Our People

Belinda is the University's Strategic Lead for EDI and the Founding Director of the Eleanor Glanville Institute. She specialises in the development and evaluation of EDI strategies and interventions, and their impact across the sector. Belinda was appointed the strategic lead for gender equality at the University in 2012, assessing best practice, and developing a range of sector-leading initiatives for the support and sustained career development of female academics in STEMM disciplines. She led the University to its first Athena Swan award in 2014, and to its Race Equality Charter award in 2019. Her strategic leadership role now extends across a full EDI remit.

With a background in nuclear chemistry/physics and materials, Belinda is an established research leader, facilitator of large multi-centre and multi-disciplinary collaborative research projects, and an experienced team builder. She is the Director of the EPSRC ASPIRE programme, which is delivering a web-based platform for building effective EDI strategies towards inclusive environments, and measuring the success (impact) of inclusion initiatives in terms of changing attitudes and behaviours. 

Pronouns: She/Her

Abigail is Professor of Sociology and Social Policy at the University of Lincoln (UK), where she holds positions in the Eleanor Glanville Centre and as Consultancy Lead in the College of Social Science.

Abigail’s research is underpinned by her passion for social justice and equality. Abigail is an expert in the gender division of labour (in the home and workplace), with a particular focus on gender in male dominated occupations; youth studies; financial wellbeing and complex evaluation and impact measurement.

Abigail has published widely in sociology, social policy, management and industrial relations journals, as well as translating research findings for a range of audiences, including academics, policy-makers and the public. Abigail has attracted research income over AUD$5million working with, and delivering research for government, not-for-profits and industry, including for example National Australia Bank (NAB), Macquarie Group Foundation, Homelessness NSW, the Australian Charities and Not-for-Profits Commission, Good Shepherd Microfinance, the Paul Ramsay Foundation and yourtown. Abigail has strong leadership and relationship management skills and is an experienced project manager and mentor. Abigail is a mixed method researcher with expertise in quantitative and qualitative research methods and analysis.

Abigail is also an Adjunct Professor at the Centre for Social Impact (CSI) UNSW Sydney and has previously held positions at UNSW Sydney and Loughborough University. 

Pronouns: She/Her

Alison is an internationally recognised consultant working with senior executives, funders and research leaders in organisational capacity building, transformational change and talent development with a focus on equality, diversity and inclusion in different research cultural contexts. She holds professional qualifications in management and executive coaching and enjoys developing leaders, individuals and teams, encouraging a systems approach to cultural change. Throughout her career, she has worked at senior level with a wide spectrum of education, business and government agencies, maintaining a strong commitment to enhancing opportunities for all in education, research, science and innovation.

Following a successful career in different universities, recognised as a Fellow of the Association of University Administrators, Alison became Director of Development for Vitae/CRAC, a non-profit educational charity, leading major national programmes for UK Research Councils and Funders.  The programmes involved accelerating the rise of researcher developers as a professional group, building networks for collaboration, and co-creating innovative training approaches and resources. The outcomes established researcher development in UK universities and positioned the UK as world leading in progressive professional development for researchers at all career stages.  Taking an international perspective on developing the next generation of researchers to meet global challenges, Alison has facilitated institutional capacity building in Africa, Australasia, South East Asia, North America, and Europe, working with research leaders and institutional champions, regional and national bodies, and research funders. 

Hanya is Associate Professor within the Lincoln International Business School and holds subject specialisms in sports business management, project management and the sociology of sport. Hanya has utilised her background as a former footballer to shape and curate her research journey as an expert in gender and equality. Her research on girls’ and women’s football explores the complexities of family relationships and gender identities formed, consolidated and challenged within the patriarchal boundaries of British football. A focus on gender justice features heavily in Hanya’s published work covering sport and higher education whereby research is used to frame and catalyse social change across organisations. In both scholarship and teaching, Hanya places particular emphasis on the importance of everyday experiences, voice and empowerment. The dismantling of power relations in research and educational practice is pioneered by Hanya who challenges conventional methodological approaches to knowledge acquisition.

Hanya champions inclusivity through academic leadership and has managed several student-led projects that have engaged with wider members of the community. Her research, as Director of Student Inclusion, seeks to platform student voice and lead an agenda to deconstruct the meaning and praxis of ‘othering’ in higher education. Gender polarised educational spaces and practices will be of particular significance in tackling inequalities. 

Pronouns: She/Her

Leila oversees the planning, development, and implementation of the portfolio of equalities-related projects within the Centre. She coordinates and manages the consultancy and contract research within the Centre. She is an experienced focus group facilitator, and leads the EGC’s focus group programme, accessing the voice of minority groups across the University. Her evidence-based research informs the development of EDI initiatives, policies and practices.

She undertakes equality audits on marketing and recruitment materials and outreach activities across the institution. Leila has written equality impact assessments for decision-making policies and practices within the Research Excellence Framework (REF2021). She has implemented the inclusive recruitment system for PhD students across the University, analysing equality data to mitigate against bias in policy and practices. She manages awareness campaigns, fostering a sense of belonging for staff and student and has established staff support networks across the institution.

Pronouns: She/Her

Xiaotong’s research interests include assessment and feedback in HE, the experience and success of international students in UK HE, and student self-regulation. She is currently leading the cross-institution, interdisciplinary Lincoln Equality of Attainment Project (LEAP). LEAP seeks to use a research-informed, evidence-based approach to addressing equality gaps in the student experience and student success in Higher Education (HE) with a primary focus on teaching and learning contexts. As part of her leadership role for LEAP, Xiaotong established, and is Chair of, the Student Success Champion Network, consisting of academic representatives from all Schools in the institution, and a student advisory group with an aim to empowering the student voice.  With expertise in evidence production and evaluation, Xiaotong has a track record of playing strong management and leadership roles in several external research projects and has exemplary use of mixed methods. She has supervised a number of undergraduate student-led research projects on understanding degree attainment gaps from the HE transitions and assessment perspectives. She has been supervising PhD research since 2021. 

Victoria is a lecturer in Equality, Diversity and Inclusion (EDI) here at the Eleanor Glanville Institute. She is currently part of a team developing Micro-credentials in EDI at the Institute. Previously, she was a full-time Post-doctoral Researcher with the Reimagining Lincolnshire project at the University of Lincoln, which is led by Professor Heather Hughes. This public history project was initiated at the University in late 2020 and seeks to uncover diverse and marginalised histories from Lincolnshire. Victoria continues to contribute to the Reimagining Lincolnshire project.  

Prior to her role at the University of Lincoln, she was a visiting Marie Curie Fellow in Sustainable Peacebuilding at Sabanci University in Istanbul and with the European Commission. She also spent time as a career mentor with the Women in International Affairs Network. Outside academia Victoria has consulted for Carnegie Middle East Center, Cambridge Centre for Palestine Studies, Lincolnshire County Council’s Working Group in Anti-Racist Practice and also with a number of UK and Turkey-based refugee and peace-education charities. 

Victoria holds a PhD in Peace Studies from the University of Bradford and a Masters and BA in Economics and International Development with a specialism in Poverty, Conflict, and Reconstruction from the University of Manchester. 

Sue champions diversity and inclusion in all that she does, promoting the importance and understanding of intersectionality and equality as a driver for business success. She was awarded an MBE in 2016 in recognition for her services to Business, Charities and Voluntary organisations. This year, she was named among the HERoes 100 Women Executives 2020.

Sue is Deputy Chair and BAME Lead for the NHS England Armed Forces Public Patient Voice (PPV) Advisory Group, Member of the Seacole Group (national BAME NHSE NEDs Group), Council Member of the Memorial Gates, Founding member of the Black Leaders Forum, and Chair of the Black Inclusion Week Task Force. 

Pronouns: She/Her

Nicole has been at the University since 2007, initially as a postgraduate student, and then joining the University as a member of staff in 2012. She is responsible for managing many of the equality initiatives run through the Centre, including coordinating our Athena Swan activities, and developing a series of EDI-related microcredentials. With a PhD in heritage science, Nicole is a co-founder of the Newton Academy – the Science Club for Girls, and is a keen advocate of promoting early science engagement through hands-on activities that are both challenging and fun. 

Pronouns: She/Her

Hayley has been working in Equality, Diversity and Inclusion for over 13 years across public, private and third sectors. She has a range of experiences including developing strategy, managing equality-related projects and delivering equality training. Hayley joined the HR Department at the University in 2021, working within the EDI Team, building relationships and ensuring that equality is embedded in policy and practice.

In 2022, Hayley moved into the Eleanor Glanville Institute, taking on the role of EDI Compliance Manager to ensure delivery of the Public Sector Equality Duty and Equality Impact Assessments. Hayley also supports with a number of institution-wide equality-related projects. 

Megan joined the EGI in 2022 as a Research Associate. She is currently completing her PhD in the College of Arts. Her research project is a medical humanities thesis on the subject of narrative representations of intersex individuals. Megan explores intersex narratives in a range of texts including medical texts, patient case histories, fiction, life-writing, televisual series and the media with the aim of establishing how intersex representations and cultural in/visibility has changed in the twentieth and twenty-first centuries. Megan has a keen interest in public engagement, interdisciplinary research and collaboration to further develop intersex knowledge, visibility and acceptance in academia and beyond.  

Rhianne obtained both her BSc and MSc at the University of Lincoln in Psychology and Psychological research methods before becoming a member of staff in 2019. Her main focus has been social research investigating areas of equality diversity and inclusion with a specific focus on ethnicity and intersectionality. Since joining the university, Rhianne has been involved in a number of high-profile projects focussing on student engagement and equality, diversity and inclusion. Rhianne also co-chairs the People of Colour (POC) staff support network. Rhianne is the Senior LEAP Research Officer and provides operational support on the Lincoln Equality of Attainment Project (LEAP) working alongside Xiaotong Zhu to develop and introduce the Lincoln Education Toolkit for Student Success (LETSS). 

Pronouns: She/Her

Tilly joined the team in May 2023. She has a BA in History and Politics from The University of Sheffield and is currently studying for her MA in Political Theory. Her research so far has centred mainly around gender and queer theory, focusing on the importance of visual politics and especially popular culture in shaping the perception and lived experience of the queer community. Her undergraduate politics dissertation researched lesbophobia and lesbian erasure in RuPaul’s Drag Race.

Having an interdisciplinary background, Tilly has also conducted research on the history of emotions and completed an undergraduate history dissertation looking at the importance of the mother-son bond in maintaining soldiers’ emotional wellbeing during World War One. From this she has experience in content analysis and archival research. She is currently completing her postgraduate thesis, which will look at the politics of queer coded villains in Disney movies aimed at young audiences.

Pronouns: she/her

Joy has worked at the University since 2008. She has previously worked in Secretariat and the College of Arts, before joining EGI in November 2022.  Joy completed her undergraduate degree and MA in English Studies at the university.  Joy has a keen interest in EDI and is the UNISON branch offer for Equalities.

Claire is an Academic Subject Librarian who, alongside the Eleanor Glanville Institute, supports staff and students in the Lincoln Medical School and the School of Health and Social Care. She has worked at the University of Lincoln Library since 2018, having previously worked within academic publishing and education.

Claire holds a PhD in Historical Museology from Newcastle University and a PGDE from the University of Glasgow. She is currently studying for an MA in Library and Information Studies Management at the University of Sheffield.