Meet Our Board of Trustees

Our board have over 20 years of experience and bring expertise from the world of education, dance and the wider creative sector.

Brian Ward (Chair)

A retired teacher of Art and Design who helped to construct and deliver KS4 courses combining the Expressive and Creative Arts – Art, Drama, Music, Dance, Textiles and Writing.
Associated with Barefoot since 2000 helping to deliver large Arts events, serving as a director and now chairman.

Stewart Loze

Stewart is a retired teacher and joined the Barefoot board in 2019.
I joined the board after one visit to see the charity at work. My visit was an extremely enjoyable experience. The youth workers and volunteers were enthusiastic and encouraged the young people to engage in activities. I was amazed by the willingness of the vast majority to get involved in preparing and cooking a meal for everybody attending that session; even those who were not so keen to participate obviously felt at ease in a safe environment. It was somewhere to talk to
friends and to seek support if required.

FAYE HATHERLEY-EDWIN

Faye is currently a Careers and Employability Coach at Plymouth Marjon University and has been an active board member with Barefoot since 2005. Faye initially started working with Barefoot to engage student volunteers in local school community arts facilitation projects across the city including Plymouth’s Respect Festival and Barefoot’s annual Big Arts Day. Faye was made Secretary in 2017 and has continued to support Barefoot’s funded projects to providing inclusive activities with young people in disadvantaged communities.

ANDREW JOHN HIGGINSON

Information about Andy coming soon

THE TEAM

Barefoot are very lucky to have such a great team of experienced and passionate young workers and charity professionals.

Richard Marsh - Manager

I started working for Barefoot in 1999 after 20 years teaching English and Drama. From 2000 to 2011 that involved running Barefoot as Plymouth's arts education agency and organising the annual city-wide Big Arts Festival. In 2013 we shifted Barefoot's focus to providing youth work in deprived areas, something I feel passionate about, especially at a time when local authority provision has been cut back and young people face increased pressure from all directions. Much of my time is spent keeping the funding flowing in so our brilliant team of youth workers can continue to support young people across Northwest Plymouth.

Julie Matthews - Finance

Details about Julie coming soon

Jon Dingle - Lead Youth Worker

I've been working for Barefoot as a youth worker since November 2014. I believe passionately in community based, open access youth work because of the impact I have seen it have on the young people I've worked with and their communities over the years. I have been involved with the SpaceShot Ernesettle project since pretty much the very beginning and I was involved in setting up both the Whitleigh and St Budeaux SpaceShot projects and I hope to be involved in helping these to grow in the years to come.

Caitlin O'Boyle - Youth Worker

I started working with Barefoot through my placement with Marjon. I fell in love with the work that was happening within the areas that Barefoot works in. I am passionate about working with young people and I believe that youth work should be young person led which I believe is what happens when working with Barefoot. I hope to continue working with the young people who access our youth service and providing them with a place where they can make their own decisions. 

Carly - Youth Worker

I love working with young people to help them explore their talents, to be there for them and help their voice be heard. I'm passionate about what I do and I'm dedicated to bring the best out of them using my background in dancing and drama and the knowledge and experience I gained through my studies and experiences.

Kalum - Youth Worker

I believe it's vital for young people to feel empowered, cared about and to be able to access the tools they need to grow into a meaningful member of society. Being able to go to a youth group where I had a safe space to learn and grow, be mentored and have a sense of belonging played a big part in my life growing up and I want to give back to the society by helping young people using my personal experiences and skills I've developed over the years.

Rachel - Youth Worker

Hi my name is Rachel (Rae) and I'm passionate about community based youth work because I want to work holistically with young people as individuals and not labels. I've worked with young people in various settings and environments and it's helped me learn different approaches to help and empower young people, it has also further fuelled me to pursue my masters in youth and community so I can better help young people to make their voices heard and to be able to make a difference in their lives.