The Team

Sadhana has been writing on Voice for under 3 years, after joining through Voice Outreach Young reviewer program at her local theatre. Since then, she has been reviewing New Creatives work, writing opinions pieces and a regular media column. She is writer and theatre maker, interesting in creative change-making around feminism and climate change. Sadhana is now a co-trainer for youth voice training.

Dayna joined the Upstart team in 2021 as the newest administrator. With her background being in performing arts and specifically, musical theatre, Dayna transferred her passion for the arts and events into arts and project management. Originally from Wales, Dayna moved to London and then the Midlands to pursue her career in the arts and went on to work with multiple Dance and Theatre festivals. As an administrator, she is able to utilise her knowledge of the industry and organisational skills to help the team achieve their long term vision.

As well as loving all things arts and events, she loves to travel the UK and abroad and experiencing new places a few times a year!

Sam is an aspiring author, theatre and dance lover, Liberal Arts student and total bookworm. When she doesn’t have her head buried in a book, you can usually find her cooking yummy vegan food, volunteering with various charities or planning her next trip! Sam is a prolific reviewer of arts on Voice Magazine, a leading voice reporter and a part of the team influencing Voice’s development. Sam is a co-trainer for our youth voice training.

Idriss joined Upstart as a Voice Contributor six years ago. He also joined our pool of young advocates for Arts Award and has been highly involved in many areas of our work over the years, including filming or starring in multiple films. He currently works on various commissions and as a co-trainer.

He is a freelance film maker, editor and producer working on and supporting a range of film & arts education projects; including training groups in using film equipment. He has worked extensively with Birmingham based organisations and can usually be found somewhere near a camera or edit suite.

Judy has been working within the arts and education sectors for nearly 20 years, developing creative learning, partnership practice and youth consultation work. She is a lead trainer and project associate with us, including delivering our Voice Outreach programmmes.

Judy is an Arts Award senior trainer, moderator and support associate, working within a variety of sectors and engaging across the breadth of the arts. She is a freelance creative consultant with a deep passion about creative learning and opportunities for children & young people. Judy has been heavily involved with Local Cultural Education Partnerships in the West Midlands.

Sienna has been working with Upstart for over three years in a plethora of capacities including on our young advocacy team for Arts Award. She is the author of the recent Heritage and Creative Education series on Voice and is enthusiastic about all things museum and art-education. She has served as Assistant Editor on Voice and is one of our co-trainers. Currently at university, Sienna can often be found drinking iced coffee and studying in Cambridge cafes. 

Alice joined the Arts Award Youth Network in 2012. She has degrees in Dance and worked for Artswork, the national youth arts development agency and SE Bridge organisation. She delivers training and several projects for Upstart and runs our engagement work in the South East, including Voice Outreach Brighton. She is an Arts Award adviser trained to Silver level, a dancer, knitter and thinker!

Alice regularly runs training and sessions to support arts development and mental health. Recently she has worked in consultancy and young people’s support for NHS commissioned services across West & East Sussex. She’s also worked for eight years with the Isle of Wight Festival as an Artist Liaison and Young Volunteer Manager.

Saskia is the Deputy Editor for Voice. She is a contributing author in the 30th-anniversary edition of The Women Writers’ Handbook and runs a blog where she puts her Journalism degree to some use, sharing her thoughts and opinions on current affairs and pop culture. Saskia has an MA in Publishing and studied Creative Writing & Journalism at the University of Roehampton. When she is not tied to her laptop, Saskia enjoys travelling, socialising with her friends, cooking and shopping online for things she doesn’t need.

Tom is a founder member of the Arts Award Youth Network and Voice magazine, having worked with both projects since he was 17. He achieved First Class Honours in Politics at Brunel Uni and a Masters in Journalism. His hobbies include podcasting and music and he leads Voice’s very successful Edfringe Young Reviewers project.

Emrys has been involved with youth participation projects for over 15 years. He has founded two commercial arts and media organisations and a local social enterprise. Emrys has led the development of the Arts Award Youth Network and Voice website since 2011. He holds an Executive MBA, degree and licentiateship in Management with skills in project planning, financial management and people development. He is a Fellow of the Institute of Leadership and Management where he is also the Chair of the Board. Emrys is also a Fellow of the Royal Society of Arts, Chartered Fellow of the Chartered Management Institute and a Member of the Institute of Directors.

Specifically on training, Emrys was a senior trainer with the Participation Works Partnership creating bespoke courses for local authorities and NGO’s. He has managed numerous training programmes for young people, cultural organisations and third sector organisations including in events management accredited through Arts Award and a programme with South Essex College for NEETs accredited by NCFE.

Diana has spent thirty years working in arts education, including community arts, Theatre in Education and youth arts. She took her experience of running Shropshire Youth Arts Network to Arts Council England, where she developed the Arts Award, a UK-wide programme which supports young people to develop as artists and arts leaders. Diana’s skills are in strategic planning, communications and negotiation and she brings wide-ranging experience of developing arts opportunities for young people.