About Fair Access

Hello to you all. My name is Jesse and I am the the Head of Fair Access and BA Arts with Community at RCS. I lead our Fair Access Outreach and Access Provision, helping the team to design and run our exciting provision. I also lead our brand-new BA Arts with Community programme which launched in 2025. My research focus is on play in higher education and working with care experienced and estranged people in the arts.

I am one of our named contacts for our students who have care experience or estrangement. You can find out about some of our work supporting care experienced and estranged people on our portal page.

I have worked as an interdisciplinary teaching artist and storymaker for over 30 years in a wide range of formal and non-formal settings. I started working for the Fair Access department at RCS in 2017, but Fair Access has always been the core of my work.

I never dreamed I would get to do such an exciting and variable job. I feel lucky because I get to work with an inspiring team of people who work hard and fully believe in the work they do. I learn so much from working with students, meeting people and collaborating with community partners.

Outside of work, I like going to gigs and shows, running in the hills, cooking and eating delicious food, giggling, meeting new people, and making clothes.

Hello, I’m Abbie and I’ve been the Fair Access Manager since September 2024. I work across all the strands of the programme, supporting colleagues, developing new process and projects, and always looking for new ways to keep things running smoothly.

Although quite new to the role I’ve worked with the Fair Access team on projects and as a coach for many years and used to work in the Short Courses team who sit just across the office.

Since graduating from RCS in 2001 I’ve most enjoyed working in roles where art intersects with community integration, social justice, well-being and awareness raising including the Scottish Refugee Council (as Arts Development Officer and Refugee Week Producer), A Moment’s Peace Theatre Company (as Company Producer) and 7:84 Theatre Company (as Project Coordinator).

As a freelance facilitator, project coordinator and venue manager I’ve worked in Namibia, South Africa, Australia and New Zealand, loving the opportunity to combining work with travel. More recently I trained and joined the growing community of Intimacy Coordinators and have supported film and TV productions across the UK.

My favourite parts of this role, to name a few, are working with the coaching team to develop and deliver 1:1 sessions for students, training our brilliant workshop assistant team, and the research I’ve been involved in around supporting care experienced and estranged students.

In my spare time I love spending time with my family, being by the sea, reading, yoga, trying new crafts and cooking spicy curries for my friends.

Hello, I’m Ed. I am a graduate of the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland, where I studied Acting and later completed a Master of Education in Learning and Teaching in the Arts.

I have worked across the UK and internationally as an actor and have taught at various drama schools and institutions. My previous roles include Course Leader for one of the Foundation Acting programmes at Rose Bruford College, and Senior Lecturer in Performing Arts at Taylor’s University in Malaysia.

I am deeply passionate about Fair Access and the transformational impact the arts can have on people’s lives.

I am also a long-time practitioner of Nadine George Voice Work, having studied and practised it for over twenty years.

My research and published work include contributions to the Stanislavski Studies Journal (Taylor & Francis), Anthropocosmic Theatre: Rite in the Dynamic of Theatre (University of Huddersfield Press), and Stanislavski & Mindfulness (Routledge). I have also served as a peer reviewer for Taylor & Francis, focusing on the intersection between Stanislavski’s teachings and the philosophies of acting found throughout Shakespeare’s works.

Outside of work I love to get out in nature, and I have strong passion for architecture. Meditation is my go-to practise for navigating life’s challenges. I am also a qualified hypnotherapist and love to use this practise to help others.

Hello, I’m Carole and I work as Coordinator. I have been a part of Fair Access team since it started at RCS and I have been able to watch what we offer grow and develop learning from all of our students along the way.

I studied at the RCS as a mature student where I was able to turn a lifelong passion for theatre and performance into a career. I consider myself to be a lifelong learner taking every opportunity to develop new skills.

I am a theatre maker and facilitator and have worked extensively in the fields of health and wellbeing and social justice. I am also the National Drama Advisor for Scottish Community Drama and regularly travel across Scotland delivering skills workshops and support to drama clubs from Orkney to The Borders. I have also been fortunate enough to speak at an International Symposium in Canada about the importance of grassroots arts within communities.

I never take for granted how lucky I am to have two jobs that I care so much about.

Fair Access has always been at the core of everything I do, and I consider myself very lucky to be part of a passionate and nurturing team who always strive to support individuals on their creative paths.

My work does take up a lot of my life, but outside of work I enjoy travelling and meeting new people along the way. I am an avid reader and enjoy simple things like spending time with my family and good friends talking nonsense and laughing a lot!

Hello, I’m Morag and work as one of the Fair Access Administrators. I joined the team in January 2021 and feel proud to work for a team that believes so strongly in the work we do and the opportunities and support we provide.

I am passionate and committed about ensuring all our students feel welcomed, supported and very much part of the Fair Access family while studying with us and beyond.

I am one of the Fair Access coaches which is one of the most rewarding parts of my job and I am looking forward to undertaking some more coaching training this year to expand my skills and knowledge with this.

One of my favourite parts of my job is planning and attending Performance Trips with our students. I love being able to chat with students about what we liked, didn’t like and loved about the performances.

Outside of work I’m involved in a local amateur dramatics group, I enjoy performing in musicals and more recently turned my hand to directing, which was a big challenge, but I loved it! I love living by the sea and enjoy walking by the sea and sometimes a swim!

Hello, I’m Louise and my job is all about Outreach and Engagement. That means I’m out and about all over Scotland letting people know about Fair Access opportunities. I work with young people facing various barriers to participation in the arts, and anyone who supports or champions them. I’m all about collaboration, partnerships and building communities. I believe that everyone is creative and has the right to a creative life.

I studied Applied Drama and Theatre at Royal Central School of Speech and Drama, got a degree in English and am a qualified secondary school teacher. I’ve worked in further and higher education and taught on the Postgraduate in Learning and Teaching in the Arts at RCS before joining the Fair Access team – which I love.

I worked as a freelance theatre maker and facilitator for lots of companies and lived for a year on a double decker bus with a clown company in the Highlands. It was quite cold but never dull and I learned to juggle! At the Citizens Theatre I was part of the Learning team, designing and delivering national and international projects for people aged four to 84. Working as a teaching artist in Chicago was a real highlight.

Fair Access has always been the core of my work and what motivates me. I think the arts and creative industries need stories and voices from everyone in Scotland, so they are rich, resonant and relevant to now.

When I’m not at work, you can find me watching films, swimming, reading, chatting loudly to anyone who’ll listen and having a laugh with my friends and family.

Hey! I’m Becca one of the Fair Access Coordinators working in outreach. I’ve been working for Fair Access since 2017 and worked in multiple different roles, so I’ve had the opportunity to see the department from many different angles.

My work is centered on engaging with marginalised communities, especially young people facing complex barriers to participation. With in my role at Fair Access I’m able to create opportunities to support these communities with access to the performing and production arts, connect with young artists across Scotland, develop interesting programmes and get involved in loads of cool projects!

I have a background in traditional music and play the clàrsach therefore when I’m not working in Fair Access I’m often facilitating, teaching or performing. I really enjoy being able to have two strands to my working life and especially enjoy being able to work in my local community in a creative way.

I live in the Highlands which is perfect for popping all over Scotland to visit our National projects but also not too far from Glasgow as I love a trip south to visit the team.

When not working I’m usually making plans to get out and about in the hills or having miniature adventures with my family.

Joanna joined the Fair Access team in 2022 as Coordinator, supporting students from all backgrounds who are interested in applying to conservatoire-level training. She is particularly passionate about access to education and the power of the creative and production arts to transform lives.

Her strengths lie in impact evaluation and strategic planning. Joanna particularly enjoys using feedback and reflection to refine projects and build initiatives that are sustainable, meaningful, and student-led.

One of her favourite parts of the role is working within such a vibrant, diverse community – and getting to support students across artforms. Alongside this role, Joanna works at the Royal Academy of Music in a similar capacity, helping young musicians take the next step toward higher education.

Outside of work, she loves going to gigs, reading, running, and keeping up with what’s happening in the arts. She is always happy to talk about pathways into training, building confidence, or what life is really like inside a conservatoire!

Hello, my name is Livi, and I work as one of the Fair Access Administrators. I joined the team in 2022 and feel incredibly lucky to work as part of a team who are so committed to providing support and opportunities to those we work with.

I primarily provide administrative support to our Outreach programme, supporting coordinators Becca and Louise in providing activities and opportunities throughout Scotland.

Being a part of the Fair Access Team, with our brilliant and varied skills, has allowed for me to learn, expand my skills set, develop my own professional practice and become a part of the Fair Access family. In this role, I get the chance to immerse myself in budgets, data and stats (a surprising source of enjoyment for me), and to shout out about all things Fair Access, support students, facilitate workshops, and contribute to case studies that show case the excellent people we work with and support.

I am particularly passionate about providing and shouting out about mental health support and believe that everyone deserves access to the help and support they need. Something which beautifully ties in with the ethos of Fair Access; providing access to studying the Artforms the incredibly talented and eligible young people we work with, want to pursue.

Outside of work, I work with the eating disorder charity Beat on their digital helpline, and as part of the co-production panel helping to amend and improve the governments National Eating Disorder Specification. In my spare time, I am also a freelance illustrator, and (very) amateur potter! There are few things I enjoy more than painting/illustrating with a film (or crime drama!) on in the background.

Music has always been central to my life, and most of the jobs I’ve done have had the arts woven through them. My first role during and after college was with a Jazz Festival, where I looked after everything from admin to press and marketing. Since then I’ve worked as a Marketing Officer in London for a major charity and at a Theatre and Arts complex in Surrey, and in corporate PA roles where event management was a big part of my day. I also spent many years as Strings Administrator at RCS, often stepping up as a coordinator to help bring projects together.

I’ve picked up a mix of qualifications along the way — an HND in Communication Studies, an Advanced Diploma in Arts Management, and a NEBOSH certificate in Health and Safety — but I like to remind people that not every career path is straightforward or planned. Mine certainly hasn’t been!

Here at Fair Access, I love organising the events you come to, whether that’s an Open Day or a weekly workshop, and making sure you feel welcome. Outside of work, you’ll usually find me at a gig, in a dance fit class, or outdoors as much as possible.

My career in music has been varied and fun, loving every minute of it helping me not only learn my own work but achieving an understanding of the creative industries as a whole.

I began my working life spending a short time as in intern at Sony/ATV Publishing whilst studying music to then working as the project lead for a market research project for Creation Records / Ignition Management (Oasis). From there I worked from the assistants role to becoming an International Label Manager for labels such as Rawkus (Mos Def, High & Mighty, DJ Spinna, Eminem, Pharoahe Monch), Ultimate Dilemma (Jadell, Bobby Hughes Experience), Luaka Bop (Susana Baca, Los Amigos Invisibles) OM (People Under the Stairs) to Asphodel (Mix Master Mike). From there I worked for Active for their roster (Martin Bennett, Zuba) and at events including Showcase Scotland, Celtic Connections and Merchant City Hogmanay to owning my record shop in Ayrshire. During this time I also spent a year at college training in digital media, graphic design and web development.

After having my first child I returned to work part time at Ayr College as the music business lecturer where I held that post for 10 years, developing and delivering courses and modules for the music performance, music business and sound production courses.

I then became an associate lecturer at the University of West of Scotland for a few years after completing my BA in Commercial Music, Advanced Diploma in Teacher Training and Masters in Innovation and Entrepreneurship. The latter also led to me starting my own music publishing company here in Scotland called Native Publishing (The Van T’s, Crash Club, Vukovi) and in Artist Management (Model Aeroplanes) which led to a partnership with other fierce women in music in creating an innovative Music Marketing and Label Services company called the Lost Art Agency (Rachel Sermanni, Joesef).

One of my most favourite jobs though was working in A&R for V2 Music (Justice), Island Records (Ben Howard, Model Aeroplanes) to then SpinnUp (Universal Music) where I regularly featured on Radio 1 (The Nations/A&R Zone) and panels for new music, like the The Big Apple Awards and T-Break Stage for T in the Park. All whilst lecturing, spinning all the hats at one time!

Throughout all my time I have fought and championed women and the working classes in gaining opportunities in the creative industries and in life in general through political activism, and in my work in Scottish politics for several years. I’m also a huge advocate for animal rights and working towards policy changes in improving the lives for people and planet.

Starting life as a humble Flugelhorn player in my school band at Greenwood Academy, to the local competing band, Irvine and Dreghorn Brass, I never thought that one day I’d end up going full circle in working at the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland. My role in all things marketing, communications and technology whilst helping in some way in increasing the representation of people from backgrounds like mine into the creative industries is a real privilege.

Did someone say crafting? After all this I do love printmaking, growing things, spending time with my dog and walking on beaches and in parks around the country.

Hello, I’m Ellen and I am the Technology Enhanced Learning (TEL) Administrator in the Fair Access Team. I started this role in 2023 and I’m proud to play a small part in providing opportunities to young people who deserve access to the studying creative arts.

I provide administrative support in all things technology, such as marketing, promotion and our virtual online learning zone. You can sometimes find me taking photos at our events or attending a performance trip and filming our students giving their thoughts and feedback.

I first started working with young people when I was a tutor as part of the Enhanced Learning Tutoring Initiative. Run by Queen Margaret University, the initiative provided free tutoring to high school students in East Lothian. I also have previous experience working in higher education and worked as BA Course Coordinator and Director of Studies (Short Courses) at the Academy of Music & Sound, Glasgow.

In my other day job, I work as a singing teacher. I have worked for Renfrewshire Council, teaching high school pupils sitting their SQA music exams. And I currently work at a Glasgow school, teaching children from P3-S6 and running a choir. I trained in Vocal Performance at RCS, so I’m very familiar with the student experience here – and it was a strange first day in the Fair Access department returning to a building I know so well!

When I’m not working, some of my favourite things to do are hanging out with friends, watching a new TV series, exploring charity shops and listening to cheesy music, like ABBA!