Science Digital Programme Manager, the Natural History Museum, London
Helen is a lifelong Londoner who hopes one day to relocate to Cumbria, where she has family in Whitehaven and Seascale and has enjoyed holidays since early childhood.
Helen started her career as a civil servant, working for 16 years in HM Revenue & Customs and HM Treasury where she held a variety of roles including advising Ministers; undertaking customer research and liaison as a ‘champion’ for accountancy and business interests; and a range of digital transformation projects and programmes including managing teams of up to 50 staff.
In 2016 she moved to the heritage sector to work at the Natural History Museum, where she leads the programme to digitise the collection of some 80 million items, primarily to support scientific research into conservation, climate, health, food and other key areas for humanity and the planet. Her role includes national and international cooperation with small and large collections to share digital best practices and develop infrastructures and standards, as well as talking about digitisation and collections at a range of public events and conferences.
In her spare time, Helen enjoys walking and visiting museums and galleries with her husband and daughter, as well as creative writing. She is particularly excited by the heritage collection at the Kirkgate.