Meet our Organising Committee
The EDI Community of Practice Training conference has been organised by a committee of Oxford EDI practitioners. They have assembled a conference schedule designed to support the professional development needs of our community in mind
Louise Cotterell
Louise Cotterell (she/her) is the EDI Officer for the Department of Physiology, Anatomy and Genetics, and Sir William Dunn School of Pathology, in the Medical Sciences Division. Louise delivers effective initiatives to improve workplace culture, with a focus on equality, diversity, and inclusion. Prior to joining University of Oxford, Louise worked as the Business Manager for the Health Services Research Unit at University of Aberdeen and has good insights into the challenges facing staff and students in a research intensive environment.
Laura Epton (she/her)
I’ve been passionate about Equality, Diversity, and Inclusion (EDI) at the University for several years and am driven by creating organisational cultures and leadership that truly value, recognize and enable individuals to succeed at every level. In my central role, I lead policy and strategic projects aimed at preventing bullying and harassment, drawing on my experience in departments working in partnership with senior leaders and team leads to advance EDI in teaching and research. Committed to continuous learning, I’m currently training to become a professional coach, accredited with the EMCC.
At the conference, I’m excited about creating a collaborative, thinking environment for EDI leads to explore their professional development and growth as a community – using a strengths-based approach.
Maddie Mitchell
Maddie Mitchell (she/her) is the Leadership Development Officer in the Medical Sciences Division and has previously worked as the Wellcome EDI Officer. Maddie has worked to bring the topics of research culture, leadership development, and EDI closer together through the Inclusive Leadership Programme and WIN Lab Handbook initiative. Before working at Oxford Maddie was in the REF 2021 Environment team at the University of Leicester, which gave her a taste of all of the development to be done in the realm of EDI and culture.
Charlotte Smith
My role covers equality, diversity and inclusion, with a focus on gender equality. Embedding and sharing best practice, provision and analysis of qualitative and quantitative data providing evidence for the Athena Swan charter, and managing projects and events across RDM. I am based within the RDM strategic team though work across all RDM divisions and I’m always very happy to meet up and discuss queries and ideas.
I have worked at the University of Oxford since 2004 and have been working on Athena Swan since 2014. I am a qualified panellist for Advance HE, the Athena Swan charter awarding body.
I work with colleagues across the University to embed the principles of equality and diversity within policy, practice and culture.
I am a Harassment Advisor, LGBT+ Ally, Wellbeing Champion, and trained Mental Health First Aider.
Machilu Van Bever Donker
Machilu is an EDI practitioner with a background in research on inequalities and underrepresented groups in the world of work. She currently supports faculties in the Humanities at the University Oxford to identify and address areas in their practice that exclude or further marginalise underrepresented groups. Machilu draws on the use of quantitative and qualitative research methods to understand the context of these faculties and advise them on changes to their practice or evidence-based interventions to foster inclusion and increase the representation of women; those with disabilities, LGBTQ+ individuals and people racialised as Black, Asian, and Minority Ethnic.
Previously, Machilu worked as a policy advisor (race equality, religion and belief) in Oxford and at University College London. She holds a doctorate in Comparative Industrial Relations and Labour Law, and one of her interests is supporting researchers consider EDI as they design research projects, from conception of an idea (often alongside community groups), to adopting an equitable methodological and analytic approach to their study, including how best to disseminate findings beyond academia.
Elisha Ward
I’m Elisha Ward, I joined the Social Sciences Division EDI Team in September 2023. As EDI Officer and Project Manager, I manage a number of projects and initiatives in support of Divisional EDI objectives.
I love accelerating progress by building on the insights and discoveries of others, so will be paying keen attention to the research talks, taking notes on ‘what works’.
