Carol is the former Head of Service at Calderdale Young People’s Service and also serves on the board of the NYA

David Sharp has been Chief Executive of North Yorkshire Youth (NYY) since November 2011. He also sits on the North Yorkshire County Council Safeguarding Executive Partnership, the Corporate Parenting Group and the Children and Young Peoples Overview and Scrutiny Committee as the voluntary sector representative.

Graham is a qualified youth worker who has worked in both the Local Authority and the Voluntary Sector and was course leader for the Youth & Community work courses at Bradford College. He also is a member of the NYA ETS committee is active in the union and In Defence of Youth Work and Choose Youth Campaigns.

Debbie is Young People’s Engagement Manager with Doncaster Council 

Christine Smith has worked in Higher Education since 2007. She has worked at the University of Hull since 2017 and is currently a Programme Director in Education Studies incorporating a Special Educational Needs and Disability Inclusion Pathway and has completed a term as Chair of the National Professional Association of Lecturers in Youth and Community Work. Prior to working in HE Christine worked in a range of youth and community settings including as a locality-based Community Education Worker, Principal Youth Officer, Senior Trainer, Staff Development and Quality Assurance Officer. 

Petra is a senior lecturer in Youth and Community Development at Leeds Beckett University, having been a qualified Youth Worker for over 20 years. Having spent most of this time in the drugs field, predominantly as a harm reduction worker with both young people and adults. Later qualifying as a social worker and spending two years in child protection before moving to teaching. Petra also has a PhD in exploring why young women start taking illegal drugs.