Leah has a background in skills and enterprise development and believes strongly in the power of people making local changes to improve the lives of their family, friends and neighbours.

Leading the Foundation is a once in a lifetime opportunity to harness a wide range of resources to make a huge difference, working closely with individuals, groups and communities. She loves the variety of working across rural, urban, country and coastal locations and meeting the amazing people who are making good things happen.

When not at work Leah can be found gardening, cooking with her children, or training her dogs.

Gemma is passionate about addressing the complex issues that face disadvantaged communities, enabling positive change for people to thrive.

Born and raised in Whitby, Gemma knows that the Woodsmith Foundation has a unique opportunity to work with local communities to bring about change that improves peoples' lives and is delighted to be able to bring back skills, knowledge and experience to help make that happen.

Outside of work, Gemma is studying for a MSc in Systems Thinking, alongside spending time in the sea, with her dogs, on a bike and with family.

Helen’s passion is people. She is an engagement specialist, driven by active listening and her person-centered ethos.

Helen has many tools to hand to support and facilitate ideas and is excited by the opportunity to work across her hometown of Redcar.

Helen loves a good forest walk with her young family and dog Marley to relax and unwind.

Rebecca brings a wealth of administration experience and the passion for supporting our local communities. She has lived in and around the Redcar and Cleveland area for over 10 years.

Her role is to guide organisations through the Woodsmith Foundation’s grant making process, from enquiry to application, right through to monitoring.

Outside of work Rebecca enjoys travelling the country with her young family at motorsport events.