Heading up the Social Media Team at Leeds City Council, Nick has over 10 years of experience in delivering a seamless citizen experience in the Public Sector. Working closely alongside the Council’s web, comms and contact centre teams to bridge the gap between the Council and its citizens.

Kirsty started her career in the finance sector but soon realised it wasn’t for her. She moved into the charity sector in 2007 and has never looked back. She’s worked in a number of in-house communication roles before going freelance in 2015. In 2018 she took on an interim Social Media Manager role at the British Red Cross and worked on two emergency appeals. Kirsty was the interim Social Media Manager at Great Ormond Street Hospital Children’s Charity (GOSH) in 2021/22 where she worked on a number of high profile campaigns. As well as specialising in social media, Kirsty is a copywriter and writes regularly for Third Sector and Charity Digital. After a high-profile charity Twitter crisis, Kirsty realised there was very little resource and support, in terms of wellbeing, for those working in social media. So in 2019 she authored the Wellbeing Guide for Comms Professionals for CharityComms, which is still their most-read resource. She has also featured on a number of podcasts, including CharityComms, Do more good, Third Sector, Tech for Good Live and more.

Andy is a former broadcast journalist with almost two decades of experience working in local radio but with spells at the BBC and Sky News. Having finished his journalism career as Group Head of News with responsibility for 22 newsrooms and more than 60 journalists, he switched to PR and communications in 2008 when he joined Leeds City Council as Chief Press Officer and latterly Head of Communications. Andy has also worked as Director of Communications at Northumbria University at Newcastle. Andy is currently working in a Senior Communications role for an offshoot of the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero on a major housing decarbonisation scheme.