In this session we will introduce the Charity/ Non-Profit Sector to you and provide information on the types of roles available, the skills needed and ideas on how you can build experience.
We will also hear from researchers who are working in this sector.
Dr Mia Harris, User Researcher, Citizens Advice
Dr Mia Harris is a User Researcher at Citizens Advice, a charity offering free, confidential advice on money, work, consumer, housing and other topics. Mia explores how people interact with Citizens Advice’s products and services, to support design solutions that meet users’ needs. Previously, Mia conducted academic, social and policy research focussed on prisons. They completed a PhD in Criminology, before becoming a Research Officer at Prison Reform Trust, an independent UK charity working to create a just, humane and effective penal system. Mia’s PhD was entitled ‘Queer in the prison?: What does it mean to be ‘Out’ inside?’ They’ve continued to work on LGBT+ issues, co-chairing Citizens Advice’s Trans and Non-binary equity group. During Mia’s PhD, they taught Qualitative Methods at City, University of London. Mia also acted as a research assistant for projects on courts and policing.
Dr Lucy Van Essen-Fishman, Policy and Research Manger, Jisc
Lucy Van Essen-Fishman completed a DPhil in Classics in 2014, focusing on the construction of character in the tragedies of Sophocles. She then spent several years as a Stipendiary or Departmental Lecturer in Classics, teaching modules from across the classics curriculum.
In 2019, she joined the Higher Education Statistics Agency (HESA, now part of Jisc) as a Lead Policy and Research Analyst. Her work at HESA focuses on policy needs for higher education data; she has worked on projects around widening access to higher education, graduate mobility and career satisfaction, and the impact of the pandemic on higher education data. Now a Policy and Research Manager, she is currently leading on the policy aspects of a review of HESA’s data on higher education staff.
Dr Daven Vasishtan, Budding conservationist and entomologist, Former Senior Postdoctoral Researcher, Dept. Biochemistry, University of Oxford
Daven spent 15 years sitting at a computer working on structural biology projects before deciding he should spend some time outdoors. He has since been wandering around Hertfordshire volunteering for Butterfly Conservation and the Wildlife Trust, looking for ancient woodlands, identifying butterflies, kicking up river mud and building little wooden bridges. He is currently having too much fun to actually find a job.
Dr Mirjam Hazenbosch, Interdisciplinary conservationist, Sustainable Business Programme Manager, ZSL London Zoo
Mirjam is a passionate leader in sustainable business, dedicated to bridging the gap between nature conservation and the corporate world. As the Sustainable Business Programme Manager at the Zoological Society of London (ZSL) – a world-renowned science-driven conservation charity & owner of London and Whipsnade Zoos – she works to restore wildlife across the UK and globally. Together with her team, she empowers businesses to step up for nature, forging partnerships that drive real impact for biodiversity.
Her career journey began in academia, where she researched tropical rainforest conservation and smallholder agriculture in Papua New Guinea. Eager to turn research into action, she transitioned to the corporate world, advising companies on how to integrate nature into their business. As a Senior Project Manager at Proforest and later a Principal Consultant at Biodiversify, she built expertise in biodiversity risk assessments, strategy development, and nature-positive business solutions.
Mirjam’s work has taken her across the world – from The Netherlands and New Zealand to the USA, Papua New Guinea, India, and England – giving her a truly global perspective on nature conservation and sustainability. She speaks Dutch, English, and Tok Pisin fluently and holds a BSc in Liberal Arts & Sciences from University College Utrecht and a PhD in Interdisciplinary Bioscience from the University of Oxford.
Dr Lampros Bisdounis, Research Manager in Mental Health, Wellcome
Lampros is a Research Manager in the Mental Health team at Wellcome, focusing on developing and delivering funding investments to support scientific discovery in mental health. His work focuses on understanding the mechanisms of how mental health problems develop, persist and resolve.
Prior to his role at Wellcome, Lampros completed a DPhil in Clinical Neurosciences at the University of Oxford, researching the role of sleep and circadian rhythms in bipolar disorder. In the meantime, he also worked as a POST fellow in the House of Lords and as a visiting researcher at Queen’s University in Canada. He has also worked as a consultant for the Health Division of the OECD and maintains an honorary research contract and some teaching responsibilities with the University of Oxford.
Lampros completed his BSc at the University of Glasgow and MSc at the University of Amsterdam.
