Robin Simpson Chief Executive Expand Robin Simpson has been Chief Executive of Creative Lives since September 2005. Robin is the Chair of the Steering Group for the national Get Creative campaign – a partnership between the BBC and hundreds of arts and cultural organisations across the UK. He is also the Chair of Peterborough Presents, the Peterborough Creative People & Places Consortium. Robin was a founding Trustee of Luminate – Scotland's creative ageing organisation. He has been a Trustee of the National Council for Voluntary Organisations and a member of the ChangeUp Volunteering Hub Scrutiny Committee. Robin has served on committees and boards for several Government Departments including: the Office for Civil Society (Cabinet Office); Department for Culture, Media and Sport; the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills. Robin completed his MBA with the Open University Business School in 2002. Before joining Creative Lives Robin was Deputy Chief Executive of Making Music – the national umbrella body for amateur music making, supporting over 2,000 amateur music groups throughout the UK, including choirs, orchestras, and music promoters. Previously, he worked as General Manager of the British Federation of Festivals, supporting the volunteer organisers of more than 300 festivals of music, dance and speech and drama across the UK. Robin has substantial experience of working with volunteers, having also worked for six years for the Royal National Institute for the Blind, managing a team of over 130 volunteer readers to record academic textbooks onto tape for visually-impaired students. Robin is a keen amateur French horn player, currently a member of the Northampton Symphony Orchestra. He is also a perennial ballroom dancing student, a frequent theatre-goer, an enthusiastic reader of contemporary fiction, an insatiable consumer of classical and world music and a keen blogger at culturalplayingfield.org and culturaldessert.blogspot.com. To contact Robin, please email [email protected] and your message will be passed on. “For those of us who voluntarily practice some form of arts activity in our own time – and some estimates suggest that this includes almost half the adult population, playing in orchestras, singing in choirs, acting, dancing, painting, lace-making etc. – it’s often difficult to articulate exactly why we do it. But it usually becomes such a significant part of our lives we genuinely feel we couldn’t do without it.”
Lindsey Jackson Finance and HR Director Expand Lindsey joined Creative Lives in 2009 and has the dual role of overseeing Finance and HR for the organisation, she is a member of both the AAT and CIPD holding qualifications with both. During her spare time, she enjoys reading and wild swimming. “What I enjoy most about working for Creative Lives is the opportunity to work with so many talented individuals both in-house and the organisations we work alongside with, it really is inspiring to see so many diverse and different forms of creative expression”. You can contact Lindsey at [email protected]
Gareth Coles Profile Director Expand Gareth joined Creative Lives in 2015. Prior to this, he worked in public services policy for the Wales Council for Voluntary Action (WCVA); for the National Council for Voluntary Organisations (NCVO) as a Development Officer in the Collaborative Working Team; and as a Grants Officer for the Community Fund / Big Lottery Fund. Gareth has a degree in Fine Art and an MA in Medieval Art History from the Courtauld Institute of Art in London. Gareth is a Welsh speaker and lives in South Wales with his wife and son. He is a keen artist, with a particular interest in drawing, and an enthusiastic guitarist and pianist. You can reach Gareth at [email protected]
Jemma Neville Policy Director Expand Jemma works part-time for Creative Lives, typically Mondays, Tuesdays and Fridays.From 2013 - 2023, Jemma was Scotland Director of Creative Lives. She previously worked in a range of roles connecting the global and the local, including at The Scottish Human Rights Commission and as a freelance journalist.During a sabbatical in 2017- 2018, Jemma was the inaugural Community Fellow at The Institute of Advanced Studies in Humanities, University of Edinburgh, researching her debut book, Constitution Street. Part-memoir, part-social and legal history, the book explores the interconnecting lives of neighbours on one street. It won the Creative Edinburgh City Award 2019.Jemma is a Trustee at The Dewar Arts Awards and The Bothy Project. You can contact Jemma at [email protected]
Jess Plant Place Director Expand Jess Plant joined the Creative Lives team in September 2020, leading on the Creative Lives On Air programme of work, promoting creativity in partnership with BBC local radio stations. She became England Director in 2022 and the subsequent Place Director in 2024. She previously worked at Clinks as the Director of the National Alliance for Arts in Criminal Justice. During her time there she significantly raised the profile of arts in criminal justice settings by successfully securing Arts Council England, National Portfolio Status and developing a pioneering research project in partnership with the Institute of Criminology at the University of Cambridge funded by the ESRC and the Paul Hamlyn Foundation. Jess was a Trustee of the charity Streetwise Opera for nine years and supported the development of the newly established charity Arts and Homeless International. Jess has continuously worked to enhance creative opportunities for socially excluded adults and young people. Previous roles include working at Homeless Link, where she developed tools to promote arts opportunities for homeless and vulnerable people. Jess has written numerous good practice guides for the arts and voluntary sector and has significant fundraising and management experience. Jess holds a BA Hons in Sociology from the University of Nottingham and an MA in Art and Design from the University of Brighton. She also completed the Clore Leadership course in February 2017. You can contact Jess at [email protected]
Seonaid Murray Creative Places: Edenderry Coordinator Expand Seonaid Murray is a Community Musician, Saxophonist, Pianist. Before joining Creative Lives in December 2022, Seonaid was ‘Outreach Officer’ at The Black Box, Belfast. Black Box Projects are for and by people with learning disabilities. The ethos is to provide a safe, positive environment for people to express themselves Creatively through the Arts. Seonaid was born in Glasgow and grew up in Bangor, Co. Down, Northern Ireland. She attended Lagan College, the first Integrated school in Northern Ireland and learnt the importance of mixed education from a young age. She went on to study English Literature and Music at Bath Spa University and then Community Music at The Irish World Academy of Music and Dance at the University of Limerick, Ireland. Seonaid has also lived and worked in New York, Belfast and across Ireland. Music is a Universal Communication tool and Seonaid has found it to be a brilliant conversation starter, an opportunity to get to know people better, break down barriers to the Arts and provide a platform for people’s voices to be heard. Seonaid has worked with and for; Cancer Research UK, Autism Initiatives, The Alzheimer’s Society, The Cedar Foundation, NI Chest, Heart and Stroke, many different Care and residential settings, Community groups, schools and within the Charity and Voluntary Sector. Seonaid plays Saxophone in several bands, teaches Saxophone and Piano and loves to go to live gigs! You can reach Seonaid at [email protected] or [email protected]
Kelly Donaldson Editor Expand Kelly has a BA (Hons) in Drama and Media and has been responsible for Creative Live's communication and editorial output in Scotland since 2005, and across the whole organisation since 2021. She has coordinated a number of Creative Lives' projects and exhibitions, including My Time, A Creative Century, Mouth of the River and Scottish Creations. She also works as a freelance journalist and has been The Scotsman’s chief dance critic for over 20 years, is Dance Editor of The List Magazine, writes for a variety of other newspapers, magazines and festivals, and has been a regular guest on BBC Radio Scotland's Review show. Kelly is a member of Love Music Community Choir and Edinburgh Theatre Arts and enjoys creative writing. You can reach Kelly at [email protected]
Jennifer Vernon-Edwards Creative Lives Producer Expand Simple things bring me great delight; a good heart to heart conversation or a satisfying cup of tea (with a cake accompaniment!)However, I am made for discovery; musical*, people, talents, books, and thought and charity shops! For the longest while I have been making discoveries about the people and places in South Yorkshire and telling their stories on air with BBC Radio Sheffield. I love it when these stories highlight a convergence between the local and the global; which is surprisingly often. I’m looking forward to pleasure of further discovery as I attempt to unearth some the hidden creative delights of South Yorkshire! Along the way I’m hoping to meet a craft loving someone who can help me in my lifelong knitting saga of only being able to (badly) knit scaves! *today I discovered Takoshi Inomata and his 1970s Japanese Jazz piano playing ways. You can contact Jennifer at [email protected]
Sophie Fraser Place Co-ordinator Expand Sophie joined the Creative Lives Place team as Place Co-ordinator in 2024. Sophie has worked at Brain Health Scotland on their innovative School Programme teaching children how to look after their brain health. She has a background in fundraising, events and administration. Sophie plays bass and sings in a metal band and loves creating and crafting. You can reach Sophie at [email protected]
Carlota Sousa Nobrega Grants Coordinator Expand Carlota joined Creative Lives in 2024 as our Grants Coordinator. She previously worked with the British Council, Ffilm Cymru Wales, and Peak Cymru. With a BA in Fine Art from Cardiff School of Art and Design, and an MA in Arts Management from the Royal College of Music and Arts, Carlota is passionate about supporting creative communities and has helped bring a variety of arts projects to life. Alongside her arts management work, Carlota is a visual artist and creative producer. You can reach Carlota at [email protected]
Nicola Wilson-Torch Research Intern Expand Nicola is a PhD researcher at the University of Stirling’s Centre for International Publishing and Communication. Her research focuses on the intersection between contemporary book publishing and digital media environments, aiming to better understand how creativeactivities on social media platforms are transforming publishing practices. With a background in publishing, Nicola also works as a freelance editor and proofreader. She is deeply committed to community engagement, having volunteered with the Cystic Fibrosis Trust for nearly a decade, and contributes to several advisory groups across higher education and the voluntary sector. In her spare time, she enjoys reading and cooking. Nicola is currently a research intern at Creative Lives, typically working on Mondays and Tuesdays. Her research project is entitled, ‘Connecting Communities: How voluntary creative groups use social media to connect and share their activity’. You can reach Nicola at [email protected]