Dr Jane Pilcher
Dr Jane Pilcher is the Principal Investigator on the adoption name stories project. She is Associate Professor of Sociology in the School of Social Sciences at Nottingham Trent University.
Jane is an expert in personal naming practices, in terms of identities and bodies, gendered forenames, and also family surname choices in the context of greater diversity and flexibility in contemporary gender identities and family relationships. Jane is the founder and director of the People's Names Research Network, an affiliation of academics around the world who study personal names.
Follow Jane on Twitter @sociologyblog
Professor Amanda Coffey
Professor Amanda Coffey is a Co-Investigator on the adoption name stories project. She is Deputy Vice-Chancellor and Provost at the University of the West of England (UWE Bristol).
Prior to joining UWE Bristol in 2020, Amanda spent 30 years at Cardiff University in a variety of roles including head of the School of Social Sciences, and Pro Vice-Chancellor for Academic Standards and Student Experience. Amanda is a sociologist, with a track record of research in a range of social science areas. These include education, young people, transitions to adulthood, and adoption studies. She has particular interest and expertise in ethnography and qualitative research methods.
Follow Amanda on Twitter @AmandaJCoffey
Eve Makis
Eve is a Co-Investigator on the adoption name stories project. Eve is a lecturer in creative writing at Nottingham Trent University and is the author of four novels and a life writing guide, The Accidental Memoir, published by Harper Collins in 2019.
Eve is recipient of the Young Booksellers International Book of the Year Award and her works have been shortlisted for the Jerwood Fiction Uncovered Prize and the East Midlands Book Award. She works extensively in the community delivering writing workshops.
Follow Eve on Twitter @EveMakis
Hannah Deakin-Smith
Hannah is a researcher on the adoption name stories project. Hannah joined the School of Social Sciences at Nottingham Trent University in 2021 working on the British Academy funded project ‘Say my name’, examining student and staff experiences of name (mis)pronunciation in higher education. She was a qualitative researcher on the European Union funded project “POCARIM”, exploring academic mobility.
Hannah completed her PhD in the geography department at Loughborough University in 2012, focusing on international student mobility. Hannah volunteers for Sure Start children centre services in the East Midlands where she has completed several research projects reviewing service provisions and user experiences.
Follow Hannah on Twitter @hannahldeakin
Dr Jan Flaherty
Jan is a researcher on the adoption and name stories project. Jan has previously held posts as a qualitative researcher at Nuffield College, University of Oxford, Durham University and most recently, King’s College, London. Jan studied at Loughborough University, where she completed her PhD on discourses of poverty in 2008, under the supervision of Prof Ruth Lister (Baroness Lister of Burtersett).
Jan’s research interests are identity, class, poverty and social exclusion in the UK, homelessness and creative research methods.
Follow Jan on Twitter @jan_flaherty22