Nancy has been Director of the Creative Partnerships programme since its launch in 2002; she previously worked as Arts and Cultural Services Manager for Trafford MBC, leading on the development of the council's Commonwealth Games Cultural programmes, Millennium Events and opening of the Imperial War Museum North and the Sale Waterside Arts Centre.

Nancy experienced the impact of learning through the arts and creativity when she worked for seven years as a community arts worker in inner-city Ordsall, and as a lecturer in Performing Arts , English & Media at Salford University.

She believes that creative learning can unlock young people's talents, skills and imaginations and that Greater Manchester is one of the most creative places in the world.

Caroline is currently the Research Associate for the Centre for Urban Education. She has most recently worked on the EPPI centre systematic review on research literature projects. These reviews have focused upon the performance, professional learning and retention of NQTs. Caroline previously worked at the Centre for Enterprise Education, MMU for three years. Here, she focused the research activity of the NW Enterprise project on the requirements of the continued professional development (CPD) of teachers to facilitate enterprise and creativity. Her research has been used to contribute towards journal articles, articles in Times Educational Supplement, a book, Enterprise Education in Action and the forthcoming publication, Enterprise Education in the Curriculum.

Additionally, Caroline has evaluated numerous publicly funded educational projects on behalf of organisations such as NWDA, Stoke LEA, Bury LEA and the Greater Manchester Learning and Skills Council.

Marilyn is Leader of the Centre for Urban Education. She was previously the Deputy Chief Education Officer at Manchester City Council and, as the lead officer for school effectiveness, worked on strategies to support school improvement across the city. Prior to this, Marilyn was a teacher, deputy headteacher and headteacher in primary scools in Lancashire. She was involved in leadership training for the local authority and the development of community learning opportunities.

Marilyn believes that the children in Greater Manchester deserve the best education and is working with colleagues and children to make that happen.

David has been working for Creative Partnerships since 2005. Initially the CPD Co-ordinator, he became Programme Manager in April 2007, overseeing the Change and Enquiry Schools Programmes. This involves recruiting and training teachers, creative agents and partners; developing CPD and network opportunities; and monitoring the planning, delivery and evaluation of each programme. His knowledge and experience of working creatively across the curriculum to engage young people in learning has been developed from previous work teaching in secondary schools and delivering projects and INSET as a freelance artist educator. David has two primary age children and is a school governor.

Samantha is the Centre Administrator for CUE and Personal Assistant to Marilyn Eccles. Previously she worked for the University of Manchester for eleven years in roles such as market research, international events and finance. During this time Samantha studied part-time for her degree in Business Studies with MMU and Professional Diploma in Marketing.

Claire has been Operations Manager for Creative Partnerships Greater Manchester since 2004. Previous to her role at CPGM, she undertook a degree in Arts Management at De Montfort University in Leicester.

Her main interests lie in events management, communications and operational and organisational development.

Sylvia Philips is an educational consultant working in the Centre for Urban Education. Her previous roles have been as the head of Continuing Professional Development in the Institute of Education at MMU and teaching posts in Manchester secondary schools. She is particularly interested in supporting the CPD for people who work in educational settings, with an emphasis on practitioner research. She has undertaken research and published in the area of special educational needs and inclusive education.

John is the Director for Research Development in the Centre. His research interests focus on education for sustainable futures and education for social and environmental justice. He is particularly interested in an assets approach to educational provision. He is the author of several journal papers and chapters. He has recently published (2006) Environmental Justice and Global Citizenship, Amsterdam, Rodopi (co-edited with T Shallcross), (2006) Creating Sustainable Environments in Our Schools, Stoke-on-Trent, Trentham (co-edited with T Shallcross, P Pace and A Wals) and (2006) Educational Studies: critical issues and perspectives, London, Open University Press (co-edited with D Kassem and E Mufti)