BUILDING SELF BELIEF - Key Persons
Alan worked at Consett Steelworks for 17 years in the Technical Research Department.Alan is an active volunteer on our National Lottery Heritage Fund Consett Steelworks Programme, where he has shared memories and expertise. Alan has an extensive collection of photographs and memorabilia from the steelworks and has given many talks to members of the community to inform them about the heritage of the area and his life at the Steelworks.
Job Titles:
- Member of the Building Self - Belief Team
- Trustee
Anna has worked on numerous voluntary projects for us and is an invaluable member of our Youth Panel. She is someone we can always rely upon to support our community events and is happy volunteering to support children, young people and the elderly.
Anne-Louise was born in Consett in 1966, and grew up in a village nearby. Her Grandad on one side was a postman and on the other side a miner. Her Dad was a metallurgist at the Steelworks and she had many family members who lived and worked in the area (and still do). She returned to Consett in 2004 to raise her family, having left to seek employment in London in 1989.
Bethany can be relied upon to contribute some great ideas for work in the community. She is particularly strong in applying her studies in psychology in relation to our work with young people. She is also looking forward to supporting our digital pop up events and finding ways to engage and motivate other volunteers.
Brian Stobbs has a wealth of personal knowledge about living in Consett during the era of the steelworks. Having grown up in the heart of Templetown, then primarily an industrial area, his perspective offers a captivating glimpse into Consett's past. Discover what motivated him to stay in Consett and why he chose not to work in the steelworks.
Job Titles:
- Chief Executive
- Member of the Building Self - Belief Team
Christine has a passion for inspiring and working with young people, having worked for nearly twenty-five years in the teaching profession in schools in London and her native North East.
Christine is a determined advocate for the improvement of educational opportunities, self-belief and aspirations of all young people and this runs through everything that she professionally undertakes. As Director of ‘Everything Educational' she works across the UK on a consultancy basis. Christine supports several schools in the implementation of the new curriculum and regularly delivers bespoke ‘Super Learning Days' to hundreds of GCSE and A Level English students across the country. She also organises cultural and careers events for students who are identified by schools as struggling with self-esteem issues.
Christine was Regional Activities Officer on the Management Committee of the National Association for Teachers of English (NATE). As well as planning and coordinating Teachmeets, she regularly delivered workshops at NATE's highly successful national conferences. She regularly writes blogs about education and the wellbeing of young people and her articles have been published in the national magazines of both NATE and the National Literacy Trust. Christine is delighted and honoured to be a Fellow of the Royal Society of Arts.
Job Titles:
- Member of the Building Self - Belief Team
- Trustee
Job Titles:
- Warden
- Founder and Director at Dandelion Confidence CIC
- Outdoor Learning Leader
Clara May Warden is the founder and director at Dandelion Confidence CIC. Alongside running her own CIC, Clara consults on Forest school programmes and the design of Forest school spaces. She is a passionate believer in the impact on the outdoors on our well-being and happiness. We are delighted to have Clara as our Outdoor Learning Leader to help transform our community garden space.
Clara May Warden (PGCE English with Drama, Forest School L3, Outdoor First Aid) is the founder and director at Dandelion Confidence CIC. Alongside running her own CIC, Clara consults on Forest school programmes and the design of Forest school spaces. She is a passionate believer in the impact on the outdoors on our well-being and happiness. Clara specialises in children and young people, in particular marginalised young people. She creates therapeutic spaces for these young people to express their feelings, develop their emotional literacy and build self confidence. Clara's work cover the breadth of the North East and she works in busy high schools, pupil referral units, alternative provisions and in homes. In her 15 years of educational experience, she has worked with some of the most challenging young people in the region at KS3. Clara uses a range of media to enable these young people to recognise their potential and to believe in their personal goals and ambitions. Clara is delighted to bring her skills and expertise to Building Self Belief, a charity that shares her ethos and values in regards to enabling the young people of the North East to live their best lives.
With a bachelor's degree in marine biology and a master's degree in journalism, Darcie hopes to make a difference in the volunteer team providing her expertise in biological and social sciences. With a passion for equal opportunities Darcie hopes to make a positive difference in the local and wider community to provide Consett's community with the skills and confidence to have more fulfilling lives.
Job Titles:
- Child Psychologist
- Specialist
Dr Andrea Grimes is highly specialist as a Clinical Psychologist with over 15 years of experience working within Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services within the NHS and more recently within the independent sector. She has worked with children, young people and their families with a variety of presenting issues ranging from depression, anxiety, self-harm, OCD to developmental issues such as ADHD and ASD as well as attachment issues, relationship issues and complex family dynamics.
She has also worked across multiple agencies including education, social care, substance misuse and youth offending services. She is trained in assessment and formulation of cases, the use of psychometrics and cognitive assessments and the application of a number of different therapy models, including Cognitive Behavioural Therapy, Psycho-dynamic Psychotherapy and Family Therapy and Systemic Practice.
Andrea is particularly interested in working with adolescents who present with depression and self-harm. Prior to her clinical psychology training she qualified as a primary school teacher and she is also passionate about social and emotional wellbeing in schools and the prevention of mental health issues in adolescence and later life. Andrea is registered with the HCPC and adhere to their code of conduct, ethics and values.
Eddie is a Quantity Surveyor undergraduate and a footballer but still finds the time to volunteer for us. He helps out on our community garden projects, he can also be relied upon to support our pop up community events. As a member of our Youth Panel, he contributes a great deal to the direction of the charity.
Edwin started as an apprentice at the Consett Steelworks in 1961, as a 15-year-old. Over time he developed a whole host of skills and describes the excellent training he received both at technical college in Consett and Gateshead, and on the jobs in the boiler shop, foundry, blast furnace, plate mills - amongst others. He worked in every department! Take a listen to his podcast which gives a fascinating insight into the opportunities made available to him and how this gave him a solid foundation for the rest of his working life. He also gives our young people some great advice!
Job Titles:
- Apprentice
- Member of Our Youth Panel
As a member of our Youth Panel, Ella contributes a great deal of ideas and time to our causes. She supports our youth club events, our community garden and is a great help at the digital pop up events.
Job Titles:
- Member of the Building Self - Belief Team
- Trustee
- Chartered Construction Project Manager
Gary Jones is a Chartered Construction Project Manager (MCIOB), Member of the Association of Project Management (MAPM), Certified Change Management Professional (CCMP) and holds a Level 2 Counselling qualification (CPCAB).
As the Houses of Parliament Continuous Improvement Lead, Gary's innovative culture change and learning and development initiatives are raising delivery standards and making Parliament a great place to work.
Gary's strong entrepreneurial spirit springs from a drive to fulfil his potential, even resulting in a nomination to Dragon's Den! Born of Caribbean immigrant background in Yorkshire, to a seamstress mother and welder father. Asked age 13 what he wanted to be, he answered "be paid when ill". His world view equated sick leave with affluence and privilege. Despite leaving school without qualifications, his drive to succeed got him into university. He graduated with a BSc Honours degree.
Diagnosed dyslexic in his forties, this is his superpower, a gift that he would never wish to be without. Gary's personal mantra is Win-Win as there is always a way to make the most and best of any challenge or situation. His insight into learning difficulties recently helped him support his niece undertaking her own special educational needs assessment and diagnosis of neuro-diversity.
Job Titles:
- Member of the Building Self - Belief Team
- Research Assistant
Job Titles:
- Chairman
- Member of the Building Self - Belief Team
- Chartered Project Professional ( ChPP ) and Chartered Manager
Hugo Minney PhD is a Chartered Project Professional (ChPP) and Chartered Manager (CMgr), and Level 3 Advanced accredited Social Value Practitioner. His day job is as a benefits management Subject Matter Expert, supporting organisations to achieve their strategic objectives through aligning and prioritising their investment for change, and he's chair and lead author of the British Standards Institute panel preparing the British Standard on Benefits Management.
Ian Malpass, born and bred in Consett, tells us about his time at 'The Works', how it felt when the steelworks closed, and how his family worked and managed after the closure. A great insight into the true spirit of Consett folk.
Job Titles:
- Member of the Building Self - Belief Team
- Young Trustee
Jean Simmons, aged 96, experienced life and work within Consett during the peak of the Consett Steelworks era. In her story, Jean shares her memories of a royal visit to the steelworks and offers insights into the social history of Consett.
As a Computer Science graduate specialising in Cyber Security, Joseph is in a perfect position to support Building Self-Belief with their Digital Pop up events. He is committed to volunteering and feels that supporting the local community and helping them develop skills in IT is a great way to encourage people to make the most of the positive elements and benefits associated with being online.
Job Titles:
- Learning Support Assistant
- Member of the Building Self - Belief Team
- Trustee
- Young Trustee
Kate is a valued Trustee, and as well as being a qualified teacher she is also a qualified youth leader, so it is great to have her on board to support us with our community events.
Kate was educated at Moorside Community Technology College in Consett, County Durham before going on to study A Levels at St Bede's Sixth Form in Lanchester. After work experience in a primary school and a month-long missionary trip to Sri Lanka, she realised she really wanted to work with children and young people.
The experience in Sri Lanka opened her eyes to the joys of working and teaching children and young people. Kate moved onto York St John University to study Philosophy, but soon realised that her true vocation lay in working with children, so she returned home to start a Higher-Level Learning Support Assistant apprenticeship in a secondary school.
After three years as a Learning Support Assistant, Kate reapplied for University. She went onto The University of Sunderland to study Childhood Studies, which has given her a more in depth understanding of the development of children and young people. Alongside her studies she is a qualified Youth Worker for The Activity Den, a youth club in Tanfield Lea, and works with children aged six to sixteen four days a week.
Kate's passion for children and young people is driving her to become their advocate in supporting their self-esteem and self-belief. Her role as a Young Trustee gives young people a voice as she can act as their representative in the charity sector.
Lewis is an experienced gardener, who is always looking for ways to support the local community. he is delighted to have had the opportunity to work on such an amazing space and has so many ideas about how to improve this space for the whole community to enjoy.
Job Titles:
- Member of the Building Self - Belief Team
- Trustee
As well as being one of our valued trustees, Lucy volunteers for a whole host of events, including the digital popup events and work on our community garden. She is a highly knowledgeable environmentalist and can be relied upon to be up to date with research and initiatives.
As a committed volunteer, Maya supports us in a whole host of ways, but we are particularly pleased to have her with us in support of our Youth Clubs.
Niamh volunteers with Building Self-Belief as a member of their Youth Panel and is also studying towards a Masters of Planning at Newcastle University. Niamh has been able to support projects run by BSB and add both a professional and personal perspective on a whole host of projects. She understands the connections young people forge to places and spaces, and why it is so important that they are well served by public spaces and projects. She was delighted to win the Nuclear Institute's Young Generation Network's North East competition on behalf of BSB, speaking about empowering community voices and the part they should play in community projects and planning.
Niamh has been a volunteer with us from the very beginning and can always be relied upon to make a positive contribution to our community events. As a Planning undergraduate, she is particularly involved in improving our Consett community and is always looking for ways to encourage others to look after and improve the environment.
Peter Shaw 'Shawty'
Peter is a 'Consett Native' and fourth generation 'Delves'. He left school just in time to see the works, and his future job prospects close. Like many local people he moved away from the town to pursue a career in I.T and returned home to Consett in 2007 where he now helps spearhead the local historical preservation society (The History of Consett Steelworks [HCSW]).Peter is an avid believer in trying to digitally preserve anything to do with the Steelworks and the Towns history, using technology to do so, in whatever way he can. Peter passionately believes in the importance of keeping local heritage alive for generations of others to enjoy in the future.
Job Titles:
- Founder
- Member of the Building Self - Belief Team
- Senior Manager
Rebecca loves nature and having the opportunity to work outdoors. As a hard working individual who loves gardening she is looking forward to working on the garden and see this space transform into the beautiful place we have planned.
Rob is Consett born and bred and has been active in the community in many fields over the years, including volunteering with the Consett Green Spaces Campaign and with the local Labour Party. He is involved with the group History of Consett Steelworks where his particular interest is researching its history. He also helps out at our local schools by taking the children on history tours of the ex-steelworks site. He also shares his love of the wider history of the North East, on his own fabulous Facebook group called Alfred's Guide.
Job Titles:
- Member of the Building Self - Belief Team
- Research Assistant
Sarah loves working in the community and we really appreciate the time she gives us to support our youth events and our pop up events for the elderly. As an extension of her university studies in psychology, she is finding the experiences a way of gaining an invaluable insight into her fields of study and work.
Job Titles:
- Member of the Building Self - Belief Team
- Apprentice
Shauna lives in Leadgate and currently works at Building Self-Belief as a Level 3 Business Admin Apprentice which is based in Consett, which delivers programmes, projects, and training; all with the aim to build stronger communities by building self-belief. She particularly enjoys working on the community projects and the activities that involve arts and crafts.
Shauna can always be relied upon to support our community events. She is particularly skilled at the craft activities for our young people and researches and delivers some great projects. She is also an invaluable member of our Youth Panel.
Wendy is a great gardener and is a real champion of our Benfieldside Community Garden. She has lots of great ideas and is committed to volunteering to support our community events.