Meet the team
OUR QUALIFIED, TRAINED, FRIENDLY, AND EXPERIENCED TEAM ARE ALL READY TO HELP YOU
Get involved
Our team brings together experience from teaching, youth work, SEND support and employability. Between us, we’ve worked in schools, colleges, alternative provision, community organisations and specialist services. That means we can look at each young person’s situation from more than one angle.
Behind our delivery staff, our operations team looks after safeguarding, admin and compliance, and keeps everything running smoothly.
ENGAGE ALTERNATIVE PROVISION PROGRAMME
GEMMA HUMPHERY
Engage Programme Manager
Gemma has been at The Platform Project for 3 years. During that time, she has been a Youth Worker, Engage Programme Lead and is currently the Engage Programme Manager. Prior to this, she was a Primary School teacher for 18 years.
CARLIE BLUNT
Engage Programme Lead SEN Specialist
Carlie plans and delivers the Engage programme alongside the brilliant Engage team. She writes and reviews Individual Education Plans (IEPs), making sure support is tailored to each young person. She is always looking for creative ways to help young people develop their enterprise and life skills. As a qualified Thrive Practitioner, she brings a relational, therapeutic approach to her work.
LILLI VINEY
Senior Youth Trainer and Mentor
ANGELINA CONCADORO
Youth worker
FAYE COLLINS
Youth Worker
CONNECT & CONNECT PRIMARY THERAPEUTIC MENTORING PROGRAMME
TONY NIESTER
Therapeutic Mentoring Lead, Welfare Manager & Designated Safeguarding Lead
Tony “Kim” Niester has worked extensively with vulnerable children, young people, and adults in educational, community, and street outreach settings.
DAN BOND
Connect Programme Therapeutic Mentor
Dan has been a mentor to young people across a variety of settings that have included further education, employment/ volunteering, residential and community/ outreach. The majority of his experience has been working with young people on the autistic spectrum.
SONYA CHUTOOREE
Connect Programme Therapeutic Mentor
Sonya works as a therapeutic mentor on the connect team and also a senior youth worker on the engage team. They have been at the project for just over two years starting off solely on the connect program and she has also worked on the boost program and she enjoyed every program she has worked on.
MIA FINLAYSON
Connect Programme Therapeutic Mentor
KATIE YOUNG
Connect Programme Therapeutic Mentor
Katie Young is our therapeutic mentor. She supports her young people to help develop emotional, social, and behavioural skills. She provides one-to-one support in everyday settings such as the home or the community, using therapeutic techniques to build coping strategies, Improve communication, increase confidence, and support positive decision-making.
JACOB SWORDER
Connect Programme Therapeutic Mentor
ELAINE WALLIS
Connect Programme Therapeutic Mentor
CARRIE ROMANOV
Connect Programme Therapeutic Mentor
LOUISE MOLLOY
Connect Programme Therapeutic Mentor
JENNIFER BERRY
Connect Programme Therapeutic Mentor
DISCOVER PERSONALISED TUTORING PROGRAMME
KATIE AVERY
Discover programme Lead
Katie’s role is to lead Discover, our personalised and bespoke tutoring programme. This involves managing the tutoring team, delivery of sessions and working on the growth and development of the programme. She is also responsible for maintaining academic standards across both the Discover and Engage programmes, and ensuring these standards are implemented through the delivery of the Kings’ Trust Qualification which is offered across all programmes.
CHERIE WESTEN
AP Tutor And Senior Youth Trainer
Cherie is a Tutor and Senior Youth Trainer at The Platform Project. She has worked with children and young people since leaving school and has dedicated her entire adult life to supporting their development, well-being and confidence. Over the years, she has worked across a variety of education and support settings, particularly with young people who have additional needs or who have found mainstream schooling challenging.
ASPIRE VOCATIONAL PROGRAMME
JAIME BULLOCK
Aspire Programme Lead
LAELA EVANS
Youth Worker
BOOST EMPLOYABILITY & ENTERPRISE PROJECTS
GISELLE GRACE
Boost Programme Lead
Giselle Grace is the Operations Manager and Employability Lead. She keeps everything running smoothly from HR to compliance. Giselle joined the Platform Project in November 2024 after a 23-year career in Primary Education. As a qualified SENDCo, Giselle is passionate about inclusion and offers her knowledge and skills across all programmes while also leading our Boost Employability programme.
OPERATIONS TEAM
GISELLE GRACE
Operations Manager & DDSL
Giselle Grace is the Operations Manager and Employability Lead. She keeps everything running smoothly from HR to compliance. Giselle joined the Platform Project in November 2024 after a 23-year career in Primary Education. As a qualified SENDCo, Giselle is passionate about inclusion and offers her knowledge and skills across all programmes while also leading our Boost Employability programme.
SUE GORDON
Office Assistant
ALISON WILTSHIRE
Finance (Contractor)
CHRIS SHAW
IT Manager (Contractor)
THE PLATFORM PROJECT
BOARD OF DIRECTORS
SADIE SHARP
Chief Executive Officer / Board Of Directors & Founders
Sadie went to Law School and then spent 15 years as a self-employed management consultant. She started The Platform Project in 2017 after she spent some time helping local youth Charities to develop and she spotted a gap in the market for young people who need something practical to help them find their feet in the world. As CEO she now spends her time working with the amazing team at The Platform Project to grow the organisation and help more young people.
FIONA SIMPSON
Deputy CEO & DDSL
VICTORIA PARKER
Chair Board Of Directors
Vicky has over 20 years experience of operational business leadership, primarily within the Recruitment and Technology sectors. Vicky originally joined the Platform Project to help support and grow the Employer proposition, and now as Chair of the Board, Vicky leads on Operational strategy and supports the CEO & leadership team as required.
KATE RANDALL
Finance Director Non-Executive Director
SARA WITHAM
Marketing Director Non-Executive Director
Sara runs Evil Empire Marketing, a local agency known for bold, strategic work that helps organisations grow. She has supported The Platform Project for six years, providing marketing and PR expertise as well as direct support for young people through careers talks and one to one sessions.
Lindsay Poole
Non Executive Director - Safeguarding & Compliance Lead
Lindsay has worked with children, young people and families in Swindon for over 25 years, beginning her career as a Youth Development Worker with Swindon Borough Council before completing her JNC Qualification in Youth & Community Work.
She has extensive experience of working with vulnerable young people, including leading youth projects, managing a busy Youth Centre and, more recently, assessing and supporting young people and families where there are concerns around risk and wellbeing.
Vacant Roles
Would you like to join us?We are always looking for voluntary Non-Executive Directors, so if you are keen to use your professional skills to help drive forward an ambitions non-profit to revolutionise the way young people are developed, please email us on info@platformproject.co.uk
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