Meet our joint commitment steering committee

Chair

Dr Fiona Counsell (she/her) has been with Taylor & Francis since 2009 and is currently Head of Editorial Policy & Process for the journals publishing programme. Her role leads on developing and implementing editorial and publishing policies in line with strategic priorities, which includes DEIA initiatives to support the research communities Taylor & Francis serves. Fiona was a founder member of Taylor & Francis' first Employee Resource Group Women in Publishing, formed in 2017, and is still part of the committee and currently serves on Taylor & Francis’ Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Council.

Fiona Counsell

Head of Editorial Policy & Process, Taylor & Francis

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Co-chair

Joseph Krumpfer received his B.S. degree in chemistry and B.A. in classical studies from Seton Hall University in South Orange, NJ in 2007 and then obtained his Ph.D. in polymer science and engineering from the University of Massachusetts – Amherst in 2012. He was awarded an Alexander von Humboldt postdoctoral fellowship at the Max Planck Institute for Polymer Research in Mainz, Germany, and then worked at Pace University in Pleasantville, NY, as a professor of inorganic and polymer chemistry. He is currently an editor-in-chief of the Journal of Polymer Science at Wiley.

Joseph Krumpfer

Editor-in-Chief, Journal of Polymer Science, Wiley

Secretary

Dr Sarah Whitehouse (she/her) is Journals Manager, Peer Review and Ethics at the Royal Society of Chemistry, where she is responsible for journals peer review strategy, publishing ethics strategy, quality and impact, and inclusion & diversity in publishing. Sarah has worked in STM publishing since 2014 in a range of operational and strategic roles. She holds an MBiochem from University of Bath and a PhD from University of Bristol.

Sarah Whitehouse

Journals Manager, Peer Review and Ethics, Royal Society of Chemistry

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Committee member

Vikki Davies (she/her) is a Production Portfolio Manager at Frontiers, based in Oxfordshire. She has worked in the publishing industry since 2008, working at Taylor and Francis for 14 years and joining Frontiers in 2022. She has been involved with Employee Resource Groups since 2017, and has a keen interest in workplace gender equity, healthcare and gender, and parental rights. She is the current chair of the Gender Equity ERG at Frontiers.

Vikki Davies

Production Portfolio Manager, Frontiers

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Committee member

Dr Joanna Harries (she/her) is a Senior Publishing Editor at the Royal Society, where she is responsible for peer review and development for the Society’s physical sciences journal Proceedings of the Royal Society A. She is also a member of the Society's Diversity and Inclusion Staff Steering Group. Joanna previously worked as an Assistant Editor on the Society of Chemical Industry journals. She holds a BSc in Chemistry from University of Bristol and a PhD from University of Bath.

Joanna Harries

Senior Publishing Editor, The Royal Society

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Committee member

Stephanie Hull (she/her) is Content Acquisition Director at Emerald Publishing where she is responsible for leading the commissioning teams across the books, journals and cases programmes. She has been involved in various initiatives related to measuring the diversity of Emerald’s authors, reviewers and editorial board members, and she was part of the team that implemented the Joint Commitment’s standardised questions into their manuscript submission system. Stephanie joined Emerald Publishing in 2010 after beginning her career at Pearson.

Stephanie Hull

Content Acquisition Director, Emerald Publishing

Committee member

Dr Rupa Sarkar is the founding Editor-in-Chief of The Lancet Digital Health. Appointed in November 2018, she has established the journal as the leading publication in artificial intelligence and digital health. Dr. Sarkar is a seasoned editor and scientist with extensive experience in leadership, communication, and strategy. She has a robust background in data analytics, stemming from her Ph.D. in embryonic stem cell development from Imperial College London and postdoctoral research at the Albert Einstein College of Medicine. Prior to her current role, Dr. Sarkar served as Chief Editor of Nature Protocols. Dr. Sarkar is committed to diversity and inclusion, serving as the Engagement Director of Elsevier’s Inclusion and Diversity board and leading initiatives at The Lancet as a founding member of The Lancet’s Race and Ethnicity Equity group. She has delivered seminars in over 30 conferences globally and is a recognised expert in AI, medicine and scientific publishing, interviewed by media outlets such as BBC News.

Rupa Sarkar, Editor-in-Chief, The Lancet Digital Health

Rupa Sarkar

Editor-in-Chief, The Lancet Digital Health