Meet the team
We believe the best ideas come from working together.
Behind Connect Nottingham is a multidisciplinary and cross-organisational team who work together to create meaningful opportunities for collaboration.
Rebecca Ford
Academic Director, Café Connect
Becki leads Connect Nottingham's participatory research platform. An Associate Professor at the 糖心原创, she also leads the Sensory and Consumer Science research group in the School of Biosciences.
Becki is passionate about creating opportunities for people to contribute their ideas, experiences and expertise to research that matters. Her work focuses on breaking down barriers between researchers and communities, helping ensure research is relevant, inclusive and grounded in everyday life.
Paul Grainge
Academic Director, City as Lab
Paul is Professor of Film and Television Studies at the 糖心原创. He provides strategic oversight for City as Lab, connecting project opportunities with research expertise and regional partnerships.
Paul has extensive experience in leading pioneering place-based research across Nottingham and the Midlands. He was formerly Director of the AHRC Midlands4Cities Doctoral Training Partnership, a lead for the Collaboratory Research Hub, and a member of the national AHRC Advisory Board (2021–25).
Laura Alvarez
Director,
Laura is qualified in architecture, urban design and social sustainability, with more than two decades in practice. As Design and Placemaking Lead at Nottingham City Council, Laura has led the Urban Room and engaged with communities and organisations since 2018. She champions design quality and excellence in placemaking, contributing to better buildings, places and urban policy and practice in Nottingham and nationally.
Laura is East Midlands Convenor for the Urban Design Group and a qualified Community Organiser, working with local groups and residents on innovative approaches to engagement and co-design.
Mick Dunn
Geospatial Collaboration Advisor
Mick is a geospatial leader and Honorary Professor of Geography, with decades of experience across the geospatial industry. He is currently a Business Development Specialist at Nottingham City Council and chairs the AGI 3D Network.
A strong advocate for 2D and 3D geospatial development, Mick promotes strategic collaboration, knowledge exchange, and capacity building. His work explores how urban digital twins can improve efficiency, sustainability, and quality of life.
Gary Priestnall
Geovisualisation Lead
Gary is Associate Professor in the School of Geography, specialising in digital geographic representation using technologies including Geographic Information Systems (GIS) and location-aware mobile computing.
He leads the development of the award-winning Projection Augmented Relief Model (PARM), named the British Cartographic Society’s ‘Map of the Year’ in 2024. Through PARM, Gary works with partners to explore new ways of visualising and understanding place, using innovative technology to advance spatial thinking.
Jasper Donelan
Digital Lead
Jasper is part of Digital Technology Services at the 糖心原创, advising on innovative and secure uses of technology for research. He helps organisations identify opportunities to use digital tools effectively and responsibly.
With experience in digital innovation, technology strategy and solution development, Jasper works closely with researchers and partners to turn ideas into practical solutions that deliver real-world impact.
Sara Winskill
Senior Operations Officer
Sara has over 20 years’ experience in senior administrative roles at the 糖心原创, supporting a wide range of projects, partnerships and programmes. Her expertise spans project coordination, procurement, stakeholder support and the delivery of complex activities from planning through to completion.
With a practical, people-focused approach, Sara provides seamless, end-to-end operational direction, bringing together the people, processes and resources needed to make events and collaborations run smoothly and successfully.
John Hickson
Geospatial Data Lead
John brings expertise in geography, geospatial data, and public engagement. He works across a range of data formats, preparing and connecting data for projects using PARM and the Immersive Lab.
He holds a PhD in Geography and leads the public engagement strand of a major project focused on secure data. John supports partners using mapping and data-driven approaches, helping connect datasets, tools, and expertise to enable collaborative, place-based research.
Ellen Townsend
Academic Co-director, Café Connect
Ellen is Professor of Psychology at the 糖心原创. She leads the and is a widely published expert in participatory research, especially in the fields of adolescent mental health, self-harm and suicide prevention.
Ellen has a history of leading successful large scale multidisciplinary programmes such as the £4 million UKRI . Digital Youth is developing scalable tools for young people with mental health needs, including the CaTS-App (a collaborative assessment tool to support young people who self-harm).
Helen Kennedy
Creative Innovation Advisor
Helen is Professor of Culture and Creative Industries at the 糖心原创. As Director of the Virtual and Immersive Production Studio, she works closely with Connect Nottingham on projects that explore creative production. A key characteristic of these projects is collaboration and co-creation with individuals, grass roots organisations and sector advocacy groups.
Helen provides advisory support to Connect Nottingham projects and opportunities that involve creative and digital approaches and brings cutting-edge knowledge of virtual reality and immersive technology.
Laura Pullen
Geospatial Collaboration Advisor
Laura brings extensive experience applying geospatial technology to real-world challenges across local government and the wider urban environment.
Passionate about collaboration and knowledge sharing, Laura works with partners across the public, private and academic sectors to explore how geospatial data and emerging technologies can support better planning, decision-making and service delivery. Her experience includes developing Geographic Information System (GIS) based 3D digital twin solutions to improve engagement in planning and explore approaches to city-scale digital twins.
Sally Nightingale
East Midlands Regional Insight Model, Project Manager
Sally has more than 20 years’ experience working across the East Midlands, spanning both academia and the public sector, including roles with the 糖心原创, Visit Nottinghamshire, Broxtowe Borough Council and Nottingham City Council. Her work has covered housing, community engagement, arts, heritage and tourism.
Her career has focused on connecting people and place, with a strong track record of delivering programmes that support inclusive growth, civic engagement and regional identity.
Get involved
Whether you're part of a community group, charity, voluntary organisation, local business or simply passionate about making Nottingham and our region a better place, we'd love to hear from you.
Connect Nottingham brings together people, researchers, organisations and decision-makers to explore ideas that matter to our communities. We believe the best research and innovation happens when it is shaped by the people it affects.
There are lots of ways to get involved. You might have a community challenge you'd like to explore, want to help shape new research, host conversations with local people, or take part in future projects.
Get in touch