About us Our Team Our Team Headliners (UK) is governed by a Board of Trustees who come from different walks of life including former participants in the Headliners programme. For profiles of our Trustees, please click here Senior Management Team Headliners is managed by the Chief Executive supported by a dedicated staff team. Our journalists and project staff deliver the projects with young people across the UK. Ali Talbot Role: Chief Executive Ali has worked in the public, private and third sectors at senior management level for the past 25 years. She specialised in strategic, operational, marketing and communications, project and resource management of sports, leisure and cultural services including sport, leisure, tourism, visual and performing arts services. In her career, Ali was previously Chief Executive of Cerebral Palsy Sport, a national disability sports charity. Prior to that she was RNIB's National Leisure Services Manager and lead manager of RNIB's National Leisure Services team, who specialised in improving access to all aspects of culture, leisure, arts and sport for blind and partially sighted people. Ali has also held varied leisure senior management posts in the public sector and private sector leisure facilities and sport development services management and hotel management. Ali had the pleasure of chairing LOCOG's London 2012 Disability Community Engagement Forum, and represented RNIB on Glasgow 2014's Advisory group, led on RNIB's London 2012 project and sat on a number of cultural advisory bodies including the government's Department of Culture, Media and Sport Accessible Tourism Stakeholders Forum. Ali was the Event Director for the Nottingham 2015 CPISRA World Games and is a current member of Scope's National Assembly. When not working, Ali enjoys spending time with her family in Lincolnshire . Ali has two sons who love sport and a husband who isn’t a great fan of sport. Her eldest son has cerebral palsy and is a national and international FrameRunner. Her favourite food is Italian food, loves gymnastics, reading, cooking and is a closet 80’s music fan. When Ali is not working, she can be found on a side of an athletics track supporting her sons. Amy Taylor Role: Head of Operations Hi, I'm Amy and I am our London based Head of Operations (though I am a west country bumpkin through and through). Before entering the third sector, I worked on various creative projects and productions from television to festivals, some of these include The Monty Python LIVE LIVE show, The Jonathan Ross Show , Electric Picnic, Brighton Fringe and London's Vault Festival. I have a passion for events, community centred projects and having a boogie! Since entering the third sector, I have worked in business development and have specialised in creating out-of-the-ordinary income generating products (including Airbnb's highest selling social impact experience, festival partnerships and live immersive participation events). I have also worked with various organisations developing projects for young people across the UK, including a partnership with Scholastic and creating online outreach products throughout the whole of lockdown. I continue to be a proud member of the production team at our annual Ventnor Fringe Festival and I serve on the board of Trustees for The Pound Arts Centre in Wiltshire. As a young person I was lucky enough to be part of similar projects to those we create here at Headliners (UK) that were instrumental for me in pursuing further education and a career in creative and community focused non-profits. It means so much that I get to (alongside an incredible team) create these projects and see the benefit we're having. London: Lucy Martin Role: Journalist I'm Lucy and I run the #Unfiltered project across East London. I'm originally from Middlesbrough (Smoggie not a Geordie) and have lived in London for nearly seven years. I began my career in journalism in the fashion industry whilst also working full time in a pub (unpaid internships are not the one) and volunteering for organisations working to end hostile environment policy, supporting undocumented families and making art and journalism accessible to more people. I believe to create an equal society we must give the power to young people to shape their own futures, they have the ideas just not the tools and access and that's what I now get to do through these projects. Zahrah Vawda Role: Journalist I’ve worked with media, community and youth projects to explore connections with everyday life and nature. At Headliners, I work on the Keeping It Wild project – it’s been incredible supporting young people to be confident of their experiences in nature. When I’m not working at Headliners, I’m walking, writing or trying to grow plants! Newcastle: Role: North East Project Manager - Vacant Clara Shield Role: Project Manager - Tynesiders Project - currently on maternity leave I have been a Youth and Community Arts worker for over 20 years, working primarily with young people with challenging circumstances. Following my first degree in Theatre where my interests in educating children and young people through storytelling and creativity first began, I pursued a Post Graduate Diploma in Youth and Community Arts and practiced as a youth worker in both the voluntary and statutory youth sectors, specialising in gender and culture, leading to a Masters degree in this discipline. My interests in culture and heritage have led me to further deepen my knowledge in the power of collective learning from individuals’ stories, using digital story gathering as a platform to share experiences and give a voice to marginalised groups in society. Nooshin Shabani Role: Lead Journalist - Tynesiders - currently on maternity leave Hello, My name is Nooshin and I am based in the North East office. I have been working for Headliners since 2012. Most of the groups I have worked with have been LAC, developing short films and photography projects to get their voices heard, which I have a passion for. I have also previously been the NCS lead for South Tyneside, alongside piloting projects such as Digital Transitions. I am currently working on the Tynesider's project. My degree is in Journalism, but I have a lot of experience managing young people and volunteers overseas for NGOS. I lived and worked in Ghana for 4 years, New Zealand for 1 year, and India for 4 months. I have also spent a lot of time Volunteering and backpacking in several parts of the world, including Nepal, South America, Vietnam etc. Outside of work I love to spend all day every day at the beach, rain or shine. Corin Nesbitt Role: Project Officer - Tynesiders - Maternity Cover I am currently the Project Officer for ‘Tynesiders’ on the NE team. I have a background in multi-disciplinary Arts, and have been working creatively with diverse groups of young people in education and community settings for the last 10 years. I believe strongly in the importance of mental wellbeing and every individuals equal right to self expression. I am passionate about empowering people, helping them to flourish, build self esteem and find their voices through creative exploration. Outside of work I am a practicing artist, usually taking photos or covered in ink/ paint hiding in my little studio. But I’m also hugely into music, poetry, cooking & travel. Mikey Sinclair Role: NCS Co-ordinator Hi! I’m Mikey, I am the NCS Coordinator at Headliners and I am based in the North East Office. I have been involved in Youth projects as a young person from the age of 16, then a volunteer delivering youth projects and finally in to paid work from the age of 19. I have been with Headliners delivering the NCS programme since 2013 supporting the development, planning, training and delivery of the programme for up to 400 young people per season. I have an eclectic taste in music, although some is not too popular in the office! My favourite thing about working for Headliners is that we get to see and support the development of so many young people by giving them a voice on subjects that they are passionate about while learning some amazing skills along the way! David Kidger Role: Project Worker - Digital Transitions Project Hi, my name is David and I’m the project worker for Digital Transitions and one of the Wave Leads on the National Citizen Service (NCS) project. I’ve worked with Headliners for over 5 years now and have loved every minute of it. I’ve learnt so many new things from the help of colleagues and young people I have worked alongside with and watch them grow. In my spare time I’m quite the movie buff and do enjoy spending time with family. Northern Ireland: Gareth Doherty Role: Project Manager My name is Gareth and I am the Project Manager for Headliners in Northern Ireland, I am responsible for staff management and the day to day running of the National Lottery Community Fund "Together We Can, Together We Will" programme aimed at working with young people who are socially isolated, on the autistic spectrum, or are leaving care or living in supported housing. I graduated from Nottingham University with a degree in European Politics where I was also editor of the student newspaper. I have extensive experience working in the community sector where I gained experience working with young people on different funded projects including the 2013 City of Culture year which was great to work on and good for the city. In my spare time I am a keen photographer, enjoy watching football and listening to music. Aidan Campbell Role: Journalist/Project Worker I started my career working in the TV industry as a Studio Floor Manager. I worked in London for QVC and then went on to work in Chicago at televised sport events. When I was 15, I was a volunteer at Headliners – 10 years down the line I’m now working here! I feel that the organisation helped me a lot when I was younger and certainly kept me on the right path growing up. My hobbies include hiking, flying drones, learning new language’s and anything to do with filmmaking or outdoor pursuits! Pádraig Ó Meiscill Role: Journalist/Project Worker Pádraig ó Meiscill is a journalist and writer based in Belfast. He has worked for various newspapers since he left school at 18. Pádraig has also been involved in numerous community and youth projects over the years, including the making of the Waiting on a Childhood documentary, focusing on the plight of children and young people living in conditions of housing stress in 2018. Marie Sauvé Role: Journalist/Project Worker My name is Marie, I am the foreign addition to the team and bring the exoticness all the way from Northern France. I am a media junkie, committed to the film industry and the world of broadcast journalism, with a slight obsession for writing. I like to play with expensive toys to make people heard and seen, and I also present on the radio in my spare time. Physical exercise, food and all forms of art are some of the things that fill me with joy.