Community Advisory Board
Andrea lives in Crich, a thriving community in rural Derbyshire with a strong sense of belonging, where people go the extra mile to help each other. She is concerned the ‘village’ status is being eroded as more houses are built, putting pressure on tired, old infrastructure such as small schools, sewage pipes, drainage, roads and services.
As an exercise enthusiast, Andrea leads a weekly ‘Family Mile’ fitness session in her local park, supports the junior school with sports leadership, plays guitar in her pub music group, and campaigns for a better transport system for children travelling to secondary school in a nearby village.
Motivated to lead and contribute to village life, Andrea sees the benefits of neighbourliness and interdependence. She led a Community Interest Company (Shift), 2009-22, which enabled people across Derbyshire to lead active lives – including working with staff at Chesterfield Royal Hospital to increase levels of activity at work, and co-ordinating a network of social jogging groups involving more than 400 volunteers and thousands of joggers.
Contributing her learning and insights of what makes communities strong and how to mobilise people around a shared purpose, Andrea is keen to connect with people and help influence policymakers and commissioners to invest in and understand what really matters to people – for the long term.