Alexandra Lee Jessica Freeman, Baroness Freeman of Steventon (born March 1974) is a British

science communicator Science communication encompasses a wide range of activities that connect science and society. Common goals of science communication include informing non-experts about scientific findings, raising the public awareness of and interest in sci ...

life peer In the United Kingdom, life peers are appointed members of the peerage whose titles cannot be inherited, in contrast to hereditary peers. Life peers are appointed by the monarch on the advice of the prime minister. With the exception of the D ...

, and former

television producer A television producer is a person who oversees one or more aspects of a television show, television program. Some producers take more of an executive role, in that they conceive new programs and pitch them to the television networks, but upon acce ...

. She has been a

crossbench A crossbencher is a minor party or independent politician, independent member of some legislatures, such as the Parliament of Australia. In the British House of Lords the term refers to members of the parliamentary group of non-political peers. ...

member of the

House of Lords The House of Lords is the upper house of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. Like the lower house, the House of Commons of the United Kingdom, House of Commons, it meets in the Palace of Westminster in London, England. One of the oldest ext ...

since 2024.

Biography

Freeman was born in March 1974 in

Maryland Maryland ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic region of the United States. It borders the states of Virginia to its south, West Virginia to its west, Pennsylvania to its north, and Delaware to its east ...

, United States. Her mother is a theoretical physicist, her father trained as a chemist, and her sister is a mathematician. She studied

biological sciences Biology is the scientific study of life and living organisms. It is a broad natural science that encompasses a wide range of fields and unifying principles that explain the structure, function, growth, origin, evolution, and distribution of ...

at the

University of Oxford The University of Oxford is a collegiate university, collegiate research university in Oxford, England. There is evidence of teaching as early as 1096, making it the oldest university in the English-speaking world and the List of oldest un ...

, before remaining at the university to undertake a

Doctor of Philosophy A Doctor of Philosophy (PhD, DPhil; or ) is a terminal degree that usually denotes the highest level of academic achievement in a given discipline and is awarded following a course of Postgraduate education, graduate study and original resear ...

(DPhil) degree in

zoology Zoology ( , ) is the scientific study of animals. Its studies include the anatomy, structure, embryology, Biological classification, classification, Ethology, habits, and distribution of all animals, both living and extinction, extinct, and ...

. Her 1998 doctoral thesis was titled "Butterflies as Signal Receivers" and was supervised by Tim Guilford. One of her tutors was

Richard Dawkins Richard Dawkins (born 26 March 1941) is a British evolutionary biology, evolutionary biologist, zoologist, science communicator and author. He is an Oxford fellow, emeritus fellow of New College, Oxford, and was Simonyi Professor for the Publ ...

. As a

postgraduate Postgraduate education, graduate education, or graduate school consists of academic or professional degrees, certificates, diplomas, or other qualifications usually pursued by post-secondary students who have earned an undergraduate (bachelor' ...

, she was a member of

Linacre College, Oxford Linacre College is a Colleges of the University of Oxford, constituent college of the University of Oxford in the United Kingdom. The college was founded in 1962 and is named after Thomas Linacre (1460–1524), founder of the Royal College of Ph ...

and the Department of Zoology. From 2000 to 2016, Freeman worked for the

BBC The British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) is a British public service broadcaster headquartered at Broadcasting House in London, England. Originally established in 1922 as the British Broadcasting Company, it evolved into its current sta ...

, within its BBC Science department and the

BBC Studios Natural History Unit The BBC Studios Natural History Unit (NHU) is a department of BBC Studios that produces television, radio and online content with a natural history or wildlife theme. It is best known for its highly regarded nature documentaries, including '' T ...

. As a producer or director, she was involved in ''

Walking with Beasts ''Walking with Beasts'', marketed as ''Walking with Prehistoric Beasts'' in North America, is a 2001 six-part nature documentary television miniseries created by Impossible Pictures and produced by the BBC Science Unit, the Discovery Channel, Pr ...

'', '' Life in the Undergrowth'', '' Bang Goes the Theory'', '' Climate Change by Numbers'' and '' Trust Me, I'm a Doctor''. In 2016, Freeman joined the

University of Cambridge The University of Cambridge is a Public university, public collegiate university, collegiate research university in Cambridge, England. Founded in 1209, the University of Cambridge is the List of oldest universities in continuous operation, wo ...

as executive director of the Winton Centre for Risk and Evidence Communication in the Faculty of Mathematics. In 2018 Freeman proposed a new approach to scientific publishing in the form of the Octopus platform designed to publish 'smaller units of publication' and to promote the principles of

open science Open science is the movement to make scientific research (including publications, data, physical samples, and software) and its dissemination accessible to all levels of society, amateur or professional. Open science is transparent and accessib ...

. In 2021 Octopus received a grant from

Research England Research England is a part of United Kingdom Research and Innovation (UKRI) that oversees the functions of UKRI in relation to university research and knowledge transfer in England. This includes: * providing funding to English universities for rese ...

to develop the platform into a global service. Freeman was recommended for appointment as a non-party-political

by the

House of Lords Appointments Commission The House of Lords Appointments Commission (HOLAC) is an independent advisory non-departmental public body in the United Kingdom with oversight of some aspects of the Peerage of the United Kingdom. It has two roles: to recommend at least two peopl ...

in May 2024. She had applied for the role after hearing a member of the

speak on the radio about the need for more peers who could understand scientific evidence. She was created Baroness Freeman of Steventon, ''of Abingdon in the County of Oxfordshire'', on 5 June 2024, and was introduced to the House of Lords on 29 July as a

crossbencher A crossbencher is a minor party or independent member of some legislatures, such as the Parliament of Australia. In the British House of Lords the term refers to members of the parliamentary group of non-political peers. They take their name fr ...

. On 31 October 2024, she made her

maiden speech A maiden speech is the first speech given by a newly elected or appointed member of a legislature or parliament. Traditions surrounding maiden speeches vary from country to country. In many Westminster system governments, there is a convention th ...

in the Lords during a take-note debate on science and technology contributions to the UK economy.

Selected works

* * * * *

References

External links

Octopus platform
{{DEFAULTSORT:Freeman of Steventon, Alexandra Freeman, Baroness 1974 births Living people 20th-century British scientists 20th-century British women scientists 21st-century British politicians 21st-century British scientists 21st-century British women politicians 21st-century British women scientists Alumni of Linacre College, Oxford BBC television producers British science communicators British women television producers Crossbench life peers Life peeresses created by Charles III Life peers created by Charles III Peers recommended by the House of Lords Appointments Commission People from Abingdon-on-Thames Scientists from Maryland American emigrants to England