Team page

Meet the team

Liz Mayor - Founder and Head of CEF was a Lecturer at Cardiff University's LEARN for sixteen years where she taught Classical Studies and Latin for the Diploma programme. Her main area of research is Roman Philosophy and is currently working on the Ancient Near East including the Persians. Liz has also done a lot of research upon the Spartans and Greek Tragedy. Liz was a Lecturer with the Open University for over ten years and has run many courses for Cardiff LEA, WEA and gives monthly Classical Studies lectures to Cardiff U3A. She also works for Somerset LEA providing weekend schools at their showpiece Adult Education Centre Dillington House. Liz also works with young people as a tutor for GCSE, A Level, undergraduate and postgraduate support.

When Liz has spare time she can be found in her garden or walking her two dogs (Jamie and Vita). She also enjoys any racquet sports, reading, listening to a wide range of music and is a very active campaigner for animal rights.

Mererid Velios - studied history of the fine and applied arts at Christie's Education in London after completing an MA degree in Philosophy and Economics at the University of Edinburgh. Mererid's career path first led her to work with the Welsh Porcelain collection at the National Museum of Wales, Cardiff. After a brief period working at the National Library of Wales in their Paintings and Prints department she spent two years as a Curatorial Assistant at the Victoria & Albert Museum in London. Mererid then decided to work with living artists and became a project manager for Cywaith Cymru Artworks Wales, the national organisation for public art in Wales.

Five years later she set up her own public art consultancy, Celfwaith, which is now flourishing. She has been teaching art history (in the adult education sector) for 7 years and before joining the Classical Education Forum team, had taught at Whitchurch and Howardian Adult Education Centres for Cardiff Council, and at Llanover Hall for the University of Glamorgan's Outreach programme.

Wendy Hill - has been teaching English Literature at GCSE and GCE level for fifteen years, both at the local college and at HMP Usk. She has been a senior examiner for English Literature for nine years.

Wendy loves teaching and particularly enjoys working with adult learners who, she feels, have so much knowledge to share that the learning is always a two way process. Wendy has delivered day schools on Geoffrey Chaucer for The Classical Education Forum and '...loved every minute. The groups were enthusiastic, insightful and fun!'

Her interests include 17th Century Drama and Medieval Literature. She also enjoys the theatre and the ballet.

Robert Brown - is researching a PhD at Cardiff University's School of History and Religious Studies that focuses on Arab-Christian Relations in the early Medieval Period. He has recently completed a Masters course in Byzantine History at the University.

Rob's principal areas of research concern Diplomatic relations and religious tensions in the Late Antique and Medieval Eastern Mediterranian. He is especially intersted in the history and society of the Byzantine Empire and it's confrontations with neighboring peoples. Through his investigations Rob aims to establish a greater understanding of the way that religious differences affected diplomacy between Islamic and Christian states, and the impact those differences had on the lives of soldiers and civilians living on the frontiers between the two faiths. Outside of academia his interests include cooking, the theatre and films.

This is Rob's first year of teaching with the Classical education forum and his course topics will cover the history, culture and legacy of the Byzantine Empire. He looking forward to furthering peoples interest in the subject through the sharing of knowledge and engaging in academic discussion.

Lewis Evans studied philosophy as an undergraduate at University College London and then trained in law. He practised for many years as a solicitor with a large City firm in London and in Tokyo. He eventually escaped that world to go back to study, and got his PhD in philosophy from Cambridge University in 2010. He is a Welsh-speaking native of Cardiff and is glad to be back! He firmly believes that philosophy is an enriching open-ended activity, rather than a fixed body of knowledge. He aims to teach it in that spirit.

Michael Picardie taught social work and psychology at Oxford, Cardiff and Botswana Universities from 1968 to 1997 and a Judaism/Kabbala course at the Centre for Lifelong Learning Cardiff in 2004-5. He has written, directed and acted in nine of his own plays in Oxford, Cardiff and London.

Rupert Jenkinson studied philosophy at University of Wales College of Cardiff and is interested in various media from telivision and film work to fiction writing. Rupert has a keen interest in the study and practice of traditional cults and beliefs.

Beverley Rogers - Living in a house full of Egyptian ornaments collected by her parents, Beverley's interest in Egyptology started at an early age. Reignited by a visit to the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York's Egyptian gallery, she decided to learn more about this fascinating culture. After years of attending adult education classes she moved to Wales to pursue higher education as a mature student and gained a first BA (Hons) in Egyptology at Swansea University in 2006. Beverley is now in her final year of a, Egyptology PhD. Her research interests include Egyptology in the Victorian age, early collectors of antiquity, ancient Egyptian religion and the modern reception of Egyptology.

Outside of Egyptology, Beverley spends time watching Rugby, walking her dog Sam and co-running a community book shop in the Mumbles village where she lives.

Stella Lyons studied History of Art at Bristol University, during which time she spent a year in Florence at the British Institute. She has a particular interest in 19th Century British and French art. She currently works for Dreweatts auction house in Bristol.