Staff

Neil Blunt:  Programme Director (CEO)

Neil Blunt has led on the organisation’s programme design and strategic direction since 1992. His particular specialisms include Training Needs Analysis, Board and Team Development, and Mentoring among creative practitioners, and he has written, taught and practiced in these areas for over twenty years. He has worked with many of the leading organisations in the arts and cultural sector, including theatres, opera houses and national development agencies, as well as countless small companies and individual artists and performers. Previous roles have included work in the Foundry, Leather and Fashion industries, as well as Further and Higher Education, Learning and Skills Councils, and Local Authority educational management. His extensive consultancy activities have taken him to a wide range of destinations across the UK and around the world including India, Hong Kong and the United States. Neil is a Fellow of the Royal Society of Arts.

neil@artstrainingcentral.co.uk

Sally Hartshorne: Resources Director

Since joining in 1990 Sally has combined her variety of roles at ATC with a range of other activities in University teaching, the finance sector and UK-wide freelance consultancy. As a result she has been involved on a very practical level with the development of numerous emergent arts companies and individual practitioners, many of whom now occupy a crucial role in the creative profile of the region. In the last four years she has helped secure inward investment into the arts in the East Midlands via approximately £500,000 of projects supported by non-sector funds. Outside the region she has acted as a senior consultant in numerous Training Needs Analysis projects involving theatres, opera houses and other arts venues in England, Scotland and Wales, and has lead research projects into areas of training need for Eastern Arts Board and Colchester Borough Council among others. Sally is a Member of the Chartered Institute for Personnel and Development and a Fellow of the Royal Society of Arts.

sally@artstrainingcentral.co.uk

Emma Harrop: Development Director

Emma joined ATC in November 2005 to lead the co-ordination of Activate, a region-wide ESF-funded programme developing the skills of creative practitioners for use in educational settings, via a network of county-based delivery agents. She combines this with a number of current roles including Creative Learning Programme Manager for the City Gallery, Leicester, and supporting Bamboozle Theatre in their fundraising. She was, until recently, Company Secretary of the Mainstream Partnership. Previous roles in the Arts & Heritage Sectors have included work with Local Authority Cultural Services, Schools, and independent organisations involving Public Arts, Festivals & Event Management, Education & Outreach, and Fundraising. Her particular specialisms include working with young people, communities, commissioning, outdoor event management, and supporting artists in various stages of development.

emma@artstrainingcentral.co.uk

External Funding and Resources Advisor: Ruth Rignall

Ruth provides ATC with ongoing research and advice on opportunities for the sector to be found in the various EU funds including structural and trans-national programmes, and contributes to our bid-writing team.

Receptionist/Administrative Assistant: Bonnie James

Bonnie provides front line contact with ATC clients, operating the ATC switchboard and meeting visitors to the building, and providing general support for other ATC staff.

Board

Brian Gott (Chair)

Kate Dyer

Rob Gee

Annette Oldham

Matthew Pegg

Harriet Roy