Patty Cohen is a skilled coach and mentor, a campaigner, a speaker, a teacher and leader and can be subversive.

As one of the first creative directors to be appointed when it began in 2002, she has helped to shape the hugely influential Creative Partnerships programme.

She is passionate about education and knows from her own experience as a teacher how important creative learning is for young people. She is inspired by the challenge of raising aspirations and creativity through genuine active collaborations between young people, those who work with them and creative practitioners.

During her teaching career, she was seconded for a year to Learning Through Action, achieved an MA in Arts Education, mentored Beginning Teachers for Central School of Speech and Drama and was seconded to Slough Education Action Zone as Creative Coordinator.

Her own arts background is in Community Arts, having been a founder member and chairwoman of Windsor Arts Centre. She has also been a folk singer, directed seven community plays, danced with Windsor Morris, currently sings with the Royal Free Singers Choir, and calls and plays concertina for the ceilidh band, ‘Jigs Might Fly.

She plays golf when she can, would like to write a novel involving twisted psychology and murder, and is pleased to be a grandma.