Hello, we’re Academic Audio Transcription 👋Â
We’re a global remote team of freelancers who are passionate about transforming accessibility work into accessible work.
We were founded by Zara in 2017 as a solution to a very particular and pressing problem: How do you pay your rent if you’re a disabled, chronically ill and neurodivergent housebound PhD student confronting a period of unpaid medical leave from your studies, a labour market inaccessible to those who need to work from home or in bed, and poorly-paid remote work options?
Academic Audio Transcription Ltd was Zara’s solution, to help herself and those in similar circumstances to her, providing an all-too-rare disabled-led, disability-centred workplace culture and work opportunities as an alternative to the professional barriers too-often faced by disabled, chronically ill and neurodivergent people.
Zara Bain, Managing Director
Alongside founding and managing Academic Audio Transcription Ltd, Zara writes and researches in philosophy, social theory, and social epistemology, with publications on topics like social and political ignorance, racial injustice and white supremacy, epistemic oppression and epistemic injustice, microaggressions, and disability injustice and ableism.
She is the co-author of Philosophy: A Crash Course, one of the very first introductory popular philosophy books with significant representation of Black and non-white, as well as disabled, philosophers. She is still writing up her PhD, while raising her one-year-old son, and in whatever free time is left, enjoys walking the dog and toddler in the woods, watching reality TV, or cooking MCAS-friendly meals and bakes.
Catherine Wangui Njuguna, Operations Lead
Catherine joined AAT as a freelance transcriber in April 2020 and later as an administrative assistant in July 2021. She has over ten years’ experience in different administrative roles. She earned a Bachelor’s degree in Business Management and partial training in Certified Public Accountant. Catherine’s motto is ‘Follow your bliss and the universe will open doors where there were only walls’ – when you start to follow your dreams, wherever they lead you, you’ll find that things start falling into place for you.
When she is not at work Catherine enjoys baking, hanging out with her family and friends, or watching inspirational videos.
Sujan Magar, Bookkeeper
Sujan is an Association of Accounting Technicians (AAT) Certified Bookkeeper. He encountered Accountancy by chance while studying Economics as an undergraduate at Royal Holloway University of London, and chose to pursue it after graduation. Anything Film and TV are his favourite pastimes. His goal is to unite the two in pursuit of a fulfilling career.
Helene Bradley, senior Editor
Helene joined AAT in 2019, first as an audio editor, then as a transcript editor, before eventually becoming a senior editor in 2022. She has 15 years’ editorial experience, working in varied fields including broadcasting and media, financial compliance and the music industry.
In addition to her work with AAT, Helene is a musician, producer and DJ, hosting a monthly show on Soho Radio. In her spare time, she enjoys watching terrible 80s horror films.
Georgia Newman, General & Marketing Administrator
Georgia joined AAT in 2023 and does a bit of everything, helping the admin team with client/freelancer enquiries and the marketing team with social media, comms, and our exciting new podcast in the works!
She has an energy-limiting chronic illness, which is what led her to AAT, and feels very grateful to have found a workplace which understands and prioritises disabled people’s needs. She has a background in health information, patient participation & involvement, and project management, as well as in copywriting, transcription, and translation (French>English). She also has an MA in Gender & Sexuality Studies and wrote her dissertation on the feminist politics of exhaustion – her life is now praxis!
She likes to play guitar and piano and listen to lots of music, podcasts and audiobooks.