Our Team

Kirsty Watt has been Head of the Academy Ambassadors programme since October 2014 and has been responsible for the growth of the organisation into a high-calibre board recruitment programme which recently appointed its 900th non-executive director.

Before joining Academy Ambassadors, Kirsty was Head of the Academies and Funding Policy Project team at the Department for Education and was responsible for scope and delivery of Ministerial priority reforms. Kirsty has also worked in the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister and the Cabinet Office. Prior to this, she worked in a private PR practice with Colman Getty PR on arts campaigns and on social and business issues for clients including Waterstones and the National Portrait Gallery.

Emma joined the Academy Ambassadors programme as NED Recruitment Manager in 2019, a role which combines her knowledge of executive search and corporate recruitment with school and trust governance. After graduating from the University of York, Emma joined Marks and Spencer’s graduate training programme as a merchandiser, before moving into executive search and recruitment at consultancy Penna, followed by corporate recruitment roles at global engineering firm Siemens and, later, the HR SaaS company Lumesse. Discovering a passion for education governance when volunteering as a Chair of Governors, Emma joined Buckinghamshire Learning Trust where she led the governance development programme for c.3000 governors across the region. She went on to work for eTeach, the global recruitment platform, engaging with the largest school trusts in England.

Since graduating from the University of Chester in 2009, David has worked across a range of sectors, including education, agency, local authority and latterly sports with British Cycling, as Partner Marketing Manager for the ‘Sky Ride’ recreational cycling campaign, in conjunction with Sky and Sport England. This was the biggest sports participation campaign the UK had ever seen, aimed at getting people on bikes for fun and recreation; it received a prestigious ‘Partnership Marketing’ award from The Chartered Institute of Marketing in 2015. With a strong communication thread running through his career, engagement and communication forms a central part of his approach to projects. Having previously worked with large stakeholders including Hewlett Packard, Vodafone, The British Heart Foundation, Ordnance Survey and Transport for London across various roles, David has enjoyed success in delivering high-value campaigns. David maintains a strong interest in and passion for volunteering, holding roles with parkrun UK, formerly as an Area Ambassador for the North West, as well as with local social enterprises with an environmental focus near his home in the North West.

Vanessa joined New Schools Network in October 2017 following a career break.

Vanessa has a physics degree from Imperial College and has spent most of her career in banking.

Vanessa worked for over a decade at UBS bank on the Investment Banking side, in institutional derivative sales and trading. Latterly Vanessa moved over to the private banking side of the business, in the role of an investment specialist at UBS Wealth Management. Vanessa also worked at Dresdner Bank, where she headed up a pan European equity derivative sales team.

Most recently Vanessa built a Wealth Management business for a boutique headhunter, leveraging from contacts and knowledge acquired over many years in the banking industry.

Melanie graduated in 2014 with an honours degree in Law and Business Studies from Warwick Business School, The University of Warwick. Since then, she has worked as a marketing assistant in the legal sector – producing creative marketing copy, conducting in-depth research and analysis of target markets, and organising large-scale projects and events. Melanie has worked with children, as a volunteer, from a young age, and enjoys using her professional skills and experience to engage with qualified business people, and develop academy boards, in order to improve the quality of education throughout the UK’s Northern regions.

Sophie started out as an events organiser for communications-led charity CharityComms where she developed and managed a wide range of events focussed on the needs of communicators in the charity sector. She moved to South Korea to become an English Language teacher and volunteered for a charity which helps North Korean defectors re-integrate into modern society. After the success and enjoyment of teaching, she went on to teach students of all ages and backgrounds in the UK and eventually in Spain. Sophie joined Academy Ambassadors in October 2017 and now manages the communications, the alumni network and supports with non-executive director recruitment in the South West.

Prior to joining Academy Ambassadors in June 2018, Amy completed a BSc in Sociology and Anthropology from Oxford Brookes University. Amy is commencing a MSc in International and Social Public Policy at London School of Economics and Political Science in September 2018. Amy has seamless international experience living and working in both the US and UK from a young age.

As the London Region Intern, Amy supports communications with non-executive directors, multi-academy trusts and corporate partnerships in the three London regions. 

Charlie graduated from Loughborough University with a BA in Politics in 2017. Since then, he has started studying part-time for an MSc in International Development at the University of Manchester and is due to graduate in December 2019. During his studies he has undertaken fieldwork in Uganda, working with a Slum Dwellers International Federation, with a focus on community empowerment.

Alongside his studies, Charlie has previously worked in both insurance and financial services recruitment. He has also undertaken several voluntary positions, such as the role of grants fundraiser for an international development charity.

Louise has 10 years’ experience in the charity sector. She spent seven years in various roles at youth charity, The Duke of Edinburgh’s Award (DofE). She worked with schools and local authorities to deliver the programme to over 10,000 young people each year across London. Her role included managing regional activities, projects and programmes with the aim of increasing the number of young people starting their DofE, double the proportion of young people taking part from disadvantaged backgrounds and ensuring at least half of all young people starting their DofE achieve their Bronze, Silver or Gold Award. Prior to joining the Academy Ambassadors team in February 2016 she worked for Arthritis Research UK in the corporate partnerships team.

She currently leads the Corporate Partnerships strategy at Academy Ambassadors, engaging with companies across England to promote non-executive director roles to their staff. She also supports non-executive director recruitment and trust engagement in three regions.

Louise is a Freeman of The Worshipful Company of Educators and Middle Warden for the Guild of Young Freemen of the City of London.