I have been involved in youth and community work for 20 years across a range of settings and I am currently employed by Redcar and Cleveland Council as Youth Work Plus Lead, working with young people aged 8 to 19 across Redcar and Cleveland. I have a degree in media studies and I completed a traineeship and apprenticeship with The Sage Gateshead where I went on to work as a community musician across the North East for nearly 8 years. During this time, I was lucky to experience some amazing opportunities including a three week trip to South Africa to share musical experiences with the local township communities and also an interview about music education for The South Bank Show. I then worked as an Activities Officer for 5 years at Kidz Konnekt, a charity in South Bank delivering youth club sessions, holiday programmes and events. Alongside this I was also working in the Arts Development Team at Redcar and Cleveland Borough Council where I managed an after school creative arts project and a community festival for 4 years as well as leading on the community installations at Odins Glow, a cultural event in 2009. I am very passionate about my local community and have lived in Skelton my whole life. My two daughters attend Skelton Primary School.