British Participants in the US
Postgraduate Scholars
Abby Ajayi
Screenwriting, New York Film Academy
Abby was born in London, to Nigerian parents, and spent part of her childhood in Lagos. After reading Law at Oxford, she worked in script development for the BBC, and as a freelancer for several film companies including Working Title Films, before becoming a screenwriter. As a screenwriter, Abby has written for several BBC drama series, including "Eastenders" and "Casualty"; this year, she has written an original half hour drama for Channel 4, and currently has a feature film script in development. In 2008, she was chosen as a "Hotshot" - the annual feature identifying rising talent in the television industry - by Broadcast Magazine.
Nikhath Akhtar
British Friends MBA Scholar, Harvard Business School
Nikhath received her undergraduate degree in Computer Science from St Catharine’s College, Cambridge. During her time at university, she was involved in a number of volunteering activities, including teaching English at the University of Tuzla, Bosnia. After graduation, she volunteered in South India with an international development charity before joining PA Consulting Group as a management consultant, where she focused on the energy industry. Nikhath was involved in numerous global energy projects, including the restructuring of South Africa's electricity distribution industry. For the past two years, she has been building on her experience in the emerging markets as the Business Development Manager for Empower, a specialist start-up company which aims to address the chronic shortages of power across sub-Saharan Africa and Asia. Nikhath’s interests include running (she recently completed the Athens 2009 marathon) and travelling.
Vanessa Apea
Public Health, Harvard University
Vanessa was born in London and read medicine at Guy's, King's and St Thomas' School of Medicine. During medical school, she completed clinical electives at the Mayo Clinic in Minnesota and North York General Hospital in Toronto. Since graduating with distinction, Vanessa has pursued specialist training in genito-urinary and HIV medicine. Her research passion lies in HIV prevention and community outreach in different health systems. She is the founder of ’Love thy Health’ - a novel faith-centred initiative in London, which aims to facilitate HIV/AIDS voluntary counselling and testing amongst hard to reach minority groups. Initial outcomes were presented at the 5th International AIDS conference in South Africa. Her voluntary work has taken her to Ghana where she has provided clinical and research support in a number of HIV care settings. Vanessa’s hobbies include dance, travel and acting. As a Fulbright scholar, she will pursue a Master’s in Public Health at Harvard focusing on quantitative methods.
Nassim Baiou
MBA Scholar, University of Pennsylvania
Nassim worked for four years as a Fast Stream Civil Servant in a range of posts at the Ministry of Defence. He also spent time on secondment to the Prince’s Trust working with underprivileged youngsters, and served with the Territorial Army. Nassim obtained a First Class Bachelor’s degree in Physics from St Edmund Hall, Oxford, where he was awarded a college scholarship and the Scott Prize for Best Overall Undergraduate Performance in Physics. He subsequently earned a Master’s degree in Science & Security from King’s College London. There, he specialised in WMD technologies and in the intelligence analysis of foreign scientific and technological threats, obtaining a Distinction and graduating top of his year. In the US, Nassim will be studying towards an MBA at the University of Pennsylvania’s Wharton School of Business as a Fulbright scholar, Thouron scholar and Joseph Wharton fellow.
Steven Burn-Murdoch
British Friends MBA Scholar, Harvard Business School
Steve attended the McAuley School in Doncaster before studying at Balliol College, Oxford. He graduated in 2007 with a BA in Philosophy, Politics and Economics (first class), and an MSc in Economics for Development. Upon graduation, he joined McKinsey and Company, where he worked on a range of strategy and operations projects with a focus on public service reform, before moving to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills as an Assistant Director in the industrial strategy team. A keen sportsman and mountaineer, Steve represented his college at football, tennis and cricket, and participated in expeditions to the Himalayas and Kilimanjaro. He is also a Director of the not-for-profit organisation Tomorrow's Economists. As a Fulbright-British Friends of Harvard Business School Scholar, he will study business administration at Harvard Business School.
Ed Conway
Alistair Cooke Journalism Scholar, Harvard University
Edmund was born in London and studied English at Pembroke College, Oxford. After graduating, he joined the Daily Telegraph as a graduate trainee, and worked there for two years, reporting on domestic and foreign news, business news and writing literary and culture pieces. He then became the Daily Mail’s first economics correspondent, and after working there for a year rejoined The Telegraph as Economics Editor, where he had a weekly op-ed column and wrote across the entire newspaper and its Sunday stablemate. He has written for a variety of other publications, including The New Statesman and The House magazine, and has made frequent television and radio appearances on the BBC, CNN, CNBC and other outlets. He is the author of 50 Economics Ideas - a guide to the subject for normal people. His other interests include theatre, football, tennis, music composition and DJing.
Sabrina Doyle
UK Film Council Scholar, American Film Institute
Sabrina was born, raised and schooled in the London Borough of Brent, and now lives in the East End. She became the first pupil at her school to win an Oxbridge place, and was the first member of her family to go to university. Sabrina got a First in her BA at Newnham College, Cambridge, and then a Distinction in her MPhil at King's College, Cambridge. It was while studying film theory at Cambridge that Sabrina discovered a passion for cinema. She went on to write and direct a number of award-winning dramas, including Polanow and The Eyeless. She's also tried her hand at music videos, marionette films and dance films. In addition to her fiction filmmaking, Sabrina has been a broadcast journalist at the BBC for a number of years, working on programmes like Today and Newsnight, and shooting videos for BBC television and the BBC website. Sabrina is grateful to the Fulbright Commission and the UK Film Council for her scholarship: it will allow her to study for an MFA at the American Film Institute Conservatory in Los Angeles, where she'll be a Directing Fellow. Sabrina looks forward to immersing herself in American film culture and, when she's not making films, to getting some much needed practice on her electric guitar.
Samaher Fageiry
Science & Technology PhD Scholar, Columbia University
Prior to starting her undergraduate studies in preclinical medicine at King’s College London, Samaher took part in the Global Young Leaders Conference in Washington DC and New York City. She graduated with First Class Honours, coming first in her degree category, and was awarded a Distinction in Medical Sciences and a Wellcome Trust Scholarship. Currently Samaher is studying clinical medicine at St John’s College, Oxford and has undertaken an attachment at the National Institute of Health in the United States. She was also a volunteer and trainer for London Nightline and a mentor for the Bright Journals programme supporting adolescents with no family background in higher education. As a Fulbright Science & Technology Scholar she looks forward to carrying out research in the Neurosciences at Columbia University in New York.
Emily Ferenczi
Science & Technology PhD Scholar, Stanford University
London-born Emily read medicine at Cambridge and Oxford Universities. Her undergraduate project, awarded the GlaxoSmithKline National Biology Prize, signified the beginning of a quest into the world of excitable cells, neuroscience and neurology. Following graduation in 2006, Emily became an academic clinical trainee in London, working as a junior doctor alongside pursuing research interests at the Hammersmith Hospital and the National Hospital for Neurology and Neurosurgery. In 2009 she gained membership to the Royal College of Physicians. Emily is a keen athlete and has competed as a Blue for Cambridge and Oxford in cross-country and track. She loves to travel and has spent summers in India and on Reunion Island, working in hospitals and exploring the cities, countryside and culture. In the winter she loves to ski with friends and family. As a Fulbright Science & Technology Scholar, Emily will study neuroscience at Stanford University.
Samantika Gokhale
British Friends MBA Scholar, Harvard Business School
Samantika studied Economics and Management at Brasenose College, Oxford. She was elected President of Brasenose College’s Undergraduate Body (JCR) and was able to play an active role in college life and student welfare. She also rowed for Brasenose College Women’s 1st VIII and was involved in the Oxford University Management Society. After graduation, Samantika spent several months studying French at the Université Paris-Sorbonne before joining the Boston Consulting Group. In 2009, she decided to further her growing interest in retail by undertaking a year-long secondment to Tesco PLC, where she has worked in Tesco’s Business Development and Operations Development teams. As a Fulbright-British Friends of Harvard Business School Scholar, Samantika is looking forward to building her general management skills as well as rediscovering her passion for rowing. Samantika’s other interests include travelling, mountain climbing and playing tennis.
Eleanor Lavan
English and American Literature, New York University
Ellie will graduate with a BA in English Language and Literature from King’s College London in July 2010. Born in South West England, she moved to London in 2006 after living in Belfast. Ellie is an award-winning writer. In 2002, her anthology Bully For You won Amnesty International’s competition, A Fairer World: A World Without Torture; she subsequently visited the UN and UK Mission in Geneva. In 2006, Ellie was the youngest finalist in the Vogue Magazine Young Talent Contest; her entry was ultimately placed third. Since moving to London, Ellie has worked for Vogue, (then) Shadow Chancellor George Osborne, the British Youth Council and the British Bankers’ Association. She is an experienced actress and theatre-maker. Her own production company, Sidelong Glance, presented The Bud Opens at The Drill Hall, London in June 2009. A Fulbright Postgraduate Award scholar, Ellie will join the NYU English Faculty in autumn 2010, on the English and American Literature MA programme.
Ajay Makan
Alistair Cooke Journalism Scholar, University of Chicago
Ajay grew up in the nether regions of London – where the city blends into its suburbs, but isn’t quite yet the countryside. After graduating from Cambridge with a first class degree in history, he managed community projects for Islington social services. In 2007, desperate to live abroad, he took as a job as a journalist in the Maldives. Far from the beaches and cocktails of the holiday brochures, he covered the last days of a dictatorship, and the alarming rise of Muslim extremism. He loved every minute of it. After writing for Reuters, the Daily Telegraph and the Economist, and a brief stint in Delhi, he joined the BBC’s Newsnight programme in 2008. Alongside fetching cups of tea for Jeremy Paxman, he has covered the inauguration of President Obama from Washington DC, and produced reports throughout the financial crisis. Ajay will be studying international relations, with a focus on international political economy at the University of Chicago. 
Anna Morgan
International Public Policy, Johns Hopkins University
Anna joined the Civil Service in 2000 after reading History at Somerville College, Oxford. During her career Anna has focused on the delivery of development in post conflict environments, serving in Afghanistan, Iraq, Sierra Leone and the Balkans. Anna has been working in Afghanistan since January 2008. This includes a stint with Turquoise Mountain, an NGO based in Kabul, running the Department for International Development’s (DFID) livelihoods programmes and working on Afghanistan for the Cabinet Office. Prior to this she provided strategic direction for the DFID Iraq programme as Deputy Head of DFID Baghdad, represented the UK on the European Agency of Reconstruction and EU Committee that determined how EU funds were spent in the Balkans, and managed security sector programmes in Sierra Leone. She has also worked on trade policy, acted as the Private Secretary to DFID’s Permanent Secretary Suma Chakrabarti and worked in both the Office of the Deputy Minister and the Department of Trade and Industry. As a Fulbright scholar at Johns Hopkins in Washington DC, Anna will further specialise in international development.
George Noel-Clarke
International Public Policy, Johns Hopkins University
George read Classics and English at Brasenose College, Oxford. After working in Central Asia and the Caucasus, he completed a stage at the European Commission, worked for an MEP, and managed an NGO focusing on Iraq. He then worked in business consultancy and in banking in connection with the Middle East and elsewhere. He has spent the last four years in Afghanistan working for the United Nations, the British Government, and the EU Special Representative. He speaks French, Russian and some Persian. As a Fulbright scholar partially funded by the British Schools and Universities Foundation (BSUF), George will study for a Master’s in International Public Policy at SAIS, Johns Hopkins University in Washington D.C.
Adam Price
Public Administration, Harvard University
Adam was Plaid Cymru (the Party of Wales) Member of Parliament from 2001 to the 2010 UK General Election. He was the 2002 Spectator Magazine Parliamentary Inquisitor of the Year and received a series of awards and award nominations from the BBC, ITV and Channel Four and the national newspaper of Wales, the Western Mail, mainly for his work in opposing the war in Iraq. As Director of Elections for Plaid Cymru, he managed the successful 2007 National Assembly election campaign, helping to take the party into government for the first time in its 82 year old history. Prior to entering the House of Commons, Adam was a managing director of an economics consultancy. His Fulbright year will be spent taking a Mid Career Master’s in Public Administration at Harvard’s Kennedy School of Government. 
Zahra Raja
Journalism, Columbia University
Zahra was born in England and raised in Pakistan, Zimbabwe and Kenya. After graduating from the Heritage School in Harare, she moved to the Middle East to learn Arabic and Modern Hebrew, and to pursue a degree in Islamic Studies at the University of Jordan in Amman. She then returned to England to read Theology and Religious Studies at Exeter College, Oxford. Zahra began editing her first publication, the school magazine, in Year 8 and continued to do so for two years. She also worked in radio content production during her undergraduate days in Jordan. During her gap year, she reported on the disputed Kenyan General Election of 2007 for local radio and worked as an intern for Reuters at the East Africa Bureau in Nairobi. In Oxford, she covered the Queen’s visit to Magdalen College for the Cherwell student newspaper. Zahra’s other interests include debating, rowing and mountaineering. Climbing the two highest peaks in Africa has been her most exciting outdoor experience. As a Fulbright scholar, Zahra is looking forward to studying broadcast journalism at Columbia University in New York. 
Elliot Ross
Alistair Cooke Journalism Scholar, Columbia University
Elliot was born in Shetland and spent his childhood in Malawi before returning to Scotland to complete his secondary education. Following a year out teaching in a primary school in Malawi, Elliot read English at St John’s College, Cambridge. He edited the student newspaper Varsity and the Mays, an anthology of creative writing for the students of Oxford and Cambridge, and was runner-up in the Guardian’s International Development Journalism Competition 2008. Elliot continued at Cambridge to complete an MPhil in contemporary literature, specialising in South African writing. He has written for the Guardian, the Independent, the Scotsman and the Herald newspapers. As a Fulbright-Alistair Cooke scholar, Elliot will study investigative journalism at Columbia University, New York.
Nabihah Sachedina
British Friends MBA Scholar, Harvard Business School
Nabihah Sachedina studied Medicine at King’s College London. She graduated with double distinction in 2005 and has practiced as a hospital doctor within the National Health Service for four years. She has undertaken clinical research into diabetes mellitus and has practiced Paediatrics in London, gaining Membership of the Royal College of Paediatrics and Child Health. Nabihah was appointed as a Clinical Advisor to the Chief Medical Officer for England and to the Patient Safety Programme of the World Health Organization in 2009. She aspires to a career in health policy, focusing on health service delivery. Her other interests include music and traveling. Nabihah will commence a dual degree at Harvard University, Massachusetts in 2010. As a Dubin Fellow for Emerging Leaders, she will undertake a Master’s in Public Policy (MPP) at the Harvard Kennedy School and as a Fulbright-British Friends of Harvard Business School Scholar, she will undertake a Master’s in Business Administration (MBA) at Harvard Business School.
Emily Schurr
Classics, Harvard University
Emily graduated in June 2009 from Gonville and Caius College, Cambridge, with a first class degree with distinction in Classics. In recognition of this, she was presented with the University of Cambridge Chancellor’s Medal for Classical Proficiency (2009), as well as, during her time at Cambridge, numerous prestigious awards including the Vernon English, Henry Arthur Thomas and Hallam prizes, and the Battie scholarship (2008). She was also elected to sit on the Classics Faculty Board as Undergraduate Representative for 2007-8, wrote for the Cambridge Classics Journal Opellae, and earned a place on the highly competitive British School at Athens Undergraduate Summer Course 2008. Her participation in an archaeological dig and research project in Pompeii over two consecutive summers contributed towards defining her major research interest – the conceptualisation of the Bay of Naples in Augustan poetry – which she intends to pursue, along with her other interests (seventeenth- and eighteenth-century reception theory, Byzantine art, Italian, orchestral and chamber music), as a non-degree student at Harvard University.
Alex ‘Sandy’ Smith
Visual Art, Columbia University
Sandy was born in 1983 in Dunbar, Scotland. He moved to Glasgow in 2001 to study Sculpture & Environmental Art at Glasgow School of Art, graduating in 2005 with first class honours and the Glasgow Sculpture Studios Graduate Scholarship. Since graduating Sandy has participated in numerous exhibitions around the UK and internationally, with solo exhibitions in Glasgow, London, Copenhagen, Berlin and Las Vegas. He has received grants and awards from the Scottish Arts Council, the British Council and the Danish Arts Council, and his artwork has appeared in numerous publications including Art Review and UK national newspapers. As a Fulbright scholar, Sandy will study visual art at Columbia University in New York.
Jessica Sinclair Taylor
International Affairs, Tufts University
Jessica grew up in London and studied her BA in History and English Literature at the University of York. Interests at university included chairing the University of York Amnesty International Society, theatrical costume design and French, prompting a term’s exchange to the University of Lausanne in Switzerland. After graduating, Jessica spent five months in Rajasthan, India, working for a grass-roots women’s empowerment NGO, where she conducted a needs assessment of 360 rural women across six villages. Returning to Europe, she worked for Concordia Association in Paris for six months before moving back to London to take up a role as Campaigns Assistant with the Fawcett Society, the UK’s leading campaign for women’s equality. Jessica will study International Affairs at the Fletcher School, Tufts University, specialising in human rights and migration in development situations. 
Susan Willman
International Human Rights Law, Georgetown University
Born in rural Devon, Sue graduated from Wadham College, Oxford University in 1984. Now Head of Public Law and Human Rights at London legal aid firm Pierce Glynn, she has conducted a series of high-profile test cases for destitute asylum-seekers and other migrants. In 2007 she was 'Legal Aid Lawyer of the Year'. She writes and trains on social justice and human rights issues and is lead author of the handbook Support for Asylum Seekers and other Migrants, 2009 (LAG). In 2006 Sue was appointed as a specialist adviser to the Parliamentary Joint Committee on Human Rights for their Inquiry into the treatment of asylum-seekers. In 2008 she took part in a Law Society delegation to investigate human rights violations in Colombia. By studying international human rights law at Georgetown, Sue hopes to make international contacts, exchange experiences and move her domestic human rights work into the international arena. Sue is founder president of London Frontrunners, a lesbian and gay running club and hopes to join the Washington DC branch. She also enjoys mountain walking, outdoor swimming, bird-watching and opera.
Michael Wilson
Political Philosophy, University of Chicago
After a last-minute change from Natural Sciences, Mike read Theology at Cambridge. Winning college and faculty prizes, he graduated with a starred First and has since worked as a secondary school teacher of Philosophy and Religious Studies and, more recently, for the government as part of the central strategy unit in the Home Office. Outside of work, he has helped facilitate restorative justice courses with a prison charity in South Africa and been involved with local community work in the UK, including small scale initiatives to aid the reintegration of ex-offenders and coaching football teams for youths from local estates. He loves travelling and recently struggled from London to Mongolia in an entirely unsuitable car to raise money for a childrens’ charity based in Ulaanbataar. As a Fulbright scholar, he will study for a Master’s of Arts in Humanities at the University of Chicago, with a focus in Political Philosophy.
Scholars and Fellows
Jonathan Bendall
Police Research Fellow, University of Colorado, Colorado Springs
Jon is a serving police officer with Norfolk Constabulary, with four and a half years service. He currently works as a response constable, working out of Bethel Street Police Station, in Norwich. Jon was born in the industrial town of Port Talbot, in South Wales, where he attended Dyffryn Comprehensive School, and Afan Tertiary College, before attending university in Southampton, and achieving a BSc (Hons) degree in Marine Geography from Southampton Institute. Since leaving university, Jon has also obtained a Master’s degree in International Police Science from Portsmouth University and is currently studying for a doctorate in Criminal Justice Studies, also with the University of Portsmouth. As a Fulbright Police Research Fellow, Jon will be attending Colorado Springs in the United States in order to conduct a comparative study into the motivating factors behind youth membership of street gangs. Jon’s other interests include motor biking, snowboarding, mountain biking, rugby and triathlons. He has a general interest in most outdoor activities.
Lisa Buchanan
Scottish Police Research Fellow, University of California, Berkeley
Lisa was born in Edinburgh but having spent most of her life in the Scottish Highlands considers herself a Highlander at heart. In 2003 she successfully completed an MA (Hons) in Interpreting and Translating at Heriot-Watt University and undertook a year abroad working and studying in Vienna and Paris. Lisa recently achieved a distinction in her MSc in Applied Professional Studies for her thesis on equality and social inclusion. Subsequently she has published her research work and will use her Fulbright Police Research Fellowship at UC Berkeley to conduct a comparative study on reporting homophobic hate incidents. Lisa has worked in the field of equalities for eight years and presently works as Strategic Diversity Advisor for Northern Constabulary. She facilitates the Community Advisory Group and raises awareness of equality and diversity across the Force. In her spare time she enjoys horse riding and playing the fiddle.
Jason Cope
Scholar-in-Residence, Florida State University and Florida A&M University
Jason joined the Hunter Centre for Entrepreneurship at the University of Strathclyde as a Senior Lecturer and Director of Teaching in January 2009. Prior to this appointment, he completed his PhD at Lancaster University and then went on to become a lecturer in Entrepreneurship at the Institute for Entrepreneurship and Enterprise Development, Lancaster University Management School. Jason teaches a range of undergraduate entrepreneurship modules and has also designed and delivers an MBA module on New Venture Creation at Strathclyde’s International Centres in the Middle East. Having grown up in a small business, Jason has witnessed the trials and tribulations of small business ownership and his research interests lie in developing an understanding of how entrepreneurs learn, particularly as a result of overcoming critical events during the entrepreneurial process. He serves on the editorial board of three leading entrepreneurship journals – Entrepreneurship: Theory and Practice, International Small Business Journal and the International Journal of Entrepreneurial Behaviour and Research. As the Fulbright Scholar-in-Residence, Jason will be working with Florida State University to expand their public outreach programmes and enhance the overall educational experience of their students in international entrepreneurship. He will also be working closely with students from Florida A&M University and strengthening collaborations between these two institutions. 
Kelly Critchett
Police Research Fellow, University of Southern California
Kelly was born in Portsmouth. After leaving school she was employed as administrator for a local business before pursuing her chosen career. She took on the role of Special Police Constable for Hampshire Constabulary before becoming a Sussex Police officer. Kelly has held various roles in Sussex Police including community officer and response officer to armed response at Gatwick Airport – the counter terrorism unit. She has more recently been working within the training department of Sussex Police, based at the University of Brighton, teaching student police officers. She is also a diversity and equality advisor for Sussex Police. Kelly enjoys snowboarding, mountain walking and reading. As a Fulbright Police Research Fellow she will be attached to Los Angeles Police Department and affiliated with the University of Southern California where she expects to become acquainted with the cultural differences and the principles of recruitment and promotion of women in the police.
Laura Edwards
Multiple Sclerosis Society Research Scholar, Harvard University
Laura studied medicine at the University of Nottingham and graduated with BM BSc (Hons) and BMedSci (1st class) in 2003. She worked as a junior doctor in and around Nottingham, and gained her MRCP (UK) in 2006. More recently, Laura has been working towards a PhD at the University of Nottingham. She has been studying the immune dysregulation seen in patients with multiple sclerosis, and has been supported in this by a Patrick Berthoud Research Fellowship. As a Fulbright-MS Society Scholar, Laura will be working under the supervision of Professor Howard Weiner at Harvard Medical School, studying the effects of treatments used for multiple sclerosis on certain pro-inflammatory and regulatory cells in the immune system. This research should lead to a greater understanding of the pathways through which specific treatments take effect.
Dariusz Gorecki
Muscular Dystrophy Research, Harvard University
Darek was born in Warsaw, Poland where he read medicine and obtained his PhD. He started post-doctoral research in Duchenne muscular dystrophy under professor Eric A Barnard FRS at the Molecular Neurobiology Unit, Cambridge, and continued it at the Royal Free University College, London. He later became a Wellcome Fellow (Research Career Development). He describes himself as a medical doctor by degree, molecular medic by training and neurobiologist by the way. After moving to his present laboratory in Portsmouth he was appointed Chair in molecular medicine and recently became Director of Research in the School of Pharmacy and Biomedical Sciences. He enjoys history (not too ancient), skiing (pastel-coloured pistes) and badminton (badly played, but spirited). As a Fulbright scholar at Harvard he will research ATP receptors in muscular dystrophy. 
Loraine Leeson
Scholar-in-Residence, University of Washington
Loraine was born in London and educated at St Martins College of Art and the University of Reading, followed by a DAAD scholarship at the Hochschule der Künste, Berlin. She later received her PhD in Art Communities and Social Change from University of Ulster. She is a visual artist specialising in community-based practice around a variety of issues, particularly regeneration of the urban environment, and is known for her imaginative use of digital media and the Internet in her work with young people. Current projects include the Young Person’s Guide to East London produced with teenagers across the region, which has received a Media Trust Inspiring Voices award and the Olympic Inspire Mark. Her public artwork The Catch was voted a 2012 London Landmark. As a Fulbright scholar, she will input to the curriculum at University of Washington Tacoma, and develop community projects with students and local young people.
Zoe Leung-Hubbard
Hubert Humphrey Public Affairs Fellow, University of Minnesota
Zoe grew up in Liverpool and attended Liverpool College before reading Law at the University of Bristol, where as a keen musician she performed three concertos (piano and violin) and held an Alumni Foundation Music Bursary for two years. She continues to sing in the Bristol Bach Choir and play violin in the New Bristol Sinfonia. After graduation, she joined HM Revenue & Customs’ technical tax graduate programme, completing this in 2008. Zoe is now working as a direct tax specialist in HMRC’s Large Business Service specialising in corporation tax. Zoe began a part-time PhD at the University of Bristol in 2009 and is researching the effect of European tax law on the competitiveness of the UK’s corporate tax system. As the Fulbright-Hubert Humphrey Fellow for Public Affairs, she will spend four months at the University of Minnesota studying legislative and administrative approaches in the US to tackling tax avoidance. 
Rosie Meek
Social Psychology, University of California, San Diego
Rosie was born in Bath, the youngest of five, and was largely home educated by her mother. Rosie worked for several years as a groom, both in the UK and abroad, studying for her A levels by distance learning and evening classes before moving to Brighton to embark on an undergraduate degree in Social Psychology at the University of Sussex (which included a period of ERASMUS study at the University of Amsterdam), followed by a Master’s in Psychological Methods and a DPhil in Psychology. Rosie spent much of her childhood living and working on an organic farm and enjoys riding, playing and watching rugby (she is an avid follower of her home team, Bath) and competing in sprint triathlons. She has been a Lecturer in Psychology at the University of Southampton since 2007 and as a Fulbright scholar will continue her research into social psychological processes in the rehabilitation of prisoners, based at the University of California, San Diego.
Monica Mendiratta
Police Research Fellow, Harvard Business School
Monica is a Chartered Occupational Psychologist working for the Metropolitan Police Service (MPS). She currently works in the Leadership Academy where designs and delivers team workshops and individual development specifically for senior managers and directors, including board level. In this role, she was selected by the Assistant Commissioner’s Office to attend that Senior Women in Policing Conference, where she sat on the Specialist Positions with Policing Panel. Previously, she was the Met Police lead for occupational psychology consultancy for senior officer promotion. Outside the MPS, Monica is involved with the British Psychological Society, the Association of Business Psychologists, the Institute of Business Consultants and the Chartered Institute of Personnel Development. Monica has delivered talks at universities about her work with the MPS, including the Distinguished Speaker Series at Goldsmiths College, University of London. For her Fulbright Police Research Fellowship, she is looking forward to linking in with professors at Harvard Business School and colleagues at the FBI and the New York Police Department.
Tola Munro
Police Research Fellow, University of the District of Columbia
Tola was born in London and raised in Hertfordshire. He studied at Leicester Polytechnic (now De Montford University) where he gained a BSc (Hons) in Engineering Technology and an MPhil in Manufacturing. He worked for twelve years as an electronics engineer in Leicester and Cardiff, and for six years as a church youth leader and administrator. He spent eighteen months as a civil servant before joining Gwent Police in 2006. Currently, he works as a Dedicated Neighbourhood Constable for Bargoed in the Rhymney Valley. He is also a trained as a Domestic Abuse Liaison Officer. He and his wife have a son, three daughters and a golden retriever. Much of his leisure time is spent reading, playing games, watching movies, walking the dog and in church activities. As a Fulbright Police Research Scholar, he will study batterer intervention programmes for male perpetrators of domestic abuse.
Catherine Newell
Religious Studies, University of Pennsylvania
Catherine Newell completed her PhD entitled “Monks, Meditation and Missing Links: Continuity, ‘Orthodoxy’ and the Vijja Dhammakaya in Thai Buddhism” at the School of Oriental and African Studies (SOAS), London in 2008. Since then she has worked as a research assistant on a British Academy-funded project investigating disrobing practices in Theravada Buddhist cultures. She has also worked as a lecturer in the Study of Religions at SOAS. Aside from her academic work Catherine volunteers as a School Governor at a local nursery school and as a campaigner for Cycling Awareness. As a Fulbright scholar, Catherine will be carrying out a ten-month residency at the University of Pennsylvania, lecturing in the Religious Studies department and researching Thai Buddhist meditation lineages in preparation for writing a monograph on this subject. 
Roland Quinault
Robertson Visiting Professor in British History, Westminster College
Roland was born in London and educated at Magdalen College, Oxford, where he gained a First in Modern History. He then spent a year as a Fulbright scholar at Columbia University in New York City. After his return to Oxford, he was a Junior Research Fellow at Merton College. More recently, he was Honorary Secretary of the Royal Historical Society and Reader in History at London Metropolitan University. He is currently a Senior Research Fellow at the Institute of Historical Research, University of London. Roland’s main research interests are British and British related political and social history in the Victorian period and the earlier twentieth century. He has a particular interest in the Churchill family and aspects of Anglo-American relations. As a visiting professor, he will teach courses on British history, carry out research at the Churchill Memorial Library and give papers at conferences and universities throughout North America.
Harvey Redgrave
Crime, Governance and Policy, Harvard University
Harvey will be a Fulbright scholar at Harvard University between September 2010 and February 2011, whilst on a career break from the UK Prime Minister’s Strategy Unit. He will undertake research on organised crime and run sessions for Harvard students on British government and policy. After reading Politics and History at the University of Manchester, Harvey was awarded a Distinction for a Master’s in Political Sociology at the London School of Economics (LSE). While studying at the LSE he also worked part time for a Member of Parliament. Since 2003 Harvey has worked in a range of roles for the British government, including the Home Office, Cabinet Office and Learning and Skills Council. In 2008 he became a senior civil servant, responsible for running the Prime Minister’s Strategy Unit Home Affairs team – leading projects on youth crime, organised crime and police reform. Harvey is from London. His interests include writing, films, playing football and spending time with his baby daughter.
Stephen Ritchie
Scottish Police Research Fellow, John Jay College of Criminal Justice
A Police Inspector, Steve was born and resides in Scotland. He gained a BSc from Napier University in Edinburgh in 1979 before joining Central Scotland Police. Having worked in a range of roles, including underwater-search, he transferred to Grampian Police in 1990. With the support of a Fellowship from the National Police Leadership Centre at Bramshill, he has undertaken postgraduate and PhD research with the Robert Gordon University. This has examined performance management practice in the UK Police Forces and Steve will be submitting his final thesis shortly before his departure to the US. When not working or researching, Steve sails a boat in Greece with his wife. As one of the first recipients of the Fulbright Scottish Police Research Award, his main aim is to understand the effects of different drivers for policing activity between the US and Scotland.
Martin Spollen
Northern Ireland Public Sector Fellow, Ohio University
Martin is a strategic adviser at the Strategic Investment Board (SIB) in Belfast, where he advises the Northern Ireland Executive on its multi-billion pound infrastructure investment programme. Martin studied Accounting at the University of Ulster, where he was Treasurer of the Students’ Union. He completed a Master’s degree in Operational Research at Lancaster University in 1994 before commencing his career with PricewaterhouseCoopers. In 1999, he co-founded a successful health and social care research and consulting practice, which was subsequently acquired by London-based Tribal Group plc. His professional and academic interests concern the impact of geo-demographics and facility location on the cost and performance of public services. As a Fulbright NI Public Sector Fellow, Martin will study infrastructure investment planning and optimisation in the US at Ohio State University and at Institute for International Urban Development (IIUD) in Cambridge, Massachusetts. 
Simon Sprague
AstraZeneca Research Scholar, Stanford University
Simon was born and educated in South London, before reading Natural Sciences (Chemistry) at Gonville and Caius College, Cambridge. During his undergraduate studies, Simon became heavily involved in student charitable fundraising through Cambridge RAG, rising to be the society’s Chairman in his final year. Upon graduating, he took up the post of President of the organisation as a sabbatical year, leading to nearly £165,000 being raised for good causes, an increase of around 30% on the previous year’s total. Simon then undertook doctoral studies in organic chemistry at Brasenose College, Oxford. This work attracted prizes from both AstraZeneca and the Society of the Chemical Industry. The award of a Fulbright-AstraZeneca Scholarship will allow him to work on new methodology for the synthesis of a range of medicinally-important compounds at Stanford University. Outside the lab, Simon is a keen cook and enjoys rustling up tasty concoctions for his friends.
Yvette Taylor
Gender Studies, Rutgers University
Yvette is a Senior Lecturer in Sociology at the School of Geography, Politics, Sociology, Newcastle University. Her publications include Working-class lesbian life: Classed Outsiders (Palgrave, 2007), Lesbian and Gay Parenting: Securing Social and Educational Capitals (Palgrave, 2009) and an edited collection Classed Intersections: Spaces, Selves, Knowledges (Ashgate, 2010). She has articles in a range of journals including the British Journal of the Sociology of Education; Women’s Studies International Forum; Sexualities; Feminism and Psychology. She is working on a forthcoming book from Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC) funded research (2007-2009) Fitting Into Place? (Ashgate) and her edited collection (with Hines, S. and Casey, M.) Theorizing Intersectionality and Sexuality is forthcoming in October, 2010 (Palgrave). She will be conducting research at the Women’s and Gender Studies Department, Rutgers University: ‘Just cause or impediment? Costs of civic acceptance’. This project explores intersections of class, gender and race in the negotiation of same-sex ‘rights’, probing at the material and subjective costs, consequences and constructions of ‘intersectional citizenship’ in changing times.
Nora Vyas
Childhood-Onset Schizophrenia Research, National Institute of Mental Health
Nora received her PhD in Psychiatry and Cognitive Neuroscience at the Institute of Psychiatry, University of London. She studied the functional impact of susceptibility genes of schizophrenia on cognition in early-onset schizophrenia (onset before adulthood). She is Lecturer and Research Fellow at Imperial College Healthcare Trust, and Visiting Research Associate at the Institute of Psychiatry. Nora is recipient of the Young Researcher Award (2008) and Young Scientist Award (2009) for her research contribution in schizophrenia. Her interests include clay shooting and practical meditation. Childhood-onset schizophrenia (onset before age 12) is a severe and chronic form of the disorder. Very few laboratories specialise in studying this enriched population. The National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH) have established a precedent in providing cutting-edge research in child-and-adolescent psychiatry. Nora’s Fulbright year will be spent at NIMH to study the influence of genes, cognitive functioning and brain function in childhood-onset schizophrenia.
© US-UK Fulbright Commission 2008