Prior to becoming a lecturer at NBS I the Business School in December 2015 as a senior research associate on the Work, Learning and Wellbeing evidence programme for the Economic and Social Research Council funded What Works Wellbeing Centre.

I am an experienced qualitative researcher with training in both quantitative and qualitative methods. I have worked on research projects in a number of settings, including social movements, community organisations and with vulnerable groups in deprived areas. I also have experience of working in a number of settings outside academia including local government and the third sector.

I completed my PhD at the University of Essex in 2017 where I have also undertook an MA in Sociological Research Methods (Distinction). My background is interdisciplinary as I also have a BA in Philosophy from the University of Sheffield.

My PhD research explored how alternative organisations within the food system impacted on well-being and at UEA I have continued to explore the relationship between wellbeing and work with a particular interest in 'alternative' forms of organization. More specifically my research interests include, but are not limited to: political economy of the food system, alternative organisations and economies, green Marxism, learning in relation to wellbeing, Marx’s concept of alienation environmental sociology, well-being theory – in particular the capabilities approach and the role of well-being in guiding policy.

My research interests are broad, but I have a particular interest in the concept of well-being, both as an evaluative tool and its potential for guiding policy formation and implementation. I’m also interested in the sociology and political economy of the food system and alternative food systems.

My PhD research focussed on the nexus of an increasing interest in well-being as a concept for evaluating and shaping policy and the interest and expansion in alternative food system and within that community food initiatives. The study explored participation in community supported agriculture and community gardens utilising predominantly ethnographic methods and semi-structured interviews.

I am interested in how such initiatives function as a response to the contemporary crises within the food system and the application of a well-being approach to understand their impact. This research is continuing with further work to understand how different community supported agriculture schemes support wellbeing capabilities and what role they might play in the future of the food system.

Other research projects include:

• The evaluation of wellbeing interventions in the workplace and how the nature and timing of these interventions relate to organizational culture, structure and context with a view to understanding their effects. 
• The role of music making programmes in organizational settings.
• The wellbeing of Postgraduate research students in relation to institutional culture, practices and interventions.
• The role of gardening in supporting wellbeing

Please contact me if you are interested in any of these research areas 

I have experience of teaching undergraduates in modules on International Business Environment and Organisational Behaviour as well as an interdisciplinary module on Social Entrepreneurs, Sustainability and Community Action. I am also and associate fellow to the Higher Education Academy and have given occasional lectures on other areas such as sustainability and alternative and local food.