Sadhana is a vocal and creative young person, currently on Boundless Theatre’s Advisory Group and a trustee of Rekindle School. Previously, she has worked with theatre companies such as the New Vic and Northern Broadsides. She is passionate about empowering young people.

Sadhana has been writing on Voice for over 4 years, after joining through Voice Outreach Young reviewer program at her local theatre.

One of our youth voice trainers, Sam is an aspiring author, theatre and dance lover, Liberal Arts graduate and total bookworm.

With three years’ experience volunteering for and running a university-based suicide-prevention helpline, Sam is also a fierce advocate for mental health awareness.

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.

Idriss joined Upstart as a Voice Contributor eight 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.

His aim is to produce more films with diverse and unique stories about those who sometimes don’t get a voice to tell their own stories in their own way, and be as creative as possible and help others follow their creative passions.

Sienna has been working with Upstart for several years, including on our young advocacy team for Arts Award. She is a trainer on our youth voice training programmes and was previously Assistant Editor at Voice magazine and is passionate about arts inclusion and creative education. She’s a graduate of the MA in Conflict Resolution at King’s College London and works with NPOs in research and communications.

Alice is on of our youth voice trainers having originally joined the Arts Award Youth Network in 2012. She has degrees in Dance and worked for Artswork, the national youth arts development agency and South East Bridge organisation. 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.

Dayna is the Voice Coordinator. After spending many years in theatre, Dayna joined Voice to ensure that more young people gain more opportunities to develop their professional skills and experiences. Dayna joined us in 2021 and is responsible for the running of the Voice Reviewers programme and ensuring the smooth running of all Voice projects as well as efficient running of the organisation as a whole.

With over 20 years of developing partnership working programmes and training across the arts, cultural and education sectors, Judy has honed her skills in creative learning, training and youth consultation. She’s the Creative Pathways manager, working with local and regional reviewers, and Lead Trainer within our youth voice training and consultation delivery. Judy is also a senior moderator, trainer and support monitor for Trinity College London’s Arts Award programme and oversees our Arts Award on Voice.

Judy’s passion for creative learning extends to her freelance training and consulting work, and she’s been instrumental in national programmes such as Artsmark, teacher Arts Ambassadors and Cultural Champions. She’s dedicated to fostering creativity in children and young people and helping them flourish through creative career opportunities.

Tom is the editor of Voice and a freelance entertainment journalist. He has been a film critic and showbiz reporter for more than seven years and is dedicated to helping young people enter the world of entertainment journalism. He loves horror movies, musicals, and pro wrestling — but not normally at the same time.

Tom is the Managing Editor of Voice and a founding member of the team. From a young age, he has held a keen interest in politics, media, and technology. To further explore these areas and their intersection, he pursued a degree in politics followed by a master’s in journalism.

Emrys has been involved with youth participation projects for over 15 years and co-created the Arts Award Youth Network and the original Voice website in 2011. He holds an Executive MBA and a range of management, training and safety qualifications.

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.

Emrys designs our bespoke training programmes, leads our research & consultancy work, and supports the team for effective engagement.

Diana has spent thirty years working in arts education, community arts, Theatre in Education and youth arts. She took her experience of creating 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. In 2014 she founded Upstart Projects to promote young people’s voice in the arts. We launched Voice magazine, created by and for young people, followed by Youth Voice Training, our programme of support for arts organisations. Diana’s skills are in strategic planning, communications and negotiation and she brings wide-ranging experience of developing arts opportunities for young people.