Our people
Jonathan Sayeed, Chairman
Jonathan Sayeed was a Member of
Parliament for seventeen years - firstly for Bristol East from 1983 to 1992 and
secondly for Mid-Bedfordshire from 1997 until 2005.
He was Parliamentary Private Secretary in the Northern Ireland Department and has served on the Defence, Environment and Broadcasting Select Committees. Jonathan had also been Shadow Minister for the Environment and, until his retirement, was a member of the Speaker's Panel of Chairmen for Standing Committees and Westminster Hall.
Jonathan is a former Chairman of the Parliamentary Shipping and Ship-Building Committee and Deputy Chairman of the All-Party Maritime Group. He was also one of the founder members of the Parliament Choir and served as its Chairman for two years.
Anna Wolffe, Director
Anna graduated from Leeds University with a
BA(Hons) in Politics and Parliamentary Studies and has worked in the US House of
Representatives and within the House of Commons, running a Member of Parliament's
office for eight years.
Previously, Anna carried out research on behalf of MP's from the Labour and Conservative Parties and worked for a Public Affairs agency, assisting a number of clients. She planned and executed a number of General Election Campaigns and assisted with a campaign for an independent local councillor, who won the seat and ousted the Leader of the Council.
Anna has a thorough knowledge of the British political system from her total immersion in the political scene for more than a decade. She has successfully established and provided the secretariat for a number of All-Party Parliamentary Groups; built informed relationships between clients and key decisions-makers in the Commons and the Lords and provided strategic advice to build campaigns over many parliamentary sessions. In addition, Anna has specialised in event organisation, both within the Palace of Westminster and across the UK with political guest speakers.
She also works for the Hughes Syndrome Foundation on a voluntary basis, establishing and fundraising for a research fellowship at St Thomas’ Hospital.
Ferelith Gaze MSc, Public Affairs Manager
Ferelith graduated from the University of
Warwick with a First in History. Specialising in early modern Europe, she spent
three months living in Venice, to study the Renaissance and hopefully to learn
some Italian. Her dissertation examined "the smoking gun of the character
assassin", charting the changing protagonists, influences and methods of
political murder during the French Wars of Religion.
As an information designer for a website and software development company,
Ferelith worked with high-profile clients such as Microsoft, KPMG, Transport for
London and Skanska to create engaging communication strategies. Subsequently, she
re-developed the website of a frontbench MP to improve user experience and
engagement.
She concurrently completed an MSc in Global Politics, looking at global
governance, international political economy and globalisation. Focusing on
Afghanistan between 1992 and 2001, her thesis examined the possibility of civil
liberties in a failed state.
At Ranelagh, Ferelith has focused on education and skills, healthcare, forestry
and gambling policy. Key areas include school resources, pupil assessment, UN
pharmaceutical legislation, EU cosmetics regulation, renewable energy and issues
arising from the implementation of the Gambling Act 2005. In addition to working
with Government and Parliament, she regularly supports her clients’
external communications and briefs the members of the trade associations she
represents.
Fiona Graham MA(Hons), Public Affairs Manager
Fiona graduated from the University of St
Andrews with a MA(Hons) in International Relations. Specialising in sub-Saharan
Africa, her dissertation considered the progression of sustainable development as
a driving force in British international development policy.
She has worked with the Scottish Parliament, Scottish Government and different
public affairs agencies in Edinburgh. She has extensive experience of lobbying
the devolved administrations for a wide range of clients. She has focused on
health policy, with successful lobbying campaigns including alcohol, tobacco, HPV
vaccination, and suicide prevention, and many others.
She has experience of working with a full range of blue chip, public sector,
charity and trade association clients. She has worked on renewable and
traditional energy policies, retail, health, transport, logistics, port planning,
banking and financial services policies. She has also assisted clients in
providing community consultations and political training.
Rebecca Brake BA (Hons), Account Executive
Rebecca graduated with a high 2:1 in history from the University of Cambridge. During her degree she focused on twentieth century British, US and Indian history with a particular emphasis on social and political developments during the post-war period. This included studies of the American Civil Rights Movement and the difficulties faced by independent India. Her dissertation was written on British Housewifery c.1950-1967 and assessed the validity of common arguments that women were bored and isolated during this period.Prior to joining Ranelagh, Rebecca completed a public affairs internship at Transact, the national forum for financial inclusion, based at Toynbee Hall. She carried out parliamentary monitoring and produced briefings on consultations, select committees and other Government bodies. Rebecca also previously completed a marketing communications internship for a London PR company.
Rebecca is also a keen netball player and umpire. During her degree she played for Cambridge and now plays for a local club and previously coached children at a local primary school.
Saskia graduated with an MA (Distinction) in
War Studies from King’s College London. She focused on contemporary
warfare, with modules in African Security, Reporting Wars, and Contemporary
Intelligence and Democratic Accountability. Her dissertation was written about
the impacts of post 9/11 British Counter Terrorism policy within Muslim
communities in London. Prior to her MA, Saskia gained a BA (with First Class
Honours) in Social Psychology from Sussex University.
In between degrees, Saskia spent time travelling, learning languages and working.
Firstly, she went to China where she worked for a literary agency in Beijing,
before continuing on travelling through South East Asia. The following year, she
spent several months studying Arabic at Damascus University in Syria.
Saskia followed her MA with an internship at Chatham House, where she worked with
the Commercial and International Security Departments. She has since spent time
in Swat, Pakistan, working for a local NGO to provide healthcare and education to
women and children.
Rebecca Ross MA, Intern
Rebecca received her Master's degree (with Distinction) in Latin American Studies from the Institute for the Study of the Americas, University of London, in September 2011. Her dissertation examined the role of the Catholic Church under the Pinochet regime, for which she was awarded a grant to spend six weeks researching in Santiago. She previously studied Hispanic and Lusophone Studies at King’s College London (2:1 awarded) where her focus was literature and history. She attended the Universidad Alcalá de Henares in Madrid and the Universidade Nova de Lisboa (Lisbon) in her third undergraduate year.Rebecca speaks Spanish, French and Portuguese and has a strong interest in both British and international affairs. Whilst completing her degrees she taught English as a foreign language in Spain, participated in a development project in Mexico, was an intern with CAFOD’s Latin American and Caribbean team and travelled. She plays the cello and piano, enjoys choral singing, watching cricket and dancing and teaching salsa.
Laura Maxwell-Bernier BA(Hons), Intern
Laura graduated with a First in Philosophy, Politics and Economics from the University of Warwick, where she focused primarily on issues pertaining to political philosophy and international political economy. She also spent a year studying abroad, at Sciences Po in Paris, with an emphasis in her studies on how to implement political reform as well as health and environmental policy and comparative European policy.Laura has previously been an intern at the think tank Reform, where she was primarily involved in research on welfare issues; she has also been an intern for MPs both in Westminster and in constituency offices.
Alongside working towards her degree, she worked for a charity to set up links and projects between young people in Warwick District and a district in Sierra Leone. In her spare time, her interests include playing the cello and French cinema.
© 2010 Ranelagh International