1. Can you tell us a bit about your professional journey?
I was the first generation in my family to go to university-I was fortunate to get a place at Oxford after attending a state school. I studied English Language and Literature, but when I graduated in 1994, the UK was in the midst of recession and the only work I could find was as a temporary filing clerk, for an awarding body called BTEC (Business & Technology Educational Council). I became really interested in technical and vocational qualifications and took a full time role providing customer support for colleges, delivering BTEC qualifications.
So I did that for a while before on to a similar role at another Awarding Body- the University of London Exams and Assessment Council- which shortly after merged with BTEC to form “Edexcel”. I became frustrated by the quality of the IT systems,and decided to do something about it, so I cross-trained as a business analyst and systems architect, and started working in technology, building better solutions for the administration of qualifications..
I also had the exciting opportunity to work on the development of innovative new digital solutions- I was part of the team who provided onscreen GCSE exams for the first time, and a new service using assessment data captured through onscreen marking to provide feedback to schools and pupils on specific areas of strengths and weaknesses in their performance.
Pearson acquired Edexcel in 2005, which gave me the opportunity to shift my focus from assessment to teaching and learning, moving into digital publishing and courseware, including the evolution of the Active Learn digital service, which supported 3.5m active users during Covid lockdown.
I moved into a technology leadership role in 2014, with responsibility for technology delivery across Pearson’s businesses in the UK, Europe and Africa. After Pearson, I joined the National Foundation for Educational Research- a fantastic independent research organisation- for three years, driving digital transformation as their Chief Digital Technology Officer, and am now doing consultancy work for organisations seeking to bring their learning online.
2. What drew you to the charity sector, and more specifically to Speakers Trust?
I made a transition from the commercial to the not for profit sector in 2021, and first became aware of the Speakers Trust through the work NFER was doing on oracy in schools. . . I watched some of the pupils participating in Jack Petchey’s Speak Out Challenge on YouTube and was blown away by hearing the voices and stories of young people, and wanted to support the amazing work that the Speakers Trust is doing.
3. Do you have any personal stories to share relating to a public speaking experience?
Honestly, I am not the best public speaker. My first exposure to public speaking was at my school, where I participated in the house debating competition. People who know me might say I’m a naturally argumentative person-I was raised with the idea to use my voice, to argue and hold my ground. And of course, to listen to others, keep an open mind. But I was never taught how to speak effectively in front of a large audience- so in my adult life, I’ve had to learn “on the job”, I’m still learning!
4. Why do you think young voices matter?
The world’s changing very rapidly. The world that my teenagers are growing up in is very different to the world that I grew up in. And, you know, if there’s not a good dialogue between the generations, then you’re not moving forwards together.The older generation tends to hang on to power for longer now, and younger people often don’t get a look in.I think that’s a major flaw and challenge for our society. I also think there’s often a lot of wrong-headedness in schools, trying to fit young people into molds that don’t fit them. In my experience of dealing with kids, that’s a fail at the first hurdle.
“Kids don’t care what you know until they know that you care.” – not my saying, but I use it often
So it’s really important that young people are equipped with the skills and confidence to advocate for themselves, clearly and respectfull
5. If you were to participate in the Speak Out Challenge, what topic would you choose to give a 3-min speech about?
Raising teenage daughters has really made me reflect on everyday gender imbalances, and the urgent need for better mutual understanding. I see very clearly how low level, casual sexism acts as the on-ramp to horrific misogyny and violence that leads the majority of young girls and women feeling unsafe in their everyday lives, in ways which young boys and men often don’t appreciate. So I would want to speak about that, the importance of educating ourselves, building empathy and understanding across all genders and speaking out against prejudice.
6. What are you most looking forward to as a Trustee at Speakers Trust?
I’m looking forward to seeing a massive spike in demand for the work Speakers Trust does, “learning how to talk” as the Oracy Education Commission Report puts it, and seeing the expertise of this charity’s work embedded in every school in the country, and bringing my expertise and experience in digital transformation to this endeavour!