health causes, writing everything from annual reports to brand campaigns as Senior Copywriter at Anthony Nolan, before going freelance and landing at Forward Action. She helped found Meals for the NHS during the pandemic, is always keen to be outside and loves hands-on volunteering with local conservation projects.

Connect with Anya on LinkedIn
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Berry Cochrane

Chief Executive Officer

Berry has spent her career pioneering digital mobilisation at some of the world’s leading organisations. Before joining Forward Action, she led digital teams at Amnesty International UK and Greenpeace, driving strategies that turned supporters into powerful movements. She brings deep experience, sharp strategic thinking, and a relentless commitment to impact to everything she does. Under her leadership, Forward Action remains at the cutting edge of digital mobilisation.

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Beth Miles

Digital Strategy Manager

Beth is a Digital Strategy Manager who loves turning data into strategy and working with progressive causes to drive change, boost income, and hit goals that matter. She started out with a degree in Cancer Biology but wound up working on brands like Cillit Bang and BrewDog before making the switch to Forward Action. She volunteers at her local community kitchen and firmly believes change comes from the ground up. Also known to DJ and kick a football – and possibly went viral once at Glasto.

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Dylan Goveas

Head of Technology

As Head of Tech, Dylan leads high-impact projects across partners and sectors. It’s his first leadership role, and he’s loving the challenge – from strategic decisions to hands-on building. He started out in Labour’s 2019 campaign team and holds a master’s in Media, Campaigning and Social Change. He’s a long-time queer rights activist and digital volunteer. And when he’s not debugging, he’s probably elbow-deep in clay – he’s been learning ceramics and makes gifts for friends.

Connect with Dylan on LinkedIn
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Eleanor Sutherland

Senior Digital Strategist

Eleanor is a Senior Digital Strategy Expert who approaches campaigns in creative and innovative ways. After art school, she entered the charity sector, bringing together strategy and creativity for important causes. At Citizens Advice, she helped transform their digital strategy and reach younger audiences like never before. She loves to delve deep into an issue to uncover meaningful insights that help shape campaigns and ultimately, influence behaviour change.

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Eleesha Taylor-Barrett

Digital Strategy Expert

Eleesha is a Digital Strategy Expert who loves the mix her role brings – working with new teams, diving into different causes, and collaborating with a smart, funny and compassionate bunch of people. Before Forward Action, she was a bid writer at Leeds Playhouse, supporting an organisation that uplifts northern artists. She has an MA in Political Communications and is especially interested in how media and inequality shape democracy. She’s been active in housing campaigns for years and is currently Vice Chair of ACORN the Union’s board. She’s also a proud Bradfordian and pop culture aficionado.

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Elena Leonard

Senior Digital Creative, Co‑Owners' Trustee

Elena is a Senior Digital Creative who loves helping partners tell their story – whether that’s turning workshop insights into campaign concepts or landing on just the right headline that captures a movement. She has a background in migration and development, plus more transport knowledge than you’d expect (she learnt to drive recently). A language lover, she’s currently learning Spanish and Portuguese, and has spent over a decade campaigning for migrant rights. Fridays are for films – her weekly cinema ritual.

Connect with Elena on LinkedIn
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Eve Flynn

Senior Digital Strategist

Eve is a Senior Digital Strategist, and for her, it’s all about the partners – working with people pushing for real-world change keeps things meaningful and motivating. Volunteering in Calais with Refugee Community Kitchen set her on this career path. She cares deeply about political accountability and people power, and is especially proud of her work with Dignity in Dying. If your pet joins a Zoom call, expect Eve to be delighted.

Connect with Eve on LinkedIn
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Flo Auckland

Digital Strategy Expert

Flo is a Digital Strategist who’s happiest when she’s digging into the detail – figuring out how to make a partner’s digital work stronger and more impactful. She loves that Forward Action uses the internet for good. From creative agencies to NHS mental health services, Flo’s career path has been dynamic and full of different experiences. She’s big on local connection – having volunteered in community casework, youth mentoring and local gardening projects. Off-duty, you’ll find her walking in the Peaks, ideally with a wild swim thrown in.

Connect with Flo on LinkedIn
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Florence Jones

Partnerships Officer

As our Partnerships Officer, Florence speaks to partners working across incredible causes – and brings their work to wider audiences through marketing, webinars, and creative content. After conquering a fear of cycling at age 20, she spent two and a half years helping people around the world do the same, kickstarting a career in behaviour change and digital for good. She now volunteers at a community farm, loves nature, and has lived in five different countries. Small talk? Not her thing.

Connect with Florence on LinkedIn
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Gavin Williams

Senior Digital Strategist

Gavin is a Senior Digital Strategist who works closely with partners to solve problems, build relationships, and help them hit their goals. He gets a kick out of seeing a good plan come together and land strong results. He used to be a fishmonger, which was satisfying work (if a bit smelly), and now he’s glad to be up a little later in the morning. He’s volunteered with the Great Men initiative, running workshops on gender, identity and equality with teenage boys. He’s also learning Serbian and loves cooking, music, and running.

Connect with Gavin on LinkedIn
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Helen Hector

Strategy Director, Co‑Owners' Trustee

Helen leads our strategy team, helping shape the big picture across projects and partnerships. She’s all about spotting patterns in the data, linking it back to what’s happening in the world, and finding the next smart test or tactic to try. She brings 15 years of experience from the non-profit sector, with roles at ONE, ActionAid and global gender equality coalitions. She once led a group up Kilimanjaro and helped build a sand dam in Kenya - ocean conservation is very close to her heart.

Connect with Helen on LinkedIn
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Jess Hodge

Digital Strategy Manager

As a Digital Strategy Manager, Jess thrives on the variety – no two days are ever the same. She loves switching between different partners, problem-solving on the fly, and figuring out how to make an impact fast. She cut her teeth campaigning around the NHS and post-Brexit trade – and has a surprising knack for understanding transatlantic tariff deals. She’s volunteered in food banks and community kitchens for years and is a huge advocate for fighting food poverty. Her dream evening? Feet up with a cosy, dated crime drama – the older the target audience, the better.

Connect with Jess on LinkedIn
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Jessica Hailstone

Senior Digital Creative

Jessica is a Senior Creative who turns real stories into powerful campaigns. Whether it’s a punchy fundraising ad or a bold digital tool, she’s driven by hope, outrage, and the chance to make a difference. Before joining Forward Action, she ran Full Fact’s giving programme and watched developers build robo fact-checkers in real time. She’s organised gigs for a soup kitchen close to her heart, and appeared in Four Weddings and a Funeral as a baby alongside Hugh Grant. Career peak: age 1.

Connect with Jessica on LinkedIn
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Krystal Yong

Operations Assistant

Krystal keeps the wheels turning behind the scenes as our Operations Assistant, making sure the admin and data side of things runs smoothly. She’s passionate about helping the team create a positive, healthy work culture – the kind that supports everyone to thrive. She trained as a personal and team assistant, but Forward Action gave her the space to shape the role to fit her interests. A long-time vegan, she’s living proof it’s not as hard as people think.

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Lyle Frankgate

Web Developer

Lyle is a Web Developer who loves the satisfaction of getting things to work – turning a design or concept into a real, functioning tool is what keeps him hooked. He enjoys the freedom to solve problems in different ways and takes pride in building tech for causes he believes in. He started out in the corporate world because, honestly, it just seemed like the thing to do. But a volunteering scheme at his old job opened the door to nonprofit work – and it quickly became the part of the job he enjoyed most. Outside work, he’s into music, creative writing, games – and one day hopes to develop a game of his own.

Connect with Lyle on LinkedIn
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Ross Fisher

Digital Strategy Manager

Ross helps partners tackle their biggest strategic questions as a Digital Strategy Manager. He’s all about the big picture, but also has a bit of a thing for spreadsheets and finding the insights that sit beneath the data. He’s studied political philosophy and worked in campaigns at Shelter and strategic comms at WWF. A nature lover and XR supporter, he sees climate and social justice as two sides of the same coin. He’s aiming to run a half marathon in every English county – he’s up to six so far, but it’s on pause thanks to parenting life.

Connect with Ross on LinkedIn

Meet the Employee Ownership Board

Our Employee Ownership model means we also have a board of trustees to provide oversight of our decision making. The group is made up of a mix of our founders, current co-owners and independent expertise.

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Alex Lloyd Hunter

Forward Action Co-Founder

Alex co-founded Forward Action back in 2015 and led our transition to an employee-owned company and 4-day week. He co-founded The Dad Shift in 2024 to fight for better paternity rights.

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Elena Leonard

Co‑Owners' Trustee

Elena represents our co-owners on the board of trustees, as well as being our Senior Digital Creative.

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Helen Hector

Co‑Owners' Trustee

Helen represents our co-owners on the board of trustees, as well as being our Strategy Director.

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Helen Hyde

Independent Chair of Trustees

Helen worked for the John Lewis Partnership (the largest employee-owned company in the UK) for more than 30 years, and brings her expertise as a Chair for multiple employee-owned boards.

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Joe Escalante Coney

Forward Action Co-Founder

Joe co-founded Forward Action back in 2015 and led our transition to an employee-owned company and 4-day week. He currently leads on digital products for the Good Law Company.

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