Advisory Group
Our curious and critical friends that support us to continue to develop and grow.
The group meet regularly throughout the year and are actively involved in the evolution of BearFace Theatre CIC, helping to shape and influence our ambitions and direction.
With a wealth of expertise the members are a sounding board for exploration, there to be curious and question our work and ideas. They offer and provide guidance, promote and support the development of good practice and have oversight and review policies, procedures, risk registers and finances.
Mary
Through my daughter Lily, who has special needs, I had the good fortune to meet Jen and Kate and the opportunity to observe first-hand the benefits BFT work can bring to vulnerable communities.
As a member of the Advisory Group, I hope I can be a trusted observer, bringing the perspective of the BFT beneficiaries.
I never cease to be amazed at how many different communities can benefit from their work.
BFT gives people the confidence to discover and express themselves and the tools to make positive changes in life.
Peter
I first came across BFT when I was a member of the Independent Monitoring Board at HMP Winchester and was invited to a co-created performance. The group used Applied Theatre techniques that I had never come across previously. The outcome was moving and inspirational, and I have been a supporter ever since.
I hope my previous experience as a Clinical Psychologist working with vulnerable people directly, and indirectly through leading service developments, underpinned by my strong focus on inclusivity and respecting others as equals, has given me insights that are helpful in our discussions.
Jane
CEO of the The Stable Family Home Trust in the New Forest, Jane leads this charity which offers a wide range of services to adults with disabilities.
Jane met BearFace in her previous role at Hope Street in Southampton, a pioneering residential community for women and their children as an alternative to custody, run by charity One Small Thing.
Jane brings knowledge and passion about trauma-informed working in order to meet the needs of different communities, in creative and alternative ways.
Steve
Currently working for a local charity in Winchester alongside people with dementia and their carers, Steve has extensive experience in the humanitarian and mental health sectors.
Clare
Clare is passionate about the transformational impact that high quality arts can have on young lives. She founded and manages Wessex Dance Academy, an extraordinary contemporary dance project which works with complex and vulnerable young people referred from the local authority.
Amelia
Amelia was a magistrate on the North Hampshire Bench for 15 years. She has been a member of the Independent Monitoring Board of HMP Winchester. In 2023-2024 she was High Sheriff of Hampshire. Amelia was appointed as a Deputy Lieutenant in 2020. Amelia spent her working life as both a fund manager and an equity salesman and she is on the board of various charities.
Jacqui
Jacqui is Head of Southampton, Eastleigh and New Forest Probation Delivery Unit, South Central Probation Service. She first came across BearFace during the development of the first Creating Change project for women on probation in 2017 and has been a supporter of their work ever since.
“Having had the privilege of observing BFT at work in both prison and community settings, I have witnessed how effectively they help people think differently about themselves and nurture their confidence and self-esteem in ways that encourage and enable them to manage their own lives better. They are amazing."
Advisory Group Member