Page 15 - Spring 2023 e-Newsletter (ENG)

Meet the team Meet the team

Phillippa McGrath Alex Makovics

Business Service Director Data & ICT Manager

philippa.mcGrath@keepwalestidy.cymru alex.makovics@keepwalestidy.cymru

Describe your job role at Keep Wales Tidy?
As well as keeping our IT systems going, I help look after the data for
Describe your job role at Keep Wales Tidy? all Keep Wales Tidy’s projects and campaigns. I’m basically a human computer

I’m responsible for some of the business support functions such as finance, here to try and make people’s lives a little easier.
administration and human resources that are so important and contribute to enabling
all the great work we do on the ground. Additionally, I undertake the role of Company What’s the coolest thing you’re working on right now?

Secretary assisting the Trustee Board and ensuring good governance and liaise with The past few months have been spending time working with PhD student Sam, Keep
our professional advisors such as insurers, landlords etc. Scotland Beautiful and the Alun Turing Institute and delving into artificial intelligence.
Basically, we’re looking at how photos could be used to detect litter and help map out

What’s the coolest thing you’re working on right now? how ‘clean’ neighbourhoods or green spaces are. Very nerdy and I’m completely in my
I’m not sure anything I work on is cool. I am very excited about finally having a Youth element!
Board in place. I think it will be of huge benefit to us to have their contribution.

Hopefully their involvement with us will benefit them too. Best thing about being part of the Keep Wales Tidy team?
This is going to sound cheesy, but we genuinely all have each other’s backs. There’s a
huge amount of trust and I know, if I run into any problems, others will be there for
Best thing about being part of the Keep Wales Tidy Team? me without question.

The people, I get blown away by how skilled everyone is.
Who would you most like to swap places with for the day?
Who would you most like to swap places with for the day? Michael B Jordan. Because, Michael B amazing. Or Torfaen project officer Thom Board,
Anyone who works with animals, maybe at a donkey sanctuary or dog rehoming because I totally need his mad-level crafting skills to forge what in Hungarian is called
centre. a ‘Csákány’ (war hammer/pick or war axe).

What did you want to grow up to be when you were a kid? What did you want to grow up to be when you were a kid?
A journalist. I applied for college in London but due to personal circumstances couldn’t From age five, an astronomer/cosmologist. Shattered dreams were had at 18 in physics
go.
class.

Last book you read?

The Secret Garden. Last book you read?
The Revolutionary: Samuel Adams by Stacy Schiff.

Tell us an interesting fact about yourself?

My family hails from Yorkshire and I have a very strong connection with the county. Tell us an interesting fact about yourself?
My dad’s final RAF posting was to St Athan and my parents decided to stay in Wales. I used to be a film projectionist for a 16-screen multiplex, and used to manage and
load all those machines, including attaching trailers to the movie reels. In addition to

keeping numerous trailers for things like Gladiator and Fellowship of the Ring, I have
a number of film cells from a few Star Wars movies.