Emma was born in West Cumbria where her mother ensured she was exposed to as many aspects of the arts as the rural location allowed.
After completing a degree in Textile Management at Leeds University she has worked within many aspects of the textiles industry from manufacturing and retail to supply chain management. Emma has always loved to travel and has lived and worked in the Canadian Rockies and Vancouver as well as New Zealand. Emma returned to Cumbria with her family in 2011. They settled in the Cockermouth area believing that it would be a good place to bring up the family. So far they have been proved correct!
She started to volunteer at the Kirkgate within weeks of returning to the area. Emma could see that the centre was a valuable resource to the community and wanted to do all she could to support it. Since then, she has taken on a number of roles in the organisation including duty managing, ops team member, chair of the Friends of the Kirkgate , joint volunteer coordinator and trustee. During the period of enforced shut down that COVID brought she took on the role of Executive Director on a voluntary basis. She was appointed as the General Manager in September 2021 and hopes to ensure that the organisation can look forward to a bright future.