I've surprised myself when I think back over my education and career, about the extent to which this new role as CEO of Parallel Histories is the culmination of a lifetime’s work and interest.

Hugh Castle is Director of Education at Parallel Histories. Before joining the charity full time, he taught history for 32 years, including 22 years as Head of Department at Lancaster Royal Grammar School.

My journey with Parallel Histories started in 2020 as a history teacher working in East London. I fell in love with the charity through delivering the Israel/Palestine scheme of work, and through the fantastic debate opportunities they presented for students. Three years later, and I have joined the team to become part of what I think is an amazing and meaningful cause.

My work for Parallel Histories allows me to unite my passions for History and for seeing young people grow and develop into caring and thoughtful young people who believe they can achieve whatever they set out to.

As Michael’s wife, I’ve been closely involved in Parallel Histories from the beginning – from the long discussions with him over the kitchen table about how the Middle East was no longer being taught in schools, to the time we spent in the West Bank and Jerusalem where he began developing the dual narrative approach; from the early development of teaching materials when it was just him at his desk, to working with the designers who developed the charity’s brand identity and professionalised the website and the whole ‘look’ of the charity’s educational materials.

I am very supportive of Parallel Histories. I remain fully committed to the charity and to my role on the Board of Trustees; I find myself talking about this role increasingly widely with my friends and contacts and the role that we are playing in building empathy across a spectrum of people approaching these difficult issues from fundamentally different starting points.

I'm delighted to be joining Parallel Histories as a trustee.

I bring experience in communications and strategy, serving most recently as the Prime Minister's Director of Delivery and Head of Media in No 10 Downing Street having been part of the core team that won an historic General Election victory in 2024. I'll focus on strategy and communications, helping Parallel Histories reach the audiences it deserves.

I am the Head of School Development and Managing at the PTI (Prince’s Teaching Institute). I was an English teacher, AST and Deputy Headteacher for over 20 years working closely with the PTI as course designer for NTSDs and the English Residential Course.

My relationship with Parallel Histories began in the 6th form of Lancaster Royal Grammar School where I was fortunate to participate in a number of wide ranging debates and a study trip to Ireland where explored both sides of several debates in Irish history with students and politician Bertie Ahern.

I am the Assistant Director of K-12 Education and Outreach at Virginia Tech's European Union center, CEUTTSS (Center for European Union, Transatlantic and Trans-European Space Studies).

I am a historian of early modern Ireland and Britain teaching at Maynooth University. I am fascinated by the reflexes of our pre-modern past in the present day. Having published on the 1641 rebellion and the Cromwellian conquest in Ireland, I am interested in how people remember (or forget!) these events and how they are taught at first level and second level across Ireland and the UK. I particularly enjoy facilitating student-led investigations of these contentious issues, one key strength of the Parallel histories programme. 

I am a teacher of history and geography at GO! K. Atheneum Antwerp (BE) and I am translating the Parallel Histories approach on ‘Israël-Palestine’ into Dutch and introducing it as good practice in Flanders, and then I hope, the Netherlands.

I live and teach in the suburbs of Boston, Massachusetts. I taught Modern World History and AP World History in the public schools for 13 years and now work as a freelance writer and educational consultant.