Research team

Project leads

**Professor Sarah Baker**
*Chief Investigator*

Sarah Baker (she/her) is a Professor of cultural sociology at Griffith University, specialising in critical heritage studies. Her research emphasises the pivotal role of Galleries, Libraries, Archives, and Museums (GLAMs) and community-led heritage initiatives in shaping and preserving public history. Sarah has made significant contributions to advancing knowledge on popular music heritage and also the Australian community heritage sector. Her work champions the idea that heritage preservation should be an inclusive and participatory process, empowering communities to take an active role in safeguarding their cultural legacies. Sarah is the co-leader of the Safeguarding Heritage research program in the Griffith Centre for Social and Cultural Research.

**Dr Zelmarie Cantillon**
*Senior Research Fellow*

Zelmarie Cantillon (she/her) is a Senior Research Fellow at the Griffith Centre for Social and Cultural Research. With an expertise in critical heritage studies, Zel is interested in understanding how heritage initiatives can have meaningful impacts on people’s lives. In particular, her recent research has focused on the relationship between heritage and cultural justice. Zel is currently Chief Investigator on an ARC Linkage Project entitled ‘The collaborative museum: Embedding cultural infrastructure in the city’ (with Powerhouse Museum, NSW). Additionally, she is a Research Assistant on Dr Lauren Istvandity’s ARC DECRA Project, ‘Harnessing creative heritage for migrant wellbeing in Australian museums and libraries’.

Students

Emily Kirry (she/her) is an Honours student in the School of Humanities, Languages and Social Science at Griffith University. Her interests include community building and connection. She is currently researching organisational sustainability in Brisbane’s community heritage sector and has previously worked in the community engagement sector across South-East Queensland.

Hart Tucker (they/them) is a PhD student in the School of Humanities, Languages and Social Science at Griffith University. Their research will explore how the effects of climate change impact the operations of community heritage organisations in rural Australia. They are interested in how community heritage organisations can adapt to escalating climate events and contribute to developing resilient and environmentally conscious responses to climate change.

Olivia is a Bidjara woman with a love of memory collections and storytelling. She has worked in cultural heritage and community engagement for 30 years contributing her knowledge as a curator, researcher, and facilitator across libraries, museums, and the arts from local initiatives and community museums to major cultural institutions in Australia and abroad; all the while nurturing her own creative endeavours. Her research will explore sustainability in the First Nations not-for-profit heritage sector.

Advisory Board Members

Professor Andrew Flinn
University College London

Andrew Flinn (he/him) is a Reader in Archival Studies and Oral History at University College London. He is the current chair of the UK & Ireland Community Archives and Heritage Group (CAHG) and Co-Investigator on the AHRC funded ‘Spaces, Places & Belonging: Communities and Collections in the 21st Century’ project led by The National Archives (UK). His research interests include community-based archives, radical public history, oral history, and heritage activism and social justice.

**TBA**
*Australian Museums and Galleries Association*

A new representative from AMaGA will be joining the Advisory Board soon.

**Debbie Sommers**
*Port Macquarie Historical Society & Museum*

Debbie Sommers (she/her) is the Curator of the Port Macquarie Museum and a dedicated advocate for regional museums. She drives visitation growth, fosters community partnerships, and leads volunteer training in museum management. She serves as the Chair of the Community Museums Network for AMaGA.

**Professor Fiona Candlin**
*Birkbeck, University of London*

Fiona Candlin (she/her) is Professor of Museology at Birkbeck, University of London. She has written extensively on small, independent museums; the twentieth-century museums boom; data collection in the museum sector; and sensory history. She is director of the Mapping Museums Lab, in which capacity she collaborates with a team of computer and data scientists, geographers, and historians.

**Professor Michelle Caswell**
*University of California, Los Angeles*

Michelle Caswell (she/her) is a Professor of Archival Studies at UCLA, where she also co-directs the Community Archives Lab. Her work in critical archival studies engages how individuals and communities activate archives to forge identities, produce feelings of belonging and organise against oppression. Caswell is also co-founder of the South Asian American Digital Archive.

**Nathan mudyi Sentance**
*Powerhouse Museum / Indigenous Archives Collective*

Nathan mudyi Sentance (he/him) is a Wiradjuri man from the Mowgee clan who grew up on Darkinjung Country. He is a librarian and museum educator who currently works at the Powerhouse Museum as Head of Collections, First Nations. Nathan is also a contributor to the Indigenous Archives Collective.

**Nicola Laurent**
*University of Melbourne*

Nicola Laurent (she/her) is the Senior Project Archivist for Find & Connect at the University of Melbourne. A PhD candidate in social work, she researches trauma in archives and advocates for trauma-informed practice. Nicola also coordinates the International Council on Archives’ New Professionals Programme, co-founded the Trauma-Informed Archives Community of Practice and is a past President of the Australian Society of Archivists.

Dr **Romany Manuell**
*Australian Council for Educational Research / Melbourne Art Library*

Romany Manuell (she/her) is the Research Librarian at ACER Cunningham Library. With a background in academic librarianship, she has worked in secondary and tertiary education in Australia and abroad. Romany actively volunteers in the library and information sector and serves on the Melbourne Art Library board.

Former Advisory Board Members

**Chloë Powell**
*Australian Museums and Galleries Association*

Chloë Powell (she/her) served on the Advisory Board in 2025.

She was the Research Projects Lead at the Australian Museums and Galleries Association. Working in the arts since 2008, she’s driven by fostering meaningful programs for artists, arts workers, and audiences. As an early-career researcher, her interests are in improving the employment standards and experiences of arts workers. Chloë was Co-Investigator on the ARC Linkage Project Visual Arts Work and co-edited the associated publication Visual Arts Work: Careers, Perspectives and Practice in an Australian Context (Palgrave Macmillan 2025).

Contact us

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Co-creating a sustainable future for the community heritage sector