Introducing WCIA’s new Chief Executive, Hayley Morgan

With a background in programme management and leadership in the international humanitarian sector, as well as the third and public sectors in Wales, Hayley is incredibly excited to join the WCIA as our new Chief Executive. 

Hayley returned home in 2018 after having lived outside of Wales for almost twenty years in the Central African Republic, Chad, the Democratic Republic of Congo, the Republic of Congo, France, Malta, Spain and Turkey.

During this time, she worked in the private sector and at the Paris National Opera before spending almost a decade resource managing and leading projects with Medecins san Frontieres (‘Doctors without Borders’) in both conflict and post-conflict areas. Living across the world allowed her to learn French and Spanish and basic Arabic whilst having the privilege of learning extensively about different cultures and contexts, as well as witnessing the impacts of conflict and upheaval, forced migration and incredible resilience from the people she met and lived alongside.

On returning to Wales, Hayley joined the Welsh third sector, setting up a project with TGP Cymru to support the Roma community through Brexit and the Covid crisis. She joins the WCIA after a number of years at Welsh Government’s working in health, on the Ukraine response and most recently in strategic equalities. 

With a mixture of internationalism, development work, third sector and civil society experience, Hayley has focused on a life filled with the desire to learn about the people and the histories behind the news headlines, filled with the curiosity of exchanging with people and working to bring people together across cultures, aligning her values to those of the WCIA. She is currently undertaking a part-time masters in International Relations where her dissertation focuses on barriers to peace.

In joining the WCIA, Hayley brings her experience of living across the world and home in Wales, combining her passion for bringing both of these together. Having taken stories and a love for Wales abroad, she now looks to work with communities and individuals to further increase international understanding and connectedness in Wales. With a focus on peace, the environment, cultural understanding and understanding the role Wales can play in the world, Hayley is delighted to be able to work with the inspirational team at the WCIA, its partners and the communities of Wales.