Core Team

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  Elizabeth Oldfield

  Director

  elizabeth.oldfield@theosthinktank.co.uk @TheosElizabeth

  Elizabeth is Theos’ Director. She appears regularly in the media, including BBC One, Sky News, and the World Service, writing in The Financial Times and delivering Thought for the Day on BBC Radio 4’s Today programme. She is a regular conference speaker and chair. Before joining Theos in August 2011, Elizabeth worked for BBC TV and radio. She has an MA in Theology from King’s College London.

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  Lizzie Stanley

  Head of Communications

  lizzie.stanley@theosthinktank.co.uk

  Lizzie is Head of Communications at Theos. She has a BA in Politics from Durham University and a background in communications with over 10 years’ experience developing content and strategic communications projects for brands, government clients and not–for–profits. Lizzie spent the last two years in Australia establishing the Sydney branch of a social change focused communications agency, and has a particular interest in the power of human stories in shaping our foundational beliefs and culture.

   

  To contact Lizzie for out–of–hours media matters, call 07778160052.

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  Ben Ryan

  Head of Research

  ben.ryan@theosthinktank.co.uk @BenedictWRyan

  Ben Ryan is Head of Research at Theos. He is the editor of Fortress Britain? Ethical Approaches to Immigration Policy for a Post–Brexit Britain (JKP 2018) and the author of Theos reports on chaplaincy, the EU, the Catholic charity sector, mental health and ecumenism. He holds degrees in European politics from the LSE and in Theology and Religious Studies from Cambridge. Outside of Theos he is a trustee of CSAN (Caritas Social Action Network).

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  Nick Spencer

  Senior Fellow

  nick.spencer@theosthinktank.co.uk @TheosNick

  Nick is Senior Fellow at Theos. He is the author of a number of books and reports, most recently The Political Samaritan: how power hijacked a parable (Bloomsbury, 2017), The Evolution of the West (SPCK, 2016) and Atheists: The Origin of the Species (Bloomsbury, 2014). Outside of Theos, Nick is Visiting Research Fellow at the Faiths and Civil Society Unit, Goldsmiths, University of London and a Fellow of the International Society for Science and Religion

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  Paul Bickley

  Research Fellow

  paul.bickley@theosthinktank.co.uk @mrbickley

  Paul is Research Fellow at Theos. His background is in Parliament and public affairs, and he holds an MLitt from the University of St Andrews’ School of Divinity. Paul is the author of Building Jerusalem? Christianity and the Labour Party (2010) and numerous Theos reports.

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  Anna Wheeler

  Operations and Events Manager

  anna.wheeler@theosthinktank.co.uk

  Anna joined Theos in June 2015. She read Theology at Heythrop College, University of London, and later gained a PG Diploma in Theatre. She has taught in Poland and Ghana and spent twelve years coordinating university programmes and working with students at Heythrop, SOAS, KCL and Imperial College. Anna’s main research interests are the links between the arts, theology and philosophy.

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  Nathan Mladin

  Relationships Manager and Researcher

  natan.mladin@theosthinktank.co.uk @nathanmladin

  Nathan joined Theos in 2016. He holds an MTh and PhD in Systematic Theology from Queen’s University Belfast. He is the author of several Theos publications, including ‘Forgive Us Our Debts: lending and borrowing as if relationships matter’, a report on the ethics of debt (with Barbara Ridpath), and the chapter on ‘Václav Havel’ in ‘The Mighty and the Almighty: How Political Leaders do God’ (Biteback, 2017). His current research interests include: religion in London; theology and economics; the ethics of AI/robotics; and theology and contemporary art.

   

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  Hannah Rich

  Researcher

  hannah.rich@theosthinktank.co.uk @hannahmerich

  Hannah joined Theos in November 2017 as a researcher exploring the relationship between church growth, social action and discipleship, together with Church Urban Fund. Previously, she worked for a social innovation think tank and a learning disability charity. Hannah studied French and Spanish at Durham University, including a year abroad working with faith–based organisations in Paris and Madrid. She also holds an MSc in Inequalities and Social Science from LSE.

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  Amy Plender

  Researcher

  amy.plender@theosthinktank.co.uk

  Amy joined Theos in August 2017, having previously worked with London–based and international non–profit organisations, and in English and Scottish print journalism.  She holds an MA in Divinity and an MTh from the University of Edinburgh.  Research areas include the theological responses to suffering and mental health, theology and the arts, liturgical practice, and interfaith dialogue.    

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  Simon Perfect

  Researcher

  simon.perfect@theosthinktank.co.uk @SimplyMrPerfect

  Simon joined Theos in 2014. He is a freelance researcher and a Teaching Fellow at the School of Oriental and African Studies (SOAS), where he leads campus–based and distance–learning courses exploring Muslim communities in Britain and in other minority settings. Simon read History at the University of Cambridge and has an MA in the Study of Religions from SOAS.

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  Lynne Robinson

  Team Support Officer

  lynne.robinson@theosthinktank.co.uk

  Lynne joined Theos in 2018. She has worked in financial planning for several media companies, and has extensive experience of website management and social media through running her own small design business. She has a BA in Modern History, and an MA in Museum Studies.

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  Katherine Ajibade

  Researcher

  katherine.ajibade@theosthinktank.co.uk @katajibade

  Katherine joined Theos in June 2018 and is researching young adult formation in the UK. She holds a BA in Religion, Philosophy and Ethics from Kings College London and an MSc in Social Anthropology: Religion in the Contemporary World from the London School of Economics (LSE). Research interests include religious vocation, social and religious transformation and ethnographic accounts of religion. 

   

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  Madeleine Ward

  Researcher

  Madeleine.Ward@Theosthinktank.co.uk

  Madeleine joined Theos in October 2018. She is researching the relationship between social cohesion and the church, in partnership with the Free Churches Group. She holds a doctorate in Theology from the University of Oxford, and previously worked as a research scholar at a conference, research and retreat centre in Philadelphia. She is the author of ‘The Christian Quaker: George Keith and the Keithian Controversy’ (Brill: 2019).

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  Simeon Burke

  Research Assistant

  simeon.burke@theosthinktank.co.uk @simeonrburke

  Simeon Burke joined Theos in March 2019 and is assisting with the Social Cohesion and GRACE Projects. He previously studied history at the University of St Andrews and the University of Cambridge. He recently submitted his PhD thesis in church history at the University of Edinburgh.

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  Abbie Allison

  Communications and Events Assistant

  abbie.allison@theosthinktank.co.uk

  Abbie Allison joined Theos in August 2019. Prior to this, she worked as a fundraiser for a national homelessness charity based in the North East of England. She holds a BA in Philosophy from the University of Bristol and has a particular interest in applied ethics.