The Office Team
Bruce Etherington is the Programme Manager of the Beacon for Wales. He has worked in science communication since doing a Medical Physics degree. Prior to this role, he has worked at Techniquest, Amgueddfa Cymru-National Museum Wales, Broward Community College (Florida) and the University of Glamorgan.
Bethan Caines is a Programme Officer for the Beacon for Wales with responsibility for developing a training programme in public engagement. Prior to this role, Beth managed a trust fund that provided grants for dental research at the British Dental Association, and was a Research Assistant at both Cardiff Business School and Action on Hearing Loss.
Rachel Dodds is one of the Programme Officers. Rachel has worked on a variety of education and public engagement projects including Science Cafe Wales, Researchers in Residence and the Faulkes Telescope Project. Alongside this new role she is also the project officer on a Beacon funded project to link early career researchers with secondary schools. Rachel gained a PhD in bacterial genetics in 2003, and an MSc in Science Communication from the University of the West of England in 2006 specialising in science writing and broadcasting.
Martina Svobodova is one of the Programme Officers. Martina has extensive experience of working in the third sector environment. In the Czech Republic, she coordinated a partnership comprised of 14 regional NGO partners and organised a nation-wide consultation process, round tables and a national conference focusing on NGO participation within the EU Structural funds planning process. This process resulted in the government’s inclusion of NGO representatives on their EU funding planning committees. In Wales, she worked at BAWSO Women’s Aid where she managed the Black and Minority ethnic (BME) volunteering scheme and a 24hour help-line providing specialist support for BME women fleeing domestic abuse. In the past year, she has been working as a Research Assistant within Cardiff University’s Violence and Society Research Group undertaking an applied clinical research project studying hate violence and assessing the potential of Emergency Medicine data being used within community violence prevention.
Richard Watermeyer is the Research Associate for the Beacon for Wales with responsibility for evaluation. He is a trained educational sociologist with wide ranging experience across academe and consultancy. His research interests span subjectivity and identity formation, innovative pedagogy, cultural theory and ethnography. Richard is currently exploring the diverse theoretical and practical aspects of engagement, developing methodological frameworks for academic practice.
Rhian Todd is the Administrative Officer for the Beacon for Wales Team. Rhian previously spent five years as Office Manager at Pass Training, the dedicated training division of Vantis plc, a leading UK accounting, tax and business recovery and advisory group. Prior to this, Rhian was Conference Manager for the Society of Petroleum Engineers and part of the training administration team at Network Rail. Rhian has returned to South Wales after ten years in London and took up the position of Beacon Administrative Officer after a year on maternity leave, looking after her son Gruffudd.
Our main office is: Beacon for Wales, Communications and International Relations Division, Cardiff University, Deri House, 2-4 Park Grove, Cardiff, CF10 3PA
Our main telephone number is 029 2087 6414
