Who we are

Leo is the Interim Chair of the IMA. He is a also Member of the Senate of Queen’s University Belfast and a member of the Council of the Institute of Professional and Legal Studies in Belfast. He is also a Non-Executive member of the Audit and Risk Committee Member of the Office of the Police Ombudsman for Northern Ireland. He is a former civil servant, in the Northern Ireland Civil Service, with over 27 years’ experience as a senior civil servant covering a diverse range of functions and activities across government in both NI and GB. These include over 11 years as the Permanent Secretary of three Northern Ireland departments. Leo O’Reilly has not declared any political activity. The appointment of non-executive members of the IMA are made by the Lord Chancellor and are regulated by the Commissioner for Public Appointments. These reappointments comply with the Governance Code on Public Appointments. Find out more about Leo O’Reilly here.

Ronnie left the civil service in 2013 to pursue a variety of other interests; including consultancy. He is currently an Independent Member of Powys Teaching Health Board. In addition, he serves as Independent Chair of the Standards Committees for the South Wales Fire and Rescue Service and also for Blaenau Gwent County Borough Council. He has a considerable record of engaging with the public, professionals and politicians at all levels, to influence policy. This follows a civil service career spanning over 20 years and an equivalent period working in local government. Ronnie Alexander has not declared any political activity. Find out more about Ronnie Alexander here.

Punam is a Solicitor of the Senior Courts of England & Wales and was a Partner at KPMG LLP (UK) from 2008 – 2020. She was Head of Employment and Immigration within the Tax and Legal Services Practice and the lead on people related Brexit issues. She is also an international social security specialist. She previously worked at Andersen, Deloitte and PwC. During this time, Punam advised clients across all sectors including financial services, pharmaceuticals, retail and Oil & Gas on a range of people and employer related tax, social security, immigration, reward and employment matters. She advised multinational employers on cross border issues for frontier workers. She also advised employers and private equity firms on comparative country locations in which to establish new business, focusing on the regulatory aspects of establishing global employment companies. Punam is a Trustee of the Carers Network charity, based in London. Appointed until 7 December 2025. Find out more about Punam Birly here.

Joyce has practised as a litigation solicitor with Brodies LLP for over 40 years and served as Chair of the firm from 2004 to 2013. In 1995, she was admitted as a Solicitor Advocate in Scotland. She was Convener of the Law Society of Scotland’s Employment Law Reform Sub-Committee from 2006 to 2018. From 2015 to 2021 she was a Non-executive Director of the Joint Management Board of the Office of the Secretary of State for Scotland and the Office of the Advocate General for Scotland. In 2020, she was appointed as Chair of the Board of Governors of George Heriot’s School. She was initially appointed and has served as a Non-Executive member of the IMA since 2021. Joyce Cullen has not declared any political activity. Find out more about Joyce Cullen here.

Marcus is also Chairman of the IMA’s Delivery and Impact Committee and a Member of its Audit Committee. Marcus is qualified as: a Barrister at Law (England and Wales); an Attorney at Law (New York) and; a Chartered Fellow of the Chartered Institute of Securities and Investment, He is currently Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the law firm ISOLAS LLP. From 2003 – 2014, he served as the CEO of the Gibraltar Financial Services Commission (“Commission”). During his time at the Commission, he was also Chair of the Group of International Insurance Centre Supervisors as well as Chair of both the Gibraltar Investors Compensation Scheme Board and the Gibraltar Deposit Guarantee Board. In 2014, he was awarded an OBE for services to regulation; particularly in Gibraltar. Marcus Killick has not declared any political activity. Find out more about Marcus Killick here.

As Chief Executive, Miranda is responsible for the day-to-day operations and management of the IMA and advising the board on how IMA are delivering its responsibilities. Miranda previously worked at the Independent Office for Police Conduct (IOPC) where she was Director of Operations, and has also worked for the Parole Board.

Andrew and his team ensure that the IMA is operating in accordance with recognised good corporate standards. They provide support on quality assurance, strategy, planning and performance; as well as other corporate services such as HR, IT and Finance. Andrew is a Chartered Accountant who qualified during his time with PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) where he specialised in private and public sector audit (internal and external). Andrew went on to work within Internal Audit for Vodafone, Associated British Foods and more recently the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency (DVLA) as part of the Government Internal Audit Agency (GIAA).

Rhys is responsible for leading the team advising the board on all aspects of the statutory functions of the IMA under the European Union (Withdrawal Agreement) Act 2020. Rhys trained and qualified as a lawyer with the Welsh Government Legal Services Department, where he spent 10 years in various roles.

Pam and her team run the day-to-day operations of the IMA. This includes the receipt and assessment of complaints from the public, monitoring public authorities to make sure they are respecting the rights of EU and EEA EFTA citizens, and conducting inquiries to hold public bodies to account. Pam is an analyst by training. She has spent most of her career in various roles at the Office for National Statistics and the UK Statistics Authority. Pam was also previously Chief Statistician at the Cabinet Office.

I came to the UK from Sweden in the 1980s to be with my English husband, Keith. We met in Lincoln on a week-long teachers’ course run by the Department for Education when I was on a scholarship from the Council of Europe – he was an HMI (Her Majesty’s Inspectorate) and I was a senior teacher in Sweden.

At that time Sweden wasn’t in the EU so there were some hurdles. I had to travel back and forth until we got married. Then I had to wait more than two years to get my teaching qualification accredited.

When the Windrush scandal came to light it really hit me. I thought back to my situation and knew that I’d had an easy ride. When I saw a Facebook post about the IMA Citizens’ Panel I wanted to get involved - Windrush pointed to the fact that we are not completely secure here. It could be me next if I’m older and not able to speak up for myself, or a neighbour or friend.

There is a sense of security in an organisation being able to intervene on behalf of EU citizens. By being on the IMA’s citizens’ panel I can tell the organisation about potential problems and make sure that things are done properly.

So far since Brexit I haven’t personally experienced issues. I found applying for settled status straight forward. I could have stuck with my old Indefinite Leave to Remain status but that meant I could only leave the UK for two years whereas with settled status it’s five. You never know what happens in life and when you may need to be away.

A Swedish friend of mine with the same options decided not to apply for settled status; she doesn’t feel comfortable with digital only proof after Windrush. I think it’s wrong not to give citizens, especially older people, physical proof of their right to stay; many don’t even have a modern phone.

I’m very interested in fairness. EU citizens are part of the rich tapestry of life in the UK. We didn’t come to take the best bits of the place - we came here to work and study or for love. I spent years teaching and then, after retirement, volunteering in a school. It’s important that we as EU citizens feel that we can trust the authorities here. It’s good to be involved with an organisation like the IMA which can intervene on our behalf.

I moved to London from Portugal aged 17. It was a bit of a rash decision. I didn’t speak a word of English and had never been abroad. But I enjoyed it straight away. There’s always been something in me that makes me proud to live and work in London, it’s such a big and diverse city.

I started out as a waiter and now work in head office for a restaurant chain. I live with my wife who is also Portuguese and our 16-year-old daughter. We talked about going back to Portugal. We used to say, ‘Let’s stay until the London Olympics and then go back’. That didn’t happen and both of us are happy here. It’s 24 years for me now. No plans to leave soon.

Everyone was convinced that we were going to remain in 2016. I remember the shock on that day, thinking how is this even possible? Even then we didn’t think about returning. We just thought, ‘let’s just see what comes out, what the new rules are’. We haven’t had any problems since we left. I took part in one of the first trials for the settlement scheme - I had to pay £60. After that they said it was free and I applied for my wife and daughter with no problems. They refunded me the £60.

I heard about the IMA through Facebook. I thought this is interesting and a good idea to be a part of the citizens panel.

I think one of the biggest problems we face is documentation of status. It works perfectly in theory but it’s not there yet. You go for a job and people want to see printed evidence. Or a budget airline demands printed copies of a web page with your status. It defeats the object. People don’t understand how it works.

There definitely is a need of an independent body to monitor government actions.

The very first time I lived in the UK was in 1997. My father was working for the NHS and my mother and I came over to be with him. But this was before Romania was in the EU so we could only stay a few months. I came back in 2012 with an offer to study at Sussex University.

At that time, I wasn’t the type of young person to be interested in politics or debating - I was busy working and studying. I wasn’t even that involved in the referendum debate. It was after Brexit that politics became more serious for me.

At that point I was studying for a Master's degree at Cambridge University. I started really to think how the changes would affect me. The first thing I did after the vote was go to Google to see how I could get proof of my status here. I found I didn’t have the five years you needed for a permanent residency card on the old system.

There was so much uncertainty around the negotiation period when it came to the settlement scheme. A lot of my Romanian friends were really concerned, talking about moving to Romania or another country. Around this time, I saw an event about citizens’ rights by the3million. I went along and began volunteering in campaigns, including translating documents in Romania. I now co-manage the Young Europeans Network, the youth wing of the organisation.

I also got accreditation from the OISC to advise on EU Settlement Scheme applications and have supported other Romanians to apply for (pre-)settled status. I found a lot of tech issues as many people don’t have a smart phone or Wi-Fi at home. It generates the question of how they would be able to navigate the digital only status when they want a job or to rent a place.

And there is a question of do people know what to do with the rights they have? Do they know their rights in welfare and healthcare? There is still a knowledge gap in some communities.

When I heard of the call for an IMA Citizens’ Panel I thought it was important that I apply - in many meetings about migrant communities I am the only eastern European there.

At the first IMA panel meeting I saw that there were people from nearly every nationality and a good mix of people with lived experience and those that work in the sector supporting vulnerable people. It’s good to have a diversity of views so it will be interesting to see how the citizens’ panel develops.

I came to the UK from Belgium in 1999. The university I was working at in Belgium was collaborating with a company that had job openings over here - my partner and I thought we’d come for a bit of an experience. But somehow life catches up with you and 20 years later, I now have a 19 and 16 year old who call the UK home. And to be honest this is my home now too.

It was very easy to settle here back then. I can’t remember ever having to deal with bureaucracy when buying a house, getting a mortgage or accessing healthcare. It was similar to being in your home country. When the referendum was announced I got involved in politics for the first time. I’ve always been interested but Brexit felt so personal that I wanted to campaign. I’m now a local councillor.

Despite being involved in the run up to the vote, the result came as a massive shock. And there was a feeling of sadness around not feeling wanted - you do start to see the country where you live in a different light.

My main concern is being identified as a separate group. Settled status sets you apart. Even though we have rights in the withdrawal agreement I worry that those rights can be eroded over time. That’s one of the reasons I decided to get involved with the Citizens’ Panel. I see the IMA as an advocate that can keep a watchful eye to ensure peoples’ rights remain.

I also think it’s important to help communicate what citizens’ rights actually are. A lot of Europeans don’t know and will fall through the net. I also don’t think that the British public understand our rights well enough – I’ve heard people make assumptions that citizens will have to start paying for healthcare and education. Understanding is essential to implementing rights on the ground.

The panel is a chance for the IMA to take a bottom up approach and really connect with the grassroots; the people who are affected. As a local councillor I hear citizens’ stories and find out what they are struggling with. By being on the Citizens Panel I can be a friendly face bridging the gap between people and an organisation.