Early Bird now available - TPAC 2026 - Mary Ward House - London - 23rd September.
Your speakers for TPAC 2026
We're delighted to introduce a range great speakers from across the assessment profession to share their experience with you.
We have a few returning faces and plenty of new voices to keep things fresh.
Paula
Wilcock
Director of Quality and Standards
ICAS
Paula is a senior leader in qualifications, assessment and regulation with over twenty‑five years’ experience across education, professional bodies and awarding organisations in the UK and internationally. At ICAS, Paula is responsible for quality and standards across the Chartered Accountant qualification and associated pathways, including regulatory compliance and governance, policies, and acts as the Ofqual Responsible Officer. Her work is grounded in a strong commitment to fairness, educational justice and ensuring learners have access to valid, reliable and recognised outcomes that support progression and opportunity.
Venetia
Knight
Head of Professional Services
CIH
Venetia is Head of Professional Services at the Chartered Institute of Housing (CIH), where she leads regulated qualifications, apprenticeship end-point assessments and professional standards for the housing sector. As Regulatory Responsible Officer, she oversees compliance, quality assurance, and governance frameworks. With more than 20 years’ experience across awarding organisations and vocational education, Venetia has held senior roles at City & Guilds and the National Federation of Property Professionals, specialising in professional standards, audit, assurance, and stakeholder engagement.
Geoff Chapman
Senior Consultant and Board Advisor
www.geoffchapman.com
Geoff consults for global exam owners, solution companies, and the investment community.
Solving three decades worth of assessment challenges across multiple sectors, he also successfully founded and exited three education businesses.
Geoff will share specific insights on how procurement in assessment has radically changed across people, process and technology.
He shares free resources on worldwide assessment issues at https://www.geoffchapman.com/examowners.
Russell
Ampofo
Director of Education, Training & Examinations
Royal College of Anaesthetists
Russell is responsible for developing and delivering the Royal College of Anaesthetists’ education, training and examination strategy in the UK and overseas. Prior to the College, Russell worked at Public Health England, the Faculty of Public Health and Edexcel (Pearson) Education. In these roles, he had varied responsibilities including training, developing curricula, workforce development, examinations, national recruitment and quality.
Amanda Boustred
FCMI, FIOD
Founder CEO Minerva Consulting Services Ltd
www.minervaconsutlingservices.co.uk
Amanda is the Founder CEO of a consultancy specialising in strategic support for Professional Bodies and Awarding Organisations. Her focus includes strategy development, membership and qualification growth, and international expansion.
With more than 25 years of experience of working with Chartered Professional Bodies and Awarding Organisations, Amanda possesses extensive expertise in organisational design, strategic planning, professional standards, regulated qualifications, membership value propositions, international development, and regulatory compliance.
Graham
Hudson
Chair
e-Assessment Association
Graham Hudson is a long‑standing leader in the educational assessment sector. At the Qualifications and Curriculum Authority, he oversaw marking and data collection for Key Stage tests and led a UK‑wide programme on emerging assessment technologies, securing significant HM Treasury investment.
He later helped deliver one of the first large‑scale implementations of live marking from scanned scripts at DRS Data Services.
Graham now runs a consultancy advising UK and international organisations on assessment technology and strategic change. He is Chair of the e‑Assessment Association and serves on the IoD Assessment Committee, the Diocese of Guildford Board of Education, and the Board of Qualifications Wales. He is a Fellow of the RSA and AEA‑Europe.
Sundus
Ahmad
Senior Project Manager
AQA
Sundus currently leads the delivery of the International Early Learning Study 2024 and the General Dental Council’s Overseas Registration Examination.
Experience spans assessment creation, continuous improvement, trialing and quality assurance, working with clients including the Department for Education, NHS regulators, professional councils and universities.
Previously at the General Medical Council, Sundus led PLAB 2 content development and supported pandemic-era redesign, delivery, analysis and training.
Victoria
Winkler
Standards and Professional Development Director
CIPD
Victoria is the CIPD’s Director of Standards and Professional Development. She is responsible for both the design and development of the CIPD’s professional standards, assessment and qualifications strategy. She also leads the CIPD’s work as an awarding organisation.
Victoria joined the CIPD in 2003, initially leading research in the field of learning, development and talent management. Before this she held a number of roles across the charity and publishing sectors, with a focus on learning and professional skills development.
Victoria is a Chartered Fellow of the CIPD.
Stuart
Copus
Assistant Director of Examinations
RCGP
Stuart has worked in assessment for more than 25 years, including the last six years leading the team responsible for delivering the RCGP licensing examinations for general practitioners.
These high-stakes assessments play a critical role in ensuring that GPs entering independent practice in the UK meet the highest professional standards.
Stuart has a particular interest in fairness, quality, and the future of assessment, especially as examinations continue to evolve in response to rapid technological change.
In the world of high-stakes assessment, no two days are ever quite the same.
Vanessa
Aradia
Head of Learning and Development
ICB
Vanessa Aradia is Head of Learning and Development at the Institute of Certified Bookkeepers (ICB), where she leads learning strategy, qualification development, and future-focused capability work across bookkeeping, payroll, and professional education.
She also leads ICB’s AI Academy, supporting professionals to use AI safely, ethically, and practically. Her background spans accountancy, payroll, assessment, learning and development, and AI leadership.
Victoria
Clark
Commercial Director
Kaplan Assessments
Dr Victoria Clark is Commercial Director at Kaplan Assessments, leading global commercial strategy, strategic partnerships, and market development across professional assessment, credentialing, and workforce certification.
With more than 30 years of international experience in education, assessment, and system reform, she has worked extensively with governments, regulators, universities, and professional bodies worldwide.
Her expertise includes assessment innovation, workforce readiness, policy development, authentic assessment, and competency-based certification.
Zoe
Robinson
Managing Director
Kaplan Assessments
Zoe's career in education and assessment spans over 20 years. In her current role of Managing Director of Kaplan Assessments, oversees the design, development, and delivery of professional assessments and qualifications, working closely with regulators, professional bodies, and corporate clients.
Having built a deep understanding of learning science and assessment methodology, Zoe left her role as Director of Learning in 2020 to establish Kaplan Assessments (KA), a new division within Kaplan Professional in the UK. The business has experienced rapid growth following the introduction of the Solicitors Qualification Examination (SQE). KA also has an awarding organisation, offering a portfolio of regulated qualifications, alongside self-regulated awards and credentials.
Zoe also works with the Institute of Directors where she serves as a member of the Professional Development & Accreditations Committee.
John
Worne
CEO
Chartered Institute of Linguists
John Worne is CEO of the Chartered Institute of Linguists, the UK's Royal Charter body for linguists and languages.
Prior to CIOL, John spent two decades in senior leadership roles at the British Council, in universities and at the heart of the UK Government at the Cabinet Office.
A graduate of the University of Oxford, John has lived and worked in different countries and cultures all around the world.
He speaks French having spent five years living and working in Paris.
Miia
Nummela-Price
Founder and Director
Lagom GC Limited
Miia Nummela-Price is a Fractional General Counsel and a solicitor (England & Wales). She specialises in tech/SaaS contracts, AI governance, data protection/privacy and commercial risk for tech- and data-driven businesses, helping organisations make commercially sound decisions while balancing innovation, integrity and compliance.
She has over 20 years' experience of advising businesses, including more than a decade as in-house legal counsel and Chief Legal Officer at an international provider of digital assessment technology and services, and before that as a corporate/commercial lawyer advising start-ups and SMEs.
Julia
Luddington
Head of Content
Kaplan Professional Education
Julia is Lay Deputy Chair of the Board of Examiners of the Institute and Faculty of Actuaries (IFoA) and a member of the Assessment Committee of the Institute of Chartered Accountants in England and Wales (ICAEW). At Kaplan Professional Education (KPE) she has overall responsibility for all tax learning content and assessments, which support thousands of learners across the globe preparing for exams run by five professional bodies.
Julia is an advocate for social mobility; she is a member of the KPE Learner Inclusion and Equal Opportunities Steering Group and has acted as a mentor on the 10,000 Black Interns programme. In her non-executive roles, she works with IFoA and ICAEW to ensure assessments are fair and accessible including for those with additional learning needs.
Victoria
Partington
Assistant Director, Qualifications
CISI
Victoria is Assistant Director, Qualifications at the Chartered Institute for Securities & Investment (CISI), a professional body and awarding organisation for the wealth management and financial planning professions.
She is responsible for the standards and quality assurance of CISI qualifications and assessments, that meet the needs of financial services practitioners and sector regulators in the UK and globally.
Joanne
Herman
Head of Marketing
TEAMCo
Joanne Herman is a Chartered Marketer (CMktr MCIM) with over two decades' experience in strategic marketing for the assessment and education sector. She is known for her work on inclusive assessment, reasonable adjustments and candidate experience, and for exploring how AI is reshaping marketing and assessment delivery.
A regular speaker at industry events including E-ATP and EAA, Joanne combines strategic insight with practical, people-centred thinking.
She is also a coach, a Freeman of the City of London, and an active member of the Worshipful Company of Marketors.
Toni
Stoddart
Head of IT & Security
Reed Assessment
Toni is responsible for security policies and procedures for candidate testing on all Reed Assessment contracts. She brings a wealth of 30+ years of expertise in security management including physical security, operational security, risk management, incident management and business continuity.
She has a background in managing security for Defence organisations, and prior to working for Reed Assessment was the Principal Physical Security Adviser at the Houses of Parliament and most recently the Head of Security Operations at the Royal Household.
Sam
Double
CEO
Vet Skill
Sam is the CEO for Vet Skill Ltd and a non-executive Director for the Federation of Awarding Bodies. She is also a chair and education panel member for the Royal College of Veterinary Surgeons accreditation of higher education programmes.
Sam worked in the FE and HE sectors before joining the Awarding Sector in 2018. Her responsibilities have included assessment and curricula design and delivery, quality assurance, fair access to assessment, risk management, and stakeholder management. She is interested in evidence-based approaches to optimising organisational performance through authentic leadership and positive workplace psychology. Sam has also researched the health and wellbeing effects of working within highly regulated environments.
Emma
Fang
Director, Global Exams Services Partnerships
British Council
Emma Fang is Director, Global Exams Services Partnerships at the British Council, working with leading international exam boards, universities and professional bodies on their international strategy and digital exam transformation, and ensuring their qualifications and assessments are delivered seamlessly to candidates around the world.
Emma brings nearly 20 years of experience in high-stakes international exam delivery, having worked closely with a wide range of examination boards and awarding organisations across global markets, which gives her first-hand insight into navigating complex and fast-changing environments.
Rosalind
Thorpe
Director of Education and Standards
CIOB
Ros Thorpe, our Director of Education and Standards, joined the Institute in 2009 as an accreditation officer and took on the role of Head of Education in 2011. Prior to that, Ros worked as a teacher of English and corporate courses manager at the British Council in Moscow, where she lived for 10 years.
Ros has a degree in English and a post-graduate diploma in Russian, as well as various teaching qualifications. Ros is a Chartered Member of the CMI. Ros is responsible for managing the Institute’s regulated qualifications and exams, the accreditation process, and maintaining the Institute’s published standards, the Education Framework.