Monica Mwanje
Managing Director
Monica Mwanje is the Founder and Managing Director of MM Creative Solutions. She is a highly accomplished professional who brings over 18 years’ delivery experience gained primarily in the civil nuclear and defence sectors. Monica co-founded the not-for-profit initiative Inclusion and Diversity in Nuclear in 2019. The initiative provides useful, practical, and balanced information and support around diversity and inclusion.
She has delivered inclusion training, consultancy and guidance on a group and one-to-one basis, through MM Creative Solutions, which she established in 2015. To date, inclusion services have been delivered to clients worldwide, whose work spans sectors including nuclear, built environment, arts and heritage, amongst others. She has worked with boards and leadership teams, helping them to identify and understand how to improve inclusion and diversity in their organisations; providing practical steps they can implement.
Monica is a Chartered Engineer and member of the Institution of Chemical Engineers. She is also a member of the Nuclear Institute. From 2016 to the start of 2019, she was chair of the Nuclear Institute’s (NI) North West Branch. She has also volunteered for the NI’s Young Generation Network and is a former chair of the group.
She is a STEM Ambassador and enjoys supporting events at schools and colleges, highlighting career paths and opportunities to students. In December 2021, she established Grassroots Graduates, which is a modernised jobs board that connects employers’ vacancies, with talent from groups currently underrepresented in the UK workforce. The site advertises: graduate jobs, apprenticeships and internships. Its first programme GoNuclear! focuses specifically on connecting Black talent with early career opportunities in the nuclear sector.
Monica is also the co-founder of D&I School. D&I School is for people who have the power to change their organisations but aren’t sure where to start with diversity and inclusion. The D&I school programme provides a solid foundation in understanding D&I and also teaches participants how to design interventions that work.
She is a Member of the Expert Advisory Board for the EPSRC Centre for Doctoral Training in Fusion Energy (Fusion CDT), a Steering Group Member for Northern Nuclear Alliance, Member of TiE UK North Pioneering Women Advisory Board, Advisory Board Member for Deep Isolation and a Trustee for youth charity RECLAIM.
Over the years Monica has developed her skills, undertaking learning and research, and attending training to inform and improve her Inclusion, Diversity and Equity skillset. In 2021 Monica commenced the ILM Level 7 Executive Coaching and mentoring qualification. She has a growing pool of coaching clients.
Hilary Karpinski
Corporate Partnerships Manager
Hilary has spent 20 years in the Civil Service working in Policy Development and Stakeholder Management roles with a focus on Vocational Education, Skills and Apprenticeships.
Her proudest achievements include being instrumental in the industry co-design of Degree Apprenticeships and delivering a series of Ministerial roundtables which lead to the creation of over 10,000 Apprenticeship opportunities over 10 industry sectors.
Since then, Hilary has worked at the National STEM Learning Centre, South Yorkshire Police, and more recently had a spell working in the Third Sector as Operations Director for a small local charity.
Outside of work, Hilary can be found watching football with her partner and son and is a lifelong Sheffield Wednesday season ticket holder. Alternatively, she will be driving, and supporting, her daughter who plays Championship level Rugby Union, around the country. This has in turn led Hilary to be involved in several volunteer roles for Women and Girls Rugby Union for over 10 years, at club and county, championing their case in a very male dominated sport. Relaxation time generally involves planning her next trip as Hilary loves to travel.
Gareth Davies
Company Secretary
Gareth’s background is law, with 20 years’ commercial experience in the nuclear sector, first on-site at Imperial College’s Research Reactor then the nuclear team at Burges Salmon. Gareth now co-owns a niche nuclear consultancy.
Gareth has advised domestic and overseas clients and worked with most UK licenced sites. He sits on various Boards and committees, advising on compliance, strategy and corporate governance/ growth. He chairs the NIA/ DIT International Group and previously chaired the NIA Decommissioning and Waste Group. He is a Trustee of the Nuclear Institute.
Finally, Gareth has been an industrial Fellow at Bristol University, involved in the SME and diversity agendas for several years, most recently working on setting up WiN UK Ltd and is now Secretary to Inclusion and Diversity in Nuclear Ltd. Gareth has a keen interest in SMEs having set up and run the NDA SME mentoring scheme, and enjoys mentoring small businesses.
Outside work Gareth enjoys rugby and fly fishing.
