Our People

Elaine Appelbee

Elaine is a creative, strategic thinker, with highly developed skills in influencing senior decision-makers. Politically astute, noted for energy with the ability to inspire and motivate people at all levels.

Formerly Chief Executive of Bradford Vision, the Local Strategic Partnership for Bradford District; she is currently a national Neighbourhood Renewal Adviser, with 30 years experience in partnership working. She has nationally recognised skills in innovative policy and practice, particularly with regard to neighbourhood and community engagement and LSP development.

Tim Appelbee

Tim is a workshop leader and mentor with over 35 years of experience in arts and education. He promotes creative learning and creative thinking. He engages with people in order to help them develop their confidence and release their creativity.

As an education manager and consultant Tim has supported a wide range of learning programmes. He develops ways in which individuals and organisations can reflect upon, evaluate and enhance their performance. He has also contributed to national reviews of education provision and cultural policy.

Pam Hardisty

Pam is a creative thinker, approaching problems with clarity and originality. She is adept at making the complex understandable to a wide range of people. A highly skilled enabler, Pam is noted for her skills in enhancing the capacity and confidence of those with whom she works.

Currently a national Neighbourhood Renewal Adviser, formerly the Neighbourhood Renewal Director of Bradford Vision, she is a community educator with over 20 years experience working at a senior, strategic level with cross-agency partnerships, neighbourhoods, communities and organisations. She has developed innovative ways to facilitate organisational change and learning. She is recognised for her innovative practice, particularly with regard to neighbourhood and community engagement and the development of Neighbourhood Renewal in Bradford District.

Ann Roli

Ann is an experienced and skilled manager with 25 years experience of developing and managing statutory sector services. Recognised as a motivator and developer of staff she is skilled in building strong and effective teams using creative techniques. Ann is an excellent communicator drawing on her professional listening skills and with a reputation for tenacity she has been an effective catalyst for moving forward initiatives.

Using her problem solving skills and she has worked with communities and agencies from the street to the strategic level. She has amassed considerable experience of multi agency working. Ann's judgement and values are always highly regarded.

Associate Consultants:

Ruth Badger

Ruth has over twenty years experience in the field of social policy analysis and policy development at local and national levels.

After a career in social work and as a senior social policy analyst for the General Synod of the Church of England, Ruth has gone on to acquire a reputation for reviewing and evaluating organizations and discrete projects, mostly, but not exclusively in the voluntary sector, recommending and implementing organizational change when necessary.

Often coaching and mentoring staff in order to improve their management skills, Ruth is a skilled communicator, who has considerable experience of working with individuals and groups at all levels.

Mark Brealey

Regarded as an expert in his field and a reliable source of confidential advice, Mark helps clients understand their audiences, draft key messages and communicate them effectively.

Mark is a former newspaper and BBC journalist who since 2001 has worked exclusively for the public sector as a communications specialist.

Current and past clients include NHS trusts and local authorities across the country as well as the Home Office and Probation Service. He specialises in media training, public relations and crisis management but relishes any task which involves communicating messages to specific audiences.

Peter Brookes

Peter is inspired by change architectures that can make a real difference to connectivity in communities. In 1995 he founded Trimdon 2000 in the North East as a means of exploring how citizens can control their own lives by viewing agencies as being 'on tap rather than on top'. Community development and empowerment underpin his preferred modus operandi.

Peter is the former Head of Durham County Council's Community Support Services, having previously had a 25 year career in Local Government as a Social Worker and front line manager.

Peter is particularly interested in 'whole systems approaches' to engagement where involvement and participation is achieved by 'everyone being on the pitch playing rather than in the stands watching'. Peter is also interested in the social exclusion aspects of new information and communication technologies in the digital age and the problems created by the emerging 'information rich, information poor' society.

In 1983 Peter was one of a small group of people who assisted Tony Blair to become the MP for Sedgefield. They have remained friends ever since.

Alan Dalton

Alan is a local government professional with substantive experience of partnership working and specialising in the Community Safety agenda.

Former Assistant Chief Executive at Bradford Council, Alan was senior policy adviser to the Leader and Chief Executive. He held the Safer Communities brief for the Council this involved regular liaison with lead contacts from the voluntary and community sector as well as public sector senior staff.

Alan has demonstrable experience of the political environment coupled with a commitment to local involvement and accountability. He has a track record of an ability to engage with complex public sector organisations and deliver outcomes based on agreed targets in a timely and effective manner.

Allan Siddall

Allan has nationally recognised skills in partnership performance improvement, based on 25 years experience of partnership and organisational management.

Formerly Assistant Programme Director for Save the Children, England and Audit Commission regional lead on partnership and community leadership, Allan is a Neighbourhood Renewal Advisor with substantial experience as a trainer and evaluator, and as an advisor to different Government Offices on performance improvement.

A strategic thinker, he enjoys finding new approaches to addressing complexity and overcoming barriers to progress. His awareness and quiet determination enable him to engage with stakeholders at all levels and quietly to encourage their positive participation.

Sheena Wrigley

Sheena is an innovative arts and culture professional with 20 years experience in strategic and operational contexts. She has led a number of successful arts organizations and cultural strategy teams, most recently as Head of Theatres, Arts & Festivals with Bradford Metropolitan District Council and as Chief Executive of Harrogate Theatre, Yorkshire.

A practitioner with international experience, she specializes in working to re-identify the vision and purpose of organizations and to manage change, often through periods of crisis. She has a track record in business planning and risk analysis, creative project management and cultural and arts strategy development. Sheena is currently the Yorkshire Fellow on the Clore Leadership Programmed 2007/8. In September 2008 she became General Director and Joint Chief Executive of West Yorkshire Playhouse.

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