Meet the team
Jem Collins
Jem is a former chair of the SPA and has served as a trustee since 2016.
She is the director and founder of Journo Resources, a non-profit which helps to diversify the media industry.
Jem is passionate about helping young journalists and is keen to help the organisation develop new resources and research.
Aubrey Allegretti
Aubrey has been a trustee since 2017, and is chief political correspondent for The times.
He previously worked for Sky News, The Guardian and HuffPost UK.
Aubrey studied politics at Sussex, where he was editor-in-chief of the campus newspaper, The Badger. He also served two terms as the SPA's digital media officer.
Geri Scott
Geri has served as a trustee since 2018.
She is a senior political reporter for The Times. Previously she was political correspondent for PA Media and Westminster correspondent for The Yorkshire Post, and before that worked as a journalist at the Eastern Daily Press.
Geri is a former editor-in-chief at Concrete, the University of East Anglia’s student newspaper.
Richard Brooks
Richard has served as a trustee since 2020. He is currently the External Communications Director for Savanta, the polling and market research company. He has worked across corporate communications, political campaigns and the charity sector.
Richard is also a former Vice-President for Union Development with the National Union of Students, and was a regular contributor to Hullfire during his time at university.
Ollie Cole
Ollie has served as a trustee since 2023. He is Times Radio’s political producer, and has been in radio & journalism for over a decade, starting on his local patch in west Wales in 2012. He’s worked as a freelance journalist for the BBC, News UK, KM Media, Newsquest and The Stage, plus for photo agencies Alamy & Shutterstock. When he isn't making radio or working for the charity, you'll probably find him in the kitchen.
James Mole
James has served as a trustee since 2024. He is Director of Healthcare Communications at consultancy firm Hanover. Prior to this, he was Deputy Director of Communications for NHS England and also served as Head of Media for the NHS throughout the Covid pandemic. He ran the NHS England press office, handling crisis communications, delivering proactive campaigns including for the Covid vaccination programme and managing the daily Number 10 press conferences. He began his career in Westminster as a parliamentary researcher having graduated from the University of Sheffield with a BA in Politics and MA in Political Communication.