From 3am pager alerts to her passion for storytelling and her (now) not so secret love of steam trains, meet Katie…
What did you do before joining Alive?
Before joining Alive, I spent a big stint at Hampshire and Isle of Wight Fire and Rescue Service, leading on community safety, children and young people, safeguarding, and volunteer communications. Alongside this, I was part of the out-of-hours on-call duty press team, responsible for warning and informing the public.
I embraced the 3am pager alerts, liaising with incident commanders, attending scenes ranging from major warehouse fires that required large-scale evacuations to fatal incidents. It was a privilege to speak with people who had been affected by fire and to work with them to share their stories, with the core aim of ensuring that what happened to them didn’t happen to anyone else.
Before working in the fire service, I was part of the young people’s charity Fixers, helping young people to “fix the future.” It was hugely rewarding work, and I had the privilege of championing outstanding young people from across the UK, making sure their voices were heard in Parliament, at Number 10, and on ITV and beyond.
What attracted you to Alive?
I feel like I’d been a quiet friend of Alive for years, watching from the sidelines. I first came across Alive With Ideas when I joined the fire service, during a team away day led by Alan, held in a New Forest treehouse of all places, complete with stuffed badgers and other woodland creatures for company… very distracting!
As my fire service career progressed, our paths continued to cross at staff training events and through Alive’s work supporting FirePro, the community for fire sector communications, which I was proud to be involved in. Over the years, I’ve collected Alive handouts and freebies like treasure, and my Alive yellow duck has sat on my desk for years.
When the opportunity finally came to jump aboard the good ship Alive, it felt like the natural next step and I haven’t looked back since.
Where are we most likely to find you outside of work?
Most of the time, you’ll find me running around after two small people, making sure they’re fed, watered, loved, and endlessly entertained. In the early mornings before they wake up I’m usually in the swimming pool doing lengths. It’s my time to think, gain perspective, and a couple of times a week, conveniently gets me out of making breakfast for everyone.
Finally, something we’d never guess about you?
I love trains! There, I’ve said it and I’m proud. My dad is a full-blown rail enthusiast and volunteer train driver, and while my own passion hasn’t quite reached those heights (yet), I still find something truly magical about steam trains.
I grew up with a 7 ¼ gauge railway in the garden and was taken to just about every train related event going. At university, I realised I’d truly caught the train bug when I won the BBC Look North TV Journalist Award for a short documentary on model trains. I suppose it was inevitable that it rubbed off on me.
Now, I love nothing more than seeing my own kids begin to share that same fascination with trains, especially watching my son drive a train on his grandad’s railway.
