Linda Conlon is responsible for managing the International Centre for Life, a £90m science village in the heart of Newcastle. It brings together a University medical research institute, two National Health Service clinics, biotechnology businesses, a popular science centre and education facilities on a single site, all with the aim of enriching lives through science. This unique project has fostered inter-disciplinary collaboration among the 600-strong workforce, achieving some spectacular results – e.g. the world’s first cloned human embryo was created at Life.
Linda is a past President of the Association of Science and Technology Centres, the body representing over 650 science centres globally. She was the first European woman to be elected to the role. She has also served on the European equivalent and is also a former trustee of ASDC, the UK’s science centre network organisation.
Linda is a Trustee of the Laidlaw Schools Trust, a multi-academy trust that manages a number of schools in the northeast of England, many of which serve children in severely deprived areas. She is also a member of the governing body of Newcastle University. Previously, she was a non-executive director of the Newcastle upon Tyne Hospitals NHS Trust and an executive member of NE1, the Business Improvement District Company for Newcastle. In 2016 she was awarded an MBE by the Queen for services to science and science education and in 2020 was made a Deputy Lieutenant of Tyne and Wear.
Linda's career before the world of science centres was in regional development and urban regeneration, where she was involved in the creation of major high profile waterfront developments, helping to bring in £1 billion of investment. Before that, she ran her own marketing consultancy and in her early career, worked for the British Foreign and Commonwealth Office and the multi-national company, Procter and Gamble.
