Our people

As Chief Finance Officer Susan is responsible for overseeing the financial health and integrity of NYA. She also leads a team covering governance, digital & cyber security and growth (inc. income generation).

Susan is a CIMA qualified accountant with significant experience including senior roles with London Sport, Save the Children and Restless Development. She is passionate about empowering others and ensuring that her work adds tangible value to NYA to make a positive difference in young people’s lives.

Away from the office you are likely to find Susan either playing, watching or reading about sport!

As Chief Operating Officer, Esther oversees the day to day running of NYA ensuring that every aspect of our work furthers our mission to support and empower young people. Esther supports a number of our teams, including Programmes and Operations, Policy, Insight and Public Affairs, Youth Voice and HR.

Esther has twenty years of operations experience, both in the commercial and charitable sectors leading large, geographically diverse teams. Following an early career as a criminal defence solicitor, Esther continues to play a part in the justice sector as a Magistrate in her local area. Esther has also held a number of Trustee and Non-Executive Director roles.

Away from work, Esther pursues her interest in the heroic age of polar exploration through reading, seminars and travel.

Barry is a member of the leadership directorate and manages a talented team of professionals to deliver NYA’s national programmes and training. Barry oversees operational efficiency and performance, implementing infrastructure capabilities that enable staff to make the greatest impact possible for the youth sector, and ultimately young people.  

The driving force behind Barry’s career for over twenty years has been breaking the cycle of inequality faced by many young people. Since working at NYA Barry has been able to channel this passion by mobilising several of our prominent programmes including the Youth Investment Fund, the Safeguarding and Risk Management Hub and Routes to Community Success. Barry believes that talented people with aligned values can achieve extraordinary outcomes.

Bex heads up our Digital Youth Work team overseeing the development of Digital Youth Work standards, guidance and training to support the sector navigate through the evolving world of digital technologies.

 Bex is a qualified youth worker, and is creative and passionate about the pathways and opportunities digital youth work presents. Bex is particularly interested in focusing on accessibility as a starting point and ensuring programmes and projects work for all, putting young people and their needs front and centre of youth work.

Esther joined the NYA in 2022 as Deputy Director of Youth Work with responsibility for quality and standards. She is passionate, proactive and driven to support the sector by ensuring it has access to relevant, achievable and funded opportunities that promote the quality of good practice across the country.

A youth worker at her core, she remains driven by wanting a fairer, more equitable and progressive society for young people.

Kevin is JNC Qualified and has been a practicing Youth and Community worker for over 25 years.

He has been a leader in both the statutory and voluntary sectors, and has a passion for street work and infrastructure projects. He’s based in Manchester.

Lisa provides administrative support to Leigh Middleton, NYA CEO, and the wider senior leadership team.

Lisa has extensive experience at NYA, having served in a number of different roles all focused on procuring opportunities and high quality support for young people. When not juggling calendars, Lisa loves nothing more than hiking with her dog, swimming in the sea or taking on a challenge.

Jay supports and manages young people to identify gaps that could potentially be filled with digital youth work as well as advocating for the importance of digital youth work and it’s positive impact on young people both internally within the organization and externally in the wider community.

Jay has been working in the digital youthwork field for the last two years and is incredibly passionate about the opportunities that come from using digital technologies. Jay has had the chance to work with young people over discord to deliver online youth sessions, run filmmaking workshops, and also produce a podcast that provides a platform for young people to use their voice.

Craig brings nearly a decade of experience working in the youth sector, most recently managing the UK’s largest gambling harm prevention programme for young people, delivered nationally across ten regions.

Prior to this Craig led a multi-disciplinary support service in a youth custodial setting, providing trauma-informed, structured support to young people with substance misuse issues, gang-related behaviours, and family relationship difficulties.

Craig is passionate about inclusive practice, strategic transformation, and amplifying youth voice to influence programme delivery. At the NYA, he supports national programme development and works closely with local authorities and partners to strengthen youth work infrastructure and impact.

Becky has two years of experience in a youth voice and influence position, supporting charities, services and organisations to prioritise youth participation within their work. She believes that it is important to view youth voice as an essential element within every space young people engage with, extending beyond traditional environments and methods.

Becky brings her previous experience to the work being done within the Youth Council UK, helping prioritise accessibility at each stage.

Adam manages the delivery of the NatWest Thrive programme, which enables youth clubs to support young people to learn essential life skills, develop a positive money mindset and explore how to set goals and identify the steps to achieve them. 

Adam is a staunch advocate for the significance of youth work and its constructive influence on shaping the future of young people. With a diverse background that includes managing summer camps in America and providing open access and detached youth services in Manchester, he has witnessed firsthand the positive influence of youth work and more importantly the remarkable capabilities of young people. His commitment to youth programmes stems from his belief in providing the necessary support, guidance, and knowledge essential for the growth and development of young people.

Alia’s role focuses on the development, delivery and quality assurance of Youth Worker and Youth Support Worker qualifications. 

Alia is a professionally qualified youth worker with over 25 years of youth work experience in the statutory, faith and community sectors and has over 10 years’ experience of delivering youth work qualifications. Alia is interested in training and education for all those who work with young people and believes that through good quality training youth work practice can be enhanced to ensure the best outcomes for young people.

Andy has been involved in youth and community work for over 30 years. Initially volunteering in youth clubs, he later became a youth worker within the voluntary and community sector in Cambridge and South East London. Andy is JNC Qualified and holds a Masters Degree in Community Education.

Outside of work, Andy enjoys live music and keeping active, hill walking, running and is involved with local grassroots football. Andy lives in Holmfirth, West Yorkshire and can be found on a Friday evening running a local youth club in a neighbouring town.

Anne supports the NatWest Thrive programme and the wider NYA team by assisting with administrative tasks. 

Anne believes strongly in the importance of young people’s voices being heard and the power of meeting young people where they are at. Anne is inspired by young people’s ideas and passion to build a better future.

Billie works in the core operations team and looks after the NYA’s financial systems and processes.

Instrumental as part of the behind the scenes central function, Billie has spent the last few years seeing first hand the impact of youth work and youth services on the lives of young people. Billie is passionate about ensuring that young people can access equal provision whenever they need it and raising service standards, alongside ensuring that NYA is properly equipped to help youth workers and organisations achieve that goal.

Carl coordinates and supports the delivery and development of the NatWest Thrive programme, working directly with youth clubs, volunteers and our corporate partner, NatWest Group.

Carl is passionate about supporting young people into opportunities that help develop their skills, confidence and raises their aspirations. He’s previously worked in a variety of settings from youth participation to youth homelessness and in formal education. He believes youth work is vital for a young person’s growth and its biggest strength is versatility, it should be in every sector.

Georgia works within the Youth Investment Fund team to ensure the best possible youth participation and youth work practice. She manages several Youth Project Assessors who are currently working with young people from organisations who have been successful in securing funding.

Georgia’s passion for youth work stems from the huge impact youth workers had on her growing up. She wanted to support others to grow, providing them with opportunities to thrive. She is proud of making a positive difference to the lives of young people across the country.

Graham assumes responsibility for overseeing the delivery and production of all eLearning courses. Leveraging an extensive background encompassing more than two decades as a business owner, art director, and eLearning specialist, Graham ensures that each course is meticulously constructed and adheres to the highest instructional design standards. Graham also provides expert guidance on art direction, instructional design, and conceptual development for all eLearning initiatives.

Graham embraced the challenge at NYA of establishing an online training environment tailored for youth work through a distance learning platform (LMS). This involved the development of Continuing Professional Development (CPD) modules, accredited delivery programs, and custom-built courses designed for specific clients. The ultimate goal is to elevate the skill set and capabilities of youth workers, empowering them to effectively support young people.

Harry supports the NatWest Thrive team by leading on the apprenticeship programmes at the NYA. 

Harry is passionate about providing development opportunities to youth work staff through apprenticeships. Harry believes that by enabling youth workers onto apprenticeships it will support the development of a qualified workforce and therefore a better quality of service for our young people.

Helen manages the Routes to Community Success programme, which aims to inform a model approach for boosting the capacity of the youth sector, through the co-design of services with young people and building the skills, capacity and resilience of grassroots providers.

Helen has held multiple voluntary roles in her local area that aim to support young people to improve their health, social and personal development.

Imran is a National Programme Manager who leads on the NatWest Thrive programme. Imran has worked within the youth sector for the last 10 years designing and managing education, employment and enterprise programmes for young people. 

He is passionate about creating meaningful, exciting and relevant opportunities for young people to help them grow and actualise their potential.

Jess supports the NatWest Thrive programme team by developing and maintaining relationships with youth workers and supporting youth sector organisations to embed effective youth work practice across the country. 

Jess is passionate about the way that youth work provides real and long-lasting change for young people. In today’s world, the NatWest Thrive programme is needed more than ever, to empower young people and give them the confidence to make educated financial decisions. Jess believes more youth work needs to happen, so that every young person has access to the support and tools for a positive future.

Karen joined the NYA in late 2020 as a Youth Work Specialist. She is a JNC professionally qualified youth and community worker and qualified trainer. Karen has worked in the youth and community field for over 25 years, including managing and leading activity across a range of sectors and environments.

Karen leads on the development of projects, products, and materials for the youth sector workforce. This includes the development of high-quality skills, knowledge, and contemporary learning opportunities for work with young people, both accredited and non accredited, with a focus on the development of digital CPD, distance learning and face to face learning opportunities.

Katie joined the NYA in 2022 as National Programme Manager, leading our national government funded programmes such as the Youth Investment Fund and workforce development projects. She’s worked with and for children and young people for over fifteen years, having spent ten years in child protection services and more recently working on youth-focused government policy.

Katie loves working collaboratively with young people, NYA colleagues and stakeholders to make the world a safer and fairer place for young people to thrive and achieve their aspirations.

Kirsty supports the Youth Investment Fund team as a Youth Work Specialist. Her role is to support grantees receiving the YIF fund to achieve NYA Quality Standards. Through detailed development plans, she supports organisations to deliver high quality youth work across England.

Kirsty is passionate about youth work and the impact it has on young people’s lives. She is a firm believer that the more youth work being delivered, the better the chance young people will have to make a positive difference in their lives and to the lives of those around them.

Kirsty works closely with our HR Manager to support all areas of people practice across the organisation. With a focus on delivering a positive employee experience, Kirsty plays a key role in recruitment and onboarding, staff development, and coordinating key HR processes.

Kirsty is passionate about upholding the organisation’s values and contributing to its mission of empowering young people through high‑quality youth work. She champions a culture of kindness, professionalism, and continuous improvement, helping to create an environment where staff feel valued, included, and able to thrive.

Outside of work, Kirsty can usually be found spending time with her two alpacas — including attempting (and often failing!) to teach them agility. Their antics never fail to keep her amused.

Lasharne is a JNC Qualified Youth and Community Development worker with extensive experience within the youth work field, formal education and for non-profitable charity organisations.

Lasharne drives the NYA’s internal youth leadership and voice strategy, and leads on the Hear By Right assessment which advocates and supports organisations to embed youth voice and influence, to produce meaningful outcomes. 

She has experience developing online CPD’s, project management, co-developing strategies and mentoring. Lasharne is passionate about racial justice, cultural competence and diversity and inclusion. Lasharne believes all lived experience is imperative within youth work as it reminds us to acknowledge our differences and reflect on our unique journeys.

Laura is a JNC Youth and Community qualified practitioner with over 20 years of youth work experience. She has worked in a variety of settings including centre-based, detached and mobile provision, managing and delivering universal services, specialist programmes and targeted work to young people.

Lydia aims to ensure there are links between national, regional and local policy for all voices of the sector to be heard, whilst building stakeholder partnerships in the youth sector and in allied sectors at local level.

Having worked at NYA for over 7 years, Lydia has built up experience across different teams including youth participation, the NYA Youth Work Academy and the policy directorate. 

Lydia hopes to bring the voices of young people and the sector on the journey with her in creating policy change on a larger scale for the benefit of young people, youth workers and the youth sector as a whole.

Mark is a JNC qualified Youth Work and Community Development practitioner. He has more than 20 years of youth and community work experience within health-based youth work, working within a special educational setting to create outdoor learning opportunities and more recently as Youth Work and Community Development university lecturer.

He also holds a PGCE, is a qualified Forest School Leader and DofE Award Expedition Assessor.

Mark is an active member and volunteer within the community, from running community events, to fundraising campaigns. He’s also a Group Scout Leader and Charity Trustee at a local Scout provision.

Nicola Kelly is a Learning and Development Officer with over 25 years of experience in youth and community work. She is passionate about creating high‑quality, inclusive learning that supports practitioners to grow in confidence and capability.

Nicola designs and delivers practical, engaging development opportunities and works collaboratively to support reflective practice and continuous improvement. Outside of work, Nicola brings her creative side to life through painting and her work as a qualified and experienced sound therapist.

Priya provides strategic and operational support to NYA activity and is responsible for overseeing programme governance. 

Priya has been involved in numerous projects from initial concept phase all the way through to evaluation stage and has seen the positive impact it can have on young people’s lives. She believes by creating these opportunities young people can thrive to reach their full potential.

Steven leads on the digital landscape development for NYA, overseeing the creation of content and management of digital platforms.

Steven believes in youth work’s transformative power and supports initiatives amplifying young voices, drawing inspiration from the impactful projects undertaken within the youth sector.

Steven is dedicated to fostering opportunities that empower youth workers, firmly asserting that expanding opportunities in the sector is crucial for a brighter future.

As NYA’s Safeguarding Hub Manager Xyna is evolving the hub into an exceptional safeguarding platform for youth workers. She is a qualified and registered social worker who has worked across three local authorities in various settings.

Her experience includes engaging with a wide range of activities such as responding to high-risk child protection situations, court work, safeguarding children and young people with additional needs and working with young people in care.

Zoe aims to ensure that the staff team are supported and empowered to contribute their unique talents towards NYA’s mission to transform the lives of young people. In her role she is also responsible for the development and implementation of HR strategies and procedures that reinforce and embed NYA’s commitment to a ‘people first’ culture.  

Her passion for empowering individuals evolved in her early career as a sessional youth worker for a local government youth service. This provided Zoe with firsthand experience of the transformative effect of youth work in empowering young people to reach their full potential. 

Such experiences have deeply influenced her approach to HR and dedication to nurturing talent and creating an environment at NYA where each team member can thrive.

Oriana provides administrative support across the whole organisation with a focus on the finance team and Natwest Thrive project. Oriana has a varied administrative background and is passionate about hidden disability and mental health.

Oriana believes that youth work gives young people a better chance of having the skills and confidence to do well in life.

Paul has been involved with youth and community work for nearly 30 years. Beginning with detached youth work, he has enjoyed variety of roles with Local Authorities and CVS organisations, along with consultancy work and coaching for new leaders in the youth work sector. He holds a PGC in Youth & Community Work along with a Masters in Coaching & Mentoring.

Outside of work, Paul enjoys playing music, Tai-Chi, and walks in the countryside. He is based in Hampshire, where he is an active member of his local community.

I have worked in administration my entire career and still love it just as much as I did when I started. I enjoy creating some order from chaos and supporting others in their roles.

Outside of work, I like to cook and bake and watch or listen to true crime documentaries. Time spent with my family is really important to me, as is some time on my own pootling around on my Vespa.

‘In my role as administrator at the NYA, I provide support across the organisation with a focus on the NatWest Thrive programme. I have over four years of experience in office and administrative roles, and enjoy helping others through efficient, organised, and friendly support.

Much of my previous work has been within universities and higher education, where I supported young people navigating the challenges of student life—many living away from home for the first time. I’m excited to continue making a positive impact on young people’s lives through my work with the NYA.