There is a team of scientists and educators behind this campaign. Here's a little bit about each of us :)
Laurie Winkless is an Irish physicist-turned-writer who moved from London to Wellington in late 2016. After her post-grad, she worked in materials research at the UK’s National Physical Laboratory. Her first book, Science and the City, was published worldwide by Bloomsbury, and has been translated into Spanish and Korean. Her second book, Sticky, is in the works. Laurie is an advocate for equality and diversity in STEM, a volunteer campaigner for Let Toys Be Toys, and an obsessive tweeter. When not talking science, Laurie loves to sew and travel, and because she is Irish, she really likes to chat.
Siouxsie Wiles is a microbiologist who heads up the Bioluminescent Superbugs Lab whose mission is to try to find new antibiotics and understand more about how ‘superbugs’ evolve. She is passionate about smashing both the patriarchy and the ivory towers of academia. Siouxsie is an enthusiastic tweeter, blogger, artist, curator, and media science commentator, and last year wrote her first book, Antibiotic resistance: the end of modern medicine? When not thinking or talking about science, Siouxsie loves baking, cycling, and playing with Lego.
Kate Hannah is a cultural historian of science who hangs out in a physics department. She cares about smashing the patriarchy, red lipstick, and cooking for people she loves in equal measure. She’s organised or co-organised a number of crowdfunding campaigns, focused on equity and access in science, and social justice, including children’s books donations for Te Puea Marae; sending copies of Nicola Gaston’s book, Why Science is Sexist to decision-makers in NZ Universities; a Hidden Figures screening fundraiser for a scholarship for women, particularly women or femmes with intersectional identities in (a scholarship fund has since been established).
Jamie Harknett comes from a line of strong women, and is inspired by her grandmother – one of the first women to graduate from St Anne's College at Oxford University. With a passion for education, Jamie has spent the early years of her career educating in various forms, from nannying to teaching physical education and tutoring students with learning difficulties. Now employed in the public service, it is her aim to make quality, bicultural, and inspirational education accessible to all children in New Zealand. When not working or dancing, she is watching David Attenborough documentaries and planning her next adventure.
