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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  Nick Spencer

  Research Director

  nick.spencer@theosthinktank.co.uk @TheosNick

  Nick is Director of Research at Theos. Nick is an acclaimed author of books and reports, most recently 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.

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  Paul Bickley

  Director of Political Programme

  paul.bickley@theosthinktank.co.uk @mrbickley

  Paul is Director of Political Programme 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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  Ben Ryan

  Researcher

  ben.ryan@theosthinktank.co.uk @BenedictWRyan

  Ben first joined Theos as an intern in September 2013 and has been a researcher since 2014. He read Theology and Religious Studies at the University of Cambridge and also has an MSc in European Studies from the LSE European Institute. He is the author of the Theos reports A Very Modern Ministry: Chaplaincy in the UK, A Soul for the Union and Catholic Social Thought and Catholic Charities and Grant Making in Britain Today.

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  Natan Mladin

  Relationships Manager and Researcher

  natan.mladin@theosthinktank.co.uk @nathanmladin

  Natan joined Theos in 2016. He has just completed a PhD in Systematic Theology at Queen’s University of Belfast with a thesis on divine action in dialogue with theatre studies. He is the author of the chapter on Václav Havel in The Mighty and the Almighty: How Political Leaders do God (Biteback, 2017) and co–author of That They All May Be One, a report looking at inter–Church relations in England. Current research interests include theology and economics, with a focus on debt, ethics of AI/robotics, 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

  Operations Assistant and 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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  Charlotte Hobson

  Research Assistant

  charlotte.hobson@theosthinktank.co.uk @charhob1

  Charlotte joined Theos in February 2018. She holds a BA in Theology from Durham University and an MA in Religious Studies from Lancaster University. Her research interests centre on the sociology of religion, particularly in exploring contemporary manifestations of religious belief in modern, apparently secularizing, Western societies.