Barbara joined EBC in 2002 from a previous post as Communications Manager with Newcastle City Council where she launched and managed its highly popular Citylife magazine for all residents in the city as well as managing all stages of the production of various council publications. She was also joint acting Head of Communications at Newcastle.
Since joining EBC she has set it up as a charity and developed it from a small local project to a regional deliverer of enterprise education, expanding its original six projects to the 40 plus programmes which currently make up EBC's portfolio of activities. She has also expanded the range of products and services to include young people with disabilities and adults from all backgrounds. Her single aim is to make sure that EBC can support the individual to realise their full potential - regardless of ability and barriers they may face in their lives.
She was previously a lecturer at Darlington College of Technology teaching local government as well as journalism skills, design and layout work to students on various courses including students studying for a BA (Hons) journalism, BTEC Media and those following NCTJ block release courses as part of their journalism training.
Previously Barbara had spend 20 years in local print journalism in various roles including district reporting and news desk work. In the later years she specialised in municipal reporting. During her time in journalism she won numerous awards for her writing including North East Journalist of the Year. She was twice voted the region's Investigative Journalist of the Year and also holds several national journalism awards. She also has four years public relations experience gained when she was Public Relations Manager with Sunderland City Challenge.
Before taking over EBC Barbara had spent many years supporting the work of education business partnerships as a volunteer mentor for young people considering a career in journalism. Barbara is a Common Purpose graduate and in 2008 completed the Northern Rock Lead the Field training programme for Voluntary Sector Leaders.
In 2010 Barbara was one of three finalists in the Lifetime Achiever Award of the region's prestigious Class Awards, recogonised for her innovative approach to developing and delivering innovative and engaging learning programmes for people of all ages and abilities.
In 2008 Barbara was shortlisted in the Individuals Who have Made a Difference catergory of the prestigious North East Equality awards and the previous year she was runner up in the region's prestigious Community Foundation/Ward Hadaway Social Entrepreneur of the Year Award. She had previously been runner up in the Women into the Network Woman Social Entrepreneur Award. Since her time with EBC she has seen the organisation take a number of top awards.
Barbara holds a Masters Degree in Mass Communication, Level 5 NVQs in both Strategic and Operational Management as well as both journalism and teaching qualifications, including D32 and D33.
She has continued her approach to lifelong learning by securing the NCFE Level 2 qualification in Equality and Diversity as well as a OCN accredited qualification in Disability Awareness and a Level 4 NVQ in information, advice and guidance. She is currently working to secure a Level 4 in Quality Assurance.
In 2011, in her role as a local councillor, Barbara also secured the Certifcate for Elected Members through Sunderland University.
She is a member of the Chartered Management Institute and ACEVO - the Association of Chief Executives of Voluntary Organisations - as well as Euclid, the European network for third sector leaders. She is chair of the Pentagton Partnership and was afounder member of the North East Third Sector Consortium (NETSP) which was set up by EBC and some of its key partners - including Project NorthEast, NECA, Norcare and the Workers Education Association - to support Third Sector organisation to bid for the large public sector contracts.
Barbara is a Trustee of several charities and a former school governor. As volunteer chair of one - South Hylton Tansy Centre - she oversaw the raising of more than £700,000 to build a new community building for her village.
She has represented the community voluntary sector on various strategic organisations including chairing the Pentagon Partnership, and representing the sector on the City Region Executive Board. She is also an active member of Sunderland Community Network and has represened it on the Board of Sunderland's Children's Trust, and the Sunderland Learning Partnership.
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