Council Elections

---

Chaired by our President, our Council is our main governing body, managing our income, funds, property and activities, and representing the Society and its members to the wider statistical community. Membership of the Council is made up of volunteers who are all fellows of the Society. 
 
At the end of 2024, six Council members will step down from their position as their four-year term in office comes to an end. The Council has shortlisted eight candidates who have agreed to run in this year’s election and fill these six vacancies from 1 January 2025. Below are their biographies and statements. 

As per our usual cycle, the 2024 Council Election will run across a six-week window. The provisional dates for this year’s election are: 

Election open: Wednesday 11th September  

Election closed: Wednesday 23rd October 
 

Links for voting will arrive to fellows via email later this year.
 

Meet the candidates

Darren Dahly 
 

'My path to becoming a self-declared statistician started the day I blurted out, ‘I really like statistics’ to another researcher, which somehow transformed me into ‘the statistics person’ on the project. Over time, and many projects later, I more formally adopted the title statistician in my professional life, but not just because it describes my day-to-day work.  

I call myself a statistician because of the values it reflects, the most important of these being humility in the face of ever-present uncertainty. Clearly, the world needs much more of this, and more of us. If elected, I will champion our field of statistics as a broad, welcoming tent, and work with the RSS and its members to amplify our voices and spread our values.'

Many people know Darren Dahly through social media or his statistics blogging. More formally he is a Senior Lecturer in Research Methods in University College Cork (UCC) School of Public Health, and the Principal Statistician of the Clinical Research Facility at UCC (2015 to present). In these roles, he contributes to a broad portfolio of medical and health research as an epidemiologist and applied medical statistician. He also teaches postgraduates about clinical trial design, statistics and modelling, causal inference and appraisal of evidence in medical and health research. 

Since 2021, Darren has also held a part-time secondment with the Health Protection Surveillance Centre (the Irish Competent Authority for communicable disease notification and surveillance), contributing to their infectious disease modelling efforts, training their staff in statistics and statistical modelling and advising on the development of a permanent biostatistics and modelling unit. 

He was previously a lecturer in Epidemiology and Biostatistics at the University of Leeds (2008-2013) and has a PhD in Nutritional Epidemiology (University of North Carolina School of Public Health) and an MHS in International Health (Johns Hopkins School of Public Health). 

Darren has been an RSS member off and on since 2009, starting in the Leeds/Bradford RSS local group. He has, thanks to his teammates, one RSS conference pub quiz victory under his belt, out of one attempt, for a 100% success rate! 


Srshti Putcha

'Events play a significant role in the Society’s overall impact. Five years of volunteering has honed my understanding of how the Society reaches its membership, and I believe this experience would make me a valuable contributor on the Council. I am particularly proud of the early-career YSS events I have organised, such as our annual Secret Statistician webinar which aims to increase awareness of non-traditional data professions. 

As a Council member, I would be keen to support ongoing EDI initiatives. I would also like to use my industry background to contribute to the Society’s advocacy around data science education.'

Candidate biography

Srshti Putcha has fostered a strong working relationship with the RSS over the past five years. Keen to meet other like-minded early career statisticians, she was motivated to join the Society as a fellow at the end of 2017 and was a committee member of the Lancaster and East Cumbria local group throughout her PhD, serving as secretary in 2020. She is chair of the Young Statisticians Section (YSS) and has been a committee member since 2022. 

Srshti recently joined Capital One as a Senior Associate Data Scientist. Previously, she spent just under two years working at the UK&I Experian DataLabs in London. Many of her industry projects have been product-based, either on products intended for a direct-to-consumer market or a business-to-business market. 

Srshti has a long-standing passion for statistics and the crucial role it plays in a commercial landscape dominated by machine learning and artificial intelligence. This is largely thanks to her academic background: a PhD from Lancaster University (completed last year, with research focused on developing new methods for scalable Bayesian inference), and a BSc in Mathematics and Economics followed by an MSc in Statistics from the London School of Economics. 

Adam Sykulski 
 

As part of the Council, I would continue ensuring the RSS is ready to act quickly on the next generation of challenges, including AI, security, public health and environmental disasters, ensuring our members have all the opportunities they need to make a real-world difference through the RSS.'

Candidate biography

Adam is a Senior Lecturer in Statistics at Imperial College London. He has served as the RSS Discussion Papers Editor and Discussion Meetings Secretary for the past four years, leading both the editorial process and the meeting organisation for all RSS Discussion Meetings. Adam has also served as a committee member and organised events for the RSS Environmental Statistics Section for the past four years. 

Adam’s research is in time series and spatial statistics, with a focus on climate and environmental applications, most notably related to oceanography. He has published 30 academic papers, including in Series B and C of the Journal of the Royal Statistical Society. In addition, Adam has contributed to three open-source data and software products related to oceanographic currents and temperatures for the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. 

Adam has previously held positions at University of Lancaster (Lecturer and Senior Lecturer), University College London (Research Associate), and as an International Marie-Curie Skłodowska Research Fellow (in Seattle, USA). Having obtained his Masters and PhD in Mathematics from Imperial College London, he has since supervised six PhD students to completion. He is a passionate lecturer in modules spanning time series, spatial statistics, multivariate analysis and introductory statistics. 

Adam is also an international partner for the Australian Research Council on offshore energy research (TIDE), and for the US CLIVAR working group on ocean uncertainty quantification. Adam is the co-Lead for Equality, Diversity and Inclusion in the Department of Mathematics at Imperial College London. 

Dr Ayse Ulgen 
 

I come from a divided country, Cyprus, and know firsthand the consequences of polarization, which is visible in many forms worldwide today, often attributed in great part to AI. The same is seen in healthcare—among the haves and the have-nots. In my own scientific experience, I see how data science improves health outcomes and the importance of investing in it scientifically and economically.'

Candidate biography

Dr Ayse Ulgen is a Fulbright and Chevening Scholar and holds a BSc Hons in Computer Science with Statistics from Queen Mary University in London, a PhD in Applied Mathematics and Statistics from Stony Brook University in New York and a Masters in Global Management from the Thunderbird School of Global Management at Arizona State University, where she was awarded the SHARE scholarship, Thunderbird’s most recognized scholarship and executive mentorship program.  

With expertise is in data science, biostatistics, health and science management, and genetic epidemiology, Ayse is a published PhD with over 15 years of experience in industry, academia and scientific diplomacy. She is a Senior Lecturer at Nottingham Trent University and has research and teaching collaborations at the Robert S. Boas Center for Genomics and Human Genetics in New York.  

As Vice President of Research at the biotech startup Botanisol Analytics, Ayse collaborated with leading global biomedical researchers. She has been instrumental in bringing about collaborations between Botanisol Analytics and the Division of Bioinformatics Program, Cancer Research Institute and the Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center at Harvard. 

Apart from being a fellow/chair of the RSS and Emerging Areas in Statistics since 2020, she serves as the Cyprus American Alumni Network Vice President and Ambassador for the International Genetic Epidemiology Society and the London Mathematical Society. Ayse is also a member of the Society for Epidemiologic Research, a Departmental representative for Equality, Diversity, and Inclusion, and is an AURORA Women Leadership program alumna. 

Clare Griffiths 
 

I am keen to become more involved in the RSS and have a particular interest in raising the profile of the work female statisticians undertake, often alongside other competing responsibilities. I believe it is essential to honour that work and make sure that women get to play an equal role in the RSS.'

Candidate biography

Clare Griffiths is a government statistician with over 20 years’ experience in official statistics. She has been a fellow of the Royal Statistical Society since the early 2000s and is currently a member of the Official Statistics Section, where she is looking into promotional opportunities on LinkedIn.  

Following her experiences during the pandemic, she has been on the steering group of the Statistics in a Crisis project, helping to produce a series of good practice recommendations regarding how statisticians respond to the need for data and analysis at pace, based on case studies and lived experience. Clare is also on the RSS selection committee aiming to broaden the range of candidates for RSS Honours in 2024. 

Currently as Head of Public Health Analytical Product Development at the Department of Health and Social Care, Clare drives quality improvements in statistics by leading the development of reproducible analytical pipelines and innovative tools for publishing official statistics and public-health indicators. Prior to this, she published the daily Covid-19 statistics as Head of the UK Covid-19 dashboard at the UK Health Security Agency, a service that she led to become a trusted and world leading source of official data on the pandemic. 

In Public Health England, Clare was Head of Profession for statistics and also managed a range of projects including the Public Health Outcomes Framework. She has an MSc in Medical Demography from the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine. 

Jack Kennedy 
 

If elected, my focus will be on supporting the development of data professionals, especially early career data professionals, and promoting diversity in the Society so that data professionals from all backgrounds can be brought together and be supported by the Society.'

Candidate biography

Jack is a senior data scientist at the UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA). He provides and develops short-term forecasts and nowcasts for infectious disease surveillance. He advocates for best practice and the reproducibility and robustness of the pipelines underlying analyses. 

Jack also has experience in data science consultancy, working with a range of sectors, and has taught statistics and programming for several years. He has a PhD in Statistics from Newcastle University, specialising in uncertainty quantification for energy systems models. He holds an MMathStat, also from Newcastle. 

Jack has been a member of the Society since 2018. He served on the Young Statisticians Section for four years and chaired the section in 2023. Through the YSS, Jack co-organised or lead the organisation of many successful events and conference sessions for the society, including Secret Statistician, Statistics of Strange Species, the Young Statisticians’ Meeting 2022 and the pre-conference workshop for early career researchers at the RSS 2023. He has volunteered at the RSS annual conference multiple times and is currently treasurer of the North Eastern local group. 

Chrissie Fletcher 
 

'The RSS is a highly respected, valued and trusted professional body. It would be an absolute joy and honour to join the Council. 

The role of statistics and data science continues to evolve at a significant pace, with fast adoption of AI, machine learning and large language models such as ChatGPT across industry, academic and government sectors.  

If elected, I will support the RSS strategic objectives and bring my 33 years of experience as a statistician in the pharmaceutical industry to foster collaboration, be an advocate for innovation and change and champion diversity at all levels.'

Candidate biography

Chrissie Fletcher is the Vice President and Head of Speciality & Primary Care Statistics at GSK. She leads a group of statisticians supporting the development of new and approved medicines in respiratory, immunology, hepatology, infectious diseases, neuroscience, renal, HIV and global health. Chrissie has worked in the Pharmaceutical Industry for over 30 years and has experience of developing and commercialising new medicines in a variety of clinical disease areas across all phases of clinical development.    

Chrissie is actively engaged in statistical societies, pharmaceutical trade associations and initiatives relating to the Pharmaceutical Industry.  She was the Chair of PSI in 2021-2023, is a Council member of EFSPI and a member of various European and international special interest groups, as well as being a member of the EFPIA Clinical Research Expert Group and co-lead of the Innovation in Clinical Trials team. Chrissie also co-leads the EFPIA/EFSPI Estimand Implementation Working Group. 

In 2019, Chrissie was given honorary membership for her outstanding service to PSI, and she was selected for the Women in Data ‘Twenty in Data and Technology’ award which showcases phenomenal women who encompass every level of seniority in the data disciplines and who continue to make role models visible within their industry professions.  

Chrissie is a Chartered Statistician of the Royal Statistical Society (RSS) and has an MSc in Applied Statistics and a BSc (Hons) in Statistics with Management Science Techniques. 

 

Peter Wells 

'I admire the Society’s goals of championing public interest and working for the public good. I am often astonished by its members’ work to deliver those goals in an increasingly complex world. 

To continue to deliver, the Society and its members need to listen to the communities that form the public, do work that earns their trust and effectively communicate that work to the public, policymakers and politicians. This is how we have an impact. 

If I am fortunate enough to be elected, I will use my experience of bringing about change to help us all make that happen.'

Candidate biography
Peter is a technologist with expertise in AI, data, digital and public policy. For the strategy and design agency IF, he has worked with a wide range of public and private sector organisations, alongside his work as a freelancer. 

He is an active member of the RSS’s Data Ethics and Governance Section, has run section events, has spoken at RSS conferences on geospatial data and AI and sits on the ONS SRS/IDS Advisory Group. He is currently co-organising two events: one on statistics for the public good, and another on statistics as a public good. 

In recent years, Peter has worked with the Ada Lovelace Institute, the Centre for Public Data, Citizens Advice, DLUHC, FutureDotNow, GDS, Google, IF, Lloyds Bank, Luminate, Meta, the OECD, the Open Rights Group and TikTok. Topics have included digital contact tracing during the Covid-19 pandemic, fairness in AI models, data governance in the justice sector, understanding the needs and motivations of local government data publishers, ecosystems for digital identity, digital inclusion and improving transparency and participation in healthcare research. All this work has centered on issues of trust. Previously, he was the Director of Public Policy at the Open Data Institute and a Director of Innovation in the telecommunications industry. 

 

For more information, please email governance@rss.org.uk