Advocacy

Member of the Advocacy Working Group

Amy Aisha Brown is a Senior Lecturer in Academic Skills and Link Tutor for the London Pathway College at the University of Portsmouth London. She leads on academic skills provision across levels and subject areas on the campus. This work includes leading on modules in academic and professional skills, embedded teaching and supporting others to embed skills into their teaching, and one-to-one support. She brings together learning from across a range of roles in higher education, including in Learner Development (LD), English for Academic Purposes, Applied Linguistics, and Digital Education, in both professional services and academic roles.  A key driver for Amy Aisha is identifying and lowering barriers to education. In the current climate, however, she recognises that LD work that actively aims to create this more equitable access to higher education is under threat. Through the Advocacy Working Group, she hopes to advocate for LD by “unhiding”  the role it plays in student success and explore the opportunities that LD can offer in this period of rapid change.

Steering Group Member

Chair of the Advocacy Working Group 

JLDHE Section Editor

Member of the LearnHigher working group

Lee works as a Lecturer in Education Studies and MA Programme Director for the School of Education at the University of Hull. He has ten years of experience working as a Learning Developer for the University Library and is an ALDinHE Certified Leading Practitioner (CeLP). Lee is a Senior Fellow of the Higher Education Academy, a Certified Member of ALT, an NVivo Certified Expert, a Microsoft Certified Educator and a Microsoft Innovative Educator Expert. Lee has an EdD in Education, a PG Cert in eLearning, a PG Cert in Academic Practice and a BA (Hons) in Geography. His research interests focus on the intersections between education and geography, inclusive of physical and digital spaces. His specific interests include learning spaces and communities, inclusive digital practice, SENDI education, higher education, research methodologies and geographies of place. Lee joined the LHWG and JLDHE Editorial Board in 2022, and helped form the Advocacy Working Group in 2026.

Megan is a Senior Learning Developer in the College of Arts, Technology and Environment at the University of the West of England. Primarily, she supports students in the School of Architecture and Environment. Her background involves teaching in a range of settings, including EAP, which has been instrumental to her approach to Learning and Teaching. She’s dedicated to creating safe and stimulating learning environments in which all students can thrive, and is passionate about the role of advocacy in Learning Development.

Phil Peatling is Head of the Centre for Student Success at the University of Lincoln, where he leads integrated support across writing development, maths and statistics, and digital skills. His work focuses on creating inclusive, connected approaches to learning development that support student success across the whole student journey. With a background spanning further and higher education, and experience as a lecturer in sport, education studies, and teacher training, he has led a range of initiatives across learning development, digital education, and cross-institutional collaboration.

I am an educationalist and Fellow of the Higher Education Academy (FHEA) with a portfolio career spanning multiple higher education contexts across the UK. I hold a PhD in Education from the University of Exeter, where I also supervise master’s dissertations within the School of Education on the MA Education programmes.

I currently work as a Lecturer in Academic Skills at Regent College London and as Learning Skills Coordinator at the Royal Central School of Speech and Drama (University of London). My work focuses on learning development, critical pedagogy, decoloniality, and supporting diverse student communities across higher education. Having worked across a research-intensive university, a specialist arts conservatoire, and a franchised higher education provider, I bring a broad and nuanced understanding of how Learning Development is positioned, practiced, and embedded within different institutional and pedagogical contexts.

Alongside my teaching and learning development work, I am also an author of pedagogical and educational resources for SAGE Publishing and have contributed to scholarly publications and book chapters in the field of critical education.

Member of the ALDinHE Events Working Group and the Advocacy Working Group,  I have worked in higher education for the last seven years after a previous career in events management. I have a particular interest in student voice and student partnership within the learning space. My work is centred on creating inclusive opportunities for students to influence their learning experience and for colleagues to share innovative practice. I have a passion for life long learning and a personal interest, that is creeping into my professional life, around AI (I hold a masters in AI and Data Science), currently undertaking an MBA.

Member of the Advocacy Working Group

Sam works in the Academic Skills & Development team at the University of Surrey, supporting students with their learning development whilst at university. Her role includes embedded teaching in the Faculty of Arts, Business and Social Sciences to a diverse range of undergraduate and postgraduate taught students, as well as one-to-one academic skills advice and support. Sam is a member of the ALDinHE Advocacy Working Group and is passionate about effectively promoting the profession to increase recognition across HE and beyond. She particularly appreciates the collaborative nature of her work and enjoys working with students, academics and colleagues to develop impactful learning development practices.

Sonia manages the Study Advice team at the University of Reading and has been working in Learning Development since 2006. Prior to this she was a Marketing Manager and brings this knowledge to her work. She is responsible for the strategic direction of the team’s work, and sits on a number of University wide working groups and committees. She is passionate about levelling the playing field and advocates for Learning Development to be part of the conversation to enable this. In 2024 she authored the Chapter, Succeeding at Learning Development- in Syska, A. and Buckley, C. (eds.) How to be a Learning Developer in Higher Education: Critical Perspectives, Community and Practice -emphasising the importance of building relationships with other third space colleagues, measuring impact and raising the profile of our work.

She completed an Ed.D in 2019 entitled: I believe I can write, researching the impact of self-efficacy on academic writing attainment. Her research has led to changes in how writing development is supported within the curriculum of the University’s Foundation degree programme. In 2026 she is building a new team to support the University’s Home Foundation Year Students. This involves measuring engagement and reaching out to students to ensure no one falls through the gaps. This has involved introducing new roles of Success Partner and Engagement Officer, and a Study Adviser dedicated to develop the academic skills and confidence of our students following a Home Foundation Year.

Member of the Advocacy Working Group

With a PhD in History of Art and Archaeology, I bring a strong interdisciplinary background to learning development, combining academic expertise with a passion for inclusive and engaging education. After six years teaching as a subject lecturer, I moved into learning development in 2022, where I specialise in skills embedding, curriculum development, reflective practice, and creative approaches to writing. Outside of work, I can usually be found travelling the globe in search of new cultures, historical sites, and the perfect artisanal chocolate.

Member of the Advocacy Working Group 
Although Tanya Klymenko is a subject lecturer rather than a Learning Developer, much of her work in a transnational joint programme sits at the intersection of discipline teaching and learning development. In this context, she supports students in interpreting expectations around assessment, academic conventions, and independent learning, and often mediates between two higher education systems. This has made her increasingly aware of the strategic importance of Learning Development in internationalised programmes. Tanya joined the Advocacy WG to provide a discipline-based perspective on how Learning Development can be embedded and recognised within transnational education.

Deputy Chair of the Communities Working Group

As a Learning Developer Ursula Canton works with STEM students, arts students and education students at different universities and under different titles (Senior Lecturer / Glasgow Caledonian University; Effective Learning Tutor /Royal Conservatoire of Scotland and Associate Tutor / University of Glasgow). In all of these roles she draws on her experiences from her first academic life (MA Language and Literature; PhD in Theatre Studies) and current research interests in evaluating writing interventions, writing process(es) and academic and professional literacies. She is keen on contributing to the development of Learning Development through formal and informal routes, including taking a leading role in developing ALDinHE’s mentoring programme, co-chairing of ScotHELD (Scottish Higher Education Developers) and sharing her insights through informal chats and mentoring, as well as publications.