CV
CONTACT:
drsarahehayward [at] gmail.com
CORE SKILLS
- Supporting and coordinating volunteers
- Planning and delivering heritage events and activities
- Conducting archival research and interpreting historical narratives
- Communicating stories creatively across varied audiences and platforms
- Managing project timelines and budgets
- Working well with partners and teams
- Staying calm and finding solutions
- Clear, confident communicator
ARCHIVE EXPERIENCE
- Researching physical archive collections and online databases
- Creatively interpreting and presenting research findings for different audiences
- Cataloguing research in progress
- Producing reports on research findings
- Transcribing personal letters
TRAINING & QUALIFICATIONS
- CACHE Level 2 Certificate in the Principles of Working with Individuals with Learning Disabilities, Nescot, 2024
- Communicating with Patients training, RHN, 2024
- Teaching & Learning in the Arts for Postgraduate Researchers, Kingston University, 2022
EDUCATION
PhD
Museum and Heritage Studies
John Langdon Down’s Normansfield: Stories from the Archives and their Contribution to Heritage
Kingston University London
(2023)
MA (Distinction)
Museum and Gallery Studies
Kingston University, London
(2013)
BA (Hons) 2.1
English
Exeter University, Devon
(1998)
PROFESSIONAL PROFILE
A dedicated heritage professional with a PhD in Museum & Heritage Studies and hands-on experience delivering inclusive, community-focused projects. Skilled in archival research and interpretation, working with volunteers, and planning and delivering accessible events and exhibitions. Passionate about uncovering overlooked histories and sharing them through creative, collaborative projects that engage diverse audiences.
CURRENT POSITION
PROJECT MANAGER
A Legacy of Care: 170 Years at the RHN | Sep 2024 – present
Leading a 16-month National Lottery Heritage Fund project uncovering patient histories and capturing contemporary stories at the Royal Hospital for Neuro-disability (RHN).
- Helped shape the successful funding bid and led the project.
- Recruited and supported volunteers to carry out archival research, digitise materials, and transcribe oral histories.
- Worked closely with RHN staff to identify participants and build trust with the patient community.
- Organised accessible oral history training.
- Explored artistic and personal responses to the hospital’s history.
- Planned and delivered a series of heritage events that welcomed a wide range of audiences.
- Maintained regular communication with project partners.
- Oversaw the project timeline and budget.
RESEARCH FELLOW
History UK Disability and History Project | Jun 2024 – present
Contributing to a nationwide research project exploring the experiences of disabled students and staff in history departments, and the teaching and studying of disability history, in UKHE.
Researched and compiled a bibliography of relevant literature.
Assisted with project focus groups, helping to gather lived experiences and insights.
Advised on ways to share the project’s sector-wide report.
COMMUNITY VOLUNTEER
Kingston Eco-Op | May 2024 – present
Kingston Eco-Op is a community initiative supporting adults at risk of social exclusion, including those with learning disabilities.
Delivered a series of art and creative workshops in Summer 2024.
Co-founded and continue to run a regular book club, welcoming participants of all reading levels.
PODCAST PRODUCER AND EDITOR (volunteer)
Royal College of Physicians of Edinburgh (RCPE) | Jun 2022 – present
The fortnightly ‘Physician’s Gallery’ Podcast series takes a quirky look at the history of medicine.
Developing episode frameworks and managing recordings.
Producing and editing content:
Head to Toe | A to Z
STUDY GROUP COORDINATOR
Kingston University London | Jan 2021 – present
Helped to establish a cross-faculty, online peer support and study group for postgraduate research students at Kingston University. I continue to coordinate and facilitate weekly sessions.
WORK AND EXPERIENCE
HERITAGE ASSISTANT (volunteer)
Royal Hospital for Neuro Disability (RHN) | Mar 2023 – Sep 2024
Volunteering in the RHN archive service to broaden my experience.
Catalogued paper documents and objects.
Created educational resources for school visits.
Supported public events and outreach.
Wrote articles for the RHN website:
I Only Have Eyes For You | Ink and Intrigue | A Cabinet of Curiosities
COPY EDITOR (freelance)
Institute on Statelessness and Inclusion | Oct 2022 – Nov 2022Copy editing a formal report; short-term contract with a precise deadline.
RESEARCHER (volunteer)
Royal College of Physicians, Edinburgh | Aug 2021 – Apr 2022
Exhibition: ‘FOOD: Recipe or Remedy’
Assisting in researching and designing an interactive touchscreen.
RESEARCH CONSULTANT
Rose Theatre, Kingston | Feb – Apr 2014
‘Galsworthy and WWI: Human Battles on the Home Front’ was a NLHF temporary exhibition exploring the life of Nobel Prize-winning novelist John Galsworthy.
Researched the stories of local soldiers.
Wrote interpretive content for audio-visual displays.
RESEARCH CONSULTANT
Lord Cultural Resources | Oct – Nov 2013
Short-term, intensive project with a highly precise brief, carrying out research at the National Archives for a proposed major project to create a new museum in Dubai.
DATA MANAGEMENT
Memorable Domains LTD. | 2007 – 2013
Working for a Domain Investment Firm on the conception, creation, and maintenance, of a Microsoft Excel database for a portfolio of over 7,000 domain names.
RESEARCH AND PUBLICATIONS
‘Cooking up History’
Archives & Records Association Arc Magazine May & June 2024 No: 398 ISSN: 2632-7171 | May 2024
‘Lucy’s Story: A Gift from the Normansfield Archive’
ALISS Quarterly Vol.19 No.2 | Jan 2024
‘Langdon Down’s Normansfield: Stories from the Archives and their Contribution to Heritage’
PhD, Kingston University, London | Jun 2023
Research project centred around the archive collection of a 19th century institution for people with a learning disability.
Academic and creative outcomes included a thesis, video presentation, audio guide, and exhibition design, showcasing various archive findings and interpretation methodologies.
TALKS AND EVENTS
‘Whose Voices?’ Oral History Society Conference 2025
UNIVERSITY OF STRATHCLYDE, GLASGOW | June 2025
Presenting on the oral history work undertaken as part of the RHN project.
‘Disability Studies Conference’
UNIVERSITY OF LEEDS | Sep 2024
Delivering a paper on ‘Untold Stories from the Archives: Exploring Learning Disability in a Victorian Institution’ based on postdoctoral research extending my PhD.
‘Heritage, Community, Archives: Methods, Case Studies, Collaboration’
SHEFFIELD HALLAM UNIVERSITY | Jun 2023
Contributing to a panel on ‘Accessibility and Disability’. Drew on my research to discuss the process of (re)constructing ‘lost’ narratives from the archives.
‘The London Stage and the Nineteenth-Century World IV’
NEW COLLEGE, OXFORD | April 2022
Introducing the Normansfield Theatre and its context within a Victorian institutional setting, speaking about the nature and value of archival research, and the subsequent process of interpretation.
‘Doing Research on the Social History of Learning Disability: Learning Lessons’
SOCIAL HISTORY OF LEARNING DISABILITY CONFERENCE | Jul 2017
Presenting a specially edited version of a creative piece developed for the PhD. This talk was tailored for an audience which included academics and people with a learning disability.
‘Festival of Stories’
KINGSTON CONNECTIONS | May 2015
Contributing to a week-long festival of talks and events. This collaborative presentation with a fellow PhD student was based on themes presented by the National Maritime Museum, Greenwich, and sourced from material at the Caird Library and Archive.
‘Heritage Hub’
ACCENTUATE HISTORY OF PLACE | Nov 2014
Delivering a tailored presentation about the history, and current context, of Normansfield to the ‘Heritage Hub’, a consultative group of deaf and disabled people involved in a project aiming to bring to light places of historical significance to disability history.
‘Capturing the Intangible’
ICA STUDIO SESSION | May 2014
Co-organising an evening event at the Institute of Contemporary Arts. At the event, four invited speakers each presented a paper, and this was followed by a roundtable discussion.