Who we are
John Kellas
John is Co-director of This Equals. As a Community Learning and Development professional he has been working across the public, private, and third sectors designing and delivering educational and engagement activities. He specialises in the development of collaborative work programmes focused on digital and data and has extensive experience in design, facilitation and management of projects, events and groups.
His analytical and interpersonal skills enable him to support complex partnerships to clarify and work towards shared goals. Equitability and inclusivity are key drivers for John. His work approach is grounded in a belief in human potential and the importance of participatory work. A core question – ‘what do people need to know and do to acheive the things they want?’ guides his practice.
John has a first class degree in Education, Culture and Society and a PGDip and MSc in Community Education. John has a broad range of interests. Amongst these, he has completed ODI Data ethics training and FA football coaching training and became a Fellow of the RSA in 2016. John has also sat on the National Academic Health Science Network Core AI Advisory Board and championed the question about licencing that was included in the State of the nation report 2018.
Dr Sophie Taysom
Sophie is an Associate of This Equals. As a policy professional, she provides expertise on strategy development and policy analysis to support project development and delivery across sectors. She sits on the Healthcare Sector Executive Committee at The Institution of Engineering and Technology.
Sophie brings with her a passion for working with organisations to cut through the noise of complex policy landscapes and with stakeholders to shape priorities and actions for maximum impact.
She has extensive experience of working in central government and has brought these skills to bear on projects with private and public sectors clients. Projects have included writing policy reports and providing recommendations that align with client priorities, stakeholder analysis and engagement, constructing data and tech focused information assets, and consultation responses.
Sophie holds a PhD from the University of Queensland. Her focus was on the history of science and technology.