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If you can dream—and not make dreams your master;

If you can think—and not make thoughts your aim

R.Kipling

​      Main Skills

  • Research and Project Management

  • Consulting

  • Public and Stakeholder Engagement

  • Evidence Review

  • Writing and Science Communication

  • School and Higher Education Teaching

  • Individualised Special Needs Support

  • Training, Mentoring, Coaching

  • Intervention Development and Evaluation

  • Mental Health First Aid

  • Problem Solving and Resourcing

  • Leadership

  • Software: MS Office, NVivo, EndNote, SPSS, Stata, iMovie, Online Tools

Eli standing and smiling

Education

  • MA Developmental and Educational Psychology, IUSTO Rebaudengo (current)

  • PhD Psychology Academic Research, King’s College London (2024)

  • MSc Global Mental Health, King’s College London and London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine_ Distinction (2021)

  • BSc Psychology (Hons), King’s College London_ First-class Honours (2019)

Research Experience

  • Principal investigator in a 4-year Global Mental Health and Education PhD project (King's College London), which I led from initial conceptualisation and resourcing to dissemination

  • Principal investigator of a systematic review and qualitative synthesis (MSc dissertation, 2020, London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine)

  • Research investigator and first author of a qualitative UK-based study (BSc dissertation, 2018-2019, King's College London)

  • Research assistant in the Resilience, Ethnicity, and AdolesCent Mental Health (REACH) project (2018-2019, King’s College London)

  • Intern assistant psychologist and research assistant (2018, C.A.S.A. clinical centre for autistic children in Mondovì, Italy)

Consulting Experience

  • Associate Consultant at AMKA Counselling in collaboration with Orygen (2025-present)

  • Committee member at Neurodiversity Center Ethiopia (2023-present)

  • Programme evaluation consultant for Ambitious About Autism (2023-2024)

  • External research consultant for JAV Consulting EI (2022-2023)

  • Resource development World Health Organization collaborator (2022)

Teaching & Mentoring Experience

  • Special Needs Education Teaching Assistant in nursery and primary schools (2024-current, Cooperativa Animazione Valdocco)

  • Inclusive Education Teacher Trainer in primary and secondary schools (2025, Villanova Mondovì Education Institute)

  • Graduate Teaching Assistant for BSc Psychology seminar and practical sessions and assignment marking (2020-2025, King's College London)

  • Supervisor of King's College London BSc students' research projects and placements (2021-2023): teaching qualitative analysis and systematic reviewing, mentoring, providing feedback, just supporting students in becoming researchers!

  • Mentor to 1st and 2nd year King's College London PhD students (2021-2023)

Recognitions, Awards and Prizes

  • Global Research Grant (£2000), King’s College London (2023)

  • Ida Smedley Maclean Fellowship Award (£5000), British Federation of Women Graduates (2022)

  • Thematic Research Grant (£1500), British Institute in Eastern Africa (2021)

  • Associate of King's College London (2019)

  • Jelf Medal of the Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology & Neuroscience for academic excellence combined with service to my programme of study and the community within and beyond King’s College London (2019)

  • Dean’s Prize for Outstanding Achievement in BSc Psychology, Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology & Neuroscience, King’s College London (2019)

  • 1+3 PhD studentship in the London Interdisciplinary Social Science Doctoral Training Programme (LISS DTP) funded by the UKRI Economic & Social Research Council (2019)

Additional Qualifications

  • Associate Fellow of the Higher Education Academy, Advance HE (2022)

  • Short Switch - Industry Engagement Essentials, Code-Switch Consultants (2022)

  • Future Leaders, Skillfluence (2021)

  • Mental Health First Aider, MHFA England (2021)

  • Practical Project Management for Research, King’s College London (2021)

  • Dance Movement Psychotherapy Foundation, Goldsmiths University (2016)

First-authored Publications

  • Genovesi, E., Grant, S., Kifle, T. H., Li, J., Shand, A. J., & Hoekstra, R. A. (2024). Community involvement in PhD students' autism research projects: Challenges and opportunities. Autism: the international journal of research and practice, 29(1), 3–7. https://doi.org/10.1177/13623613241300683

  • Genovesi, E., Gaches, A., McKenzie, J., Hanlon, C., & Hoekstra, R. A. (2024). Inclusive Strategies for Children with Developmental Disabilities in Mainstream Classrooms in African Countries: A Systematic Review of Stakeholder Experiences, Attitudes, and Perspectives. Review of Educational Research. https://doi.org/10.3102/00346543241288247

  • Genovesi, E.*, Burningham, O.*, Chen, A.*, Belay, W., Ahmed, I., Ayele, M., Girma, F., Lakew, L. T., Hanlon, C., & Hoekstra, R. A. (2024). Inclusive Education for Children with Developmental Disabilities in Ethiopia: Stakeholder Views on Benefits, Disadvantages and Priorities for Action. Journal of autism and developmental disorders, 10.1007/s10803-024-06549-2. Advance online publication. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10803-024-06549-2. *co-first authors

  • Genovesi, E., Ahmed, I., Ayele, M., Belay, W., Burningham, O., Chen, A., Girma, F., Tesfaye Lakew, L., Hanlon, C., & Hoekstra, R. A. (2024). Exploring context for implementation of inclusive education for children with developmental disabilities in mainstream primary schools in Ethiopia. PloS one, 19(8), e0307576. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0307576

  • Genovesi, E., Yao, Y. I., Mitchell, E., Arad, M., Diamant, V., Panju, A., Hanlon, C., Tekola, B., & Hoekstra, R. A. (2024). Mapping awareness-raising and capacity-building materials on developmental disabilities for non-specialists: a review of the academic and grey literature. International journal of mental health systems, 18(1), 10. https://doi.org/10.1186/s13033-024-00627-9

  • Genovesi, E., Ayele, M., Ahmed, I., Belay, W., Burningham, O., Chen, A., Girma, F., Tesfaye Lakew, L., Hanlon, C., & Hoekstra, R. (2023). Developing an implementation model for the inclusion of children with developmental disabilities in mainstream primary schools in Ethiopia. https://doi.org/10.31234/osf.io/2g3eq (pre-print)

  • Genovesi, E., Ullmer, P., Bhatti, L., Meyer, P., Memon, P., Panchani, D., Rafla, M., Welford, M., & Hoekstra, R. A. (2023). Perspectives on children’s autistic traits in UK-based British and Egyptian/Sudanese communities. Research in Developmental Disabilities, 140, 104576. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ridd.2023.104576

  • Genovesi, E., Jakobsson, C., Nugent, L., Hanlon, C., & Hoekstra, R. A. (2022). Stakeholder experiences, attitudes and perspectives on inclusive education for children with developmental disabilities in sub-Saharan Africa: A systematic review of qualitative studies. Autism: the international journal of research and practice, 26(7), 1606–1625. https://doi.org/10.1177/13623613221096208

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