Following a pre-appointment hearing with the Culture, Media and Sport Committee, Dame Julia Unwin has been appointed by the Secretary of State for a 3 year term from 1 January 2026 to 31 December 2028.
Dame Julia Unwin
Dame Julia Unwin has had a long career largely in the voluntary sector, and has also served on the Boards of a number of regulatory and government bodies, including five years as a Charity Commissioner in the late 1990s. She was a member of the Board of the Housing Corporation for 9 years. She served as Chief Executive of the Joseph Rowntree Foundation for a decade from 2007-2016. She has had experience as a consultant, adviser, mentor and speaker in the voluntary and broader public sector. Other roles include Board Member of the Financial Reporting Council and Chair of the Codes and Standards Committee.
Dame Julia chaired the Civil Society Futures Inquiry which reported in 2018, and was awarded a DBE in 2019 for her services to civil society. As well as chairing the Board of Governors of York St John University, she is also the Inaugural Chair of Smart Data Foundry, a subsidiary of Edinburgh University engaged with using private sector data for public good.
