Carly is the Director of Capacity Building and Standards at Involve. She leads a variety of projects inside and outside of public institutions that aim to build capacity to embed the processes, skills, structures and cultures needed for effective public participation in decision-making.
Carly's work includes developing and delivering training and mentoring programmes, providing strategic guidance and support to decision-makers and organisations, creating and sustaining networks, and developing good practice resources and thought leadership. She is the lead on a variety of Involve's capacity building focused projects, including the Local Climate Engagement programme, Sciencewise and the public engagement element of the Local Policy Innovation Hub as part of the levelling-up agenda.
Carly has a youth and child participation background. Prior to joining Involve, Carly was the CEO of a global network of children’s and youth participation organisations. Before that, she held project management positions in youth and political organisations in the UK and mainland Europe. She was also a freelance trainer and practitioner in non-formal education for about 15 years.
Carly holds an MSc in Comparative Politics from the London School of Economics and Political Science. She has written and edited several educational publications on topics such as sexuality and gender, the inclusion of refugees and migrants, and inclusive sex education. Outside of Involve, Carly spends her time coordinating local campaigning in the east end of Newcastle to help overcome poverty and systemic inequities. . In her spare time, you can find Carly at the boxing gym or yoga studio, out at gigs, or getting involved in community activism. She is based in Newcastle Upon Tyne.
