Meet our team

  • life as WAC (Weekend Arts College). Trained as a Drama specialist at Central School of Speech and Drama, she has worked creatively with young people for more than forty years to level the playing field in arts education by breaking down barriers to access caused by systemic, socio-economic inequalities.

    Celia believes every child has talent and ability and has worked to establish the best environment for every learner to thrive. She builds inclusive pathways to vocational training and employment, fostering a worldview of fairness and equality in education among other arts practitioners. Celia encourages and engages arts practitioners to adopt an ethos that champions access to high-quality arts education for everyone through inclusive teaching methods and diversification of the performing arts canon.

  • the Central School of Ballet. Maxine is a seasoned Widening Participation professional in the arts and education that included being a key member of Islington’s school improvement team and widening participation at London Metropolitan University where she managed and developed the Upward Bound UK programme for 15 years. She is deeply committed to securing positive outcomes for young people and supporting access to opportunities for all.

    As a former dancer, teacher and choreographer, she has worked in a variety of settings: university, schools, local communities, and the professional dance world — always with a view of inclusion and access couched in high quality programmes designed to ensure no young person, regardless of their background, gets left behind.

  • Metropolitan University and leads the Civic and Community stream of the University’s strategy and is Chair of London’s Higher Civic network. She sits on numerous boards and working groups across London including the Transforming Access and Student Outcomes (TASO) Theme 1 working group and the Network for Evaluating and Researching University Participation Interventions (NERUPI) steering group.

    An ex-youth worker, Sophie is also a London Met alumna and holds an MA in Education and a BSc (Hons) in Sociology from its predecessor institution, London Guildhall University. It was through her extensive volunteer work with young people at risk that Sophie experienced first hand the positive outcomes from widening participation in education, in the arts and in society as whole. This led to an early career change from finance in the City to youth work and education.

  • company which focuses on social, cultural, economic and educational development

    Amanda has over 35 years experience in vocational education, employment and training and discovered her passion for working with young people in the 80’s as manager of one of the first Itecs, a technology based Youth Training Scheme in Islington. This was followed by 20 years as Director/CEO of an independent community provider (FSST Ltd), delivering large scale programmes aimed at improving the prospects of unemployed and disadvantaged young adults across London. 

    During her 35 years leading publicly funded organisations, Amanda has designed, secured funding for, directed and delivered funded provision for a wide and diverse range of programmes, focused on achieving positive progressions for those facing multiple barriers and complex circumstances. While these projects have spanned sectors and cohorts, what they all have in common is a commitment to improving the prospects of young people and adults, leveling the playing field and providing the support and encouragement to ensure that everyone can meet their potential and secure their seat at the ‘decision making’ table.

  • She has a legal and policy background and has worked at a senior level for a national regulator, various local councils in London and the Greater London Authority. She is interested in good governance and policy making within organisations and transparency and accountability in decision making. She has been a volunteer for most of her life, including working at a London soup kitchen, a national suicide helpline, as a school governor, a member of her allotment committee and at the Castle Climbing Centre Community garden. She spent three years in Australia and volunteered for the Asylum Seekers Resource Centre in Melbourne working to get asylum seekers out of off-shore processing camps, through their application for asylum and into work/school or employment.