Making active lifestyles
the norm for everyone.

Andy Taylor

CEO

Andy strategically leads the Active Partnerships National Organisation and represents the network nationally.

In his spare time, Andy is Independent Chair of Port Vale Foundation, and he is also a keen runner (usually accompanied by his springer spaniel).

Graeme Sinnott

Director of Relationships

Graeme works to change the structures, policies and behaviours that are preventing active lifestyles from being the norm for everyone. He does this by building meaningful relationships to drive collective action in tackling inequalities.

Graeme enjoys walking and visiting the Lake District, as well as playing golf, cricket, and football.

Helen Pring

Director Of Relationships

Helen works to connect, add value, and support Active Partnerships colleagues and partners across the sector, to make physical activity the norm for everyone.

She enjoys participating in endurance events including marathons and triathlons.

Sarah Dickson

Director of Communications

Sarah oversees communications activity, helping to raise awareness of the organisation, the programmes and projects the team lead on, and the work of the wider Active Partnerships network.

She is a huge fan of sport, and in her spare time you can find her playing netball, watching sport, or taking one of her three children to their various sporting activities.

Nerys Lovell

Director of Finance and Operations

Nerys is a qualified accountant who provides organisational leadership across our finance and operations department.

She can be found most weekends swimming, watching her two sons playing football or rugby, or helping to organise events for the local grassroots youth football league.

Alton Brown

Programme Manager - Multi-Sport

Alton leads the implementation of Sport England's new Multi-Sport Activity and Facilities Fund.
He brings to the role more than 16 years of experience in the charity sector, where he has supported organisations to deliver impactful engagement opportunities for young people and communities.

He is a trustee for two award-winning youth charities as well as a former international athlete, representing England and Jamaica in karate.

Annie Holden

Strategic Lead - Health

Annie is the Strategic Health Lead, supporting Active Partnerships to embed physical activity into health and care systems, working closely with national partners.

Annie is passionate about maximising activity as a fundamental means of improving physical and mental health for our communities. As a tutor and assessor for cardiovascular disease training programmes (BACPR), she definitely practices what she preaches.

Chris Tinbergen

Strategic Lead - Business Efficiencies and Growth

Chris is exploring how business growth and efficiencies across all Active Partnerships can help strengthen the financial health of the network.

Chris is a sports fanatic, who has enjoyed a lifetime of playing and watching mainly football and cricket. He still coaches, helping to run a local youth football club, supports as a volunteer at his local cricket club and in his spare time, can be found spending valuable time with his wife, their two sons and their dog, Zep.

Claire Lee

Strategic Lead - Opening School Facilities

As the National Programme Manager for the Opening School Facilities programme, Claire’s focus is on providing young people with opportunities to increase their activity levels out of school hours.

Outside of work, Claire enjoys working out at the gym, getting outdoors, and travelling.

Deborah Thorpe

Business Support Officer

Deborah plays a vital role in supporting the business, with an emphasis on governance and human resources.

She enjoys a whole range of sports from skiing and running to outdoor swimming.

Ethan Ellis

Project Co-ordinator – Opening School Facilities

Ethan helps to deliver the OSF project which is increasing participation in sports and physical activity at schools and within the wider community.

In his spare time, he is a formula one enthusiast and has a passion for delivering live events, having previously promoted WWE events.

Joanne Booker

Communications and Project Support Officer

Jo supports the Active Partnerships National Organisation to ensure it has effective internal and external communications, as well as providing support for the programmes and the wider business.

In her spare time, she enjoys travelling, long walks with the dog and watching her two children participate in their chosen sporting activities.

Katy Thompson

Programme Manager - Welfare

Katy supports the national network of Sport Welfare Officers in a collaboration to improve welfare culture in sports club environments.

In her spare time, Katy enjoys running, however as a mam of two she spends most of her time running after the kids and supporting from the sidelines at grassroots football.

Laura Middleton

Strategic Lead - Welfare

Laura is responsible for the strategic management of the Sport Welfare Officer Network - a ground-breaking programme providing local support to clubs across the country through a professional network of welfare staff.

She loves cycling, going on long walks and supporting her sons’ basketball teams.

Lindsey Best-Fryer

Operations Support Officer

Lindsey provides operational support for the Active Partnership National Organisation, focusing on internal and external meetings, training and events, ensuring that these are inclusive and accessible. She also provides general administration support to the national team.

In her spare time Lindsey enjoys watching the Lionesses football team, walking with her wife and boxer dog, quizzing, home renovations and baking.

Morgan Hodgkinson

Finance Support Officer

Morgan joined the National Team as Finance Officer in April 2024, with a background in cooperatives and sustainable fashion. In her role, she works to provide financial support to the team and network.

Morgan is passionate about removing barriers and addressing inequalities to make a broad range of activities available to everyone.

When not crunching numbers, Morgan enjoys walking, swimming, and rambling with her family.

Nicki Couzens

Strategic Lead - EED&I

Nicki works to connect, enable and support Active Partnerships and partners across the sector to maximise strengths and resources and to drive collective impact though an equality, equity, diversity and inclusion lens.

When she’s not at a cycling or gymnastics event, you can find her with her cocker spaniel.

Shirley Hurst

Strategic Lead - Multi-Sport

As lead for multi-sport, Shirley works nationally and across the network on this new investment and approach which will transform and activate local facilities.

She enjoys participating in and watching a whole range of sports, taking her two children to their football games, and going for a swim. Her favourite pastime is walking the dog in the fresh air outdoors.

Dave Capper

Chair

Dave believes physical activity can make a difference and unite people together and that Active Partnerships are ideally placed to play a lead role as part of a wider eco-system to help make this happen.
He has spent more than 15 years in the health and wellbeing sector and is leading the growing Westfield Health Group as CEO. In his younger years he also spent time training as a professional footballer.

Andy Daly-Smith

Reader in Physical Activity and Healthy Childhood and Co-Director of the Centre for Applied Educational Research

Andy has over 25 years of experience in the sport, physical activity, exercise, and educational sectors. He is Co-Director of the Centre for Applied Educational Research, overseeing eight research and development units, drawing system partners to work in partnership to solve grand health challenges within education. He has furthered this work through his leadership of the Bradford local-delivery pilot, focussing on a whole-system approach to physical activity for young people aged five-to 14. He is an International keynote speaker at education and research events and was recently invited to join the LGA national place-based physical activity leadership network as research lead.

Andy has a passion for being active with friends and family. He enjoys being active in the great outdoors, going on adventures into the Yorkshire dales with his wife and two boys. With a love for racket sports, Andy has recently started playing padel tennis.

Born Barikor

CEO and Founder of Our Parks

Born has developed key partnerships across the charitable and commercial sector, and is also a trustee of Active Surrey, the LTA, and the British Olympic Foundation. He is the Chair of Breaking GB.
He is an ex-athlete and is passionate about capturing video moments and creating content that inspires others to share and become more active.

Clare Morley

CEO at Rise

As CEO of Rise, the active partnership for Northumberland and Tyne & Wear, Clare connects with a range of partners and stakeholders to lobby for the role of sport and physical activity in their work, providing the leadership needed to place physical activity and sport at the heart of improving more lives.

Clare is a keen netball player, as well as sitting as a NED on the Board of England Netball. She is also the Senior INED at the Royal Air Force Football Association. She’s been known to run the odd marathon, and enjoys early morning runs along the North East seafront.

Dr. Hanya Pielichaty

Associate Professor, Lincoln International Business School, University of Lincoln

Hanya’s teaching and research expertise relates to sport, equity, and education, with a specific focus on the sociology of sport.
She has a passion for challenging social inequities and gender injustices and works institutionally and internationally to challenge power imbalances in higher education.

Jack Shakespeare

Director of Strategic Projects at 4Global

Jack previously worked for ukactive and has experience of building and maintaining strong relationships across the sector, including with central and local government departments. His work has helped to bring about positive change.
He is also a member of the Physical Literacy Expert Group led by Sport England and Liverpool John Moores University and is a Board Trustee of Mytime Active.

Dr Jeanelle de Gruchy

Deputy Chief Medical Officer for England

Jeanelle is Deputy Chief Medical Officer for England and professional lead for the Office for Health Improvement and Disparities (OHID) within the Department for Health and Social Care. Prior to this, she was Director of Public Health in Haringey (2010-2018) and Tameside, Greater Manchester (2018-2021) and President of the Association of Directors of Public Health (2018-2022). Jeanelle did her medical training in South Africa and worked clinically in the UK before specialising in public health.

Julie Amies

CEO, Energise Me

Julie has a strong belief that sport and physical activity is not just a brilliant way for people to spend time, but that it has the power to change lives. She has worked in the physical activity and sports sector her whole career and is a valuable asset to the board.
She is a squash, racquet ball and paddle tennis player, and you can occasionally find her playing tennis or table tennis. It is not often you will find her without a racquet in her hand.

Neil Fletcher

Finance Compliance Manager, DEFRA

Neil is a Chartered Certified Accountant with more than 30 years' experience and has worked with several major international companies.
He is a level three coach and 6th Dan in judo and has been involved in judo for more than 40 years. He competed at a high level winning national medals and representing Great Britain at the World Student Championships.

Rob Purdie

Chair, Be Active Beds, the Active Partnership for Bedfordshire.

Rob works with one of our local Active Partnerships, Be Active Beds, and is helping us to develop our ambition to inspire people to move more.
Rob has always loved sport and spends his spare time golfing and going for long walks with the family dog.

Vicky Joel

CEO at Think Active

Vicky has over 20 years’ experience working in the sport and physical activity sector, including Local Government in Sheffield which included project management of exercise referral projects, club and community development and facility programming and in the Voluntary Sector, supporting voluntary, and third sector organisations based in local communities in Sheffield to support people facing barriers to the labour market to access employment and self-development opportunities. Vicky is also the Think Active Board Champion for Equality, Diversity and Inclusion.

A keen hockey enthusiast for many years, Vicky now coaches Olton & West Warwickshire Men’s 1st team in National League Division 1. She is also Chair of It takes Balls to Talk Foundation, a charity in Coventry & Warwickshire that supports men to use sport to talk about their mental health.