Management Team
Jane Davis
Founder and Director
Jane has overall responsibility for the management and development of The Reader Organisation, working enthusiastically to develop new projects and holding on tight to our vision to bring about a national Reading Revolution: making the serious pleasure of literature available, in many different ways, to as many people as possible. She travels the country, showcasing and selling our work at conferences and events, delivers Read to Lead training, and still runs - with great expertise and passion - shared reading groups.
Zoe Gilling
Business Manager
Zoe manages the structures and the development of The Reader Organisation as a business. Her responsibilities include: business planning; financial and legal compliance; managing staff records, contracts and professional development.
Chris Catterall
National Development Manager
With a growing demand for Get Into Reading projects across the UK, Chris is working to develop a national framework to support trained facilitators and develop new GIR projects. This will maintain the quality and unique underlying ethos of Get Into Reading and enable us to develop partnerships with national, regional and sub-regional organisations across a variety of sectors including mental health, criminal justice and education.
Kate McDonnell
Project Manager Get Into Reading Merseyside
Kate manages Get Into Reading on Merseyside, particularly with regards to reading and health, and coordinates the delivery of the project with workers and library staff. Currently, she's reader-in-residence at Vauxhall Health Centre, and runs several groups and one to one sessions, mainly for people with mental and physical health problems.
Jen Tomkins
Communications Manager
Jen works to promote The Reader Organisation - the outreach project work, the magazine, training - and to raise its profile in the media and the community. She manages all internal and external communications, coordinates events and works with the press, arts organisations and other businesses to spread the word of our Reading Revolution.
Josie Billington
Research Manager
Josie co-ordinates research into the benefits of shared reading in relation to mental health (dementia, severe personality disorder, neurological rehabilitation as well as general well-being). In addition, she teaches on the MA in Reading and Practice, runs the volunteer Reading in Practice programme for undergraduate English students, and teach on ‘Remedies for Life’, a literature module for doctors.
Casi Dylan
Training Manager
Casi manages the provision and development of The Reader Organisations's Read to Lead training package, and through this promotes the Get Into Reading model all over the country. She runs a reading group at START in Salford, and co-ordinates the annual Penny Readings event.
Katie Clark
Dementia and Elderly Care Manager
Katie helps to deliver the Get Into Reading project across Mersey Care NHS Trust, delivering groups at Crown Street day centre, Ashworth Secure Hospital, Mossley Hill Hospital, Olive Mount, Kevin White Detox Unit. She is also the project manager for the Redholmes care home project, working with people with dementia and helping to develop projects across the UK.
Get Into Reading
Merseyside
Julie Barkway
Principal Librarian - Service Development and
Community Services
Julie Barkway is responsible for policy and development within Wirral Libraries with particular reference to partnerships and community services. Her role within get Into Reading is to co-ordinate and develop other groups within Wirral Libraries.
Amanda Boston
Project Worker
Amanda is currently working, with Anna Parry, in Seacombe, Wallasey on a project developing reading groups, for both children and adults, in seven Primary schools, the library and Children's Centre.
Niamh Donohoe
Film-maker and Project Worker
Niamh will be making training and promotional films for us and running Find Your Talent reading groups as part of Liverpool Reads... The Savage, in Primary and Secondary schools across Merseyside.
Patrick Fisher
Youth Project Worker
Patrick is Reader-in-Residence in four Liverpool high schools as part of the Extended Schools Project. Spending one day a week in each he delivers reading groups and one-to-one sessions with children from years 7 through to 11.
Wendy Kay
Project Worker
Wendy delivers Get Into Reading groups at Walton Hospital, Walton Prison, May Logan Centre and for Liverpool Carers. She manages the Together Women project and the Pathways Youth Leader Programme.
Alexis McNay
Project Worker
Alexis is the facilitator of Get Into Reading groups at St. James' Library, Birkenhead and Phoenix House rehab centre in Bidston.
Anna Parry
Project Worker
Anna Parry is working on the Seacombe Project with Amanda Boston. She is working specifically with children and parents, based in 5 primary schools, Seacombe library and Seacombe Childrens Centre.
Sophie Povey
Youth Project Worker
Sophie is the Reader in Residence at Weatherhead High School, facilitating Get Into Reading groups with pupils during lesson time and after school. She also delivers one-to-one reading sessions with Looked After Children living in Wirral and is involved in setting up and delivering holiday reading projects aimed at young people, such as this years 'Art in the Park'.
Samantha Shipman
Youth Project Worker
Sam is the Get Into Reading Youth Project worker. She runs reading groups with excluded from school teenagers, is Reader-in-Residence at Weatherhead School and with Wirral Children’s Service, delivering one-to-one sessions with looked-after children.
Eleanor Stanton
Community Project Worker
Eleanor works as a reader-in-residence at Toxteth library, running several Get Into Reading groups there. She also runs Get Into Reading groups out and about in Toxteth in a variety of settings such as care homes and asylum seeker projects. She is trying to link up with community members who would not usually use the library and might not normally engage with books. Over the next three years, she hopes to have set up a wide network of groups across Toxteth and help to recruit volunteers who will keep these groups running in the long-term.
Mary Weston
Project Worker, Mersey Care
Mary, alongside Katie, works to deliver the Mersey Care NHS Trust Get Into Reading project, working with older people, drug rehab patients, and learning disabilities as well as people with a range of mental health problems.
Clare Williams
Project Worker and Fundraiser
Clare runs a wide range of GIR groups across Merseyside and is currently involved in our MerseyBEAT research project - a project which is investigating the relationship between reading and mental health.
London
Penny Markell
Project Manager, Get Into Reading London
Penny is project managing our work in London where she and her volunteers are running and supporting reading groups in libraries, homeless shelters, mental health communities and hospitals. Their focus is on organisations that are regularly used by and accessible to socially isolated adults or those with mental health issues.
Paul Higgins
Project Worker, Get Into Reading London
Paul delivers Get Into Reading groups at Maida Vale and Hornsey libraries, Cara Lunch Club for Older Irish People and Homeless Action in Barnet. He also works at developing new projects across North London and beyond.
Salford
Amanda Brown
Project Worker, Get Into Reading Salford
Amanda works with Sarah Coyne from Salford Libraries to develop the Get Into Reading project in Salford, in care homes for the elderly, Mental Health Day Centres and open groups in libraries. She is also developing groups with Together Women, Styal Prison and the probationary service.
Wigan
Val Hannan
Project Manager, Get Into Reading Wigan
Val is project managing our work in Wigan as part of the Wigan Worklessness Strategy. Val co-ordinates the delivery of the project alongside Kate and Damian. They are focussing on getting those who are unemployed and on long-term sickness benefits to be able to access reading groups in libraries, schools, community centres, health centres, unemployment and training venues.
Kate Holcombe
Project Worker
Kate will be working with Val to set up and run Get into Reading groups in Wigan with the aim to help people get back into work.
Damian Taylor
Project Worker
Damian works with Val and Kate in Wigan, setting up and running Get Into Reading groups as part of the Wigan Worklessness Project.
Research
Grace Farrington
Project Researcher
Grace is working on a doctoral research project looking at shared reading as a therapeutic intervention. She will be facilitating and observing groups within Mersey Care NHS Trust.
Click here to see other members of our research team