During her career in higher education Finola has undertaken a variety of leadership, teaching, research and quality assurance roles in UK universities.
Prior to becoming an academic, Finola held a number of leadership positions in several national policy, research and campaigning organisations in the civil society sector, with a particular focus on criminal justice.
Finola is passionate about the transformational benefits of higher education and believes that everyone who can benefit should have the opportunity to access high-quality university education, whatever their background.
Rach Strzelecki started her career as a crime and intelligence analyst for Cleveland Police working on several major investigations including human trafficking, vulnerable missing persons, drugs, and suspicious deaths. In 2006, she started guest lecturing for Teesside University in crime analytics, intelligence, and forensic investigation before securing a permanent role as a lecturer in policing. Rach has also worked at University of Wolverhampton, Interactive Pro, and more recently Buckinghamshire College Group as an advanced practitioner leading on protective services and forensic and criminal investigation programmes. Her research has predominantly related to sexual offences and paedophilia; however, her publications have been within the field of terrorism, police and forensic investigations and online teaching and learning.
Dr. Emma Winlow obtained her undergraduate and postgraduate degrees in Criminology and Crime & Justice from the University of Chester and completed her PhD at the University of Gloucestershire. A public criminologist, Emma has extensive leadership and management experience in higher education and is passionate about accessibility, inclusion, and employability in teaching and learning. She established the School of Criminal Justice with these practices in mind. Emma is also a member of the British Society of Criminology and the British Society of Criminology's Teaching and Learning Network.
Gail is a Chartered Member of the British Psychological Society, a Full Member of the Division of Occupational Psychology, and a registered occupational psychologist with the Health Care Professions Council. Gail has worked within the HEI sector for over 18 years, having achieved Senior Fellow status of the HEA, as well as worked in a consultancy capacity within the public, private, voluntary, and charitable sectors.
Gail has close links with the British Psychological Society as the chief supervisor and registrar for the Qualification in Occupational Psychology, as well as being the chair for the Supervisor Training Working Group. Gail has authored several publications including books and journal articles, from occupational psychology to forensic psychology. She has won awards for her research contributions including the Fire Service Research Award and the Psychometrics Forum Award and was shortlisted for Occupational Psychology Practitioner of the Year Award 2018.
Samira is the Head of School of Law at Arden University. Samira has worked in higher education for almost a decade, having previously worked in the private sector and the civil service. Her practical experience has led to a focus on embedding professional skills within the curriculum and on enhancing equality with legal education.
Samira currently sits on the Equality, Diversity and Inclusion Committee for the Society of Legal Scholars and holds an executive position for the Committee of Heads of University Law Schools.
Dr. Kimberley Marsh graduated with her PhD from the University of Manchester in 2016, after completing her MRes in Criminology and Socio - Legal Studies (University of Manchester), MSc in Criminology and Criminal Psychology (University of Portsmouth) and BSc Sociology (University of Surrey) . She has gained a wealth of experience in teaching and academic leadership from her initial role as an Associate Lecturer at The University of Manchester to her role as Deputy Head of School at Arden University. In addition, she has carried out government-funded research, looking into improving the life chances of looked after children and care leavers in the UK. Kimberley's research interests focus on attachment, parenting styles, and behavioural responses.
Sophie is a Chartered Coaching Psychologist and has been working in Higher Education for over 10 years, both in professional services and academia. Sophie’s main area of interest is Occupational Psychology, with her PhD exploring the sources of and reactions to work frustration, testing multiple models using mixed methodology.
Sophie is also a qualified test user and mental health first aider, who continues to work with public sector organisations such as the Fire and Rescue Service and National Health Service. Sophie has worked closely with West Midland’s Fire Service as a data analyst, researcher, educator, and on a project aimed to assess operational preparedness on incident ground. She is currently a governor for an education academy in West Midlands and is assisting on research assessing service user experience of online therapy within the National Health Service. She has also recently supported the public sector through voluntary work with the British Red Cross and St John’s Ambulance. In 2023 she was awarded a national award for women in leadership by SheInspires.
Leanne is a chartered Psychologist with the British Psychological Society, division of academic, researchers, and teachers, and senior fellow with AdvanceHE. She has had several teaching roles within higher education over the past seven years, and now works in a leadership position with strategic oversight of teaching, learning, and digital innovation within the School of Psychology. Her main area of interest is applied neuropsychology, and her work within brain injury rehabilitation has had an impact upon clinical practice, has been published in high impact journals, and has been presented at the World Federation of Neuropsychological Rehabilitation conference. Her work with the NHS and voluntary sector in North Wales has been awarded by a ‘North Wales Excellence Award’ and a Draper medal for ‘Outstanding Contribution’ within her previous institution. She has also contributed to Policy work to improve rehabilitation, processes and policies, and support for people with acquired brain injuries in Wales across healthcare, the criminal justice system, education, sports, and the welfare benefits system, by authoring the ‘Time for Change – Wales’ report with the UK Acquired Brain Injury Forum.
Harriet is a law academic and former associate head with a focus on access to justice, mediation, and practical legal training. She is an RICS accredited mediator who is hoping to start a PhD on international mediation and access to justice. Harriet graduated from the University of Hull with a LLB Law (Hons) degree and later went on to achieve a Bar Professional Training Course. Harriet was called to the Bar by the Honourable Society of Lincoln’s Inn in 2012 and continues to be very actively involved with the legal profession. Prior to entering academia, Harriet worked in the voluntary sector as a campaigns officer and as a legal adviser. Now, Harriet is responsible for the management and academic delivery of the LLB Law programmes at Arden University. She is currently working to improve key metrics within the Law programmes to ensure our programme portfolio reflects changes to professional legal education.