Jen is a research and evaluation consultant, specializing in learning and engagement, particularly in informal settings. She is keenly interested in bridging research and practice and has been referred to as a ‘friendly academic’, embracing the challenges faced by practitioners in the informal sector as they try to make the most of the opportunities they can offer audiences. In addition to her consultancy work, Jen is a Senior Research Fellow at the University College London Institute of Education , where she is a member of the research team developing and applying the concept of science capital, and she has particularly focused on the development of instruments to measure this construct. Her broader research and evaluation interests include learning and engagement in early years, families and school groups in informal environments, including the implications of work on science capital for equitable practice in these settings. Prior to moving to London for her PhD in science education (which focused on school trips to science museums and centers), she worked for the Children’s Museum of Houston as their Early Childhood Educator, the New York Botanical Garden and Scholastic.
