EXECUTIVE TEAM
Emma Heys: General Manager
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...
Jocelyn West: Finance & Administration Officer
Jocelyn started working at the Kirkgate in 2009. Prior to this she had been a volunteer, first in the very early days serving interval coffee and later working in the box office. She grew up in Cockermouth and...
Katie Gentry: Operations Manager
Katie grew up in Cockermouth and, after a few years away in various roles and cities, moved back in 2003. She started volunteering at the Kirkgate Centre in 2014 in the box office, with the music programming group...
Helen Johnston: Community Projects Officer
After graduating with a degree in archaeology, Helen worked as a volunteer manager for different health, youth and disability charities. In more recent years she has been running community arts and heritage projects, focusing on projects that involve...
CHAIR OF TRUSTEES
Rob Higgins: Chair
Rob is a Cockermouth resident who has a background in nuclear engineering and legal services. He acts as the Trust’s Chair...
TRUSTEES
John Reynolds
West Cumbrian John worked as a journalist in the county for over 20 years before taking up the role of Head of Communications at Allerdale Borough Council in 2000. He left Allerdale to join Sellafield Ltd, initially as...
Christine Slater
I grew up in West Cumberland but moved away to go to college and eventually ended up in Glasgow, where I was a researcher at the University for many years. Glasgow was where I developed a taste for...
Sue Moses
A native West Cumbrian, Sue has always lived in the area, apart from time studying Business Studies and Modern Foreign Languages at Newcastle Polytechnic. Returning to Cockermouth, Sue worked as PA to the Board of Directors at Millers...
Bob Pritchard
A native of Manchester, Bob has lived in Cockermouth for 35 years. He founded Cockermouth Amateur Dramatic Society (CADS) in 1984, and its rural touring offshoot, the A595 Theatre Company in 2000. He has been associated with the...
Andy Semple
Andy is a regular performer at Cockermouth’s summer festival Cockermouth Live! and, while focusing on music, he has a life-long interest and passion for all the performing arts. Originally from across the border in Dumfries and Galloway, Cockermouth...