Helen Steffens

I joined the project just after its launch in order to provide support to Ben and the team. As well as providing administrative support for Ben, two of my main functions are organising events and maintaining/updating the website. Before taking on this role I worked in Widening Access & Participation for the University of Oxford, most recently at the Faculty of Law as their Outreach Officer.

My background is in English Literature. I read for my undergraduate degree at Corpus Christi, University of Oxford, before taking a Masters at Queen Mary, University of London (for which I received a Distinction, and the Barbara Grannis Award for original research in a dissertation). This was followed by a PhD at Royal Holloway, University of London, with my thesis entitled ‘Adrian Henri and the Merseybeat movement: performance, poetry, and public in the Liverpool scene of the 1960s’. Since passing my PhD viva with no corrections in 2013 and beginning work at the University of Oxford in 2014, I lived in Brussels, travelled round New Zealand, and consulted for a literary charity in Liverpool. All of which have clearly been excellent preparation for this role.