Rachel Pain University of Durham, UK

Born in Northumberland and brought up in Newcastle-upon-Tyne, I have lived in the North East for most of my life. I completed my first degree in geography at Lancaster University and PhD at the University of Edinburgh, then worked as a lecturer in geography at Northumbria University before moving to Durham in 2000. Here, I teach at undergraduate level, supervise PhD students, and am Co-Director of the Centre for Social Justice and Community Action. I'm a social geographer whose research is informed by feminist and participatory theory and practice. I work on a range of issues around fear, violence and community safety; emotions and geopolitics; and participatory practice, politics, theory and activism. My research, teaching and public engagement activities are underpinned by a commitment to social justice. Recently I've worked on a number of participatory action research projects in the North East, with partners including refugee-led organisations, youth groups, Rivers Trusts and survivors of violence. As well as locating my own research and some training and teaching locally outside the University, I am involved in a number of initiatives to encourage two-way research collaborations, including the Centre for Social Justice and Community Action which develops and supports theory and practice around participatory action research at local, national and international levels. I'm also interested in the challenges that the idea of work life balance presents for academic business and cultures, and in supporting fairer institutional policies and practices for fractional, flexible and non-traditional workers.