About Diversity in Development

 John worked for eighteen years at the interface between education and international development, in his role as Deputy Secretary-General of the Association of Commonwealth Universities, and more recently as Interim Director at the UK Collaborative for Development Research. He is also a Chartered Company Secretary, and served two spells as Secretary / Chief Operating Officer at the National Institute of Economic and Social Research, and six years as Director of Research Services at Brunel University. 

John is Chair of two other UK charities concerned with international development and student integration with the community. These are Student Hubs , and The School Club Zambia. He is also a Trustee of Our Moon Education.

Ellie is currently a Reporting Analyst at Origin Housing whilst also working towards her fellowship with Charityworks. She has a keen interest in the social mobility of young people from diverse backgrounds, this inspired her interest in politics. As well as this her interest in international development grew over her time at university.   

Her specific area of interest is the economic development of the Democratic Republic of Congo; she did a deep dive on this subject area for her recent final year dissertation project entitled ‘How has the transition from a colonial world to a globalised world maintained neo-imperialist international politics? The Democratic Republic of Congo as a case study.’ 

Jennifer is a senior leader with over 15 years' experience running global campaigns, programmes and communications strategies - most recently for The United Nations' Secretary General's office working for social impact agency Purpose and The ONE Campaign, managing global COVID-19 pandemic campaigns. 

Prior to that she was Head of Digital Engagement for The British Royal Family, managing their worldwide presence online and on social media. In the Non-Profit sector she's worked for Comic Relief on Red Nose Day and Sport Relief campaigns. As a trained senior journalist she's worked for the BBC in News Online, Radio 2, 6 Music, 5live and TV Entertainment.    She has also worked with several corporate brands and at various communications agencies. 

In her personal life she is a keen cyclist, loves live music, attends dance and philosophy classes and is studying for a certificate in international development. She lives in London and has a Beagle puppy named Bowie.

 Kirsty has worked in international education for over a decade, and currently works at Brunel University London as Associate Director, Global Engagement.

Having lived in multiple countries and speaking several languages, international relations and development are at the core of Kirsty’s professional and personal journey, and have given her a passion for creating opportunities for all, regardless of background, identity or circumstances.  

Melissa is a proud British Caribbean, Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DEI) advocate. Melissa works in International Research as the Head of International Compliance for the International Growth Centre for the London School of Economics. Melissa is also a qualified teacher, project manager and experienced public speaker. 

She is passionate and committed to the collective effort needed to build more inclusive workplaces and organisations beyond 'tick-boxing'. She works alongside DEI Champions, those working to make the International Development sector a more equitable and more inclusive space through the REDI Collective. 

 Mike is an experienced social and market researcher, whose past interests have included student volunteering and the experience of non-traditional students in higher education. 

Mike is currently based at Middlesex University, where he works on various projects with a focus on NHS workforce evaluations and the student experience. 

He has previously worked in research roles for two national charities. 

Sheila is a Programme Officer at the Tony Blair Institute for Global Change, working on Health Institutional Capacity Strengthening of African public health institutes. Her background is in international development with a focus on public-health research. 

She has previously worked with UK funders of international development research at the UK Collaborative of Development Research, convening a UK government cross-funder group on Epidemics Preparedness and Control research during the Covid-19 pandemic and leading development of safeguarding guidance for the UK international development research sector. 

She also previously worked with WHO Rwanda supporting the Disease Prevention and Control team, with a focus on malnutrition. Sheila also holds an MSc in Global Health Nutrition from the London School of Hygiene &Tropical Medicine.