Dr Jan Geisbusch Publications Manager Expand Jan is responsible for the production of the Society’s colour magazine, Egyptian Archaeology, is involved in the design of our internal print communications, such as reports and leaflets, and oversees the EES book publications from development to typesetting to print, including liaison with our distributors in the USA and the UK. He holds degrees in Business Studies (Dipl.-Kaufmann) from Trier University (Germany), in Arts Management & Cultural Studies (BA) from the University of North London (now part of London Metropolitan University) and from University College London, where he gained his PhD in Anthropology with a thesis on the material culture of popular religious practice within contemporary Catholicism. Before joining the EES in late 2013, he has worked in a number of freelance positions, including market intelligence reporter for Euromonitor Ltd and assistant editor for the Journal of Material Culture and Home Cultures (both based at University College London). He is currently also part-time editor and social media manager of Oper!, a German opera magazine based in Berlin. For enquiries relating to submissions to Egyptian Archaeology or the EES book programme, please contact [email protected]
Dr Katharina Zinn Expand Dr Katharina Zinn is Senior Lecturer in Egyptian Archaeology and Heritage at the University of Wales Trinity Saint David, Lampeter Campus. Being at home at the School of Archaeology, History and Anthropology, she is perfectly placed to teach and publish in her areas of interest (museums, heritage, material culture, identity, religion, Amarna, art, gender) using ancient Egypt as the civilisation which provides her case studies. She studied Egyptology (major), Communication- and Media-Sciences (minor), Economy (minor) at the University of Leipzig (Germany) where she also obtained her Dr.Phil. in Egyptology in 2008. Before moving to Wales and working both at Swansea University and UWTSD, Katharina was affiliated lecturer at the Faculty of Asian & Middle Eastern Studies, University of Cambridge. From her first steps in Egyptology onwards, she was involved in work in museums, be it as guide, research assistant or assistant curator. As part of the museum projects she has done a lot of outreach activities.
Dr Linda Steynor Chair Expand Dr Linda Steynor studied English and Spanish at Bristol University; her subsequent career in education at local and national level included the inspection of English and Modern Foreign Languages, and the strategic leadership and governance of schools. She continues her involvement in education as Chair of Governors of a large Norfolk High School. In retirement Linda was able to pursue her lifelong interest in the language and literature of ancient cultures. Her major research interest is in the literary nature of Egyptian texts, and in August 2012 she gained her PhD at Birkbeck College, University of London. Her thesis examines the functions of metaphor in the Tale of the Eloquent Peasant. She has been a guest lecturer at Birkbeck College, and has published and contributed to conferences and seminars. She is the English Editorial Assistant for Trabajos de Egiptología and has acted in that capacity for the Ministry of Antiquities Press, Cairo. Linda has been a member of the EES since 2002, during which times she has participated in its programme of activities and continues to enjoy the sense of an Egyptological community which the Society has created. She brings to the Society and its Board of Trustees a recent student perspective, a career-long understanding of organisational strategy, a high regard for the Society’s aims and a willingness to contribute to these to secure the Society’s future success.
Dr Luigi Prada Expand Dr Luigi Prada is the Lady Wallis Budge Junior Research Fellow in Egyptology at University College, University of Oxford, and—from 1 September 2017—Visiting Associate Professor in Egyptology at the University of Copenhagen. Luigi received a BA in Classics and Ancient Near Eastern Studies from the University of Milan, where he also completed an MA in the same subjects, focusing on Greek Papyrology and Egyptology. He then moved to Oxford, where he received his MPhil and DPhil (doctorate) in Egyptology. Luigi’s main interests lie in ancient Egyptian textual studies—with special focus on literary texts from the later phases of ancient Egypt’s history in hieratic and, chiefly, demotic—as well as the study of Graeco-Egyptian bilingualism and ancient translations, in connection with the development of Coptic. One of his current projects is the study of ancient Egyptian divination practices, specifically dream interpretation. He regularly takes part in fieldwork, both in Egypt (at Elkab, as a member of the Oxford expedition directed by Vivian Davies) and in Sudan (at the rock-cut temple of Jebel Dosha and other sites in northern Sudan, also with field-director Vivian Davies). Luigi has lectured widely, including the teaching of language courses of hieratic and demotic at Macquarie University in Sydney, Australia. Over the years, he has been a familiar guest at the EES, where he has offered various lectures and taught language classes. He has been a Trustee of the EES since the end of 2014.
Dr Penny Wilson Expand Penny is an Egyptologist with a specialist interest in both philological research of Ptolemaic hieroglyphic texts and temples and Egyptian settlement archaeology particularly in the Northern Nile Delta region. She studied at Liverpool University for both her BA and PhD (on the Edfu Temple texts) and then worked as Assistant Keeper in the Antiquities Department of the Fitzwilliam Museum, Cambridge. Penny is now Associate Professor in Egyptian Archaeology in the Department of Archaeology, Durham University, having joined the Department in 1999. She has worked on excavations and projects in Egypt including at Qasr Ibrim as epigrapher, at Naukratis, Tell el Balamun, Ashmunein, North Sinai and at Zawiyet Umm el Rakham with the Liverpool University team. As Field Director at the ancient capital city site of Sais (EES and AHRC funded) she has helped to uncover the archaeological potential of a highly important but ‘lost’ site. Penny is also Director of the Special British Academy Project the Delta Survey documenting many otherwise unknown sites in the Nile Delta. She joined the EES when at school and would be honoured to serve as a Trustee when we look forward to an interesting and dynamic future.
Dr Roberta Mazza Expand Dr Roberta Mazza is a papyrologist and ancient historian who obtained a PhD from the University of Bologna in 1997. After holding positions in Italy and the United States, Roberta has been a lecturer in Classics and Ancient History at the University of Manchester since September 2009. Her research and teaching largely focus on the Greek and Latin papyri and other Egyptian antiquities of the University’s collections. She has been a research fellow of the John Rylands Research Institute since its creation in 2013 and is also academic honorary curator of the Graeco-Roman Egypt antiquities of the Manchester Museum. Roberta strongly believes in the public role of academics, and for this reason often takes part in public events and gives talks on Graeco-Roman Egypt. In recent years she has also taken an active role in the debate surrounding the Egyptian antiquities market, organizing and participating in conferences on the topic and writing about it in her blog, Faces&Voices.
Dr Sami Sadek Expand Dr Sami Sadek was born in Cairo in 1951 and graduated from Medical School in Cairo with Honours in 1974. He came to Britain with his wife and family in 1980 to further his surgical training, becoming a Fellow of the Royal College of Surgeons of England and a PhD (University of Dundee) in 1982. Sami’s first consultant appointment was Senior Lecturer in the University of Leeds (1990) specialising in Liver and Kidney Transplantation as well as General Surgery. In 1995 he moved to Portsmouth as Head of Renal Transplant and built up the living donor programme while supervising several MD theses produced by his research fellows. Sami continued with major cancer surgery and developed a major interest in laparoscopic (keyhole) surgery, introducing new laparoscopic procedures to Portsmouth Hospitals NHS Trust. He retired in 2014, but still works as a part time consultant in General Surgery, which frees up time for special interests, including Egyptology.
Dr Stephanie Boonstra Collections Manager and Managing Editor of the Journal of Egyptian Archaeology Expand Stephanie manages the Society’s library and archives, which includes overseeing cataloguing, new acquisitions, volunteer projects, researchers in accessing the collections. During her Master’s degree at UCL, she was an EES archive volunteer and contributed towards the Access Archives Afternoons (also called Friday Spotlights). She is also a member of Dr Joanne Rowland’s EES excavation team at Merimde Beni Salama in the Nile Delta and worked on the EES Third Cataract Project in Sudan in 2019. Since 2019, Stephanie is also the Managing Editor of the Journal of Egyptian Archaeology and liaises with editors, publishers, peer reviewers, and authors as well as copy edits the submissions for publication. Stephanie has recently completed her PhD at the University of Birmingham focusing on the production of 18th Dynasty scarab amulets. She previously received a BA in Near Eastern Archaeology from Wilfrid Laurier University (Waterloo, Canada), where she worked as a supervisor on the Khirbat al-Mudayna excavation project in Jordan. She also holds an MA in Egyptian Archaeology from UCL, where her research focus was on the SIP scarabs of Tell el-'Ajjul. Prior to commencing work at the EES, she worked as the Postgraduate Curator of the Eton College William Joseph Myers Collection of Egyptian Art at the University of Birmingham where she also taught undergraduate courses and assisted in collection and exhibition training. More recently she was employed as the Museum Curator of Egyptology at New Walk Museum in Leicester where she curated, designed, and installed the new Life and Death in Ancient Egypt permanent galleries. For library enquires, contact [email protected] For archive enquiries, contact [email protected] For JEA enquiries, contact [email protected]
Dr Violaine Chauvet Expand Dr Violaine Chauvet developed her field of specialisation in Egyptian architecture with a postgraduate degree in Architecture-Archaeology (School of Architecture Paris-Strasbourg) before joining Dieter Arnold at the MMA to work on the architectural study of the mastaba of Perneb and other Old Kingdom monuments in the collection. Violaine came to Liverpool in 2007 after completing her PhD at John Hopkins University and teaches on a broad range of topics in Egyptian material culture (such as art, archaeology and heritage), language and society. Violaine has excavated in Egypt for more than 20 years, and is now co-director of the Mut Temple Precinct project, with Prof Betsy Bryan (Johns Hopkins University), investigating the urban development of Thebes in the New Kingdom. Violaine became a member of the EES in 2007, and served on the editorial team of the JEA with her colleagues at the University of Liverpool until 2012. As a Trustee of the Society, Violaine looks forward to helping shape events, lectures and workshops involving academic and museum colleagues from the UK and abroad, to disseminate current research and practices in the field of Egyptology within the EES community at large. She is also committed to the EES core strategy in developing professional training and fieldwork, as well as museum opportunities, for students in Egyptology, and to foster collaboration with our Egyptian colleagues aimed at preserving and promoting Egypt’s cultural heritage.
Essam Nagy Fieldwork and Engagement Manager Expand Essam holds an MA from Cairo University where his research focused on the building activities of Napatan rulers at Karnak during the 25th Dynasty. Since 2010 he has directed work at the Osiris Ptah Nebankh Research Project (OPNARP), including a 25th Dynasty chapel, at Karnak where he was previously employed at Inspector of Antiquities for the MoA. Essam has previous fieldwork experience across Egypt including the temple of Dendera (IFAO), Qurna (ARCE), and Qubbet el-Hawa Research Project (EES). His professional training includes photography, archaeological surveying, epigraphy, and illustration. Since 2013, Essam has been employed as the EES Fieldwork and Engagement Manager in Cairo. In this role he liaises with the Ministry of Antiquities and other Egyptian institutions on behalf of the Society in order to facilitate archaeological missions. He also organises the Society’s educational and training events for students and researchers in Egypt and manages the day-to-day running of the EES Cairo Office.
Jan Morton Expand Jan Morton is a chartered accountant, Finance Director and business partner who works in the Film and TV industry. After reading mathematics at King’s College, London, Jan qualified as an accountant in 1993. She then worked in the charitable, not-for-profit sector for a Housing Association before moving into the world of Entertainment. Since then Jan has worked for some of the most iconic companies in the world such as Paramount Pictures, NBC Universal and the BBC. As a business partner, Jan works with the CEO and key internal stakeholders to create budgets and business plans and provides commercial and financial advice to support business decisions. She has a proven track record in delivering results; leading cost reduction programmes and driving through operational changes to create efficiencies and improve profitability. Jan has improved financial reporting, processes and procedures in all her roles and has built first-class teams along the way. At Paramount Pictures, she was also responsible for HR, IT and Facilities departments as well as a subsidiary in Dublin. Jan brings a wealth of financial experience to the Board of Trustees, in particular: a good understanding of financial management and reporting, organisational development, strategic business planning and governance. Jan has been passionate about Egyptology since she was a child and has attended numerous courses over the years. More recently she studied for a Diploma in Egyptology, then a post-Diploma course on Deir el-Medina at Birkbeck College, University of London, graduating in 2010.
Luke Purser Expand Luke is Development Director of English Heritage. He has held leadership roles at the Royal College of Art, the Mayor’s Fund for London, and the University of Oxford. Luke has raised significant funds for numerous projects from funders around the world, with considerable experience in the USA and the Middle East. A strategic and creative leader, he has helped develop internationalisation and earned income strategies, and built partnerships with global brands including Google, Barclays, Goldman Sachs, IDEO, and Burberry. Luke has advised the Sunday Times Fast Track for 15 years and was a Board member of InnovationRCA, the UK’s most successful university business incubator. In 2014 he co-founded the Global Grad Show in Dubai, which has become the world’s biggest design education exhibition. He is a non-executive director of Interactive Imagination, and a founding director of events and media company Hawkwood International Ltd. Luke is a trustee of the Hereford Cathedral Perpetual Trust and a Fellow of the Royal Society of Arts, and holds a degree in history from the University of Oxford. With their two children at university, Luke and his wife Anna now divide their time between homes in West Sussex and the Charente-Maritime, France.