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Institute for Learning Innovation
Senior Research Associate at the Institute for Learning Innovation
Dr. Monae Verbeke is a Senior Research Associate at the Institute for Learning Innovation. Monae is a social scientist, focusing on ways in which institutions and communities can form relationships that influence, shape, and promote successful science engagement. Monae's research interests are in the intersections between the fields of cultural psychology, science communication, and informal science learning. Monae is conducting research exploring the process by which individuals develop interests in science and how those interests tie to a broader definition of science literacy. She has a special interest in science capital, including its relationship to an individual's identity and participation within society.
Dr. Andrew Moss (Conservation Social Scientist, Chester Zoo) has over a decade of visitor research experience in world zoos and aquariums. He has led over fifty evaluation research projects and has numerous publications, in journals such as Conservation Biology, the Journal of Environmental Education, Visitor Studies and Nature.
David Francis (Interpretation officer, British Museum) research focuses on the role narrative plays in museums, both in terms of how visitors use narrative to understand their visit and how museum professionals use narrative to structure exhibitions.
Lauren Humphrey is the Lead Evaluator for the National Marine Aquarium. Lauren’s evaluation journey at the National Marine Aquarium began with developing a system to assess the effectiveness of the learning team and school visits.

Joint Head of Public Engagement at the University of Bath, Public Engagement Unit
Dr. Helen Featherstone is the joint Head of Public Engagement at the University of Bath, Public Engagement Unit. She works across the university supporting engaged research and creating the conditions for engaged research to flourish.
Dr. Richard Watermeyer is a Senior Lecturer in Education at University of Bath. He has research interests located at the interface of science and technology studies and the sociology of education.
Nicola Buckley (University of London, Education Dept.) has worked in public engagement roles for the University since 2004 and has been the head of the public engagement team since 2010.
Gill Hart has worked in museum and gallery education since 2000. Her roles have included working at the National Gallery, Glasgow Museums and the Fitzwilliam Museum.
Kate Noble has worked with range of different audiences in schools and museums and she is currently Education Officer at the Fitzwilliam Museum in Cambridge. She has led a number of cross site evaluation projects on behalf of the University of Cambridge Museums. Her PhD used visual methodologies to explore the development of visual literacy in young children.
Dr Victor Quintino (Assistant Professor, University of Aveiro) is a leading biologist specialising in Marine Biology and Ecology.
Dr. Patrick earned a Ph.D. in curriculum and instruction with a concentration in environmental science education from the University of North Carolina at Greensboro in May 2006. Her speciality is in preparing Informal Science Educators and the influence of families on learning.

Qualia Analytics / Institute for Methods Innovation
Senior Researcher & Business Analyst
Dr Aaron M. Jensen has a multi-disciplinary professional and educational background. He has experience in contemporary social research, advanced evaluation methods, and the development and application of innovative digital technologies to deliver research projects efficiently, effectively and at scale.
Dr. Vikki McCall is a Lecturer in Social Policy and Housing at the University of Stirling. She is a specialist in social policy and has worked on key projects in the Third Sector, including comparative analysis between Scotland, England and Wales.
Dr. Alasdair Rutherford is a senior lecturer in social statistics at the University of Stirling. He is also currently Principal Investigator of the ESRC-funded Scottish Civil Society Data Partnership project, helping third sector organisations to collaborate with academics to make better use of their data.
Sarah Bromley is a Research Analyst at WRAP (Waste and Resources Action Programme) supporting evaluation for socially innovative projects.
Shaun is an independent consultant with over 20 years’ experience of evaluation in the context of cultural business development, engagement and education programmes. He has experience of working with qualitative evaluation data from both an internal and external perspective.

Dr. Brian Johnson is Director of Educational Research and Evaluation at the Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS), where he established a research and evaluation unit to measure outcomes and impacts of WCS education programs in New York City.
Dr. John Fraser is the president and CEO of New Knowledge Organisation Ltd. His research focuses on how our experience with media and community influences learning, attitudes, and motivations for engagement with solving the problems that face society.
Dr. Orian Brook is a Research Fellow at the University of Stirling, helping people working in the third sector to improve their skills in research and data analysis, and aiming to improve our knowledge about the sector.
Sarah is a PhD researcher at the University of York, England. She has previously worked as a Primary School Teacher, Zoo Keeper and Zoo Education Officer in the UK. Her research focuses on the impacts and effectiveness of zoo education at delivering animal facts and conservation messages.
Dr. Eric Jensen is an internationally-recognised social scientist specializing in innovative methods of conducting impact evaluation research in informal learning and public engagement contexts.
Lisa Sayles is Professor of Communication at College of the Redwoods in California (USA), where she teaches intercultural communication, interpersonal communication, small group communication, and Public Speaking.

Institute of Mathematics UNAM
Head of the Department of Science Communication, Institute of Mathematics UNAM
Paloma Zubieta works as a Science Communicator in the Institute of Mathematics of the Autonomous National University of México (UNAM), where she leads a communication project known as "Festival Matemático" (Math Festival), that has the objective of positively changing the public perception of mathematics.
Oliver Davies is Manager of the Environmental Education Department and one of the directors at Parque das Aves, one of Brazil’s top sustainable tourism attractions. Davies has overseen the implementation of automated evaluation systems across key aspects of this zoo’s operations, including its public visitor survey, employee engagement survey, special programmes and teacher feedback. He is able to offer an inside perspective on the challenges and opportunities of introducing technology-enhanced systems for evaluation into a public-facing informal learning institution.
Sarah H. Awad is a Ph.D. fellow at the Centre for Cultural Psychology, Aalborg University, Denmark. She received her M.Sc. in social and cultural psychology from London School of Economics and Political Science and her B.A. in mass communication from the American University in Cairo. She has worked in fields directly relating to using communication for behavioural impact and creating communication strategies advocating causes such as child rights and education with different social development agencies.
Dr. Joseph Roche is an astrophysicist and Assistant Professor in science education at Trinity College Dublin. He has worked for NASA and observed symbiotic stars using the Hubble Space Telescope.
I am interested in the human dimensions of human-wildlife interactions and, ever since my doctoral work at the WildCRU on the “Human Dimensions of the Conflicts between People and Jaguars in Brazil”, I have been dedicating to the dissemination and strengthening of conservation social science and its application to conservation practice.
Coordinator of the Education Department at Parque das Aves (Brazil). She leads a team of educators and mediators that engage in connecting people with nature through educational activities based on social learning. She is a biologist, with a master’s degree in Wildlife Conservation from the Federal University of São Carlos/São Paulo Zoo (Brazil). She has a Ph.D. in Science Education at the University of São Paulo (Brazil), where she investigated the connection between zoos and school through environmental education training programs for teachers.
Rachel Lowry is Chief Conservation Officer at WWF-Australia, where she leads and support a team committed to making our world a better place. She was Director of Wildlife Conservation and Science at Zoos Victoria and President of International Zoo Educators Association. Rachel led a team at Zoos Victoria that oversees the organizations wildlife captive breeding and recovery projects, eco-socio projects, environmental sustainability, collection planning, research and animal welfare. Rachel is also advisor to Australia’s Threatened Species Commissioner, and Past Chair and Director of the Centre for Sustainability leadership.
Jessica has a Ph.D. in Education from the University of São Paulo (USP) and a Master's Degree in Scientific and Cultural Communication from the University of Campinas (Unicamp). Currently, she is a Science Communicator at the Foundation Science Centre and Higher Distance Education of the State of Rio de Janeiro (Cecierj Foundation), Research Fellow of the Institute for Methods Innovation (IMI), and Researcher of the National Institute of Public Communication of Science and Technology (INCT-CPCT / Brazil).
Biologist, with a master’s degree in Science Teaching from the Graduate Program at the University of São Paulo, where she participated, mainly, in research in the field of non-formal education and scientific dissemination. Since 2010, she has worked in several educational sectors in non-formal spaces, such as museums and science centers.
Dr. Kathayoon Khalil is the Conservation Impact Manager for the Oregon Zoo. She also serves as an Adjunct Professor of Biology for Miami University of Ohio. She is the author of numerous articles and book chapters on empathy for animals, and the book “Practical Evaluation for Conservation Education and Outreach”. Kathayoon received her PhD from Stanford University in Environmental Education and her Masters of Environmental Science from Yale University.
Professor at the University of São Paulo, Alessandra holds a bachelor’s degree in Biological Sciences, a Master’s degree in Biological Sciences (Zoology) and a PhD in Education, all from the University of São Paulo.
Judy is passionate about marine conservation and has focused her career on helping people to care for the oceans. She has worked for the South African Association for Marine Biological Research (SAAMBR) in Durban since 1992. She was the Director of Education for 10 years, the uShaka Sea World Director and the first woman Chief Executive Officer of SAAMBR.
Professor Brady Wagoner (University of Aalborg) is a world-leading expert in idiographic methodology and memory. He is Director of the Cultural Psychology MA programme at Aalborg University. He did his PhD at the University of Cambridge, where he developed innovative new methods to study cultural and constructive processes.
Assistant Professor, Disaster & Emergency Management School of Administrative Studies, York University.

Lisbon ZOO and EAZA (European Association of Zoos and Aquaria)
Head of Education of Lisbon ZOO since 2007. Vice Chair of the EAZA EAZA (European Association of Zoos and Aquaria) Education Committee since 2012.
Dr Maria Antonieta Costa is Head of Education of Lisbon ZOO since 2007. She is a Pedagogy expert with more than 25 years’ experience and a strategic conservation education manager with 12 years’ experience in environmental education.
Prof. Eric Jensen is a globally-recognized expert in evaluation, research impact and science communication. He is The Brinson Foundation Civic Science Fellow and a globally-recognized expert in evaluation, research impact and science communication
Dr. Andrew George is a science policy strategist with a PhD in biology from Duke University. He is the Civic Science Fellow at the Sigma Xi, Scientific Research Honor Society. With a background in research, consulting, and strategy.