With over 15 years’ experience of working within the voluntary, public and private sector, Joanna brings with her a wealth of relevant knowledge, skills and experience.
Although currently employed by the East Midlands Chamber as a Business Adviser for the Business Gateway Growth Hub, Joanna started her career as a Project Worker, delivering programmes of personal and social development to disadvantaged and disaffected young people across the Midlands. Since then she has worked mainly in operations management and business development roles for a wide range of voluntary sector organisations including the Princes Trust, U.K Youth and local woman’s charity, New Dawn New Day. Other key work experiences include time spent as the Managing Director for Summit Support, a charity set up to support people living with HIV and AIDS in the Dudley and Sandwell region and as the Extended Service Coordinator at Beaumont Leys School.
Joanna is a passionate supporter of the voluntary sector. She joined the board in 2016 when she became the Business Manager for a Graphic Design company and was therefore was no longer able to contribute to the sector through paid employment. She chose to become a trustee at VAL because the work undertaken here has always been an inspiration to Joanna. Given her experience of delivering projects to help improve young people lives, this area of VAL’s work is of particular interest to Joanna.
However, it is VAL’s ability to change the lives of so many different people within the local community, whether that is through project delivery, volunteering or by supporting other voluntary sector organisations to survive and thrive, which really motivates Joanna and is the reason why she remains a committed member of the board.