Gemma has been at The Platform Project for 3 years. During that time, she has been a Youth Worker, Engage Programme Lead and is currently the Engage Programme Manager. Prior to this, she was a Primary School teacher for 18 years.

Gemma is passionate about creating an environment where young people feel relaxed and supported enough to thrive and take the lead in their own learning and business development. She aims to make every young person feel valued for their unique abilities and to show them how successful they can be when the environment is right for them.

Gemma loves her job and feels privileged to work alongside such a fantastic team and with such fabulous young people every day.

 Carlie plans and delivers the Engage programme alongside the brilliant Engage team. She writes and reviews Individual Education Plans (IEPs), making sure support is tailored to each young person. She is always looking for creative ways to help young people develop their enterprise and life skills. As a qualified Thrive Practitioner, she brings a relational, therapeutic approach to her work.

Carlie joined The Platform Project in April 2025 and has worked in education since graduating in 2013 with a BA in Primary Education (5–11), across both mainstream and SEND settings, spanning the UK and Northern Ireland, bringing a plethora of insight and experience to The Platform Project.

In the wild, Carlie can usually be found tending to her numerous plants and ‘pottering’ around (often with a cup of tea nearby).

Would you like to join us?

We are always looking for new team members, so if you are keen to use your professional skills to help drive forward an ambitions non-profit to revolutionise the way young people are developed, please email us on info@platformproject.co.uk

Tony "Kim" Niester has worked extensively with vulnerable children, young people, and adults in educational, community, and street outreach settings. His roles have included learning and therapeutic mentoring, progressing to leadership positions, and ongoing street outreach work supporting people experiencing homelessness and complex needs, including substance use and mental health challenges.

He is qualified in NLP and Coaching and is currently studying Child and Adolescent Psychotherapy at Terapia (4th Year).

Dan has been a mentor to young people across a variety of settings that have included further education, employment/ volunteering, residential and community/ outreach. The majority of his experience has been working with young people on the autistic spectrum.

Sonya works as a therapeutic mentor on the connect team and also a senior youth worker on the engage team. They have been at the project for just over two years starting off solely on the connect program and she has also worked on the boost program and she enjoyed every program she has worked on.

Sonya brings a very open approach and even though she has spent almost 20 years working in sen and has also worked in dementia, she will say that mentoring is one of her most favourite jobs so far.

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Katie Young is our therapeutic mentor. She supports her young people to help develop emotional, social, and behavioural skills. She provides one-to-one support in everyday settings such as the home or the community, using therapeutic techniques to build coping strategies, Improve communication, increase confidence, and support positive decision-making.

Katie joined the platform project in September 2025, after being a carer for quite few years. Katie has a keen interest in boxing, she is a level 1 England boxing coach, she also loves horses and worked riding racehorses for over 10 years.



Katie’s role is to lead Discover, our personalised and bespoke tutoring programme. This involves managing the tutoring team, delivery of sessions and working on the growth and development of the programme. She is also responsible for maintaining academic standards across both the Discover and Engage programmes, and ensuring these standards are implemented through the delivery of the Kings’ Trust Qualification which is offered across all programmes.

Katie initially trained as teacher in Further Education and has a degree in History and Politics, as well a PGCE. She has nearly twenty years of teaching experience and has worked in both mainstream and alternative provisions. In her spare time, Katie enjoys being out in nature, travelling and spending time with her family. 

Cherie is a Tutor and Senior Youth Trainer at The Platform Project. She has worked with children and young people since leaving school and has dedicated her entire adult life to supporting their development, well-being and confidence. Over the years, she has worked across a variety of education and support settings, particularly with young people who have additional needs or who have found mainstream schooling challenging. As the parent of a son with additional needs, she has first-hand experience of how important patience, empathy and the right support are in helping a young person thrive.

Alongside her professional work, Cherie is currently studying for a degree in Forensic Psychology, which further enhances her understanding of behaviour and the challenges some young people face. She is passionate about creating a calm and supportive environment where young people feel safe, respected and able to build their confidence. For Cherie, the most rewarding aspect of her role is seeing a young person begin to believe in themselves and recognise their own strengths.

Would you like to join us?

We are always looking for new team members, so if you are keen to use your professional skills to help drive forward an ambitions non-profit to revolutionise the way young people are developed, please email us on info@platformproject.co.uk

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Giselle Grace is the Operations Manager and Employability Lead. She keeps everything running smoothly from HR to compliance. Giselle joined the Platform Project in November 2024 after a 23-year career in Primary Education. As a qualified SENDCo, Giselle is passionate about inclusion and offers her knowledge and skills across all programmes while also leading our Boost Employability programme. 

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Would you like to join us?

We are always looking for new team members, so if you are keen to use your professional skills to help drive forward an ambitions non-profit to revolutionise the way young people are developed, please email us on info@platformproject.co.uk

Giselle Grace is the Operations Manager and Employability Lead. She keeps everything running smoothly from HR to compliance. Giselle joined the Platform Project in November 2024 after a 23-year career in Primary Education. As a qualified SENDCo, Giselle is passionate about inclusion and offers her knowledge and skills across all programmes while also leading our Boost Employability programme. 

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Sadie went to Law School and then spent 15 years as a self-employed management consultant. She started The Platform Project in 2017 after she spent some time helping local youth Charities to develop and she spotted a gap in the market for young people who need something practical to help them find their feet in the world. As CEO she now spends her time working with the amazing team at The Platform Project to grow the organisation and help more young people. 

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Vicky has over 20 years experience of operational business leadership, primarily within the Recruitment and Technology sectors. Vicky originally joined the Platform Project to help support and grow the Employer proposition, and now as Chair of the Board, Vicky leads on Operational strategy and supports the CEO & leadership team as required.

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Sara runs Evil Empire Marketing, a local agency known for bold, strategic work that helps organisations grow. She has supported The Platform Project for six years, providing marketing and PR expertise as well as direct support for young people through careers talks and one to one sessions.

Her favourite event each year is the Big Business Day. Local schools take part in a Dragons Den style challenge where students brainstorm their own business ideas, pitch them and then judge the winners. It’s a brilliant way for young people to build confidence, creativity and real world skills.

Alongside her marketing career, Sara has a strong commitment to closing the gap between education and employment. She regularly contributes to initiatives that help young people build practical, employer ready skills and has also worked with New College Swindon, Wiltshire College and Taunton College to support their students.

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Would you like to join us?

We are always looking for voluntary Non-Executive Directors, so if you are keen to use your professional skills to help drive forward an ambitions non-profit to revolutionise the way young people are developed, please email us on info@platformproject.co.uk