Nia Richards Nia joined CCE in 2021, leading our work with the North East Creativity Collaborative and becoming a pivotal part of the team in developing our publication, ‘Creative Thinking in Schools: A Leadership Playbook.’ She has collaborated with many of our international partners, including Thailand, Norway, Hungary, Australia, Pakistan, and Ireland.With 13 years’ experience working in secondary schools and further education, as a department and subject lead, she reformed courses to enhance learner engagement and outcomes. In 2015, Nia became the Regional Lead for a Welsh Government and Arts Council of Wales national creative learning programme. She supported over 150 primary, secondary, and special schools, along with their teachers, in exploring creative teaching and learning approaches to transform their practice. In 2020, she founded a social enterprise called Tybed, aimed at supporting schools to innovate and develop partnerships with their communities. This initiative coincided with her contribution to UNESCO’s Futures of Education report and the launch of an education practitioner network with Dr Penny Hay from Bath Spa University. Nia holds an M.A in Practitioner Research. Her research on dialogic feedback ignited her passion for democratic education and action research, and she is dedicated to helping teachers bridge the gap between theory and practice. She is a member of the International Professional Development Association and a Fellow of the Royal Society of Arts.