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Our team and boards

Leadership   Back to Top

Jo Adetunji

Jo Adetunji

Editor

Jo Adetunji is the Editor of The Conversation UK. Previously, Jo worked as a reporter and editor at the Guardian, and has also written for The Times and The Independent.

Chris Waiting

Chris Waiting

Chief Executive Officer

Chris joined The Conversation as Chief Executive in May 2018. The Conversation is the world's leading publisher of research-based news and analysis. A unique collaboration between academics and journalists, The Conversation exists to democratise knowledge. He previously worked for the Associated Press as Director of Strategy & Development, and for the BBC as Chief of Staff where he advised the COO and Director-General.

Stephen Khan

Stephen Khan

Global Executive Editor, The Conversation

Stephen Khan is the Executive Editor of The Conversation global network. He was Editor of the UK edition from 2013-2020. Before joining The Conversation in 2013 he was a news editor at The Guardian. He has also been deputy foreign editor of The Independent and Scotland editor of The Observer.

Matt Warren

Matt Warren

Managing Director, Universal Impact

Matt launched and manages The Conversation's subsidiary, Universal Impact, providing bespoke training, editing, writing, video production, impact and policy engagement services. He is also a Co-Investigator on the International Public Policy Observatory (IPPO). He was previously Deputy Editor of The Conversation. Before joining The Conversation, Matt was a magazine editor and features executive on The Daily Mail.

Caitlin Paradise

Caitlin Paradise

Office Manager

Caitlin joined The Conversation as Office Manager in 2021. She holds a B.A. in Media Studies from The University of Brighton and holds a Master's degree in Law from Birkbeck College.

Editorial   Back to Top

Stephen Harris

Stephen Harris

Deputy Editor

Stephen is responsible for managing the day-to-day publication of articles on the site. He previously spent a decade as a science and technology journalist, including five years as The Conversation's science editor, and before that as senior reporter and special projects editor for The Engineer, the world's longest running technology magazine.

Laura Hood

Laura Hood

Senior Politics Editor, Assistant Editor

Laura worked for more than five years as a reporter and news editor for Research Fortnight, a specialist publication focusing on science, technology and higher education policy. She also worked as a reporter for Research Europe, covering French higher education policy and European policy in areas including space and innovation.

Jonathan Este

Jonathan Este

Senior International Affairs Editor, Associate Editor

Jonathan Este spent 20 years as a reporter, columnist and editor on The Australian and the Independent. He has been with The Conversation UK since it launched in 2013. Prior to that he was communications and policy director with the Media Alliance in Australia where he specialised in media law and policy and the digital revolution in journalism.

Rachael Jolley

Rachael Jolley

International Affairs Editor

Rachael started her career as a news reporter on the Eastern Daily Press and went on to write for The Times, The Guardian and Evening Standard. She has won various journalism awards including the British Society of Magazine Editors' specialist editor of the year, and awards for travel and science writing. Before joining The Conversation she was the editor-in-chief of the global magazine Index on Censorship and managing editor at Business Traveller magazine.

Sam Phelps

Sam Phelps

Commissioning Editor, International Affairs

Sam began his media career shortly after graduating in Economics from the University of Leeds in 2021, when he undertook a position as Green Mobility Policy Editor at Ibex Publishing. He wrote on topics pertaining to transport and energy sustainability. His interests are in the application of economics to environmental and policy issues.

Avery Anapol

Avery Anapol

Commissioning Editor, Politics + Society

Avery is a writer and editor with professional experience in social media, news editing, and political reporting. Before joining The Conversation, she completed her MA in Applied Linguistics at UCL, writing her dissertation on the design of political COVID-19 memes in the UK.

Grace Allen

Grace Allen

Education and Young People Editor

Grace Allen joined The Conversation as Education and Young People editor in January 2020. Previously, she spent two years working in industry print media as a writer and editor. She has a PhD in history from the Warburg Institute, University of London and has held postdoctoral positions at the University of Manchester and the Fondazione Giorgio Cini in Venice.

Dale Berning Sawa

Dale Berning Sawa

Commissioning Editor, Cities + Society

Dale is a freelance features writer (The Guardian, the Times, the Art Newspaper, the Economist, the Quietus, Elephant) covering culture, lifestyle, tech, society and more. She previously worked as commissioning editor on the arts and lifestyle desks at the Guardian.

Clint Witchalls

Clint Witchalls

Senior Health Editor

Before joining The Conversation, Clint worked as a freelance journalist covering health, science and technology for The Economist, Newsweek, New Scientist, The Guardian, The Observer, the Daily Mirror and the Independent. He also wrote a book about his year as a clinical trial "guinea pig" called Die Pille und Ich (Rowohlt), and co-authored a bestselling children's book on technology called Cool Stuff and How It Works (Dorling Kindersley).

Heather Kroeker

Heather Kroeker

Commissioning Editor, Health

Before joining The Conversation as a commissioning editor, Heather studied an MA in International Journalism at City, University of London. While there, she briefly interned with both the Islington Tribune and the Bureau of Investigative Journalism. She also holds a BA in English Language and Literature from Brock University in Canada.

Katie Edwards

Katie Edwards

Commissioning Editor, Health + Medicine

Prior to joining The Conversation UK as a commissioning editor, Katie worked as an academic at the University of Sheffield. She has bylines in The Guardian, The Independent, The New Statesman, The i Newspaper and The Washington Post, among others. Katie has also written and presented for BBC Radio. She is based in Doncaster, South Yorkshire.

Steven Vass

Steven Vass

Business + Economy Editor

Steven Vass joined The Conversation in February 2014 after nearly 10 years at the Sunday Herald, first as media correspondent and then as deputy business editor, where he wrote about most aspects of business but particularly energy, the economy and the financial crisis. He previously spent several years as a VSO volunteer in Zambia and several more as a media analyst in London.

Luke Salkeld

Luke Salkeld

Commissioning Editor

Luke has worked as a journalist in the UK national press for 14 years, including a decade at the Daily Mail as a reporter and news editor. He is based in Bristol.

Anna Turns

Anna Turns

Senior Environment Editor

Since studying biology, Anna has worked in the media for more than two decades, from TV production to magazine journalism and radio broadcasting. As a freelance environmental journalist, she has written regularly for many national publications including The Guardian, BBC Future, New Scientist and Positive News with a focus on solutions. Her first book, Go Toxic Free: Easy and sustainable ways to reduce chemical pollution, was published in 2022. Anna lives in Devon by the sea.

Jack Marley

Jack Marley

Environment + Energy Editor

Jack joined The Conversation in 2018 after internships at Mongabay and The Press Association. He has a research background in marine biology and began his media career at university, where he reported on a fossil fuel divestment campaign for his campus paper. Jack edits the Environment + Energy section and is interested in climate change, biodiversity and animal behaviour. He is based in Newcastle.

Will de Freitas

Will de Freitas

Environment + Energy Editor

Will de Freitas helped to establish The Conversation in the UK. Previously, he worked on data projects for the Guardian's Global Development website, and for three years worked in ministerial offices at Whitehall.

Miriam Frankel

Miriam Frankel

Senior Science Editor

Miriam was previously reporter and news editor of Research Fortnight, a specialist publication focusing on research and higher education policy. As a freelancer, she has also written for publications including The Guardian, BBC Future, New Scientist and Nature. Her book "Are You Thinking Clearly? 29 reasons you aren't and what to do about it", co-written with Matt Warren, was published in 2022. Miriam has a background as a PhD student in physics.

Jenna Hutber

Jenna Hutber

Commissioning Editor, Science

Jenna started in regional journalism before moving on to work for B2B police website as news editor. For the last three years Jenna has worked as a press officer and then copywriter for wildlife conservation charity the RSPB.

Paul Rincon

Paul Rincon

Commissioning Editor, Science, Technology and Business

Paul is a journalist and editor with experience in print, radio, television and podcasting. He wrote about technology and business before joining BBC News as a science reporter. In that role, he covered everything from climate change and space launches to the search for the Higgs Boson. He later became the science editor for the BBC News website, working on breaking stories, features and special projects.

Anna Walker

Anna Walker

Senior Arts + Culture Editor

Anna Walker joined The Conversation as senior Arts and Culture editor in November 2022 and was previously the editor of Reader’s Digest UK. She is also an author of non-fiction under the name Anna Lou Walker, including The Little Book of Vaginas. She is based in Yorkshire.

Naomi Joseph

Naomi Joseph

Arts + Culture Editor

Naomi is a features journalist covering race, culture, design and the startup industry. She was formerly a sub-editor at The Independent and has bylines in The Sunday Times, Monocle, gal-dem and Courier magazine.

Jane Wright

Jane Wright

Commissioning Editor, Arts & Culture

Jane Wright has worked for a variety of Scottish newspapers including The Herald, The Daily Mail and Scotland on Sunday. In 1999, she joined the launch team of The Sunday Herald and edited the magazine for eight years. She moved to London to launch Eurostar's new magazine, and edited several travel publications. Returning to Glasgow in 2016, she joined The Conversation in March 2017.

Paul Keaveny

Paul Keaveny

Investigations Editor

Paul has been a journalist for over 20 years. Before joining The Conversation he worked as a news reporter for BBC news online and has also worked for The Press Association, as well as national and regional newspapers. As a journalist, he specialised on breaking news, court and crime reporting. Paul commissions and edits longform journalism for The Conversation's investigative Insights series.

Mike Herd

Mike Herd

Investigations Editor, Insights

Mike spent more than two decades at The Guardian, during which he launched and edited Guardian Cities and the Inequality Project, having previously been deputy editor of the News, Features and Sports pages. He also advised on the launch of the Wellcome Trust's longform site Mosaic, and more recently dusted off his Economics degree to become the Consulting and Cities Editor at Oxford Economics.

Siriol Griffiths

Siriol Griffiths

Wales Editor

Siriol has been a bilingual journalist for 25 years and started her career at BBC News & Current Affairs, working on both TV and radio as a reporter. She then moved to BBC Sport Wales, working as a reporter, producer and DV director. After leaving the BBC, Siriol spent 15 years as a freelancer working for a variety of outlets. Most recently, she was editor of The National Wales.

Audio   Back to Top

Gemma Ware

Gemma Ware

Host, The Conversation Weekly Podcast

Gemma joined The Conversation in early 2014 and has worked in a number of roles including education editor, society editor and global affairs editor, as well as on The Anthill Podcast. Before joining The Conversation, Gemma worked for five years as assistant editor at the Paris-based The Africa Report magazine where she focused on business, technology and education.

Mend Mariwany

Mend Mariwany

Producer, The Conversation Weekly Podcast

Mend is producer of The Conversation Weekly podcast. He works across audio and video, with experience covering global conflict, environmental crisis, and migration.

Katie Flood

Katie Flood

Science Audio Producer, The Conversation Weekly Podcast

Katie earned a BA in philosophy from the University of Notre Dame and then studied radio documentary at the Salt Institute for Documentary Studies in Portland, Maine. She has more than five years of experience producing podcasts, including the award-winning Stories of Impact Podcast for the Templeton World Charity Foundation. Katie brings her passion for storytelling through sound to the Conversation Weekly team.

Eloise Stevens

Eloise Stevens

Sound Designer, The Conversation Weekly Podcast

Eloise Stevens is the sound designer of The Conversation Weekly podcast. Outside of The Conversation, she produces audio for the BBC, ABC and The Guardian, among others, and has recently received an Arts Council grant to write a novel.

Audience   Back to Top

Khalil A. Cassimally

Khalil A. Cassimally

Head of Audience Insights, The Conversation International

Khalil works on bringing more value to more people in more places with our unique evidence-based journalism. He has a keen interest in science, and has written for the Guardian, Scientific American, nature.com and others. He worked on science blogging networks for Nature Publishing Group before joining The Conversation.

Alice Mason

Alice Mason

Audience Development Coordinator

Alice joined The Conversation as Social Media Producer in 2021. She holds a B.A. in Drama and Creative Writing.

Membership   Back to Top

Michael Parker

Michael Parker

Director of Operations

Part of the team that launched The Conversation in the UK in 2013, Michael has been its environment + energy editor, technology editor, and membership editor through a nearly 20-year career in journalism. As director of operations he also manages the membership of 90+ member institutions and reader donation campaignss.

Joanie Magill

Joanie Magill

University Relations Coordinator

Before joining The Conversation, Joanie was part of a Research England funded project at University of Liverpool which aimed to create a career development approach for postdoctoral researchers. She has over ten years' experience in the education and arts sectors.

Universal Impact   Back to Top

Matt Warren

Matt Warren

Managing Director, Universal Impact

Matt launched and manages The Conversation's subsidiary, Universal Impact, providing bespoke training, editing, writing, video production, impact and policy engagement services. He is also a Co-Investigator on the International Public Policy Observatory (IPPO). He was previously Deputy Editor of The Conversation. Before joining The Conversation, Matt was a magazine editor and features executive on The Daily Mail.

Katy Chenoweth

Katy Chenoweth

Head of Innovation and Development

Before joining The Conversation's Universal Impact, Katy was editor at the Oil Companies International Marine Forum where she collaborated with industry stakeholders to edit publications, policies, and guidelines. Katy began her editing career at an academic journal, Oral Tradition, becoming Managing Editor in 2014, before serving as an editorial advisor at Harvard University.

Adam Smith

Adam Smith

Senior Consultant, Universal Impact

Adam comes to Universal Impact with more than 10 years of editorial experience. He has worked as journalist for the BBC and as news editor at The Argus in Brighton. His background also includes work for press agencies and in communications. Adam studied at the University of Birmingham before getting a postgraduate qualification from the Cardiff School of Journalism, Media and Culture.

Sarah O'Meara

Sarah O'Meara

IPPO/Communications and Engagement Manager

Sarah joined The Conversation as the Communications and Engagement Manager for the International Public Policy Observatory (IPPO) in February 2022. Before this time she worked as a freelance writer, editor, and project manager for publications such as Nature, Science and The Independent, among others. Previous to that she spent many years living in and working in China where she developed a keen interest in the country’s science and technology development, which she went on to report about ex...

Board of Trustees   Back to Top

Nishan Canagarajah

Nishan Canagarajah

President and Vice-Chancellor, Board of Trustees Chair

Professor Nishan Canagarajah is the President and Vice-Chancellor of the University of Leicester. Nishan assumed the post in November 2019 and is responsible for all academic and organisational matters of the University. His academic background is in signal processing and texture classification. He is a member of the UUK Board, Chair of Trustees of the Conversation Trust and a Trustee of IntoUniversity, a widening participation charity. Nishan served on national and international rese...

Diana Beech

Diana Beech

Chief Executive Officer, London Higher

Dr Beech joined London Higher last summer from the University of Warwick where she was head of government affairs. Before this, she worked as policy advisor to three ministers of state for universities, science, research and innovation – Sam Gyimah, Chris Skidmore (twice) and Jo Johnson – and was director of policy and advocacy at the Higher Education Policy Institute (Hepi).

Nicholas Eldred

Nicholas Eldred

Consultant General Counsel

Nicholas is a consultant general counsel, advising companies on legal, regulatory and governance issues. A qualified solicitor, he has held general counsel & secretary roles at O2uk, the BBC and Christie’s. He is a former trustee of BBC Children in Need and chair of the Public Service Broadcasting Trust. He is company secretary of The Auckland Project and consultant general counsel of The Royal Ballet School amongst other legal roles.

Other Interests/affiliations that may conflict with The Conversation UK: None

David Levy

David Levy

Reuters Institute for the Study of Journalism, University of Oxford

David is currently Senior Research Associate at the University of Oxford's Reuters Institute for the Study of Journalism, following a decade as its director. His career has spanned broadcasting and academia and he has a particular interest in connecting research, policymaking and wider public debate. He previously worked at the BBC as a reporter, editor and Controller Public Policy

Other Interests/affiliations that may conflict with The Conversation UK: None

Katie Metzler

Katie Metzler

Vice President for Social Science Innovation, SAGE Publishing

Katie Metzler is Vice President for Social Science Innovation at SAGE Publishing. She has led editorial and product management teams to develop new resources and digital products to support social science education and research. Much of her work at SAGE has centred on creating products that enable researchers and students to learn and apply robust research methodology. Katie believes in the power of the social sciences to help us understand and improve society, and in addition to joining the ...

Matt Walsh

Matt Walsh

Head of the School of Journalism, Media and Culture

Matt Walsh is the head of the School of Journalism, Media and Culture at Cardiff University. He has been an academic since 2014, specialising in broadcast and digital news and researching the political use of social media. Before becoming an academic, he was a working journalist for more than 20 years. He was a reporter, producer and editor at the BBC, ITN and Al Jazeera. During his career, Matt covered major international stories such as 9/11 and the Iraq war and produced programmes which wo...

Vivienne Parry OBE

Vivienne Parry OBE

Writer and Broadcaster

Vivienne Parry OBE is a writer and broadcaster. A scientist by training, Vivienne hosts medical programmes for BBC Radio 4, writes widely on health, presents films, facilitates many high-level conferences, and trains young researchers. She has a part-time role as Head of Engagement at Genomics England which delivered the 100,000 Genomes Project. She has recently completed her term as a board member of UK Research & Innovation which is responsible for the strategic spend of the UK’s £7 bill...

Kavita Reddi

Kavita Reddi

Co-Founder, Voxta Voce

Kavita Reddi is the co-founder of Voxta - an AI voice bot startup helping organisations engage users in the UK and India. Before Voxta, she worked at the BBC for 15 years as a trainee and worked in senior editorial roles in radio, TV, online, and Strategy. A large part of her BBC career was at Newsnight, covering Economics and Business, and her films on BSE won Newsnight its first BAFTA. Kavita has recently joined the IPSO Board.

Emily Bunting

Emily Bunting

Assistant Director, UK Government Investments

Emily Bunting is an Assistant Director at UK Government Investments (UKGI), where she works on complex corporate finance and corporate governance challenges across government. Prior to this, Emily worked at Rothschild & Co for 8 years advising on M&A and debt transactions. Emily has overseen the creation of UKGI's latest environmental stewardship guidance. She believes access to evidence-based information is critical for the innovation required to overcome today's biggest challenges.

David Sweeney CBE

David Sweeney CBE

Professor, Research Policy

David Sweeney is Professor of Research Policy at the University of Birmingham. Previously he was founding Executive Chair of Research England within UK Research and Innovation, the agency responsible for creating and sustaining the conditions for a healthy and dynamic research and knowledge exchange system in English universities. David was awarded an honorary doctorate from the University of Aberdeen in 2012, was Vice-Chancellor’s Fellow at the University of Newcastle, NSW in 2015 and is a F...

Kirsty Walker

Kirsty Walker

Vice-President (External Engagement)

Kirsty Walker is UCL’s Vice-President, External Engagement. She took up the role in August 2022 following a successful and wide-ranging career in political communications and journalism, including spending nearly 13 years as a political correspondent in Westminster. During her reporting career, she covered many world-changing events and travelled with successive British Prime Ministers reporting from places such as Iraq, Afghanistan, the White House and the Kremlin. Kirsty is an experienced b...

Editorial board   Back to Top

David Amigoni

David Amigoni

Professor of Victorian Literature, Editorial Board Chair

David Amigoni is Professor of Victorian Literature at Keele University, where he was previously Pro Vice-Chancellor for Research and Enterprise. He is Chair of The Conversation's Editorial and Advisory Board. He is committed to the understanding and furtherance of interdisciplinary research that traverses established boundaries, both in history and in the present. He was elected Fellow of the English Association in 2008, and is a member of AHRC's Peer Review College.

James Conroy

James Conroy

Professor of Religious and Philosophical Education and Vice Principal, Internationalisation

Professor Conroy is currently the Vice Principal of Internationalisation at the University of Glasgow. He is Chair of the Glasgow University International Educational consultancy and a member of the Board of the PASCAL Observatory. He was previously International Lead for the college of Social Sciences and Leader of the Research Cluster on Creativity, Culture and Faith; and has held the posts of Dean of the Faculty of Education, Head of Graduate School.

Tara Dean

Tara Dean

Provost

Professor Taraneh (Tara) Dean is as Professor of Health Sciences and an internationally recognised authority in the area of epidemiology of allergic disorders. As Provost she is the University’s chief academic officer, upholding LSBU’s academic standards and its core academic mission. She has direct responsibility for LSBU’s academic units. Prior to joining LSBU she was the Pro Vice-Chancellor for Research and Enterprise (2016-2021) at the University of Brighton.

Colette Fagan

Colette Fagan

Vice-President for Research

Colette was appointed Vice-President for Research at the University of Manchester in 2017, and holds a chair in Sociology since 2005. Previously she was the university's Deputy Dean and Vice-Dean for Research (2010–17) of the Faculty of Humanities. Before that she held posts as the Research Director for the School of Social Sciences (2004–10) and Co-Director of the European Work and Employment Research Centre (2004–10).

Todd Landman

Todd Landman

Professor of Political Science, Pro Vice Chancellor of the Social Sciences

Todd Landman is a Professor of Political Science and Pro Vice Chancellor of Social Sciences at the University of Nottingham. He researches, teaches, and publishes on significant problems and methods associated with development, democracy and human rights.

Tim Luckhurst

Tim Luckhurst

Principal of South College

Tim is the founding Principal of South College, Durham University and Associate Pro Vice Chancellor Engagement. He is a newspaper historian, campaigner for press freedom and an academic member of the university's Centre for Modern Conflicts and Cultures. His research focuses on the depiction of dissent in British and American newspapers between 1936 and 1945. He is the author of Reporting the Second World War - The Press and the People 1939-1945 and This is Today - A Biography of The Today Pr...

Havovi Chichger

Havovi Chichger

Senior Lecturer

Havovi Chichger is an Associate Professor in Biomedical Science at Anglia Ruskin University. She is Deputy Head of the School of Life Sciences with responsibility for research and innovation. As a leading vascular biology researcher, Havovi has presented her studies in a range of national and international publications and conferences. She has been on the editorial board for the American Journal of Physiology and Physiology News publications. She is member of the Athena Swan committee.

Zahir Irani

Zahir Irani

Professor of Management and Deputy Vice-Chancellor

Zahir Irani is Deputy Vice-Chancellor, University of Bradford and Professor of Management Science. He is responsible for four faculties, international activities including in China and Dubai, the registry and student recruitment and marketing. As DVC, he leads transformation and growth of the Bradford’s undergraduate and postgraduate portfolio. He has worked in the Cabinet Office and at Brunel University London.

Glenda Cooper

Glenda Cooper

Reader in Journalism

Dr Glenda Cooper is the deputy head of the journalism department at City, University of London, and the author of Reporting Humanitarian Disasters in a Social Media Age (Routledge, 2018) and co-editor of Humanitarianism, Communications and Change (Peter Lang, 2015). In 2020 she and Professor Howard Tumber were awarded a British Academy Small Research Grant to research the work of Alistair Cooke, having gained the first permission to access both the Cooke family archives and the BBC archives i...

Founder and Patrons   Back to Top

Andrew Jaspan

Andrew Jaspan

Founder

Andrew Jaspan is the creator and co-founder of The Conversation. He launched the project in Australia in 2011 and was instrumental in seeing it established in the UK and the US. The project was born out of concerns Andrew had about public access to reliable information amid a dramatic shift in the production and consumption of journalism internationally. Andrew has been Editor of The Observer, The Age (Melbourne), The Scotsman and the Sunday Herald (Glasgow).

Paul Curran

Paul Curran

Patron, Former President and Professor Emeritus, City, University of London

Professor Sir Paul Curran was President of City, University of London from 2010 to 2021. Before this he was Vice-Chancellor of Bournemouth University and DVC of University of Southampton, following a career as a research scientist in various roles incuding at NASA. He is a Board member of London Higher and President of the Remote Sensing and Photogrammetry Society. He was Chair of the national Review Body on Doctors’ & Dentists’ Remuneration and the UCEA Board, and a member of NERC Council. ...