Steering Group

Priyanka Kumar  

Priyanka is Co-Chair of LSE Power, organising and chairing the Steering Group meetings, lobbying the School Management Committee for Power priorities, and establishing senior allies.

As Employer Engagement Adviser at LSE Careers, Priyanka establishes and maintains relationships with a variety of employers across sectors. She advises them on the most effective way to connect with the best and most relevant talent at LSE, through our comprehensive programme of activities and flagship events. She also oversees the Parliamentary Internship programme, which provides students the opportunity to intern with Members of Parliament (MPs) from across the House of Commons and peers in the House of Lords. 

Email: p.kumar17@lse.ac.uk 

Nathalie Van der Elst

Nathalie is Co-Chair of LSE Power, organising and chairing the Steering Group meetings, lobbying the School Management Committee for Power priorities, and establishing senior allies.

As Research Development Manager in Research and Innovation (R&I), Nathalie provides strategic support and guidance for LSE faculty by facilitating and developing research grant opportunities to secure UK and international funding.

Email: n.van-der-elst@lse.ac.uk

Meeta Bhatt

Meeta works part-time in the Human Resource Division’s Reward Team, and manages the administration and delivery of the Academic and Research Staff Career Development and Mentoring Schemes. She also supports other teams in HR on web support and digital communications projects. 

Email: m.bhatt@lse.ac.uk 

Laura Carseldine

Laura works as the PGT Service Delivery Manager within the Department of Law where she works with a small team to ensure high quality programme delivery with a key focus on student experience which includes the planning and running of events.

E-mail: l.c.carseldine@lse.ac.uk

Dr Gwen Cheve

Gwen works as a Research Development Manager in the Research and Innovation Division. In this role she supports academics with their research strategies so that they can develop their research ideas into distinct and fundable projects.

Email: G.S.Cheve@lse.ac.uk

Lubala Chibwe

Lubala is the Communications and Events Officer in STICERD (a research Centre in the Department of Economics). She organises the seminars and events in STICERD. She coordinates the promotion of STICERD research and events both internally at LSE and externally.

Email: l.chibwe@lse.ac.uk

Fergus Deery

Fergus is the Gender Equity Allies Programme Manager, and currently focuses on engaging more male members of staff with Power’s work and the ways that they can support it.

As an ARD Systems Support Officer, Fergus maintains and develops school-wide digital systems such as Trace, MyResearch, and Enrolment.

Email: F.Deery@lse.ac.uk

Maddie Giles

Maddie is the Communications and Events Manager in the Department of Sociology where she organises a wide range of events and manages the department’s communications to internal and external audiences.

Email: M.Giles1@lse.ac.uk

Louise Jones

Louise has been at LSE for over 14 years, and having worked many years in the events team is now Head of Research Communications and Engagement in the Communications Division, supporting research engagement across the School.

Email: L.Jones2@lse.ac.uk

Mercedes Masters

Mercedes is the Co-Communications Manager of LSE Power, responsible for the communications sent to existing Power network members.

Mercedes is the Kuwait Programme Coordinator at the LSE Middle East Centre, where she coordinates the Kuwait Programme's research grant and collaboration projects, as well as overseeing its alumni network and visiting fellowships.

Email: m.c.masters@lse.ac.uk

LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/in/mercedesmasters

Dr Souad Mohamed

Dr Souad Mohamed is an External Relations Co-Manager of LSE Power and leads on external relations and partnerships with other leading universities and professional bodies. 

She is a Principal Investigator and Visiting fellow at LSE's Middle East Centre and CEO of IEL International . Her multidisciplinary research and executive education projects includes women leadership development with a focus on top management career trajectories in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region".  

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/souadmohamed/

Email: s.mohamed7@lse.ac.uk

Xiaoran Xu

Xiaoran is a Co-Communications Manager at LSE Power, responsible for communications to existing power network members.

She works as a Communications and Marketing Manager at the Department of Health Policy. She manages communications across channels for the department's research, and leads marketing campaigns for student recruitment.

Email: X.Xu68@lse.ac.uk