Richard McDonald (academic)

Richard (Rish) McDonald is a British-Irish civil servant and academic who has published work in the field of criminology and religious studies.
Early life and education
McDonald was born in Nottingham where he attended the Trinity School, Nottingham. He completed a BA in politics and the study of religion at SOAS, University of London, an MSc in gender at the London School of Economics, an MA in religion in global politics again at SOAS, and is currently completing an MSt in applied criminology, penology, and management at the University of Cambridge .
Career
McDonald is a career civil servant and was previously appointed to the Probation Service as Head of Equalities Policy. He is a former magistrate, member of the Magistrates’ Association Diversity and Inclusion Policy Committee , a member of the The Traveller Movement Criminal Justice Policy Steering Committee, and sits on the board of a charity in Nottingham. Before his academic and policy career, he was a fashion stylist in London, working on both editorial and runway campaigns for designers such as Pam Hogg.
Academic contributions
McDonald is an academic at the intersections of criminology and religion. He is in the top 5% of most-read academics on Academia.edu. He has also given a guest lecture on gender mainstreaming in public policy at universities such as the London School of Economics and think tanks such as Apolitical.
During his work as a Senior Policy Advisor in Racial Disparity Policy for the British Government, he directed the publication of the report “Beyond Acronyms: ‘Gypsies, Roma, and Travellers in the Criminal Justice System’ .
In 2016 he wrote an article for LYRA Magazine on Homonormativity and Capitalism.
Selected publications
* "Selective Frith: Meeting Heathen Worldbuilding in English/Welsh Prisons", in Germanic and Slavic Paganisms: Security Threats and Resiliency, edited by Kaarina Aitamurto, Ross Downing, Suzanne Newcombe, and Sarah Harvey, Bloomsbury, 2024, ISBN 9781350423923.

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