Demelza joined the CCRI in 2023 and currently works on the Horizon-Europe RUSTIK project exploring socio-economic transitions in Monmouthshire, as well as projects connected to NICRE (National Innovation Centre for Rural Enterprise).
Prior to this, Demelza was Academic Subject Lead for Social Sciences and Senior Lecturer in Sociology at University of Gloucestershire. She has also held research and lecturing posts at Aston University and University of Birmingham, and has worked on research projects including the H2020-funded CHIEF (Cultural Heritage and Identities of Europe’s Future) which examined the challenges faced by young people across nine countries in the course of their cultural socialisation and in accessing diverse forms of cultural participation.
She has additionally researched and published in the fields of migration and diaspora, diversity in religious communities, and families’ experiences of poverty and austerity. Prior to entering academia, Demelza worked in the third sector for organisations including the Arts Council, BBC Children in Need and the Refugee Council, with a focus on supporting participatory and empowering projects for disadvantaged children and young people.
Social Research Association
My main interests are in migration and diaspora, (super)diversity (including religious diversity and religion in diaspora) and cultural heritage. I have also researched the experiences of families living with disadvantage, and the use of autobiographical methods in teaching sensitive topics in HE.
I convene the online Tamils in Europe Research Network.