Voice 21 is delighted to announce the appointment of Dr Kate Paradine as our new Chief Executive. Kate, who has extensive experience in charity leadership and campaigning, will take up the post in October.

Kate was chosen by the Voice 21 Board of Trustees following the announcement that after eight years, Founding CEO Beccy Earnshaw would be stepping down from the role this Autumn.

Kate was previously CEO of the charity, Women in Prison (2015-2022), and is a Visiting Fellow at Southampton University’s Stefan Cross Centre for Women, Equality and the Law. She spent a decade in the Civil Service, working on various areas of police training, policy and strategy and has a PhD in Law. 

Chair of Voice 21, Sarah David says: “Kate’s passionate commitment to social justice and Voice 21’s mission and her wealth of experience in the charity and public sector meant she was an exceptional choice, from a list of high-calibre candidates.

“Kate brings particular strength in building powerful and sustainable partnerships and teams to lead system’s change which alongside her skills as a communicator and persuasive campaigner will be invaluable to Voice 21 as we seek to extend and amplify the tremendous impact that our work has on education outcomes over the coming years.”

Kate says of her appointment: “I am over the moon to be selected by the Board of Trustees to become Voice 21’s next CEO, taking forward the incredible legacy of founding CEO Beccy Earnshaw.  This is a pivotal moment for oracy and a very exciting time for Voice 21 as we move closer to realising the ambition of ensuring that all children, not just a fortunate few, are taught the speaking skills they need to thrive in school and beyond. 

I am really looking forward to working with the Voice 21 staff team, Board, partners, schools, children and young people across the country, building on the organisation’s success to achieve our ambitious plans for the years ahead and continue to empower schools to put oracy at the heart of their teaching and learning. 

Voice 21 is the national oracy charity supporting teachers and schools to provide a high-quality oracy education. There are now over 1000 Voice 21 Oracy Schools across England and Wales – engaging with over 11,000 teachers and reaching more than 350,000 students every year.