Rosi Lister

Chief Executive Officer

Rosi is responsible for providing organisational leadership and overseeing day to day business operations. Working closely with the Board of Trustees, Rosi leads on strategic partnerships and the strategic planning process, alongside the senior management team.

Rosi has more than 25 years’ experience of working across the arts, heritage and learning sectors in Yorkshire, the North East and nationally. Having begun a career in Further and Higher Art and Design education, Rosi became interested in developing widening access & sector skills projects which involved securing funds from a variety of sources. This led to a range of roles within the arts and cultural sector that focused on strategic organisational development, which became particularly relevant as the public funding landscape began to change. She has subsequently developed expertise in creating mixed model business strategies that combine public and private sector funding streams alongside strategic cross sector partnerships at local, regional and national levels.

Rosi has a growing interest in digital technology and how creativity can help address some of the societal challenges that lie ahead in terms of our developing artificial intelligence.

She has previously published ‘Creativity – A Skill for Life?’ (TES, March 2008) and the article on BQ website.

Rosi is learning to ‘open water’ swim. She enjoys kitchen gardening and green-laning in my bright red Jeep that she refers to as the ‘Fire Engine’. Rosi lives on a farm in North Yorkshire and has part ownership of 10 Huskies.

Email: Rosi@weareive.org

Drew Rowlands

Director of Development

Drew leads the development of the programmes IVE delivers across businesses, schools and young people to make sure that everyone can tap into their creative potential.

He has extensive experience in education, arts & cultural, business development and 3rd sector. He is an expert in leadership and leadership development, curriculum design, consultancy, school improvement and managing budgets. Drew has over 30 years’ experience in education and training covering all aspects of school leadership and governance, from coaching & mentoring colleagues in a range of contexts including Initial Teacher Training, leading teaching & learning, delivering a wide range of CPD Programmes and leading on behaviour and attendance. He has held various roles including Local Authority Drama Advisor, two Vice Principal roles and Head of an Arts College. Drew is also experienced in bid writing from his responsibility for writing funding applications since 1998, when he successfully bid for European Objective 1 ‘Pathways’ funding.

Since leaving teaching, Drew has continued to play a role in education through governance, being Vice Chair at an Academy in Leeds and spending two years as Chair of a Multi Academy Trust in Bradford.

In recent years Drew has found a passion for working with leaders of industry, unlocking imagination to see problems as challenges and embracing creativity as a means of driving innovation.

He is a Fellow of the Royal Society of the Arts, a member of the British Actors Equity Association and has achieved his National Postgraduate Qualification for Headship (NPQH)

Drew’s interests include writing, having written numerous plays and musicals and publishing his first novel, Tales of an Ordinary Man in 2014. He also sits on the board of Shakespeare North who are in the process of building an education centre and theatre in Prescot, Knowsley to celebrate the town’s relationship with the bard.

Email: Drew@weareive.org

Sarah Mumford

Director of Cultural Education

Sarah leads the Arts Council England funded Bridge strand of our work across Yorkshire and the Humber, building relationships and brokering partnerships across the region to make sure more and better arts, creative and cultural opportunities are available for children and young people.

She has experience in education, museums, arts & cultural and film & media. Her expertise includes museum education, film education, media education, primary teaching fundraising, brokering relationships, coaching, leadership and community engagement. She is also an experienced project, budget, people and events manager.

Her previous roles include: Programme Director for Cape UK; Film Education consultant; Head of Learning at the National Media Museum; Head of Education at Eureka! The Museum for Children; Advisory Teacher for Photography and Media Education and Education Officer at the National Museum of Photography, Film & TV and Primary Teacher.

Sarah shares a love of musical theatre with her daughter and outside of work spends much of her time nurturing her daughter’s singing, dancing and acting development.

Email: Sarah@weareive.org

Jo Garnham-Parks

Finance and Operations Director

Jo has responsibility for looking after the ‘business’ of the organisation and leads the Finance & Operations team.

She has experience in both the private, public and third sector, having worked in the latter for over 20 years.  She has substantial leadership experience often in cross-sector organisations.  She has in-depth knowledge of finance both in and out of third sector and maximizing income through tax efficiencies.  She also has extensive HR experience having led an organisation through a complete pay and reward review for over 300 staff, has led a number of successful reorganisations, mergers and is experienced in handling TUPE situations.  Working in the third sector means she has a wide range of experience including systems analysis and implementation, capital refurbishments, the safeguarding of intellectual property amongst others.

To keep updated with sector developments Jo is a member of ACEVO (Association of Chief Executives of Voluntary Organisations), Charity Finance Group, the RSA and CIPD.

Her main interest/obsession is cooking, she specializes in British/French cuisine but also loves the science of both molecular cooking and chocolatiering.

Email: Jo@weareive.org

Aamirah Patel

Business Administrator Apprentice

Aamirah is the first point of contact for visitors and phone enquiries. She ensures post is recorded, stationary is ordered and that delegate packs for events are prepared. Aamirah provides administrative support across the organisation where required.

She is currently working towards an NVQ Level 3 Business Admin Apprenticeship. Her expertise is in customer service.

Aamirah loves baking as she is a professional baker.

Email: Aamirah@weareive.org

Adam Halls

Sales and Marketing Manager

Adam leads the IVE team on all issues relating to communications, sales & marketing. That means spreading the word about our past achievements with insightful case studies; making connections with new clients for our training & consultancy services; and making the case to donors to support our charitable programmes.

Adam has previously worked in marketing roles for Gin Festival, Asda and at a marketing agency. He has experience in SEO and PPC; social media, copywriting & copyediting; email & direct marketing; project management; content management, production & editing.

Adam also worked as an English teacher in Japan for 3 years where he gained intermediate Japanese and an expertise in Japanese Kit-Kats.

Adam likes practically anything and everything geeky: comics, gaming, anime, etc. He also loves to experiment in his kitchen making his own beer and spirit infusions (ask about his garlic vodka).

Email: adam@weareive.org

April Shilston

Project Support Officer (SY & AM)

April provides support to the development of Local Cultural Education Programmes in organising and attending meetings, events and developing resources.

She comes from a digital marketing background and has 6 years’ experience working across two busy creative agencies, primarily in project management and client facing roles across a broad range of sectors.

April is an arts and culture advocate with a particular passion for film and her interests involve spending a lot of time in art galleries, playing bass guitar, running a poetry newsletter & far too many Instagram accounts!

Email: April@weareive.org

Arusah Saeed

Events Coordinator

Arusah organises and schedules events across the organisation, managing the events bookings process to ensure a smooth customer journey and the delivery of high-quality events that meet customer needs.

She developed her experience in events from as early as her school years where she organised events such as a fashion show, children’s parties, and a student disco. Arusah also volunteered at a private High School organising fundraising events and family fun days. She worked previously as an events administrator and events coordinator.

Arusah has a Level 3 Diploma in Business and Administration and IT.

Arusah loves fashion, music, and geography. She also loves reading and enjoys spending time in the gym.

Email: Arusah@weareive.org

Caroline Courtney

Project Support Officer (Bridge)

Caroline supports the Regional Cultural Education Manager in the West Yorkshire area with knowledge for what’s going on in the region. Belfast-born Caroline is the person you’ll be speaking to when enquiring about our schools programme.

Caroline has experience in numerous sectors including; arts, education, heritage, charity and the archive service. Her expertise includes project support & planning; project & event administration; relationship building; event management; database management; project delivery with young people and research.

Caroline has been a Project Administrator with CapeUK/IVE; an intern at Leeds Grand Theatre & City Varieties Music Hall; a researcher at Glasgow Women’s Library and the Public Records Office NI; and worked at music festivals too. She also represented university students through her positions on the Glasgow University Feminist Society and the History Department Liaison Committee.

Caroline loves anything in the great outdoors! And being in the kitchen for hours.

Email: Caroline@weareive.org

Chris Strong

Head of Enterprise & Skills

Chris focuses on the real-world application of creativity and how it can help young people reach their potential. He’s an expert in employability, ensuring career opportunities for young people are a real option in the Creative and Cultural Industries and the wider creative workforce.

Chris is experienced in Partnership Development, Vision & Strategy, Programme Management, Skills and Further Education. He instigates bespoke industry study programmes and new paid apprenticeships/internships across the Creative Industries . He leads regional cross-sector multi-stakeholder programmes to improve access to quality Creative and Cultural activities for diverse groups of young people in Yorkshire. Chris is a trustee at the highly successful youth music development charity NYMAZ and sits on the newly emerging North of England Music Education Think Tank.

Chris taught Music Technology, Sound Engineering and Event Management for Hertfordshire Music Service. He also delivered Arts Award at Bronze & Silver levels.

Chris’s interests include; heritage craft skills, music, walking in Yorkshire’s beautiful countryside, his enormous cat Marley and cooking.

Email: Chris@weareive.org

Jenny Moscrop

Digital Marketing Apprentice

Jenny is supporting the sales and marketing manager in the production of marketing and commercial materials, to raise the profile of IVE and advocate for cultural education.

She has a range of knowledge and practical experience from her previous course of study at Leeds City College of Technology in a Level 3 BTEC Diploma in Creative Media Production Journalism. Her expertise includes creative writing, design for print, email, some social media, copy editing and production/ video editing.

Jenny has been an apprentice digital marketing assistant, a volunteer in shop at Oxfam and warehouse staff at Belle Lingerie.

Jenny loves singing, dancing, going out with friends and just making life an adventure!

Email: Jenny@weareive.org

Lisa Ibbetson

Executive Assistant

Lisa is a born organiser and planner who keeps the organisation and the senior management on track. She is a master of organising busy calendars and meetings ensuring everything runs smoothly.

She started off as a Business Administration Apprentice in 2012 and work her way to Project Administration in 2013 before her current position as Executive Assistant which she moved into in April 2016. Her expertise lies in diary management, organising high level meetings and managing apprentices.

Lisa also has experience in customer service from when she worked as a sales Consultant at Next from 2011-2012.

Lisa loves pampering her dog!

Email: Lisa@weareive.org

Marie Millward

IGNITE Project Manager

Marie is the Project Manager for Ignite Yorkshire, a four-year Heritage Lottery Funded consortium project to make strong, sustainable connections between young people and industrial heritage.

Before joining IVE in late 2017, Marie worked freelance for almost a decade as a project manager and consultant working with a range of public, private and third sector organisations on community projects, with arts, environmental, creative technology and place-making themes. Marie specialises in partnership working and projects connecting people with waterways. She worked in a variety of roles throughout her 10+ years working for British Waterways as an events manager, environmental specialist, and heritage advocate, regeneration project manager, securing funding and delivering grant-funded projects.

Marie has been involved in setting up a number of community groups and a charity supporting young people’s participation in outdoor activities. She is currently a Trustee of Compass Festival – a biannual live art festival in Leeds.

Her interests include ecology and gardening, watching live music and, alongside (but rapidly being left behind by) her children, learning to code.

Email: Marie@weareive.org

Rachel Green

Project Support Officer (Business Development)

Rachel supports the business development team in implementing fundraising plans. She’s a great planner and organiser, whipping the team into shape when writing funding bids and tenders.

Rachel also has proven experience in event coordination and project management and is currently managing and coordinating the Hull City of Culture ‘No Limits’ Teacher CPD programme and the Big Lottery Funded Shaping Creative Futures project. Furthermore, Rachel plays a big part in identifying funding opportunities for IVE, and writing bids for various projects.

With a PhD in Austrian Film, Rachel is an expert in research and academic writing, and has recently won an award from the Austrian Society for Germanic Studies (ÖGG) for her PhD thesis and has had her work published in an edited collection. Rachel also has a number of years’ experience in an educational setting, delivering interactive foreign-language film sessions to secondary students, preparing and delivering lectures to undergraduate students and mentoring students as part of the Students as Scholars programme.

With a PhD in Austrian film, it’s no surprise that Rachel loves watching and writing about foreign-language film and learning new languages. She also enjoys travelling around the UK (and the rest of the world!), walking in the Yorkshire Dales, and ceramics.

Email: Rachel@weareive.org

Sarah Beckett

Cultural Education Manager (West Yorkshire)

Sarah establishes and supports the development of Local cultural education programmes and identifies regional champions to advocate for our work.

Sarah has experience in several sectors including; funding, arts/heritage and education. Her expertise includes organisational development, grant making/fundraising, teaching & learning, relationship management and media relations.

Sarah has been Press Officer for Horniman Museum and National Theatre. She was Grants Manager at Paul Hamlyn Foundation; Governor at Childeric Primary; a Committee Member at Grant Funders’ Network; Primary Teacher at Kilmorie School and Programme Officer at King’s College, London. She is experienced in grant making/management, education and arts/heritage.

Sarah’s interests are life drawing, running and theatre.

Email: SarahB@weareive.org

Sarah Frances Mulryan

Project Support Officer (NY & Humber & AA)

Sarah provides support to the development of Local Cultural Education Partnerships in organising and attending meetings, events and developing resources.

Sarah’s background is in Fine Art and she has experience in arts administration, sales and events. Sarah has experience in project management and events planning from previously working in roles where she led on several projects including public and private exhibitions, corporate training events and children’s residential trips. Sarah has worked with a number of data management systems including payroll/HR systems, collections databases and booking systems. She also has experience leading workshops and training events with children, adults and young adults with SEN.

Sarah enjoys cooking and baking (she catered her mum’s wedding), exploring the great outdoors (walking, camping, nature film and photography), aerial fitness (pole and hoop), ice cream is her absolute favourite food and being by the seaside is her favourite place to be.

Email: SarahF@weareive.org

Susan Cairns

Regional Cultural Education Manager (North Yorkshire & Humber)

Susan develops relationships and broker partnerships across North Yorkshire and the Humber. As an expert in Arts Award she is leading on this for the whole region.

Susan has experience in; arts, cultural, education, heritage, design, youth & community, international development and volunteering. Her expertise includes programme development & management, strategic work, resource design & development, planning creative projects, alternative learning programmes, working with communities, partnership working and volunteering/supporting volunteers.

Susan has been an Arts Award Coordinator in Leeds; an Arts Coordinator Officer in Madrid; a Youth and Community Worker in Hull; a Community Development Volunteer in Ghana and an Artist in Residence in Swansea. She has also worked in education as a Cultural Education Manager in North and East Yorkshire; an Education Enabler in Hull; an Education Officer in York; an ESL Teacher in Thailand; and a Childcare Classroom Assistant in Edinburgh.

Susan loves wild swimming (mainly in the chilly north sea!), running, hill walking, illustration ( she was shortlisted for the Kelpies Design and Illustration Prize in 2016), silversmithing, travel, nature, live music, how to be a more conscious consumer, disco, good food, and spending time with loved ones.

Email: Susan@weareive.org

Sharron Scott

Finance Manager

Sharron is the guardian of the finances and the office, keeping us all on track with her master skills in using the Excel spreadsheet. She is the one that makes sure our bills and salaries get paid on time! Sharron has 15 years’ experience at CapeUK, now IVE starting as Finance Officer, studying for AAT qualification and working up to the position of Finance Manager.

She has 20 years’ experience as a Finance Assistant working in the Private Sector in both Mail Order and Freight Forwarding companies.

Sharron has always been in finance work with all her previous roles being as a finance assistant for various companies.

Her interests are mainly motorcycling and spending all her free time and holidays touring Europe with her partner who runs his own motorcycle tour company.

Email: Sharron@weareive.org

Verity Clarke

Regional Cultural Education Manager (South Yorkshire)

Verity is our lead manager for South Yorkshire, supporting organisations and building partnerships to develop, increase and improve the arts and cultural offer for children and young people. She is passionate about making sure young people have opportunities to unlock new talents and develop their creative potential. Verity is also our lead for Artsmark in Yorkshire and Humber, encouraging schools to protect and develop the arts and creativity in formal education.

Verity spent 20 years teaching dance, performing and delivering a variety of creative projects in schools and community settings across the UK. She moved into creative project management roles focused on social and economic regeneration of ex-mining communities and addressing the gender gap in different art-forms. She was Programme Manager, then Creative Director, of Creative Partnerships South Yorkshire, joining us through that work in 2009. She is an accredited action learning set facilitator, a practical group-coaching method.

Verity enjoys designing and making silver jewellery. She’s determined that one day she’ll finish the novel she’s been writing for a decade or more, but currently spends most evenings taxiing her children around Sheffield or in the gym trying to get fit again.

Email: Verity@weareive.org

Rashik Parmar

Trustee

Rashik is the Leader of IBM’s European technical community and an IBM Distinguished Engineer.

He is currently advising clients on their cloud innovation roadmap from a technology and business perspective drawing on thirty-three years of practical experience in IBM. Rashik was appointed to the Leeds City Region Local Enterprise Partnership Board and chairs the business communications group. He is helping develop the innovation strategies to accelerate growth of this £55bn marketplace.

Rashik was previously President of IBM’s Academy of Technology. He has worked for financial, retail and manufacturing clients on IT transformation projects of all sizes. Overall, he specialises in ensuring the technical success of complex IT projects that transform business models.

Rashik was awarded an MBE as part of the HRH Queen Elizabeth’s 90th birthday honours for his contribution to business and innovation.

Susan Lynas

Communications Consultant

Sue is a consultant in the arts, education and charity sectors including the University of London, Institute of Learning, Ovarian Cancer Action and overseeing the marketing and communications for English National Ballet in support of its new Artistic Director. She has wide experience of organisational launches, repositioning, crisis communications, rebranding, advocacy and change management.

She previously had a long career in the BBC, starting in educational broadcasting and holding various senior communications roles before becoming Director, Marketing, Communications and Audiences, BBC Audio & Music, responsible for setting strategy for marketing and communications for the BBC’s national radio services and all television music. During this time BBC Radio saw record audience figures and high public approval.

Sue is a Trustee of Dance UK.

Sue Horner PhD, MBE

Independent Consultant in Arts and Education

Susan supports and has been closely involved with Arts charities, particularly those working with children and young people on creative writing and reading or promoting creativity which is why IVE matters to her.

She previously worked in Sheffield as a teacher and schools adviser before moving into national education policy in London. Susan became Director of Curriculum for England working on the national curriculum and tests. She used this experience to support developments in education in Rwanda and Oman.

Susan was awarded the MBE for services to literature.

Jonathan Straight

Trustee

Jonathan Straight is a Yorkshire-based entrepreneur, writer, photographer and television presenter. In addition to sitting on IVE’s board of trustees He is currently a director of water saving NGO Waterwise and contemporary art gallery and learning space The Tetley. Jonathan is engaged as Brand Ambassador to Approved Food, a Sheffield-based food redistribution business. He is also involved with several charities including the international food waste campaigning charity, The Real Junk Food Project. Jonathan has invested in several start-ups, including solid-state photonic cooling business Inclusive Designs Limited where he chairs the board.

Through his business career, he is best known as the founder of Straight plc, the UK’s leading supplier of waste and recycling containers. 10 years after founding the business he floated it on the London Stock Exchange Alternative Investment Market. He exited the business in 2014 having led it for 21 years and having delivered more than 50 million recycling bins. At least half of the households in the country will have had at least one Straight product at some point in time.

Johnathan is a former winner of the EY Entrepreneur of the Year competition with a long-standing passion for entrepreneurship and is currently an Enterprise Ambassador for the Leeds University Business School.

Jonathan is a regular presenter on local television. He is currently working on a memoir of his career to date.