Hi I’m Michael

I’m a senior leader in rail infrastructure and a Chartered Project Professional with more than 15 years of experience delivering complex, high-profile transport projects across Wales and the UK.

But long before that, I was a young boy arriving in Swansea from Lima, Peru, trying to make sense of a completely new world, one where I didn’t speak a word of English.

That experience has never left me. The fear, the silence in classrooms that didn’t quite know what to do with me, and the sense of being on the outside all shaped my understanding of what it means to start again in a place that doesn’t yet feel like home. Those early challenges gave me a deep, lasting belief that everyone deserves dignity, opportunity, and to be truly heard.

Throughout my career, I’ve led multi-million-pound programmes for organisations including Transport for Wales and Amey Infrastructure Wales. I’ve helped to shape standards in safety and project delivery across the rail sector and have consistently championed inclusion, mental health, and wellbeing in the workplace. I’m proud to bring this strategic and governance experience to the board of the Welsh Refugee Council.

But what drives me most is lived experience. I know how powerful it is when someone believes in you. I know what it feels like to be given a second chance and to find your place. That is why I am passionate about helping build systems, physical, social, or institutional, where refugees and sanctuary seekers don’t just survive, but thrive.