Demystifying SKOS for Practitioners: A Practical Guide to Controlled Vocabularies

About Our Contributing ExpertHeather Hedden | Taxonomy ConsultantHeather Hedden is a globally respected taxonomy consultant and educator whose work has shaped how organisations structure, govern, and retrieve knowledge at scale. With more than two decades of hands-on experience, she brings rare depth across taxonomy design, information architecture, metadata, and ontologies, translating conceptual clarity into practical systems that materially improve search, discoverability, and decision-making. As the author of the seminal book The Accidental Taxonomist, now in its third edition, Heather has educated and influenced generations of practitioners, establishing herself as one of the most authoritative voices in the field.Heather advises enterprises, platforms, and institutions on building sustainable, standards-aligned taxonomy programs, while also training professionals through courses, workshops, and conferences worldwide. Her contributions extend beyond consulting into stewardship of the discipline itself, including active involvement in ISO standards for thesauri and long-standing editorial leadership with BARTOC.