Julie Search-Whittaker obtained a BEd (Hons) degree at Goldsmiths’ College, University of London, and then an MA in Educational and Professional Development at the University of East Anglia in the UK.
As well as teaching and lecturing at all levels, she has extensive management experience in senior positions in a variety of educational settings – including overseeing vocational and degree courses. In her various management and leadership roles, she has led on change management and introduced innovative changes. She has been actively involved with quality enhancement and partnership work in a range of contexts, including a variety of UK Colleges.
Throughout her career she has led on a range of community projects and wider strategic agendas. Her previous positions from Head of Department to Head of Faculty have involved her leading on government projects, chairing anti-racism initiatives and acting as a Trustee of a Community Learning Group where she engaged in event planning.
Julie has considerable teaching experience and has been working with children recently in a variety of schools with a range of year groups. She has successfully project managed storytelling projects in three London schools and continues to teach and engage with this work in schools and with employers.
Julie is currently Convener and Coordinator for the Institute for Responsible Leadership (IRL) which is endorsed by UNITAR (United Nations Institute for Training and Research). She also interviews individuals to capture their stories and has recently interviewed Colin Thackery, the Chelsea pensioner, who has just won Britain’s Got Talent at the age of 89!
Liz French is a freelance project manager, designer, editor and copywriter whose career began with eight years in a major academic book publishing house. She has many years’ subsequent experience co-ordinating communications projects and partnerships and producing learning/training and promotional materials in a range of educational and commercial settings, including four years within an independent school and 15 years in a college of further education marketing role.
Liz has worked closely with teachers and children in nursery, primary and senior school settings, taught on further education media courses and delivered workshops in copywriting and newsletter editing for non-profit organisations.
Liz brings her considerable writing, design and editing experience to the Storytelling Plus project as the publisher of the end-of-project legacy books. She is also involved in project management, photography and delivery of the Storytelling Plus projects.
During the Covid-19 pandemic, Liz has particularly enjoyed working closely with individual families to produce written and illustrated records of elders’ life stories for families to treasure.
storytellingplus.org 