Department for Culture, Media and Sport and S4C
Elan Closs Stephens is Emeritus Professor of Communications and Creative Industries at Aberystwyth University. During her time at Aberystwyth, she taught and supported numerous young people who have since had distinguished careers as writers, actors , directors and programme commissioners. She has specialised in cultural and broadcasting regulatory policy, chairing the Stephens Review into the Welsh Arts Council and serving as Chair of the British Council in Wales, as a Governor of the British Film Institute and, for two terms, as Chair of S4C, the Welsh Fourth Channel. For the last six years until the end of the Charter, she has been the Wales Trustee on the BBCs governing body, the BBC Trust. She is a Non Executive Director of the Permanent Secretary of Waless senior Board and has chaired the Boards Audit and Risk Committee since 2008. She also chaired the Recovery Board for the Isle of Anglesey County Council. Currently she has received the Royal Warrant to act as Electoral Commissioner for Wales from April 2017.
Elan is a first language Welsh speaker from the Nantlle Valley in N Wales and a graduate of Somerville College, Oxford. She was awarded a CBE in the Queens Birthday Honours in 2001 for services to broadcasting and the Welsh language.