Tessa is a researcher and practitioner specialising in community participation and engagement. She is a Research Associate at the University of Reading, where her work focuses on community-led planning and questions of justice, power and participation in decision-making.

Alongside her academic work, Tessa leads Kingfisher Commons, supporting organisations to strengthen how they gather and use lived experience insight through practical approaches to engagement and community research. Her work spans housing, local government and community-led initiatives, with a focus on embedding meaningful participation in practice.