Our Team
Nicky is our Creative Director
Nicky’s passion lies in designing and making beautiful things that celebrate the wonder in the people and places around us. She studied Architecture at university, and her early career involved designing small-scale sustainable buildings where people wanted to spend time. Alongside this, Nicky worked with researchers to design and deliver creative workshops, engaging children and young people in their built environment through drawing, den-building, and having a whole lot of fun!
Ellie is our Therapeutic Director
Ellie has been interested in how art can tell stories since she was a child and watched the travelling theatres that visited the village where she grew up. After a stint making art for theatre and film, Ellie trained in Art Psychotherapy, and her eyes were opened to the healing potential of art, and how it can be an incredible tool for awareness, communication and change.
Ellie now has over 15 years experience of helping people of all ages use art to better understand themselves and their unique stories. Her work as a therapist has led her to support adopted and fostered children and their families, and well as many others with complex mental health needs.
In addition to being an HCPC registered Art Psychotherapist, Ellie has trained and delivered Theraplay, Dyadic Developmental Psychotherapy (DDP), Dyadic Art Therapy, and trauma processing therapy EMDR. She is also trained, and regularly utilises Sandtray and Clayfield Therapies as well as Internal Family Systems. Ellie now runs a busy therapy practice in Sheffield and is also proud to be Therapeutic Director of Growing Me CIC.
In her spare time Ellie loves to spend time in beautiful Derbyshire where she lives drawing, running and swimming, she also loves dancing!
Bev is our Finance Director
From being a child, Bev has always been interested in the arts and in supporting causes that make a difference to people’s lives. She studied music to postgraduate level before beginning a career in Arts Administration at Dulwich Picture Gallery, London. She has spent the last 20 years helping not-for-profit organisations grow, using her professional skills as a Finance and HR Director. She has worked in leadership roles in strategy bodies, children’s charities, arts sector support organisations, creative agencies, and in business advice.
Bev particularly loves working with artists, creatives and start up companies. She co-founded professional artists’ studios and a gallery, Haarlem Artspace CIC and whilst there, she met Nicky and was introduced to Growing Me. Bev loved the potential Growing Me has to help some of the most vulnerable children in society, and offered to help.
In her spare time, Bev loves sewing, foraging for mushrooms, walks with her dog, Nettle, and spending time with her family and friends. She still loves music, especially live performances, and loves going to festivals to see it.
Our Animators...
We have some fantastic and talented people helping us get Growing Me off the ground. Our graduate animators are working tirelessly to create fun and engaging 2D animations for Growing Me’s Think Theatre! Do check out and share their work – we know they have bright futures ahead, and are very proud of what they are acheiving.
Our Volunteers
Volunteers help us with funding applications, social media and marketing and we are very grateful for all they do!
Volunteering with Growing Me
We are always interested in hearing from people that would like to help us. We are a lovely friendly team and will have opportunities coming up to help with production, packaging and posting our beautiful toolkits (watch this space). If you would like to get involved, please do send an email to info@growingme.co.uk