Here is some background information about the people who will be speaking at our 2022 annual seminar 'Redesigning the Future'

Sue Ball has worked in public libraries for over 30 years. Sue’s current role entails responsibility for the design and implementation of strategy and policy for children, young people and adult library services at Staffordshire County Council.  

Sue is Past Chair of the national Association of Senior Children’s and Education Librarians (ASCEL).  Sue is a member of the Children’s Laureate steering group, the group who has responsibility for selecting the English Children’s Laureate Sue is the lead for the Public Libraries Health and Wellbeing Universal Library Offer and is a CILIP Trustee.

In 2019 Sue was awarded an M.B.E in the Queen’s Birthday Honours for Services to Libraries.

Rob Bell is Athena SWAN Coordinator at Imperial College London. Rob has worked at Imperial since 2010, as part of the university’s Equality, Diversity & Inclusion Centre (a dedicated team in HR) and is largely focused on gender equality. His role involves helping the College and its departments to understand their EDI data, to advice on best practice, and to assist with Athena Swan applications. Rob was also involved with Imperial’s successful Race Equality Charter Bronze application in 2021. He also works as an Equality Charters Associate for Advance HE.

The Athena Swan Charter is a framework used to support and transform gender equality within higher education and research. Originally established in 2005, the Charter has expanded over the years and is now firmly established in the UK, with a growing number of other countries also adopting the Charter. The Athena Swan and Race Equality Charters are run by Advance HE, a member-led, sector-owned charity that works to improve higher education for staff, students and society.

Jan Brodowski graduated in history (MA), cultural studies (MA) as well as political science - international relations (PhD). He has various experience in academia, governmental administration, cultural relations and media. Currently, he is the Assistant Professor at the Jagiellonian University, and he works in the Kraków Library where he manages cultural projects. He has created a vibrant network of partners all over Europe.

Luke Burton is Service Manager for Communities Hubs and Libraries in Newcastle and has been in the role for 3 years. He was previously Digital Development Manager for the service and has been involved in delivering and developing digital services, including social media, for most of his career. He began his career in Newcastle in 2010 as a Library and Information Officer before managing the Council’s Business & IP Centre. He has also worked in local studies and prison libraries in Gateshead and Durham respectively.

Andrea Ellison is Chief Librarian Leeds Libraries and started her career as a Librarian with Cumbria County Council’s School Library Service before moving to Manchester Libraries as a Community Librarian in the North of the City. She returned to a specialist children’s and schools role with Stockport Council, eventually becoming Head of Library Services to Children and Young People. Following a secondment working on the early development of Children’s Centres in Stockport, Andrea moved to Oldham Council as the senior Library and Information Manager where she was responsible for a whole service review and transformation project. This included the introduction of a number of new initiatives, including the development of the library’s cultural programme.

Andrea joined Leeds City Council as Chief Librarian in June 2017 and is currently working on a variety of projects including embedding the Service’s forward plan following a recent Service Review.

Andrea is currently Chair of Libraries Connected Yorkshire Humber region, a trustee of Tutti Frutti Children’s Theatre - tutti frutti productions and a member of the PLR Advisory Committee

Isobel Hunter, MBE is the first CEO of Libraries Connected and led its transformation from a membership body into a professional team. Under her leadership the team has more than doubled in size and secured over £1 million additional income to deliver development programmes including for diverse leadership and income generation. Isobel was awarded an MBE in the Queen’s Birthday Honours in 2021 for her work to help library services adapt to the COVID-19 and her focus of the past year has been supporting libraries to recover form the pandemic. 

Isobel began her career as an archivist and for 15 years she managed extraordinary collections including at the Wellcome Library, Marks & Spencer and the National Gallery. She then moved into sector leadership roles with the Museums, Libraries and Archives Council, Arts Council England and The National Archives. The focus of these roles was capacity development in libraries, archives and museums, achieved by capitalising on the expertise within these sectors. Some key achievements include delivery of Stories of the World, one of the major projects of the 2012 Cultural Olympiad, and the largest ever youth participation project in museums; and the development of Archives Unlocked – the government strategy for archives.

Isobel believes in the power of libraries to change lives and to build stronger and happier communities.

Dr. Mohammed Ishaq is an academic at the University of the West of Scotland where he leads the Human Resource Management Unit. He also teaches on the CIPD accredited BA and MSc HRM degrees as well as engaging in significant research and consultancy in relation to EDI with a specific focus on ethnicity, religion and gender. Mohammed has published widely in academic journals and has undertaken consultancy and research for the Equality and Human Rights Commission, SCONUL and Scottish Government. His most recent research was a SCONUL-funded project into BAME staff experiences of working in academic and research libraries and he is currently investigating the lack of staff EDI data in libraires and how this is hampering progress on EDI. Mohammed recently joined the Leading Libraries Project Board to play the role of a critical friend.

Ayub Khan is Head of Universal Services for Warwickshire County Council. He is an active member of several national bodies representing arts and culture including Arts Council England (Midlands), and the British Library’s Public Lending Right Committee. He is a Fellow and past President of CILIP - the Library and Information Association. In 2013, Ayub was awarded an MBE for his services to Libraries and Communities. Ayub’s interest extends to international development, with a strong focus on diversity and inclusion. He has worked on library developments for the British Council in several countries. He began his career in children’s service.

Christian Lauersen is director of Libraries and Citizen Services in Roskilde Municipality, Denmark. He believes that libraries are crucial institutions for all communities, helping to create an open, more diverse, inclusive and equal world. One of Christian’s main professional interests is how shared public places like libraries foster stronger communities. He is proud founder of Library Planet - a crowdsourced travel guide to libraries of the world - and the very first library bossa nova song. Alongside his library career, Christian likes cycling, LEGO and socks.

Twitter: @clauersen
Blog: https://christianlauersen.net/
Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/lauersen/

Dave Lloyd has worked in Public Libraries for close to 30 years and presently hold the post of Service Development Manager for Coventry Library Service. He is also the lead for Libraries Connected Information and Digital Universal Offer and represent Libraries Connected on the DCMS 's Media Literacy Taskforce Steering Board and he has worked as a trustee for Coventry Citizens Advice for 19 years.

Anita Luby is Head of Cultural Services for Vision Redbridge Culture & Leisure with responsibility for Redbridge Library Service, Culture Development, Redbridge Museum & Heritage Service & Mildmay Nursery.

Anita has worked in the arts and culture sector for almost 30 years before moving to public libraries in 2011 when a temporary 6-month secondment turned into an 11 year career with the library service!

Her pioneering death positive work in Redbridge has inspired a new death positive framework for libraries. She is the current Chair of London Libraries and a London Culture Forum Board Member.

Away from work, Anita can be found arguing with Siri and drinking pink prosecco whilst listening to her eclectic and extensive vinyl collection (much to the annoyance of her children!)

Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/anitaluby/

Stuart Miller became Chief Customer Officer and joined the Board of Newcastle Building Society in 2017. He is also a Director of Newcastle Financial Advisers Limited and sits on the Board of the national High Streets Task Force. Stuart has more than three decades’ experience working in the financial services sector for brands such as Virgin Money, NatWest and RBS International.

He is responsible for the commercial performance and all customer facing areas of the building society, including branches, product development, marketing, group communications and financial advice.

Stephen Parkinson was born in North Shields, Tyne & Wear. Growing up on Tyneside, as well as in Surrey, Suffolk, and Hampshire, he was educated at state comprehensives and at Emmanuel College, Cambridge, where he read history and was elected President of the Cambridge Union.

Beginning his career in the Conservative Research Department, he has worked for a think-tank, for two successful referendum campaigns, and as special adviser, then Political Secretary, to Theresa May at the Home Office and at 10 Downing Street. He stood for Parliament in Newcastle-upon-Tyne North in 2010 and joined the House of Lords in 2019, serving as a Lord-in-Waiting (Government Whip) from February 2020, and Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State (Minister for Arts) at DCMS from September 2021.

Nick Porter is the Senior Adviser for climate change and environment policy at the Local Government Association. With almost 15 years in local government, Nick was previously Director of the District Councils’ Network, and at the LGA has led on a range of national policy issues including housing, planning, homelessness, high streets, skills and employment. Nick was named a rising star in the Municipal Journal’s 40 under 40 campaign.

Petra Roberts is Cultural Development Manager at Hackney Council. In April 2021, Petra was appointed to lead a review of Hackney’s Libraries Service which will inform a new Library strategy in 2022.

During the Covid lockdown, Petra co-led the Cultural development team and provided business and fundraising support to local cultural organisations at risk. She also led the Mayor’s heritage review into the naming of landmarks, streets and public spaces in response to the resurgence of the Black Lives Matter movement.

In 2018, Petra initiated a philanthropic legacy project that will see the installation of the first permanent sculptures to honour the Windrush generation in two prominent locations. The project forms part of the award-winning Windrush engagement programme – founded by Petra – designed to help address social isolation and foster greater community cohesion and equality.

Other initiatives that Petra has led on include the award-winning Discover Young Hackney initiative, running since 2006 and engaging thousands of local people with arts and culture – many for the first time. Previously to local government, Petra worked in various roles in the VCS sector, the cultural and creative industries, the National Health Service and as a grantmaker at the National Lottery Fund.

Carol Stump has worked in libraries throughout her career, starting as a library assistant and working her way up to becoming Chief Librarian for Kirklees Council. She was President of Libraries Connected between June 2020 and June 2022 and has been key to supporting libraries through the pandemic and out of lockdown.

She has led her own library service through dramatic change, successfully getting the buy in of elected members, senior managers, staff, and the community, developing new models of delivering the service to meet both the outcomes of the council and national library outcomes.

She believes the physical library space is vital for effectively meeting the needs of the most disadvantaged and isolated in our communities and she represents Libraries Connected on the government’s Tackling Loneliness Network, positioning libraries at the heart of this vital work.