Dr Helena King

Professional Biography

Dr Helena King is a Senior Lecturer in Management and Health at the Open University Business School.

She chairs the triple-accredited MBA dissertation module 'Leaders of Change', and previously developed modules around public health and public protection.  Before taking up her lectureship, Helena coordinated cross-faculty, multidisciplinary research portfolios in policing, citizenship and governance at the Open University.  Earlier in her career, after a UKRI post-doc and fully funded Knowledge Transfer Partnership internship (Cranfield University), she held management roles in third sector organisations delivering regional palliative care, HIV and homelessness support.  

Since 2024 Helena has served as a a pro-bono leadership coach/mentor for the Cranfield Trust, and a volunteer fosterer for The Guide Dogs for the Blind Association. 

Research interests

Helena’s research examines how socio-spatial environments shape internal experiences of mental and physical health. Through an interdisciplinary lens, she approaches health as a process of reformation, asking what enables or obstructs this process and how organisations can foster transformation.

Her PhD, postdoctoral fellowship, and KTP internship all focused on the health and wellbeing benefits of engaging with nature, and how land use policy and management practices transform natural settings.

More recently, Helena's work has turned to healthing processes in complex biopsychosocial contexts, including the needs of emergency responders and people living with HIV. She is currently leading projects on health-related stigma and coaching psychology interventions, and is a member of the Psychology of Health and Wellbeing research network.

Memberships 

• Chartered Association of Business Schools certified management and business educator 
• Fellow of the Higher Education Academy 
• Student member, British Psychological Society 

Open University teaching 

Current teaching:

• B875 MBA project: leaders of change (MA Business Administration)

Past teaching:

• B894 Dissertation (HRM) (MSc Human Resource Management)
• BXY130 Professional practice (BA (Hons) Management Practice)
• K240/3 Mental health and society (BA (Hons) Health and Social Care)
• K314 Approaches to mental health (BA (Hons) Social Work; BSc (Hon) Public Health & Wellbeing)
• BXY132 Concepts and theories in policing (BSc (Hons) Professional Policing Practice)

Education 

• MSc Psychology (underway) Open University
• Post-Graduate Certificate in Academic Practice, Open University
• APM Project Management Qualification, Association for Project Management
• Diploma in Arts and Humanities, Open University
• PhD Environmental Psychology, Cranfield University 
• BA Business Organisation, University of Hertfordshire