Meet the team
Laura Walker-Beaven
Conference Host
Laura is Counterweight's Director of Innovation. She first got involved with Counterweight after she saw the prevalence of extremist ideologies in academia whilst studying for a masters in Human Rights. She believes that it is important to question and discuss even our strongest held beliefs and sees the erosion of this key element of liberalism in both extreme right-wing and left-wing ideologies. Laura was inspired to organise the Counterweight Conference when she saw the polarised nature of the discourse surrounding Diversity and Inclusion. She believes that there is a need for D&I in workplaces, but that any approach should be founded on liberal, humanist ideas. Laura hopes that this conference will be a catalyst for change in how people approach D&I. Outside of work hours, Laura can be found sporting either a scuba tank or hiking books.
Jennifer Richmond
Conference Host
Jennifer Richmond, an International Relations Specialist, supports Liberalism & universal values and believes that we are at our best when protecting individual rights and freedoms. She worked in international relations for over 20 years, focusing on global geopolitics, intelligence, and East Asian policy, before turning her attention and cross-cultural skills towards the most polarizing issues within the United States and beyond. She is dedicated to learning how to communicate on difficult and polarizing issues, in good faith, to develop citizens (and herself) in building a strong and diverse community for democracy to thrive. At Counterweight, Jen uses her expertise in these areas to provide support to the content team. Jen’s forthcoming book with co-author W.F. Twyman, Jr. – Letters in Black & White: A New Correspondence on Race in America – will be released in spring 2023 from Pitchstone Publishing.
Harriet Terrill
Head of Production
Harriet is Counterweight’s Director of Content. Working with our exceptional volunteer content team, she is committed to developing resources that help to bridge the divide between the politically polarised. At the conference, Harriet has been working on video production and marketing. She will also be sitting down with Laura to discuss topics that arise from the talks in more detail. She hopes to discover how Counterweight can develop effective educational resources on liberal D&I in future.