Rebecca Booker
Senior Associate (International Partnerships)
As Senior Associate for our International Partnerships team, Rebecca collaborates closely with the Welsh Government, educational institutions across Wales, and international universities to lead and manage international education programmes. This includes maintaining all safer recruitment procedures and coordinating with all schools & colleges, instructors and university partners.
Rebecca is passionate about bilingualism and embedding Welsh cultural experiences in our programmes. She strives to facilitate cultural exchanges and collaborations that celebrate and support the growth and sustainability of Welsh language and culture, while simultaneously educating others about its significance and relevance in today's global landscape.
Rebecca studied French and Spanish (through the medium of Welsh) as an undergraduate at Swansea University, where she earned a First Class degree, and went on to gain a Distinction in her MA in Translation and Interpreting.
Rebecca recently discovered a newfound love for cold water swimming, she is an expert on a Stand Up Paddle-board (SUP), and isn’t so bad at ‘Dobble’ either!
Contact Rebecca.
Lauren Cook
Senior Project Manager (STEM)
As a Senior Project Manager, Lauren works collaboratively across existing and developing projects within the HE, STEM and International Partnerships divisions at Equal.
Lauren is an experienced Creative Arts and STEM lecturer with a background teaching in further/higher, independent educational settings and within international academic summer schools in London and across South Wales.
Lauren has over 13 years teaching experience delivering community-based workshops, curriculum development at GCSE, A Level and pre-foundation level within established design and engineering departments.
Away from work, Lauren enjoys the great outdoors and is usually out exploring with her two rescue dogs and getting back into running half and full marathons after a two-year break. With 4 international marathons under her belt, sights are still on London, even after 10 unsuccessful attempts – fingers crossed for ballot attempt no.11!
Contact Lauren.
Owen Evans
Managing Director
Owen is Managing Director at Equal. He works closely with various organisations, including the Welsh Government, universities, schools, colleges and Seren network partners, across Wales and beyond.
Owen joined Equal after two and a half years as CEO of a prominent Welsh children’s charity, where he oversaw an extensive change programme. Prior to that, he worked for a large education and training organisation in numerous leadership roles.
A qualified teacher (secondary Maths), Owen is passionate about the life changing opportunities which can be accessed through education and is particularly interested in expanding opportunities to under-represented groups.
Outside his role at Equal, Owen is a Trustee at TACT, the UK’s largest fostering charity, and sits on the Wales Advisory Committee for Barnardo’s. A proud Welsh speaker, his interests include most types of sport and enjoying live music.
Contact Owen.
Stephen Barnes
Managing Director, MIT-UK, MIT
Originally from the UK, Stephen moved to the US in 2011 to serve as the Programme Director for Thinking Beyond Borders, an industry-leading gap year program.
Stephen has served as a program design consultant to student travel organisations in the gap year and freshman study abroad arena, and was a member of the Gap Year Association’s Diversity, Equity, Inclusion and Access committee.
Stephen has lived and worked in Ecuador and Nicaragua, and built partnerships for student learning with NGOs and host communities in Africa, Asia, and Latin America.
Stephen is excited to focus on his native UK in his role at MIT. Stephen holds a Master’s of Science in Development Studies from the School of Oriental and African Studies, and a Bachelor of Arts in Politics and International Studies from the University of Warwick.
Greg Schwanbeck
Lecturer, Scheller Teacher Education Programme, MIT & Physics and Astronomy Teacher, Massachussetts
Currently, Greg works at Westwood High School (Massachusetts) as a Physics and Astronomy Teacher and as an Instructional Technology Coach, tasked with helping his colleagues capitalise on their district’s 1-to-1 Chromebook programme.
Greg is also a Lecturer for the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT)’s Scheller Teacher Education Program (STEP) where he teaches Educational Theory & Practice I, II, and III.
Greg is a Fulbright Teachers for Global Classrooms Fellow, a MIT Levitan Teaching Award recipient, an Apple Distinguished Educator, an ISTE Certified Educator, a Google Educator, and a regional leader in providing edtech-focused professional development.
Greg’s teaching methods and thoughts on educational technology have been featured nationally in publications such as The Huffington Post, EdSurge, and the book American Teacher: Heroes in the Classroom by Katrina Fried.
Greg earned his master’s degree via the Technology, Innovation, and Education programme at Harvard University and earned his bachelor’s degrees in Physics and Mathematics at Union College.
When he is not teaching, Greg enjoys seeking out adventure with his amazing wife Keba and their two sons, Taylor and Thomas.
Liam Rahman
Chief Executive Officer
Liam works closely with institutions including the Welsh Government and the EWC to solve challenges facing the education sector - bolstering talent attraction & retention, widening higher education access and improving STEM education.
Liam has also worked in Investment Management at BW Group & Goldman Sachs, in Singapore & Norway.
Liam is an Executive Committee member for the REC, a member of Yale's ASC and an external reader for the Fulbright. In 2019, Liam was awarded a St Davids Award for expanding access to world class education.
As an undergrad, Liam studied Politics, Philosophy & Economics (PPE) at Yale-NUS College and Yale University, graduating with a distinction. From September 2022, Liam is pursuing an MBA and an MA in Education at Stanford University.
Contact Liam.