Spotlight Profiles
Queen Mary’s community is made up of people with diverse identities and experiences. We are proud of our diverse community and recognise the importance of visibility. We are particularly interested in creating Spotlight Profiles of colleagues from underrepresented communities and to look at identities at an intersection, to celebrate what makes our community.
Spotlight Profiles will be published throughout Women's History Month and International Women's Day, so check back regularly to meet more women across Queen Mary.
Thank you to colleagues who have provided their Spotlight Profiles. We hope you enjoy reading them.
Spotlight Profile: Elena
Name: Elena
Pronouns: She/Her
Role/position: Creative Design Manager
School/Directorate: Communications, External Relations
Can you describe your career path, current role and what attracted you to work at Queen Mary?
Before coming to Queen Mary I had already worked as a graphic designer for nearly a decade, having spent most of my time in publishing, film, and cause-driven campaign work. As my career progressed, I felt less and less interested in primarily profit-lead work and pivoted into working with organisations with clear social purpose. This is how I arrived at Queen Mary in 2021, drawn into it by its academic and socially-conscious reputation. I have been fortunate enough to work with a fantastic team that over my time here entrusted me to rise to a managerial level and recruit my own fantastic design team. I’ve taken advantage of lots of organisational and career development training opportunities here, which have helped me build soft skills and confidence. I cannot recommend this enough.
How has your personal identity(ies) intersected with your work and role at Queen Mary?
Queen Mary’s (and East London’s) genuine diversity and non-monolithic community is my absolute favourite thing about it. This is the first workplace where I felt people with different lived experiences are actually given a chance to be heard, and staff and students are keenly engaged in building a more robust, multi-perspective community. This is why I have felt empowered to pour myself into allyship work that helps elevate conversations about intersectional gender equity, mental wellbeing, burnout and the invisible labour many of us do on top of our roles.
What does Equality, Diversity and Inclusion mean to you and how important is Queen Mary's EDI work and the marking of events such as International Women’s Day and Women’s History to you as a staff member and your sense of belonging at Queen Mary?
Queen Mary’s EDI team and its networks is one of the crown jewels of our organisation’s proverbial crown. I have not met many people more driven, passionate and warm about steering the work towards more equitable academic and professional environment. It has been a joy and an ongoing learning experience working with them as a professional and as an individual, and I hope the University does make sure to recognise the hard work that goes into this. The Pay Gap and EDI reports the team deliver (among its many other outputs) show that there’s still a lot of work to be done, and I hope senior leadership pays attention.
What one piece of advice or information would you give to others in the Queen Mary community to help them foster an inclusive environment and / or be an effective ally?
First and foremost, do make sure you look after yourself. Second of all, make use of the resources already available, and see how you can be an active member of the community by giving feedback, ideas, and encouraging people within your sphere of influence to do the same. This is the only way things can change for the better.
Spotlight Profile: Lucy Newman
Name: Lucy Newman
Pronouns: She/Her
Role/position: Research Culture Officer
School/Directorate: Research Services
Can you describe your career path, current role and what attracted you to work at Queen Mary?
After a few years post university working in communications roles in the arts sector (particularly the Film industry), I made the move into education and have now been working in the postgraduate/research space for nearly a decade. Over this time I have become more familiar with the unique challenges of pursuing a research career, albeit bringing an outsider’s perspective having not undertaken postgraduate study myself! I have always had an interest in EDI and in my previous role I got the chance to help with my department’s Athena Swan Gold renewal, seeing first-hand examples of best practice in creating a positive research environment. Around the same time, research culture was starting to become recognised as a crucial part of the research ecosystem in it’s own right. When I saw that Queen Mary was recruiting a new Research Culture team I jumped at the chance, attracted by the university’s aspiration to become to most inclusive university of it’s kind, anywhere. Over the last year and a half since I started the role, it has been a pleasure to meet and support the many members of our research community who are motivated to put time and effort into improving the culture in which they do their work, both through our ERIC projects and beyond.
How has your personal identity(ies) intersected with your work and role at Queen Mary?
It is a challenge for the whole sector that the gains we make in increasing the diversity of our undergraduate population do not always translate up to postgraduate study and beyond. It’s typical to be in environments where the majority of people are white, an environment which may feel more welcoming to someone who looks like me. However as a woman, I also see the specific challenges that can create barriers in a research career for e.g. those with caregiving responsibilities (which disproportionately fall on women), which is why I am so pleased to support our Carer’s Career Development Fund.
I’m also mindful of the many other factors that are not protected characteristics but can be key parts of how we interact with the world e.g. class, accent, upbringing. Everyone has something that is important to them about their identity and their story, and it’s important to listen to this in order to understand each other.
What does Equality, Diversity and Inclusion mean to you and how important is Queen Mary's EDI work and the marking of events such as International Women’s Day and Women’s History to you as a staff member and your sense of belonging at Queen Mary?
For me, EDI is simply about removing the arbitrary barriers that stop people from being able to participate and give their best in life. It makes no sense to lose the contributions and perspectives of talented people because of outdated conventions.
At a time when EDI initiatives are coming under threat around the world, I think it’s more important than ever that Queen Mary proudly reaffirms it’s commitment to inclusivity and celebrates it’s diverse community through events like International Women’s Day.
What one piece of advice or information would you give to others in the Queen Mary community to help them foster an inclusive environment and / or be an effective ally?
I would challenge everyone (including myself!) to put themselves in situations where they may be exposed to different perspectives. I was fortunate that during my undergraduate degree I was able to take several modules exploring literature and films from various theoretical perspectives – feminist, queer, post-colonial – which gave me good training for considering how people’s various identities inform how they live their lives.
As a newly appointed co-chair of the Staff Gender Equality Network, we welcome people of all genders to participate and share issues– it’s not a women only network. But as well as joining an affinity network you could also try attending one of the many events put on by the EDI team throughout the year, or taking in a book or podcast by someone that you might not usually choose. I think it’s important to stay open to other perspectives and understand why people think and feel about things the way that they do.
Spotlight Profile: Ana Flores Reis
Pronouns: she/her
Role/position: Sexual Assault and Harassment Adviser
School/Directorate: Student Experience
Can you describe your career path, current role and what attracted you to work at Queen Mary?
I started my career in the charity sector supporting women and girls experiencing gender-based violence. I provided direct support to survivors of domestic and sexual abuse for about 8 years, and also had the opportunity to manage a passionate and highly skilled team of women running Solace’s Advice line during the COVID-19 pandemic.
I made the decision to join Queen Mary because I was deeply passionate about leveraging my expertise in the field of violence against women and girls to address the critical need for specialist support services for students experiencing sexual assault and/or harassment. Recognising the alarming prevalence of sexual violence in higher education and the profound impact it has on survivors, I saw an opportunity to contribute meaningfully by setting up a student-led, trauma-informed support service tailored to the unique needs of students. My vision was to create a service that not only provides immediate support to students, but that also prioritises healing, empowerment and long-term recovery. I believe in taking a holistic approach that encompasses advocacy and emotional support, with an emphasis on intersectionality and inclusivity. At the same time, I work with other parts of the university to foster a campus culture that values safety for all.
How has your personal identity (ies) intersected with your work and role at Queen Mary?
As a white woman, my personal identity intersects with my work and role at Queen Mary in several ways. As we know, sexual violence is sadly incredibly prevalent in our society, with women and girls being the disproportionate victims of these crimes. As a woman myself, I am deeply invested in supporting other women experiencing violence and/or abuse. In my current role, I am able to support students of all genders. I feel as a woman I have a sound understanding of how the patriarchy is also harmful to men and boys, which I believe enables me to provide a safe space for survivors, whatever their gender.
I am also extremely passionate about issues of gender (in)equality in higher education, which motivated me to apply to be one of the Co-Chairs of the Staff Gender Equality Network.
At the same time, it’s important for me to be aware of my privilege as a white person. I try to actively engage in ongoing self-reflection and learning about issues of equality, diversity and inclusion. I recognise that my experiences and perspectives may differ from those of colleagues or students from diverse backgrounds, and I strive to create an inclusive and supportive environment where all voices are heard and valued.
What does Equality, Diversity and Inclusion mean to you and how important is Queen Mary's EDI work and the marking of events such as Women’s History Month to you as a staff member and your sense of belonging at Queen Mary?
To me, EDI means recognising and celebrating the uniqueness of each individual, regardless of their background, identity or lived experience. It means creating a culture where everyone feels valued, respected, included and safe, and where systemic barriers to equality are acknowledged, addressed and dismantled.
As a staff member at Queen Mary, I believe EDI also plays a vital role in fostering a sense of belonging and community within the university. By creating an inclusive environment we’re allowing staff and students from different backgrounds to succeed. This not only enriches someone’s education journey or work experience, but also contributes to overall wellbeing and sense of belonging.
Events such as LGBTQIA+ History Month are so important because they’re about acknowledging structural inequality but also celebrating the achievements of people from marginalised backgrounds. They can be a helpful platform to get conversation going on what we as an institution can do to tackle existing barriers.
What one piece of advice or information would you give to others in the Queen Mary community to help them foster an inclusive environment and / or be an effective ally?
If I were to offer one piece of advice to others in the Queen Mary community to help them foster an inclusive environment and / or be an effective ally it would be to prioritise active listening and to create space for ongoing self-reflection and learning around things such as unconscious bias.
Taking the time to actively listen and engage with others and seek to understand their unique experiences, and validating their voices is extremely important in my view. I definitely think practising humility and empathy is key. Additionally, I’d say educating oneself about different identities and experiences and being courageous enough to challenge one’s biases is a step we can all take to become better allies.
Spotlight Profile: Christina Govier
Pronouns: she/her
Role/position: Policy & Campaigns Manager (Tackling Sexual Violence, Harassment and Hate Crime)
School/Directorate: Student Experience
Can you describe your career path, current role and what attracted you to work at Queen Mary?
I started my career in the charity sector supporting people experiencing gender-based violence before moving into policy roles aiming to make changes to better support victim-survivors. In my current role I focus on how we can prevent and make things better for anyone who experiences sexual violence, bullying, harassment or hate crime. This covers reporting processes, raising awareness of the issues, and offering courses and workshops on topics like Consent and Bystander intervention. My favourite thing about working in the Queen Mary community is that people are always willing to help to achieve change, whether that be participating in the Gender Equality Network or helping promote workshops to students.
How has your personal identity (ies) intersected with your work and role at Queen Mary?
Working at an organisation that actively promotes and champions inclusivity is very important to me. It is great to have an opportunity to participate in and co-chair the Gender Equality Network and the space it provides to discuss the issues that are barriers to Gender Equality and what change we would like to see. I am keen to work with and learn from the LGBT+, Race Equality, Parents and Carers, and Disability networks to explore where there are intersections and where change is needed.
What does Equality, Diversity and Inclusion mean to you and how important is Queen Mary's EDI work and the marking of events such as Women’s History Month to you as a staff member and your sense of belonging at Queen Mary?
I enjoy being able to attend the events that are available marking these key events throughout the year, it is great to learn about different perspectives and to hear from people across the organisation. Queen Mary is so big, but these events provide an opportunity to hear from staff with experiences to share or present research they have done. One aspect of what Equality, Diversity and Inclusion means to me is an opportunity for marginalised voices to be given space at the decision-making table and for action to be taken in response. I think the University Networks are a good way of ensuring that more people’s voices can be heard at a senior level. There is some excellent work happening in Faculty and Directorate EDI committees and I would like to see opportunities for these groups to share challenges and good practice.
What one piece of advice or information would you give to others in the Queen Mary community to help them foster an inclusive environment and / or be an effective ally?
I would encourage people to take part in the University networks to share personal insight into your own experiences or experiences of those in your department or directorate. I would also recommend the Bystander Intervention training, it really helps you to think about how you will respond if you witness inappropriate behaviour. It can be daunting to call out someone directly but the workshop discusses other effective strategies you can use in these situations.