Keynote Speakers: LSA 2024
We have an exciting line up of keynote speakers for LSA 2024!
Brunel University, London
Louise Mansfield is Professor of Sport, Health and Social Sciences, Vice Dean for Research and Director of the Centre for Health and Wellbeing across the Lifecourse in the College of Health, Medicine and Life Sciences at Brunel University London, UK. She is Associate Director of the ESRC Grand Union Doctoral Training Programme; a partnership between Brunel University London, Oxford University and the Open University. Her research focuses on the relationship between inequalities, community sport/physical activity and public health and wellbeing. She has conducted her work with diverse population groups in different contexts and has over 15 years’ experience of leading research projects and offering expert advice for international, national and local sport and public health organisations. This includes for the Sport England Local Delivery Pilots, the ESRC Culture, Sport and Wellbeing Evidence Programme and Chiles-Webster-Batson Commission on sport in low-income communities. She has extensive expertise in coproduction and community approaches to physical activity and issues of health, wellbeing, inequality and diversity. Her work includes a focus on harnessing creative strategies in the design, delivery and evaluation of complex community interventions. Louise is known for developing evidence to inform policy and practice.
University of Barcelona
Claudio Milano is a social anthropologist with a background in economics. He is Ramon y Cajal Research Fellow at the Department of Social Anthropology at the University of Barcelona. He is the Co-Deputy Chair of the Commission on the Anthropology of Tourism for the International Union of Anthropological and Ethnological Sciences (IUAES) and a member of the Editorial Review Board of Annals of Tourism Research (Elsevier). He is also a member of the Research Group on Anthropology of Crisis and Contemporary Transformations (CRITS) at the University of Barcelona and the Observatory for the Anthropology of Urban Conflict (OACU). His primary area of expertise lies into political economy of tourism. His research delves into the dynamics of touristification processes, exploring how societies respond to and resist these changes through social movements and grassroot organizations. Presently, he is engaged in research that centers on the informal economy and migrant labor in tourist destinations. His body of work has been widely disseminated in English, Spanish, Portuguese and Italian through publications in renowned international scientific journals and editorial.
University of Westminster (London)
Ilaria Pappalepore is a Reader (Associate Professor) and co-convener of the ‘Place & Experience’ research group in the School of Architecture and Cities of the University of Westminster (London). Ilaria’s research expertise lies in the intersection between tourism, events, and the creative and cultural industries. Her doctoral research (completed in 2010) looked at the role played by creative industry clusters in the development of tourism in non-central urban areas in London. Her work on the Olympic Games and cultural tourism, which was initially funded by the International Olympic Committee (IOC), spans over 13 years and looked at several case studies including Turin, London, Rio de Janeiro, Tokyo, and, more recently, Paris. In 2020-21 Ilaria led a research collaboration between the University of Westminster and Panthéon-Sorbonne on the future of metropolitan tourism post-COVID-19. Previously, she worked on research on the influence of location-based factors in youth leisure behaviours, funded by the Joseph Rowntree Foundation. Ilaria is a member of the Executive Committee of ATHE (UK Association of Tourism in Higher Education) and is a Fellow of the UK Higher Education Academy. She teaches at undergraduate, postgraduate and PhD level. Her work has been widely disseminated through international peer-reviewed journals as well as more widely accessible formats such as online open-access articles and podcasts.
Olympic Swimmer, Human Rights Campaigner & Network Coordinator for The Sport & Rights Alliance
Joanna Maranhão is a Brazilian Olympian, survivor, advocate and researcher. She holds a Master of Sports Ethics and Integrity from the University of Leuven in Belgium, and a Bachelor in Physical Education from Faculdade Maurício de Nassau in Brazil. As a professional swimmer, Joanna specialized in individual medley and distance events, participating in four Olympic Games and winning eight medals at the Pan American Games.
A survivor of sexual abuse in sport, Joanna is now an advocate for and researcher on athlete safeguarding, having just successfully defended her thesis on the prevalence of interpersonal violence among elite athletes in Brazil. Previously, Joanna led the campaign to expand Brazil’s statutes of limitation to allow survivors of child sexual abuse more time to report and seek justice, succeeding in establishing a new law, which bears her name (Law Joanna Maranhão).
Currently, Joanna leads the Sport & Rights Alliance’s scoping project for a Global Survivors Network — consulting athletes across the globe with lived experience of physical, sexual, and emotional abuse to assess their interest and need for an international network to facilitate greater exchange, advocacy and support for athlete survivors.
Founder, Mòr Diversity
Mountain bike coach, guide, mentor and entrepreneur – Aneela McKenna is an award-winning equality, diversity and inclusion (EDI) change-maker. She is founder of the Mòr Diversity EDI Consultancy, co-chair of British Cycling’s D&I Advisory Group, and partner of Go-Where Scotland MTB adventure outfitters. She was also the EDI Adviser for 2023 UCI Cycling World Championships.
Aneela has an infectious passion and a quiet determination to amplify marginalised voices and assist others to understand and embrace EDI – to enrich industry and organisational culture whilst increasing representation in sport and the outdoors.
Websites: www.mordiversity.com // www.morpartnership.com
Head of Tourism and Conventions, Glasgow Life
Aileen is Head of Tourism & Conventions at Glasgow Life, the city’s lead agency for Destination Marketing, Major Events and Conventions.
The Tourism remit focuses on industry engagement, destination management and partnership working with key stakeholders such as VisitScotland and industry, to deliver on the 2030 Tourism Strategy for the city.
In addition, Aileen leads the award-winning Glasgow Convention Bureau, responsible for the successful positioning of Glasgow as a conference destination for national and international association meetings.
As a keen supporter of the meetings industry, Aileen currently sits on the International Conference & Convention Association (ICCA) Board as Vice President and Destination Sector Co-Chair.
@meetglasgow
@Glasgow_Aileen
LinkedIn
Exec Director SCOTO & Director ruralDimensions Ltd
Carron’s career started in planning and landscape design before devoting several years of her career to the establishment and development of Scotland’s first National Park – Loch Lomond and The Trossachs. In 2009 she established ruralDimensions in Callander and has since enjoyed working across Scotland on a broad portfolio of tourism, destination development and community engagement initiatives. In 2022 she facilitated the establishment of SCOTO Scotland’s Community Tourism Network and is now Exec Director leading on their ‘Press Pause’ activity. Carron was appointed on to the Scottish Tourism & Hospitality Industry Leadership Group in 2022 and she is currently leading one of five missions – ‘Community Led Tourism’.
Brunel University London
Robyn Smith is a social scientist with a background in sports sociology and migration studies. She is currently a lecturer in Sport, Health and Exercise Sciences at Brunel University London and a member of the editorial board of Annals of Leisure Research. Her research primarily focuses on the relationship between community sport, leisure, and well-being among young people from equity-owed communities. Robyn’s research is embedded within social justice and she is passionate about working in collaboration with communities and using participatory approaches to co-create meaningful and useable knowledge which can foster social change. Robyn has published widely on the ethical, methodological, and conceptual dimensions of participatory research and is co-editor of the forthcoming collection ‘Participatory Research in Sport and Physical Activity’. Currently, her research seeks to explore the lived experiences and wellbeing of young people from migrant and refugee backgrounds in, and through, sport and leisure.
Director of Policy & Impact, Spirit of 2012
Amy is the Director of Policy & Impact at Spirit of 2012, where she has led on its research and learning work since 2017. Spirit of 2012 is the social legacy funder of the London 2012 Olympic & Paralympic Games, and aims to improve our collected understanding of how to strengthen the long term impact of events. Amy has been a member of the evaluation steering groups of the last three UK Cities of Culture. In January 2023 she co-authored the final report of Spirit’s independent inquiry into maximising the power of events.
