Education
Feb 2007 - June 2011 PhD, Community, Politics and 'Extremism' (funded by ESRC). University of Keele.
Oct 1999 - Sep 2001 MA (Distinction), Culture, Globalisation and the City (Sociology/ Cultural Studies). Goldsmiths, University of London.
Oct 1992 - June 1995 BA (2:2), Mathematics/ Natural Sciences. Clare College, University of Cambridge.

Relevant Employment
                                                              
Sep 2015 - Research Associate, Manchester Metropolitan University.

This research post has been divided approximately 50/50 into my own work, and contributions to other projects. My own research is continuing work on extremism/ counter-extremism, including developing a €5m H2020 bid and winning smaller bids for work on counter-extremism. My other work includes a contribution to a study of machine learning in security, an evaluation of online safety activity, and conducting case-study work and writing for the INNOSI project on innovative social investment.

July 2015 - Sep 2015 Oral History Interviewer, University of Northampton.

Interviewing anti-fascist activists for the Searchlight archive.

Feb 2013 - June 2015 Research Associate, University of Leicester.

Began as a full-time researcher on an EC-funded project on populist politics. Teaching at undergraduate and postgraduate level in academic year 2014-5.

2011-13 Occasional teaching and research, Keele University.

Due to my expertise in researching extremism, I taught on a Masters level criminology module and various methods/ethics of research modules for social and political scientists. I also did some small pieces of research work for the Research Institute for Social Sciences.

Sep 2008 - May 2009 Research Assistant, Research Institute for Law, Politics and Justice, Keele University.

Organised and conducted interviews and focus groups with migrants who were going through the citizenship process and those who are responsible for this process. This work was done with Dr Sherilyn MacGregor and Professor Andy Dobson.

2006Stoke-on-Trent Case Study Research, The Young Foundation.

A short study of attitudes to racism and politics in Stoke-on-Trent to contribute to the Young Foundation's report on extremism.

2005 - 2006Positive Futures Case Studies, CUCR, Goldsmiths.

Contributing to the evaluation of Positive Futures (a sports-based programme for young people), alongside Tim Crabbe / Substance, Goldsmiths, Sheffield Hallam and Manchester Met. Much of this work was participant observation at football and basketball projects for south London teenagers, so playing football and learning to play basketball.

May 2004 - June 2006 Research Officer, Community Development Foundation.

Responsible for the national evaluation of the Neighbourhood Support Fund, a programme of community-based youth projects aimed at teenagers at risk of exclusion. CDF, a non-departmental public body, ran 130 projects in 40 deprived areas of England.

Apr 2003 - Apr 2004 Project Manager, Vision 21.

Responsible for research projects, from proposal to report writing stage, for a range of public and voluntary sector clients (details in my Research Projects page). Vision 21 focused on researching hard-to-reach groups.
July 2002 - Apr 2003Analyst, Future Foundation.

Work here included arranging and conduction interviews with elite participants, analysis of interview and quantitative data and contributing to report writing. The Future Foundation described itself as a future-focused think tank, with clients in the public and private sector (some of those I worked for are listed in my Research Projects page).

Prior to becoming a researcher, I worked for 5 years for the Record and Tape Exchange, Notting Hill, as part of the office team and behind the counter. As a teenager, I did warehouse and call-centre work, some being on the margins of legality, and also got paid to play records, albeit in smallish to very small venues. Amusingly, for the Goldsmiths job above, I also got paid to play football.