Managing Director
Diana Dewing
Managing Director
Relationship Development
Kirsty Crowe
Head of Operations
Kirsty joined the Thrive team in Oct 2014 as our Training Operations Manager; she came on board to facilitate the smooth running of all our training courses. Kirsty has 6 years’ experience in a training and development background, and has had previous experience in the childcare sector.
Kirsty fully embraces the aims and objectives of Thrive and is keen to help in continuing to raise the profile of the organisation.
Jessica Foweraker
Relationship Development Team Leader
Jess joined Thrive in April 2018 after having worked within the education sector for six years both as a teacher and as an advocate for employability skills, building relationships and creating opportunities.
Prior to this Jess was a qualified chef having specialised in Patisserie and ran her own small successful business.
Most recently Jess worked as a coach and tutor helping adults identify and overcome barriers to work and teaching individuals about setting up and running their own business. Jess holds a BA(Hons) degree in Business and a Diploma in Education and Training (with a focus on Special Educational Needs).
Jess works closely alongside the other members of the Business Development Team with a focus on managing client relationships, supporting all clients and the regional teams whilst raising the profile of Thrive. Passionate about removing barriers for children and young people to enable them to reach their full potential, Jess fully embraces the Thrive Approach.
Jo Glazier
Relationship Development Coordinator
Jo joined Thrive in November 2014 after working in a variety of different industries since the start of her career. Most recently she worked within the health and wellness industry for several years, working alongside clients to support their needs.
Jo works closely with the Business Development Manager, Julie Moores, and the Thrive Regional Team to manage client enquiries and to support schools in embedding Thrive successfully. Jo also oversees training and support in the South West area and is passionate about reaching as many children and families as possible.
Simone Pedley
Relationship Development Coordinator
Simone has most recently worked within education for the past nine years and has spent the last seven years as Head of Careers, Enterprise and Work-Related Learning in a secondary school setting as a qualified and registered Careers Advisor.
Simone works alongside the other members of the Business Development team with a focus on supporting all clients and the regional teams. Simone is committed to helping achieve the best outcomes for children, young people and their families and fully embraces the Thrive Approach.
Felicity Turville
Relationship Development Coordinator
Felicity joined the Thrive team in April 2016, working closely with business development manager Julie Moores and the Thrive regional team to manage client enquiries and to help raise the profile of Thrive.
Felicity has worked in several different industries since the start of her career and has many years of Customer Service experience. She was delighted to join the team and continue spreading Thrive across the country.
Natalie Bouzayen
Relationship Development Assistant
Natalie joined Thrive on a temporary basis in February 2019 as the Relationship Development Assistant; and became a permanent member of the Thrive team in July 2019.
Natalie has over 13 years’ experience in Business Administration, and is looking forward to supporting Thrive and the Relationship Development Team.
Thrive-Online (TOL)
Claire Daniels
Thrive-Online Team leader
Claire joined Thrive in October 2016 as a member of the Thrive-Online Team.
Prior to joining Thrive, Claire worked in a recruitment agency within the offshore oil and gas industry. After studying psychology at university, she had an apprenticeship at an early learning centre working with infants through to preschool.
Claire is originally from Boston, USA and after spending 5 months in London, she decided to move to the UK once she finished her degree. She is thoroughly enjoying living in the UK, being a part of the Thrive team and getting back into the industry that she is passionate about.
Laura Creane
User Support Coordinator
Laura joined Thrive in July 2019 as a User Support Coordinator.
Prior to moving to Devon in 2018, Laura had previously lived in London all her life.
Laura has a vast customer services and administration experience, and she looks forward to contributing her knowledge to the team.
Member Services
Kate Middleton
Member Services Manager
Kate joined the Team in May 2015 and assists members with their continuing professional development and licensing. Kate works alongside Grace Willams, Jeannette Allen and Charlotte Cole to develop member resources.
With a background in Member Services Kate was delighted to join the team to continue to improve the member experience.
Jeannette Allen
Member Services Coordinator
With a passion for the best possible outcomes for children and being keen to develop and support others, Jeannette was delighted to join the Thrive Team as a Member Services Coordinator in August 2017.
Having originally trained as a teacher, Jeannette has since been employed in a variety of industries; the most recent 15 years being within the Early Years sector. Her previous experiences have included working as a Development Coordinator supporting childminders and a Curriculum Manager in a chain of private nurseries.
Charlotte Frow-Cole (maternity leave)
Member Services Coordinator
Charlotte joined Thrive in July 2017 and is delighted to support the team in maintaining an excellent member experience.
In 2008 Charlotte moved to the United States where she attended The American Academy of Dramatic Arts, obtaining a degree in Theatre. Since graduating Charlotte has worked in various fields from Voice acting to Customer service, and most recently as an Elementary school Teaching Assistant.
Charlotte is thrilled to join the Thrive team as her first job back in the UK after many years.
Katy Tapp
Member Services Coordinator
Katy has over 30 years’ experience of working in customer service within various industries, including hotels, cruise ships and as a Deployment Officer/Call Handler with Devon and Cornwall Police.
Katy was delighted to join Thrive as a Member Services Assistant in February 2018, and very much looks forward to being part of the team and contributing towards an excellent experience for members.
Charlie Darke
Member Services Coordinator
With over 14 years’ experience within customer service, sales and administration across various industries, Charlie prides herself on providing the best Customer experience, and is truly excited to be working with the Thrive team, supporting members across both Thrive-Online and Member Services.
Justina Ovens
Member Services Coordinator
Justina is passionate about supporting children and young people’s well-being. She has completed training in children and young people’s well-being for her degree in Counselling and is currently training in specialising in counselling young people.
Justina feels working for the Thrive Approach compliments her passion well, in contributing to an organisation which holds support for children and young people at the heart of what it does.
Tracy Murphy
Member Services Coordinator
Tracy joined the Thrive team in February 2020. She has worked in various sectors throughout her career, including retail, funeral care and welfare-to-work, where she supported the unemployed and people with disabilities to find sustainable employment.
As a member of the Relationship Development team, Tracy works closely with the Thrive regional team and supports clients with their enquiries. Tracy fully embraces the ethos and values of Thrive and is excited to use her varied experience to help raise awareness across the country.
Trainers
Viv Trask-Hall
Head of Innovation in Education and Principal Trainer
Viv has been teaching in schools, often in challenging circumstances, for 22 years as a teacher, SENCo and senior leader. For the last 12 years she has been leading schools as both headteacher and executive headteacher in mainstream schools, a Co-operative Trust school and an academy. Most recently this has included Doncaster Road Primary School where she led the school successfully out of a special measures category by embedding Thrive as a core approach and using this as one of the tools to improve every area of practice.
Alongside these roles she has also been consultant headteacher for the Local Authority leading, amongst other things, the induction programme for new head teachers for several years. As an LLE it was her privilege to work alongside heads of other schools to support them in improving outcomes for children.
After successfully introducing Thrive into two of the schools where she had been headteacher she was thrilled to join the team as Regional Development Manager for the North of England in September 2015 and has more recently taken on the role of Principal Trainer.
Viv is passionate about supporting other professionals to embed the practice and reach as many children and families as possible.
Training
Kirsty Crowe
Head of Operations
Kirsty joined the Thrive team in Oct 2014 as our Training Operations Manager; she came on board to facilitate the smooth running of all our training courses. Kirsty has 6 years’ experience in a training and development background, and has had previous experience in the childcare sector.
Kirsty fully embraces the aims and objectives of Thrive and is keen to help in continuing to raise the profile of the organisation.
James Sheppard
Training Operations Manager
He is looking forward to contributing his experience to the team.
Patricia Cornell
Training Coordinator
Patricia joined Thrive in August 2017 as a Training Co-ordinator after relocating from London to Plymouth.
Patricia has more than 10 years experience of organising a wide range of courses and conferences for membership organisations and charities. She looks forward to contributing this experience to Thrive and to getting involved in the organisation.
Chris Oliver
Training Coordinator
Chris joined Thrive in April 2019 as Training Operations Assistant, having spent the previous 10 years working varied roles within the hospitality industry.
Much of his experience has been in a training capacity, and he looks forward to contributing his experience to the team.
In September 2019, Chris has taken on a new role as Training Coordinator.
Belinda Southby
Learning Designer
Belinda joined Thrive in April 2019 as E-Learning Coordinator.
Belinda started teaching English as a Foreign/Additional language as a way to travel, and she stayed in education ever since.
Before moving to Torquay, Belinda had lived in India, where she worked with the British Council Exams centre, following a long stint in Dubai.
Belinda is looking forward to new, exciting challenges that Thrive and Devon have to offer.
Megan Garrett (maternity leave)
Training Operations Assistant
Megan joined the team at Thrive in October 2017 as a Training Operations Assistant, after working as a Rentals Negotiator for an Estate Agent for 3 years.
After completing her exams in 2011, Megan moved to Portugal with her family and worked for a Property Management Company.
Megan is thrilled to be working alongside her colleagues at Thrive and hopes to contribute the skills she has acquired and support all her team workers.
Jackie Driver
Training Operations Assistant
Jackie joined Thrive on a temporary basis in February 2021 as Training Operations Assistant, having spent the previous 20 plus years working in secretarial/administrative roles within the insurance industry.
She looks forward to contributing her experience to Thrive and to getting involved in the organisation.
Content Development
Lucy Latchmore (maternity leave)
Head of Content Development
Lucy joined the Thrive team in January 2016 and oversees the Research and Development Team to develop the resources and content for all Thrive training courses.
Prior to working at Thrive, Lucy worked in editorial and publishing in London for six years, and then as a secondary school English and Drama teacher in South Devon for six years.
Lucy is passionate about the social and emotional development of children and young people, and is excited to be contributing her experience to the development of Thrive.
Grace Williams
Content Development Manager
Grace joined the Team as Member Services Co-ordinator in January 2016 and assists members with their continuing professional development and licensing. Grace supports Kate Middleton, Member Services Manager and works alongside Jeannette Allen and Charlotte Cole to continually develop our membership benefits and resources.
Before joining Thrive, Grace worked as a Primary School Teacher, obtaining a unique insight into how Thrive is used in schools and its considerable benefits in the classroom. Grace was delighted to join the team and continue the good work to improve and develop the member experience.
Lia Ponton
Content and Publications Editor
Lia joined Thrive in March 2019 as Content and Publications Editor. As a member of the Research and Development team, Lia is involved in developing resources and content for Thrive training courses and publications.
Prior to joining Thrive, Lia spent several years working as a creative psychotherapist for children, young people and adults in the south-west. She has an MA in Dramatherapy and a post-graduate certificate in Environmental Arts Therapy (working creatively outdoors).
Lia also spent several years in Brazil, where she taught English as a Foreign language and then worked as Content Development Manager for an online English language learning platform. Lia has contributed and edited English language training materials for international publishers. She also speaks fluent Brazilian Portuguese and worked for several years as a translator and proofreader.
Working in the Research and Development team at Thrive has enabled Lia to combine the skills and knowledge from her backgrounds in therapy and writing to support Thrive to deliver its message and help all children to develop socially and emotionally whatever their start in life – something she is passionate about.
Kate Fonseca
Project Coordinator
Kate joined the Thrive team in September 2017 as a Training Coordinator after 14 years working as a drama teacher and Head of Drama.
Prior to teaching Kate worked as an Operations Manager for a language school and in the recruitment sector.
She is looking forward to bringing the skills she has developed as both a teacher and a manager to Thrive. Kate is excited to be working for Thrive and wholly supports its ethos and value within schools.
Following her secondment in Content Development team, Kate has taken on a new role as Project Coordinator in September 2019.
Katie Palmer Heathman
Publications and Content Editor
Prior to joining Thrive in April 2020, Katie was an academic researching, writing and teaching in Modern British History, and before that spent 4 years completing her PhD. She brings her attention to the written word and skill in communicating complex concepts to the Thrive Research and Development Team, where she creates and edits training resources and content.
Marketing
Fay Steer
Head of Marketing
Fay joined the Thrive team in October 2018 to oversee the marketing operation, helping Thrive to spread the news about the Thrive Approach and the positive impact it can have in supporting the emotional and social wellbeing of children and young people.
A strategic marketing professional, with over 30 years’ experience of marketing – predominantly in the education sector – Fay is passionate about customer service, reputation and brand management, and the use of plain English!
Iola Nelson
Marketing Communications Manager
Iola joined Thrive in October 2020 and manages the marketing and communications team who promote the Thrive Approach and its benefit to children and young peoples’ emotional and social wellbeing.
Iola’s marketing experience spans 15 years working in the education sector, firstly within university student recruitment and then the independent school sector.
Iola enjoys the diversity and creativity of marketing and how developments and opportunities constantly arise to further share the impact Thrive can have.
Leonie Heath
Marketing Coordinator
Leonie joined the Thrive marketing team in June 2019 and helps to promote Thrive to a wider audience.
After studying English Literature and Language at university, Leonie went on to work in marketing for an international school, where she also trained to teach English as a foreign language. Leonie later moved to an academic publishing company where she helped to promote digital resources to universities across the UK and Europe.
In her role at Thrive, Leonie enjoys utilising her creativity and writing skills through our social media channels and blog posts.
Laura Joy
Graphic Designer
Laura joined the Thrive team in February 2016, and helps to promote Thrive to a wider audience.
After studying Graphic Communication at University, Laura went on to work at creative agencies, as well as in-house for companies in the food and healthcare industries. Her career has continued to build her knowledge of marketing and design, and she enjoys utilising her creative skills in her role at Thrive.
Liz Parks
PR Officer
Liz joined Thrive in September 2019 as PR Officer.
As a member of the Marketing and Communications team Liz is responsible for promoting Thrive’s work to the media using traditional and digital channels. She also produces case studies to illustrate how the Thrive Approach works and the positive changes that it produces in behaviour and educational attainment.
Prior to joining Thrive, Liz held PR roles in higher education and the B2B utilities sector as well as working as a regional newspaper journalist for many years.
Liz enjoys using her content creation skills to highlight the benefits of the Thrive Approach and how it helps to create happy, healthy children who are open to learning.
Administration and Finance
Julia (Jules) Flynn
Head of Finance
Jules joined Thrive in February 2019, as a Chartered Accountant with over 25 years’ experience within both small companies and larger international groups in a number of sectors.
Jules hopes to bring additional commercial focus to the organisation to ensure that Thrive continues to expand its reach to as many children as possible.
Outside of work, her loves include baking, the sea, dogs and donkeys.
Nicki Courtney
Finance & Administration Manager
With a background in finance, accounting and business support in a career spanning over 20 years, Nicki oversees the Central Services functions at Thrive. She brings a wealth of commercial experience to the role, drawn from a range of sectors including logistics, architecture, retail and management consultancy.
Nicki joined the Thrive team in July 2011. She contributes to the effective management of people, resources and finance to ensure the rapid and sustainable growth of the company. Nicki is committed to supporting the continual growth of the Thrive in our schools, social and healthcare settings. She is the proud mother of William.
Emma Dufty (maternity leave)
Finance Coordinator
Emma joined Thrive in June 2018 as Finance Co-ordinator, having gained 14 years’ experience within the Accounts department for a housing developer. In this role Emma worked closely with the Sales and Construction teams obtaining in-depth knowledge of the construction industry. Emma has obtained her AAT Level 2 Accounting qualification and also has an NVQ level 2 in Business Administration. Feeling ready for a new challenge, Emma is excited about the opportunity of working with Thrive and hopes to be a great support to her colleagues in Finance.
When she’s not working, Emma runs several times a week and enjoys long walks with her Cocker Spaniel, Monty.
Camille Lovell (maternity leave)
Accounts Coordinator
Camille started working for Thrive on a temporary basis then joined the team permanently in May 2019.
Having previously worked in finance, customer services and management, Camille hopes to bring her knowledge and experience into her new role as Accounts Coordinator.
Zena Cameron
Receptionist / Office Coordinator
Zena joined the team in November 2017. Having spent 17 years working for the Magistrates’ Court across administration and finance roles she felt like a change in direction.
With a degree in Psychology she was excited to learn about the Thrive Approach and pleased to have the opportunity to work in the organisation.
Utilising her administrative skills Zena is now the Receptionist / Office Coordinator and responsible for looking after the needs of all the teams.
In her spare time Zena enjoys painting and likes to take part in one off adrenalin sports which have included a parachute jump, paragliding, zip wiring, zorbing and flyboarding.
Bertie Bowser
IT Systems Lead
Bertie joined Thrive in September 2019 with 14 years’ experience in the IT Sector.
Since leaving Bournemouth University in 2005 Bertie has had various roles in many areas of the IT industry including business management, technical support, sales and development.
Bertie looks forward to contributing his technical experience to the team.
Systems Development
Chad Cookney
Project Manager
Chad joined the Thrive team in October 2018, bringing with him more than 20 years of commercial experience at management level across multiple industries including finance, banking and retail. Chad joined the team to facilitate the delivery and management of both non-technical and IT related projects supporting Thrives overall’s future plans.
Chad is passionate about supporting children and young people to develop their emotional and social availability, to overcome life’s challenges and experience life’s rewards
Luke Johnson
Software Development Coordinator
Luke joined Thrive in July 2017 with an experienced business intelligence and software background and a demonstrated history of working in the information technology and services industry.
After gaining an honours degree in computing from Sheffield Hallam University Luke has gained extensive experience from a variety of roles in service delivery, requirements analysis, technical support, data analysis, enterprise software, and databases.
Luke looks forward to contributing his technical experience to the team.
Case studies
While it is important to understand the model behind The Thrive Approach, what really matters is the impact that it can have in practice for the development of an individual child or young person.
View case studiesNext steps
If you would like to discuss more about Thrive and what opportunities are currently available in your area, please click the link below or call the Thrive team direct on 01392 797555.
Get in touch