Knowledge Exchange Facilitators

Dr Sara Perry is Principal Investigator on the CHANSE KEF programme, as well as Project Leader on the CHANSE-funded Transforming Data Reuse in Archaeology (TETRARCHs), and Director of Research and Engagement at MOLA (Museum of London Archaeology) where she oversees a team of 120 specialists. Sara was previously Senior Lecturer in Cultural Heritage Management at the University of York, where she acted as a lead on the EU-funded EMOTIVE Project, and directed heritage interpretation programmes at archaeological sites around the world, including Çatalhöyük in Turkey, Memphis, the capital of Ancient Egypt, and Kilwa and Pangani in Tanzania. As an educator, Sara has been recognised as one of JISC’s 50 Most Influential Higher Education Professionals Using Social Media, and as runner up for the Times Higher Education Award for Most Innovative Teacher of the Year. Alongside leading TETRARCHs and CHANSE KEF, she is currently Co-Investigator (Co-I) on the AHRC/Towards a National Collection-funded project Unpath’d Waters: Marine and Maritime Collections in the UK, a lead on the DCMS/National Lottery-funded Archaeology Audience Network, as well as Principal Investigator on the AHRC-funded Accelerating Impact at MOLA, an initiative distributing £450,000 over three years to non-academic partners (citizens, SMEs, charities, communities) to increase KE and the public value of archaeology.

Dr Anna Simandiraki-Grimshaw is Co-I on the CHANSE KEF programme, as well as Research Associate on the CHANSE project Transforming Data Reuse in Archaeology (TETRARCHs) based at MOLA (Museum of London Archaeology). She is trained in Archaeology, Classics, History, Western History of Art, and in Education. She has extensive professional experience as an interdisciplinary researcher, educator and research facilitator, including on Impact and Knowledge Exchange (KE). She has been research-active for over 25 years, focusing on material culture studies, digital humanities and public interaction. She has lectured and designed learning materials (including on digital platforms) at 17 institutions, mostly in the UK. Her specialist and KE networks span multiple stakeholders and very varied audiences, mainly across Europe.

Dr Blen Taye is a Research Assistant on the CHANSE KEF programme based out of MOLA (Museum of London Archaeology) where her primary role is Research Partnerships Manager. Blen has a multidisciplinary educational background and has training in Architecture, Urban Planning and Heritage Science. Her research experience involved working on innovative heritage partnerships between academic and cultural institutions and translating academic research into practicable guidelines for heritage practitioners. She is interested in continuing to work across the heritage sector and particularly on how we can achieve societal benefit through research.

Ayesha Purcell, MPhil, MA (Hons.), is a Research Assistant on the CHANSE KEF programme based at MOLA (Museum of London Archaeology), where her main role is Assistant Engagement Project Manager. Ayesha’s research background is in cultural exchange, religion, and social dynamics in liminal spaces in the Roman Empire and Late Antiquity, chiefly in Britain and Egypt. Her professional career is driven by the aim of exploring how the rich, diverse, archaeological resource can be used to deliver benefit for contemporary communities, especially those experiencing social injustice and oppression. This has included delivering and contributing to the development of a ground-breaking social prescribing archaeological program (Archaeology on Prescription, York Archaeology), and designing programmes for commercial developments that prioritise the needs of local communities experiencing deprivation.