We wish to extend a very warm welcome to our new Trustees!
Each trustee must complete an induction process, which includes completing accredited online training in: Role of a Management Committee; Equality and Diversity; and GDPR and Confidentiality. They will be given a hand-over document, written by their predecessor, which must be maintained and updated throughout their tenure. The trustees typically meet four times a year (within the UK), with at least one of these meetings being in-person, the rest are virtual. All trustee business uses our Google Drive. Trustee activities and behaviours must comply with our Standard Operating Procedures and policies (e.g. GDPR).
Get to know our new Trustees, Jelena, Hannah, Ofelia, and Ariadne!
President: Jelena Bekvalac
Jelena graduated with a BA (Hons) in Ancient History and Archaeology from St David’s University College, Lampeter, Wales (1987-1990) and went on to study further for the MSc in Osteology, Palaeopathology and Funerary Archaeology (1991-1992) which at the time was taught between Sheffield and Bradford University. Before starting work as a research osteologist at the Museum of London in 2003 as part of the Wellcome funded team, Jelena worked on a variety of archaeological excavations in England and was lucky to have had the opportunity to work on excavations and projects with skeletal remains in Jordan, Russia and the Czech Republic as well as the extraordinary Spitalfields Market excavation in London. In 2008 Jelena became a Curator of Human Osteology, Museum of London, in 2010 she was made a Fellow of the Society of Antiquaries, London and in 2016 was admitted to the Freedom of the City of London. Working at the Museum of London over the past twenty years has been a great experience and a privilege to be able to work with such a unique osteological collection. It has also provided many exciting opportunities for working on exhibitions, taking part in a wide variety of outreach events, participating in conferences in the UK and overseas, supporting student research projects and carrying out research. Jelena was fortunate to work alongside Gaynor Western on the Impact of Industrialisation on London Health project generously funded by the Rosemary Green Grant awarded through the City of London Archaeological Trust (CoLAT). Jelena has a particular interest in the Post Medieval period and greatly enjoys engaging through outreach events. With the Museum of London in full swing with preparations to go to its new site location at Smithfield the focus for the next few years will be working towards the move.
The President will take up their post at the Annual General Meeting in September 2023.
Secretary: Hannah Leidl
Hannah is currently a PhD candidate in the Department of Archaeology at Durham University. Her PhD research investigates the lived experience of the Athenian population of lower socio-economic status during the Archaic period with a focus on palaeopathological analysis. Her PhD research is funded by a Northern Bridge Doctoral Training Partnership (AHRC) studentship. Hannah has received a BA and MA degree in Classical Archaeology from the University of Vienna before obtaining her MSc in Palaeopathology from Durham University. Hannah worked on research excavations in the Mediterranean as well as for commercial archaeology unit in Vienna, Austria. Her research focuses on palaeopathology, interpersonal and structural violence, and the impact of social, political, and ideological changes on population health.
The Secretary will take up their position at the Annual General Meeting in September 2023.
Communications Officer: Ofelia Meza-Escobar
Ofelia is a bioanthropologist currently working as Anatomy Demonstrator at the University of Birmingham. She is a recent doctoral graduate from the Department of Archaeology at the University of Sheffield, and previously read for a MSc in Anatomy and Advanced Forensic Anthropology (University of Dundee) and a BSc in Physical Anthropology (University of Chile). Her research interests include human anatomy, palaeopathology, historical bioarchaeology, and the bioarchaeology of childhood and old age. Outside of academia, Ofelia enjoys swimming (particularly in cold water), crochet knitting, and gardening.
The Communications Officer will take up their post immediately.
Non-Executive Member and Data Protection Lead: Ariadne Schulz
Ariadne earned concurrent BA degrees (cum laude) in Anthropology and East Asian Languages and Literature from UC at Irvine (2006). She went on to study with the Group in Asian Studies at UC Berkeley earning an MA focusing on Classical Japanese and Japanese Archaeology (2010). During this time, she worked as a Graduate Student Instructor for two field seasons in Aomori Japan. She subsequently emigrated to the UK to pursue her MSc and PhD (2018) in Palaeopathology at Durham University. Ariadne worked as a Project Curator at the British Museum in the Japanese section and has since joined the commercial archaeology sector currently working as a field Archaeologist with Pre-Construct Archaeology. Her research interests include Geometric Morphometrics, infectious disease, and the impact of disease on human history.
The Non-Executive Member and Data Protection Lead will take up their position at the Annual General Meeting in September 2023.