Meet the team

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.

Claire joined Thrive in October 2016 as a member of the Thrive-Online Team. Claire is currently the Acting Member Services Manager whilst Kate Middleton is on maternity leave.

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.

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.

Jo joined Thrive in November 2014 after working in a variety of different industries since the start of her career.

For many years she has worked to support Thrive’s regional team, and to welcome new settings to Thrive and support them in embedding the approach successfully. She has now joined the Member Services team in order to support our Thrive trainers and Practitioners with the incredible work that they do.

Natalie joined Thrive in February 2019 and has over 10 years’ experience in Customer Services. Natalie started her working life off organising work experience placements for adolescents in Buckinghamshire; and upon moving to Devon in April 2008 worked in a varied role and gained experience in Sales, Finance, Marketing, Warehousing and Customer Services.

Natalie loves being outdoors with her two children – the beach and the moors are their top places to be. Natalie is looking forward to continuing to support Thrives vision of a world where children’s social and emotional needs are better understood and met.

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.

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.

Andrea has been working in schools for over 11 years as a Teacher, SENDco, Designated Teacher for Children Looked After, Inclusion Leader, Designated Safeguarding Lead and most recently Deputy Principal.

Andrea started her career working at Doncaster Road Primary school in Barnsley, where she completed her NQT year and quickly went on to become EYFS and KS1 Leader and joined the senior leadership team. Here she successfully completed the Thrive Licensed Practitioner training, where Thrive was one of the core tools used to support the school moving out of Special Measures.

In 2015, alongside a small group of educational professionals, Andrea joined the Senior Leadership team at Temple Learning Academy to build, set up and open a brand-new mainstream free school in a very challenging area of Leeds. This school was built to serve the community and provide an outstanding education and good outcomes for the young people of Halton Moor. Andrea alongside the senior leadership team, successfully lead the school to a good OFSTED outcome and strong reputation across the trust. The school is now a successful all-through Academy, catering for over 1400 students aged 4– 16yrs where Andrea was Deputy Principal.

Andrea was delighted to join the Thrive team in September 2021 and now undertakes the role of Project Manager. Alongside this role, Andrea is completing her master’s degree focusing on her passion which is supporting students with special educational needs in education.

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.

Lisa joined Thrive in January 2022 as Publications and Content Editor within the Content Development Team.

She has over 20 years’ experience working in editorial roles within educational and academic publishing in the UK and Australia. More recently, Lisa has worked on content development of online training courses.

With a degree in psychology, Lisa is excited to be part of the Thrive team to help support the social and emotional development of children and young people.

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 joined the Thrive team in February 2016.

After studying Graphic Communication at University, Laura went on to work at creative agencies, as well as in-house for companies in the organic 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.

Grissel Joined the Thrive finance team in December 2020  as a Finance Coordinator.

With 10 years of experience within the Finance department of a worldwide online sports retailer, administrative roles in the service, engineering & manufacturing sectors together with experience in the care sector; Grissel hopes to bring new energy and make a positive impact to her role in Thrive.

Grissel is very excited to join Thrive team as she feels passionate about the work that Thrive does, she  believes a good start in life is the key to a better future.

When Grissel is not at work she enjoys learning new languages, cooking and spending time with her husband, children and  their beloved dog Vinnie.

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 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.

Rebecca joined the Thrive team in December 2021. She has worked in various sectors throughout her career these include Quality Assurance, data analysis and customer support. She has spent the last 10 years supporting children with Autism and Special Educational Needs.

Rebecca is passionate about supporting children and young people She is delighted to be part of an organisation that strives to help all children, both socially and emotionally and is excited to develop her role within the company.

Angie joined Thrive in November 2021 as a Bookings Assistant having worked in Customer Services since the beginning of her career.

She is delighted to be part of an organisation that strives to help all children, both socially and emotionally and is excited to develop her role within the company.

Nicky joined Thrive in November 21 as a Bookings Assistant, following a move from Hertfordshire to Devon.

She brings a wealth of experience in customer service and administration. Nicky has worked mainly in the Education Industry with - the University of Hertfordshire; a training centre for the motor industry and for an Examination board specialising in developing qualifications in Children's, care, Health and Education (CACHE).

Nicky is very excited to be part of an organisation that supports the social and emotional wellbeing of children and young people. In her spare time Nicky enjoys coastal walks and exploring the moors.