Committee 2026/27
EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR
Bhing Turongpun
Land Economy
Bhing Turongpun is a Third Year Land Economist at Christ’s College and now leads TWS in the 26/27 academic year. She has been involved with the society as a First Year Policy writer for the digital journal, the conference team, and acting as Deputy Head of Policy in previous years. Bhing is most interested in development, welfare, and gender economics in South-East Asia, and especially how corruption in the region has limited policy and development outcomes.
DEPUTY DIRECTOR
Bernard Shiu
History and Politics
​Bernard first joined TWS as a Head of Conference and policy writer. Now as Deputy Director, he aims to sustain TWS's advantages as a training ground for policy aspirants of diverse nationalities, leveraging Cambridge's intellectual freedom to cultivate analysis and communication skills. He is broadly interested in how policymakers can drive sustainable reform through the market, and specifically in how these approaches can be applied in Hong Kong and other non-Western contexts.
DEPUTY DIRECTOR
Joseph Delaney
Philosophy
Joseph is a second year Philosopher at Corpus Christi. He was inspired to join the society by its practical, solutions-based approach to political discourse. Having previously managed The Policy Podcast, he rejoins the committee as Deputy Director this year where he hopes to develop the presence of the society throughout the UK. His academic interests range from the history of US foreign policy to theories of ideology. In his free time, Joseph enjoys the gym, music and a long documentary!
TREASURER
Alex Hempel
Natural Sciences
​Alex is a second year Physical Natural Scientist who joined The Wilberforce Society last year to find out more about the U.K. policy space. His main interests lie in economic policy, but he joined the society to help create policy papers and reach more students. For Alex, the Wilberforce Society represents a great opportunity to connect with professionals and gain more experience in the field.
Heads of Policy
Economics
Shreya Devani
Shreya is a second-year Economics undergraduate who first joined The Wilberforce Society as a First-Year Policy Representative, contributing to the Monthly Policy Review, before progressing into her current role as Head of Policy. She joined The Wilberforce Society because she’s passionate about driving meaningful change through policy. As Head of Policy, her priority is to strengthen and expand the First-Year Representative programme, ensuring it offers a genuine, well-supported entry point into policy research for new members. Her interests lie in development and gender economics.
Economics
David Zhou
David will be a third-year Economics student this October. He joined The Wilberforce Society last year as a Policy Paper Writer, and while he enjoyed writing on policy topics, he felt ready this year to take on a more holistic role within the organisational side of the society as well. He wanted to continue working with the people he connected with through TWS, while also meeting others who share his interest in policy. Alongside helping to establish a more internationally focused perspective in TWS's policy publications, David hopes to bring new interests to the society by organising research skills and career-focused events that haven't previously been run. Being from China, he has a particular interest in policy issues relevant to societies in economic transition, including groups at different stages of the development ladder, as well as economies operating within political and cultural paradigms distinct from the Anglo-American system. When he isn't dedicated to The Wilberforce Society, you may find him watching football, playing tennis, or travelling.
Deputy Heads of Policy
Economics
Yuxuan Zhao
Yuxuan is a second-year Economics student at Christ’s College. Last year, she was involved in the Wilberforce Society as a policy paper writer on UK-EU trade policy and co-authored the flagship article in the TWS x Oxford Diplomatic Dispatch Collaboration. As Deputy Head of Policy, Yuxuan hopes to broaden participation from students of diverse backgrounds by expanding the range of policy issues covered and fostering cross-society collaborations. Her interests lie in international trade, AI, econometrics, and public policy in Asia. In her spare time, she enjoys music, art, and travelling.
Land Economy
Mikaila Thomas
Mikaila Thomas is a second-year Land Economy student and currently serves as Deputy Head of Policy. She became involved with The Wilberforce Society after attending its annual conference, where she was inspired by the speakers and policy discussions, and before that was contributing to collaboration dispatches throughout the year. Mikaila is particularly interested in diplomacy, development economics, sustainability, and the Pacific region. In her role, she hopes to produce engaging research with a wider reach and contribute to work that can have a meaningful impact on policy discussions.
Land Economy
Amane Tanaka
Amane is a third-year Land Economy student at Pembroke College, originally from Japan, and has been involved with the society as a policy writer over the past year. As a Deputy Head of Policy, she intends to broaden the scope of published policy papers beyond Europe. Academically, her interests lie in applied economics and urban development. She also enjoys exploring how policies are designed and implemented differently across Europe and East Asia. Beyond TWS, she is a member of the Cambridge University Competition Dance Team.
Secretary
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History
Zainab Kahn
Zainab is currently serving as Secretary of The Wilberforce Society, supporting the society's research and wider activities. She joined TWS out of an interest in foreign affairs and the opportunity to engage with contemporary political issues. As a History student, her particular research interests lie in colonial legacies and their continuing impact across the Global South, as well as questions of power and governance. Bringing this into her role, she hopes to help foster a welcoming and intellectually rigorous space for discussion and debate.
Heads of Conference
Nirupama Krishnakumaran
Economics
Nirupama joined The Wilberforce Society through written contributions to collaborations with the Oxford Dispatch and Telos Press, before progressing to the committee, keen to engage more deeply with policy and work alongside thinkers from diverse academic backgrounds. She now serves as Head of Conference. An economist by training, with experience in economic newsletters and organising speaker panels, her interests span development policy, debt sustainability, and the asymmetries of power in conditional international agreements, particularly between major powers and the Global South. In this role, she hopes to curate a conference that brings together speakers from across the debate, challenges audiences to think beyond conventional frameworks, and reflects the intellectual diversity that drew her to TWS in the first place.
Yashraj Garg
Psychological and Behavioural Sciences
Yashraj Garg is a second-year Psychological and Behavioural Sciences undergraduate at Trinity College, Cambridge, and serves as Head of Conference at The Wilberforce Society. Fascinated by how psychology, behavioural science, and institutional design can shape better public policy, he joined TWS to help create conversations that bridge academia, government, business, and civil society. He hopes to curate a conference that not only attracts exceptional speakers but also encourages intellectually ambitious, interdisciplinary discussion on the policy challenges shaping the coming decades. Alongside TWS, Yashraj's work spans cognitive neuroscience, social psychology, and behavioural policy, with research experience at Cambridge and the University of Basel. Outside academia, he enjoys writing, learning languages, and exploring the psychology behind culture, politics, and human behaviour.
Deputy Heads of Conference
William Dang
Economics
William initially became involved with TWS by writing for the Digital Journal about UK industrial policy and over-reliance on finance. His goal as a conference head this year is to improve its awareness and accessibility, for both current students and prospective applicants in sixth form. He's interested in global development policy, particularly the importance of institutions, as well as the potential role for digital currencies in central banking.
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Anna Elizabeth Yaneva
HSPS
​Elizabeth is from Bulgaria and is an incoming second-year HSPS student at Trinity Hall. Her background has consistently motivated her studies of politics, with a particular focus on socioeconomic policy and cross-national interdependency and cooperation. She is excited to bring these insights into her contributions for this year's TWS conference — keep an eye on the society's socials for updates. Outside of TWS, she is working in political econometrics research this summer and is also interested in AI safety, EdTech, and slow fashion. She enjoys writing, acting, and meeting new people, and is happy to chat at aeiy2@cam.ac.uk.
Heads of Events
Land Economy
Juno Chowla-Song
Juno Chowla-Song is a Third Year Geographer at Trinity Hall College. TWS events were her introduction to the UK policy space, inspiring her to become TWS’s new Head of Events. She has since branched out into policy research and contributes to the Digital Journal on the topics of energy security and trade logistics. In the year to come, she hopes to reach other students who might not have previously considered careers in policy by organising collaborations with other societies and bringing in influential figures working on international issues.
Deputy Heads of Events
History
Benjamin Pearce
Benjamin is a history student at Emmanuel who joined TWS on the events team. He is deeply interested in public and social policy and they way they influence decision makers to implement change. He believes TWS place as a thoughtful and non partisan voice on policy and being a part of its events team enables him to broaden the reach of its policy work. Specifically, he is interested in working on panels that discuss the changing degree of social mobility in education systems, within and outside the West.
HSPS
Quynh An Tran
Quynh An is a second-year Human, Social, and Political Sciences student, specialising in Politics and Sociology. She joined the Wilberforce Society as a first-year policy writer, producing a paper on the ASEAN response to US-China rivalry, contributing to the collaboration with Oxford's Diplomatic Dispatch. She is particularly interested in geopolitics beyond the traditional UK/EU policy focus, and aims to ensure TWS's events reflect that broader global scope.
Head of Publicity
History and Politics
Tom Blythe
Tom is a second-year History and Politics student. He got involved in TWS as Head of Publicity to expand his exposure to the Think Tank Sector an area he'd like to pursue a career in. HIs intention is to expand the reach of TWS bringing in new students from across a wide array of degrees to produce thought provoking cross-disciplinary research. HIs interests are in political economy, diplomatic history and American Presidential Elections. Outside of his studies Tom loves watching and playing sport as well as reading and watching documentaries.
Heads of Alumni
Theology, Religion, And Philosophy of Religion
Scott Matthew Kebbell
Previously this academic year, Scott worked in part on the policy team and in part helped the outgoing Director in organising events and inviting guests, leading him to unite these two aspects of his interests in the role he now holds. His academic background is in Religion, Culture, and Thought — the themes that drew him to his course (TRPR) are also what led him to join The Wilberforce Society. Before coming to Cambridge, he worked in three think tanks to various degrees, as well as in Parliament, and has a keen enthusiasm for the world of public policy, particularly areas concerning people — humanitarian and economic considerations. In his sparse spare time, he enjoys debating, reading, and interrogating academic and interesting ideas. He looks forward to the year ahead and all that lies in store.
Head of Podcast
HSPS
Martha Rayner
Martha is a third-year Human, Social, and Political Sciences student at Queens’ College and now leads the Podcast team. She first joined TWS as host of The Policy Podcast last year for the opportunity to gain experience in the policy field while bridging the gap to real-world applications by hearing directly from policymakers and activists. Her interests focus on climate action, democratic resilience, and the socio-economic implications of emerging technologies. Martha’s goal is to expand the reach of the podcast, featuring a diverse range of voices that resonate with the student body. Outside of her academic work, she enjoys community organising and salsa dancing.
Deputy Head of Podcast
Deputy Head of Podcast
Land Economy
Rhea Goel
Hi! I'm Rhea. I'm from New Delhi, India and I'm really interested in understanding how policy, politics and economics can be used as tools to create change. I enjoy reading about politics (especially South-Asian politics) and how policy changes based off different socio-economic contexts. Outside of this, I enjoy art, music, and sports. Looking forward to contributing to TWS!