William Temple Foundation

Professor Simon Lee (Chair) is Emeritus Professor of Jurisprudence at Queen’s University Belfast. He was a Brackenbury Scholar at Balliol College, Oxford, and a Harkness Fellow at Yale Law School. He taught law at Trinity College, Oxford, and King’s College London before becoming professor of jurisprudence at Queen’s. Simon was the co-founder of Initiative ’92, a citizens’ movement during the Troubles in Northern Ireland in the 1990s, which created grassroots dialogue through the Opsahl Commission.

He served for twenty years in executive leadership roles for Liverpool Hope University College, Leeds Metropolitan University, Level Partnerships and the Cambridge Theological Federation, where he was also a Fellow of St Edmund’s College, before returning to professing law full-time for ten years at the Open University and Aston University. For thirty years, he has also been serving in non-executive roles, including chairing diverse boards.

A lay Catholic, he has a long history of ecumenical and inter-faith engagement in the public square. He has honorary doctorates from either side of the Atlantic. He is the author of many books, essays and articles on law, religion, ethics, politics, history, universities and sport. In the summer of 2026, he is launching the Olney Review of Books.

Dr Helen Reid is Director of Leeds Church Institute, a faith based organisation for lifelong learning. LCI is based in Leeds city centre and works city-wide. Its mission focuses on ‘Learning for a Faithful City’ through education and events, research, city engagement and a not-for-profit business. Previously, Helen has held three different posts each focused around education and action for better understanding between different faiths.

She was awarded a PhD in Peace Studies (1997) for research into the role of conflict resolution in Religious Education in schools in Bradford and Leicester. This was a formative time in her career and she continues to be motivated by a commitment to acting with others for the city to be a better and more peaceful place for all.

The Very Rev’d Dr Peter Robinson has served as Dean of Derby since July 2020, leading the life of Derby Cathedral and working as part of the Bishop of Derby’s senior staff team. Previously, he was Archdeacon of Lindisfarne in the Diocese of Newcastle from 2008.

Peter brings extensive experience of ministry and theological reflection across inner-urban, rural and city-centre contexts. He led the pioneering Urban Ministry and Theology Project in Newcastle’s East End, developing new forms of contextual theological education following Faith in the City.

He chaired the Lindisfarne Regional Training Partnership (2009–2017) and the Diocesan Board of Education (2014–2020), gaining significant experience of working with academies and multi-academy trusts. Peter chaired the William Temple Foundation from 2011–2020, overseeing a major development programme, and continues to support the Foundation as a trustee and council member.

Rev’d Dr Yazid Said is a Senior Lecturer in Islam at Liverpool Hope University. He studied Classical Arabic and English Literature at the Hebrew University in Jerusalem, and Christian Theology at the University of Cambridge. After being ordained an Anglican priest, he completed his PhD at the University of Cambridge (2010) on the medieval Muslim theologian Abu Hamid al-Ghazali (d. 1111). His research is focused on medieval Muslim political and legal thought and on Christian-Muslim theological encounters, with reference to the manner in which Greek philosophical thought was appropriated in both Christian and Muslim texts.

He is the author of Ghazali’s Politics in Context (Routledge 2012) and co-editor of The Future of Interfaith Dialogue: Muslim-Christian Encounters through A Common Word (Cambridge University Press, 2018). Yazid is currently working on two projects: a critical edition of an Egyptian Muslim polemical manuscript against Christians and Jews in seventeenth century Ottoman Egypt and an investigation of Ghazali’s concept of ‘taste’, dhawq.

Revd Dr Paul Monk is a priest in Oldham, Greater Manchester, with a background spanning science, theology and community development. Originally trained as a chemist at the University of Exeter, he worked in several UK universities before ordination in 2007. He later completed theology degrees at the Universities of Manchester and Sheffield.

Paul has written 18 books across chemistry, biosciences, theology and church history, and has co-authored numerous interfaith texts. He previously served on the Diocese of Manchester’s ecology and environmental board and continues to advise churches on fundraising and grant applications.

A major focus of his work is rebuilding community cohesion. He founded Barnabas Thrive, now one of the largest Anglican community projects in Greater Manchester. 

Dr Deirdre Brower Latz is Principal of Nazarene Theological College, Manchester, a theological college validated by the University of Manchester.  Her research interests include urban poverty, justice practice, engaging in research around church on the margins, and she has a particular interest in Wesleyan Theology.   

Prior to coming to NTC, she worked as a youth worker, global leader of a denominational youth movement, and served as a local church minister in urban contexts in Bristol and Manchester.  

Most recently she searched as a peer research lead for Church Action on Poverty working of the first phase of a long term project entitled Church on the Margins.

Deirdre completed her PhD in Practical theology at the University of Manchester in 2009. Working with ideas of justice from within a Wesleyan framework while participating in local leadership in Longsight, Manchester, her passion for justice engaged in normal life and transformational practice grew. 

Professor Edward Abbott-Halpin is Emeritus Professor at the University of the Highlands and Islands. A political scientist, his work focuses on governance, human rights, child rights, peace and conflict resolution.

Over a 30-year academic career, he has held senior roles across UK universities and served as Principal of Orkney College. He has also worked in the Civil Service and as a Racial Equality Officer. Edward chaired the international NGO HURIDOCS and has worked with organisations including CRIN, Plan International, and the Canadian Coalition for the Rights of Children.

He has advised the European Parliament and Cambridge Governance Labs and is a Fellow of the Royal Society of the Arts.

Ian Mayer DL is an entrepreneur specialising in leadership, group behaviour and virtual organisations. With a background in education and technology, he has worked in digital learning and innovation since the mid-1990s and currently manages internet-based business and community projects.

In March 2019, Ian was appointed Deputy Lieutenant of South Yorkshire, a Crown appointment supporting the Lord Lieutenant across the region. He is also a Public Leadership Ambassador for the Evangelical Alliance.

Together with his wife Alyson, Ian pioneered One Heart One Voice, a church unity movement in Doncaster, and now leads The Catalyst Network, promoting unity across leadership contexts. They have three grown children and six grandchildren.

Rev’d Dr Ericcson T. Mapfumo is a missional priest serving Christ Church Moldgreen and St James Rawthorpe, and Anglican Chaplain at the University of Huddersfield. His doctorate explores the lived experience of Black clergy in the Church of England, contributing to intercultural ministry and belonging.

Before ordination, Ericcson worked in the construction industry and education. He has extensive chaplaincy experience across universities, schools, prisons and healthcare settings. Raised in Zimbabwe within an Indigenous African Pentecostal Church, his faith journey spans global Pentecostalism and Anglicanism.

He is committed to grassroots “under the tree” theology, community organising and intercultural dialogue. His publications include Black Clergy in the Church of England: Towards a Sense of Belonging.

Professor Chris Baker joined the William Temple Foundation in 2001 as Development Officer, before becoming Director of Research in 2003. He completed his doctorate on religion in English New Towns at the University of Manchester in 2002, where he taught urban and public theology until 2009. Chris holds the post of William Temple Professor of Religion, Belief and Public Life at Goldsmiths, University of London.

Chris has published extensively on the contribution of faith to urban and public life, producing over 40 articles and book chapters and 11 books. Recent publications include Theology for Changing Times: John Atherton and the Future of Public Theology (SCM Press, 2018), Re-imagining Religion and Belief for 21st Century Policy and Practice (Policy Press, 2019), and Postsecular Geographies (Routledge, 2019).

His recent research, commissioned by the UK Parliament, examined partnerships between local authorities and faith groups during the COVID-19 pandemic and their impact on inclusion, diversity and policy practice. Chris delivers training and consultancy across the UK, Europe and Australia.

Dr Matthew Barber-Rowell FRSA is Northern Temple Network Lead, appointed in August 2025, representing the Foundation across the north of England. His first monograph, Curating Spaces of Hope: Transformational Leadership for Uncertain Times, has been widely commended, including by Stephen Timms MP and Ian Markham.

Matthew previously served as Communications Officer (2023–2025), leading the Radical Hope campaign, co-editing two books, and co-designing the Communicating Radical Hope in an era of poly-crisis conference at the Honourable Society of the Inner Temple, London, in Partnership with Virginia Theological Seminary.

Awarded a Temple Scholarship in 2019, Matthew completed his PhD at Goldsmiths, University of London, becoming the first Temple Scholar to receive a doctorate from the Faith and Civil Society Unit. He later became a Research Fellow and inaugural Len Collinson Postdoctoral Fellow. 

His work focuses on leadership, dialogue and resilience in response to global crises, including ecological transformation, poverty, and institutional renewal. He is a Research Associate of the Susanna Wesley Foundation and a Dean’s Scholar at Virginia Theological Seminary. Follow him on LinkedIn.

Dr Katya Braginskaia joined the William Temple Foundation as Digital Learning Lead in April 2023 and is based at Goldsmiths, University of London. Her research interests include multiculturalism, hospitality, integration, minority faith activism, and refugee representation in national and local contexts.

Previously at the University of Bristol, Katya held a Leverhulme Early Career Fellowship and convened courses on religion and politics. Her postdoctoral project, Minority Faith and Civil Society Responses to Refugee Integration in Britain (2018–2022), examined Muslim and Jewish initiatives supporting refugees in England and Scotland.

She has presented her work at interdisciplinary conferences and is currently writing up this research. Katya also contributed to the Public Faith and Finance project and the AHRC-funded Co-Creating Cities and Communities initiative, published as Co-Creating Urban Living.

Katya completed her PhD at the University of Edinburgh in 2014, focusing on Muslim councils in Britain and Russia. She is the UK correspondent for the EUREL network. 

Victoria Paynter is the William Temple Foundation’s Communications Officer. A recent Politics graduate of the University of Edinburgh, Victoria also works as a Parliamentary Assistant to a peer in the House of Lords. In this role, she supports interfaith initiatives that equip parliamentarians to engage with faith and faith communities well.

Her background includes a placement with International Justice Mission (IJM), co-leading a university society that equips Christians to engage well with social justice issues, and a dissertation exploring ecclesial political formation. These reflect her ongoing interest in the relationship between faith, politics, and public life.