Founders and Directors
Sarah Mears MBE
Director and founder
Sarah Mears is Programme Manager for Libraries Connected, Knowsley, a national development organisation supporting public libraries. She is a member of the Society of Chief Librarians’ National Executive, and is a past Chair of ASCEL (The Association of Senior Children’s and Education Librarians).
Her work in children’s libraries has long convinced her of the power of stories to change children’s lives. In 2018, she was awarded an MBE for services to Children and Young People. Her rich experience (nationally and locally) of innovating to engage reluctant readers is vital to our work.
Twitter – @sarahmears10
Email – [email protected]
Miranda McKearney OBE
Director and founder
Miranda is a social justice entrepreneur who has spent 35 years turning kitchen table ideas into nationwide campaigns, culminating in founding The Reading Agency, a national charity, in 2002. The charity’s Summer Reading Challenge now involves 800,000 children every year.
Having “retired” to go trekking, she became fascinated by the building body of research showing that reading builds empathy. This has led to her founding EmpathyLab.
Twitter – @MirandaMcK
Email – [email protected]
Craig Hill
Director and founder
Caroline Scott
Director and founder
Caroline Scott has 40 years’ experience as a teacher and latterly as an Assistant Head for 15 years. With a remit for inclusion and behaviour and a responsibility for coordinating the Pastoral and Community agendas. Her remit included line managing 3 specialist SEND teams for Visual impairment, Behaviour and Specific learning difficulties.
During her career she was also one of the initiators and key members of the County Schools Inclusion Partnership, an initiative involving 7 secondary schools and their attendant feeders which worked successfully to reduce exclusions from mainstream schools. She is one of the five Founders of Empathylab and she has a continuing and passionate belief in the next generation.
Roy Brown
Director and founder