People

We have a team of consultants and associates who all have many years of experience working within organisations as managers, researchers, psychologists and practitioners. We are qualified to the highest level and are able to use and apply a number of tools, techniques and methodologies to promote personal and organisational development.

Penny Cortvriend, Director, PhD, Chartered Occupational Psychologist, Visiting Fellow Manchester Business School

Penny is an organisational and coaching psychologist who has a wealth of consultancy experience both at the individual and organisational level. She has worked closely with commissioning clients to create and develop innovative solutions to complex issues. Penny is keenly interested in the development of individuals and teams in organisations and finding the fit between theirs and organisational aspirations. Penny's key interests are: change management and mergers, people management, relationships at work, personal development, coaching and psychometric testing. Penny is a member of the Association for Coaching and BPS Special Group in Coaching Psychology. She holds a Certificate in Coaching, a Primary Certificate in Performance Coaching and a Counselling Certificate.

Claire Harris, Director, PhD, Chartered Occupational Psychologist, Visiting Research Fellow Manchester Business School

Claire is a business psychologist who has an interest in well-being and performance at work. She is a member of the British Psychological Society and the International Stress Management Association. Claire is also a Visiting Research Fellow at Manchester Business School. She has worked on a variety of large scale research projects including: "Understanding the Risks of Stress: A Cognitive Perspective" for the HSE, "Improving Health Through HRM" for the Department of Health; CIPD and HPMA, and has published widely on these issues. Claire also has a wide range of consultancy experience, working with clients to assess and manage stress. She also enjoys adopting a cognitive behavioural approach to coaching individuals to reach their goals. She is a member of the Association for Coaching and BPS Special Group in Coaching Psychology. Other areas of expertise include, psychometric assessment, training design and delivery, design and delivery of surveys, evaluating interventions and researching organisational problems.

Helen Easton, BSc, Senior Associate Consultant

Helen is an experienced consultant with a 20 year track record in the field of recruitment, assessment, training and team/personal development. She has spent the last 14 years working with teams and individuals in a range of public and private sector organisations and has practiced at all levels, from operational to executive. Helen's main focus and area of personal interest is in people development, understanding and assessing people - their behavioural skills and personalities, using a range of psychometric tools and techniques - and in encouraging appropriate behavioural change and development through training and coaching.

Trudi Martin, BSc, PhD, Senior Associate Consultant

Following the award of her PhD in 2005, Trudi returned to work with her previous employer, a FTSE 100 company, on a part time basis and has been instrumental in assessing the developmental needs of staff at all levels in the organisation. She is currently Director of Skills and Development and is working on a learning and development strategy in order to deliver training and development programmes to 120 staff. Part of this role will involve commissioning and delivering on coaching and development programmes in the organisation. Trudi has worked with Aspire on a number of projects and her interests and expertise are based within the areas of work-life balance, leadership and coaching.

Mike Cooney, MBA, BA, Senior Associate Consultant

A former Corporate Director within a Metropolitan Borough Council, Mike transformed a poorly performing service into an excellent 3 star service. He brings a depth of knowledge, extensive experience and a track record of success at senior management level to his projects. Possessing the ability to manage and transform complex and large organisations, Mike also leads and develops people to enable them to succeed. Mike's experience and knowledge of local government is vast and he has wide ranging experience of working in partnership with a number of agencies. Mike brings this to bear within his consultancy work where his interests lie in diagnosing organisational problems and helping organisations to manage the changes required to make them successful and sustainable.

Martha Creaser, MBA, BA, Senior Associate Consultant

Martha is a highly experienced consultant and coach, with a depth of knowledge in leadership and organisational development. Having worked most recently for the Hay Group, Martha brings over 20 years management and consulting experience across a wide variety of organisations from large multinationals to local non profits. This breadth of experience has enabled Martha to successfully support clients on a wide range of issues, from the design and deliver of leadership development events, to advice on job design and career structures, to the application of best practice approaches to culture change. Her focus is on helping clients to find, develop and manage their leadership talent to ensure they are growing the skills and capabilities that meet their business needs. Martha also provides coaching for individual managers and teams to help them realise their ambitions and visions. Martha is a member of the International Coach Federation and the BPS Special Group in Coaching Psychology.