Julie Samuels is an educator, researcher, and creative practitioner whose career spans the intersections of art, media, and technology. She has taught and led degree-level courses in digital media and the creative arts, and delivered professional training for organisations including FDM Group PLC and the BBC Academy. Earlier in her career, she worked as an interactive television developer for ITV Digital, the world’s first digital terrestrial pay-TV service, reflecting her long-standing engagement with innovation in the creative industries.
Julie holds a BA (Hons) in Visual and Performing Arts, an MA in Fine Art, a Postgraduate Diploma in European Digital Media, a Postgraduate Certificate in Teaching and Learning, and an MPhil in Film and Media.
Her research lies at the intersection of creativity and the social sciences, with a particular focus on inclusion, representation, and systemic inequality. She is the author of Adoption in the Digital Age: Opportunities and Challenges for the 21st Century (Palgrave Macmillan, 2018), and has presented her work at national and international conferences. She currently serves as an Honorary Research Fellow at the University of Lincoln and as Head of Research for Special Guardians and Adopters Together, a peer-led group that seeks to influence policy and practice through lived-experience research.
Julie is also a Fellow of the RSA, where she serves as an Area Fellows Councillor for the Central Region and co-leads the international Augmented Society Network, a thematic group exploring how creativity and technology can shape fairer, more inclusive futures.
Alongside her academic and professional roles, Julie sustains an active creative practice. Drawing on her lived experience as a full-time carer, her work explores resilience, identity, and the beauty of difference. Through her art and research, she amplifies underrepresented voices and uses creativity as a tool for connection, challenge, and change.