Originally from Oxford, Claire moved to Cumbria 19 years ago. She has had a varied career that started out working in an agricultural research institute in Devon where she also studied to do a PhD. After leaving Devon, she moved to Cumbria and worked as a Project Manager for Westlakes Scientific Consulting, Jacobs and also worked within the Environmental Team at Sellafield before joining the CfLP
Claire joined CfLP in 2019 and is now responsible for all of the Primary School programmes delivered by the Centre. Her main 2 roles are managing the Primary Businesses Partnership (PBP) and Bright Stars programme.

The PBP, funded by OneAIM and Sellafield is a free signposting and brokerage service for primary schools and businesses across Copeland and Allerdale. The scheme relies on business volunteers going into schools and sharing their experiences with the young students to inspire and ignite their aspirations for their furture.

Bright Stars is an eight-week programme designed to introduce Cumbrian primary school children to the leadership, entrepreneurship and the world of business.

“The best part of the job is going into the primary schools, meeting up with the volunteers, and seeing the interaction with the children,” said Claire. “A lot of my job is liaising with the volunteers and making sure everything goes smoothly. But the best thing is when you are in the classroom with the children and volunteers and the children are engaging with you, and asking you questions, and are interested in things you have done in your career.”

If you think you can help inspire the next generation to DREAM BIG then please get in contact with Claire on: Claire.johnson@cforlp.org.uk

Claire’s Leadership Top Tip

“Ensure you listen and respect everyone in your team.  A leader is best when people barely know they exist, working together as a team is the only way to get the job done.”