Our Team

Meet the people powering the programme, including residents, local service providers, professionals and community leaders in North Birkenhead.

Family Connectors

Diane Mulligan
Family Connector
Karen Costain
Family Connector

If you or your family are facing a challenge that you need support with, the Family Connectors are here for you!

The Family Connectors can discuss your options with you and help you to set goals to improve your situation. They can connect you with or refer you to activities, groups and services that you may find helpful.

Visit the How We Can Help page to find out more.

Multi-Disciplinary Team

Angela Healey
Social Worker - Team Manager

The Cradle to Career multi-disciplinary team is based at the St James Centre and includes family support workers, school readiness workers, play and youth officers, and a health visitor as well as other, more specialised family support roles.

Everyone in the team is there to help families, children and young people to thrive.

Visit the How We Can Help page to find out more.

Working Groups

Justine Molyneux
Chair, Cradle to Career Steering Group

Our working groups help to decide the future of Cradle to Career. The groups are a mixture of local residents and professionals. They use research and evidence to help make decisions, but they also listen to the people the decisions will affect, including children and young people.

We welcome residents to get involved in decision-making. If you want to be involved or come along to any of our working group meetings, please get in touch with us here.

I love my job as I get to work with amazing students and staff every day! I’m excited to be part of Cradle to Career – it’s a real opportunity for us all to learn from each other.

Helen Johnson
Headteacher of Birkenhead Park School and Chair of the Education Working Group

Cradle to Career is important because it’s about local people recognising the changes that are needed, and working together with organisations to make them happen.

Eve Barrett
Trust Manager for North Birkenhead Development Trust 

Programme Team

Rekha Patel-Harrison
Programme Director, Cradle to Career
Alex Osborn
Interim Programme Manager for Education & Services, Cradle to Career
Steff O’Keeffe
Interim Programme Director & Programme Manager for Community & Families, Cradle to Career
Shannon Kaiser
Senior Programme Officer, Cradle to Career
Jenny Smith
Senior Programme Officer, Cradle to Career

The Cradle to Career programme team acts as the “backbone” of project.

The team works hard to build relationships with local  professionals and organisations, as well as provide programme management support to the education, community and services strands of the programme.