Things that are important to me:

• life-long learning and mental wellbeing
• interdisciplinarity
• applicable and accessible research
• using things to tell stories
• the materiality and ethics of the archive and museum
• history in the making

Research themes:

• public history and museology
• the preservation of policing history
• oral histories
• material culture
• social and contemporary history
• narratives of the archive
• records and democracy
• history and policy

Academic qualifications:

• BSc (Hons) first class degree in object conservation
• MRes with distinction in material culture and Islamic studies
• PhD in History

Academic awards and heritage funding:

• Arts & Humanities Research Council research preparation award
• Arts & Humanities Research Council doctoral research award
• Heritage Lottery Fund grant
• Big Lottery Fund grant
• Arts Council England grant
• Police History Society grant

Work:

• the Open University: Consultant and visiting fellow
• the National Portrait Gallery, London: Event researcher and programmer
• the University of Liverpool: Project coordinator
• Devon & Cornwall Police Museum & Archive: Curator
• the Thackray Medical Museum: Project consultant
• the Towner Art Gallery and Museum: Project consultant
• the National Maritime Museum: Inventory officer
• the Horniman Museum: Conservation intern
• Heriot-Watt University: Archive assistant
• the National Galleries of Scotland: Registrar’s assistant

Voluntary roles:

I am currently Chair of the Crime and Punishment Collections Network (CaP): an Arts Council England supported subject specialist network which provides support and information for collections, buildings, archives and libraries relating to prisons, police and courts. For more information on CaP visit our website here.