Personal statement

Vinita Nawathe has lived in the South West of England for over 20 years. She became an independent consultant in 2013, and has since helped develop local economic strategy for Local Enterprise Partnerships and Local Authorities in the region.

Before setting up her consultancy, Vinita spent seven years as Managing Director of South West Observatory; a data, research and intelligence hub working across public policy themes and spatial geographies in the South West. She was previously Policy and Research Director of Passenger Focus, a national Non-Departmental Public Body working on transport and consumer issues.

Vinita is currently a board member of Cardiff Community Housing Association, a social landlord  which builds and manages affordable housing and supports local communities in Cardiff. She is also a board member  (formerly Chair) of TravelWatch SouthWest, a community interest company ensuring a strategic view of the region’s passenger transport issues is informed by specific local knowledge and expertise, feeding into industry and government to influence positive change for passengers. A member body of the European Passenger Federation, through this role Vinita has been involved in European passenger transport research programmes.

Academic qualifications

  • MSc Econ International Politics, University of Wales, Aberystwyth
  • BA (Hons) Philosophy, University College, London