Emma has gained many skills, including:
School Governance
Emma was a parent governor at a 3 form entry primary school for four years, during which time a new headteacher was appointed, there was an OFSTED inspection, and she sat on a complaints panel.
Meeting experience
Through her work at Writing West Midlands, Emma attends Board meetings and regularly produces written and verbal reports for Board members. She also runs a sub-committee to examine the work done for young people – often with young people in attendance. She has co-ordinated three-day meetings for groups of international partners, providing a programme of social events as well as the meeting itself. Emma has also conducted round-table discussions to gather stakeholders’ opinions.
Leadership
Emma was in the second cohort of Art Connect’s Leadership programme, designed to help arts professionals gain skills to help them advocate more successfully in formal settings, and feel confident when doing so. It also provided an academic focus on various management styles and change management as well as CAT points towards further academic study. She is also currently undertaking a CIPD Level 5 Associate Diploma in People Management to deepen her knowledge and understanding in this area of interest.
People
From her work at Cheltenham Arts Festivals through her work at the Society of Authors and now, running the Spark Young Writers programme, Emma has always been interested in developing relationships with people. She successfully code-switches to ensure the messages she needs to communicate are accessible to the relevant audience. These audiences have varied from corporate sponsors, to wealthy individuals, to successful and high profile writers, and most recently to parents of young writers and to the teenage writer direct.
Emma Boniwell 