Streams Learning Hub
A community for belonging, creating, & discovering.
Meet the Hub Team
Our team bring a diverse range of skills and extraordinary breadth of experience across many different disciplines.
We have a core team consisting of Caroline, Jo & Matt, and a fantastic Advisory Board.
Alongside this, some amazing learning guides and wider collaborators who add to the rich tapestry of our team.
There are so many amazing people in our city who have a heart come alongside young people and see them flourish. Our team of collaborators is growing. If you or someone you know has a skill or passion you would like to share
with our young people then reach out and say hello.
Caroline Clark
COO, Technology & Fundraising
(Entrepreneurship & Innovation Facilitator)
Caroline is an experienced leader, social entrepreneur, and advocate for people and culture. With a background in engineering and a PhD in Ultrasonic Signal Processing, she co-founded KETS Quantum Security, a University of Bristol spin-out. Caroline's expertise extends to science and engineering, team building, business operations, and strategic planning.
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Passionate about empowering young people through design and innovation, Caroline also runs Zebera - an organisation dedicated to empowering young people through design and innovation. This is achieved through design thinking workshops, design sprints and challenge based learning. The ultimate goal for Zebera is to create an open innovation and idea sharing platform to enable organisations and young people to come together to tackle real world problems.
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Actively involved in the Bristol startup community as mentor and advisor, Caroline also serves as a board member for Bristol Autism Support (BAS) and Science Creates Outreach.
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Caroline is a parent of two teens, one is studying Politics at Sheffield University and one is home educated.
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Jo Sweetland
Partnerships & Programmes
(Hub Manager, Creative Facilitator)
Jo was an occupational therapist for twenty years, specialising in helping people with neurological conditions regain their independence. During this time, she completed her PhD developing an innovative Vocational Rehabilitation service which continues to run at UCLH.
It was while serving as a Governor at her children's school, Jo started questioning whether the education system allowed children and teachers to flourish. In 2017 deregistering her three children from school Jo stepped into the well established Bristol home ed community. It was in her home that she started a co-learning 'Dojo' with Matt.
In 2021, Jo co-founded Streams Education an online community for home educators. Alongside this home education journey, Jo pursued ways to bring a progressive school to Bristol. While opening a physical school was impossible, she has gained rich learning through connecting with innovators, thought leaders, and edupreneurs worldwide, exploring what education could look like when done differently. These collaborations, partnerships, and networks have all woven into the vision for the Hub. Jo is now working as a consultant for Finding the Flex, advocating for flexi-schooling and supporting schools and local authorities in implementing this for young people who need it.
Matt Harris
Learning and Development Manager
Matt is a former youth worker who became a stay-at-home, home-educating dad in 2018 when his wife, Nicola, began training at Trinity College, Bristol and they took their two daughters out of school.
Graduating from university with a degree in Sports Studies, Matt enjoyed numerous different roles including working at an outdoor pursuit centre and facilitating corporate team building events. He completed his PGDip in Youth Work and Community Development and has worked in different youth work roles within various settings including schools and churches.
Since moving to Bristol in 2018, Matt has worked alongside Jo facilitating learning in the home education "Dojo" that ran, as well as growing Streams Education . Matt’s passion is to see young people live to their full potential and “be all they can be”. His strengths are his adaptability, empathy, positivity, love of learning and ability to help people develop.
When Matt isn’t home educating, you’ll find him trying to keep fit, cooking, listening to a podcast, or working out how to get Wilson and Robin, the family dogs, to behave.
Max Winpenny
STEM Facilitator
Max is a science educator, environmental communicator and former secondary school teacher with a passion for making science engaging, accessible and relevant. He has taught Science and Geography across the UK and Canada, including as a Science Subject Lead and Key Stage Curriculum Leader, and holds an MSc in Environmental Science from Imperial College London and a BSc in Zoology from the University of Southampton.
Alongside teaching, Max has worked in environmental communications for international conservation organisations, translating complex scientific and environmental issues into engaging content for diverse audiences. He particularly enjoys helping young people explore how science connects to the world around them through curiosity, creativity and hands-on learning.
At Streams Learning Hub, Max delivers STEM sessions that encourage students to ask questions, experiment, think critically and develop confidence in their scientific understanding.
Jean Tan
Researcher, Institute of Education, UCL
Hello there! I'm Jean from Singapore I was previously a Special Education Teacher back home, and now I'm training to become an Educational Psychologist at the Institute of Education, University College London.
This year, I will be conducting research on learning communities with Streams. I hope for this to be a collaborative space where young people and families here can lend their voices and co-create this piece with me!
If you have ideas to share or any questions, you can email me. I'll love to hear from you.
Martha Lamont
Art Sessions Leader and Facilitator
Martha spent three years teaching in secondary schools before turning to her own studio practice, going on to complete an MA in Fine Art at City and Guilds in 2023. Her work explores introspective experience through psychologically charged, symbolic environments, building on an earlier, more technical grounding in sculpture from her BA.
Alongside her painting practice, Martha has spent several years teaching adults and children, first from her own studio and now through The Healthy Artist, the education platform and podcast she co-hosts. Her focus has always been on helping artists take their creative direction seriously- supporting people to building confidence and showing up for their creative selves. She also mentors one-to-one, with a guiding belief in radically showing up for artists and their creativity whatever age that may be.
Since moving to Bristol, Martha has run much of her teaching online and in her studio, reaching students across contemporary painting clubs and skills-based courses. At the Hub, she brings that same approach to art and painting, creating a space for students to develop their practice and find their own way of working.
Katelyn Simkins
Learning Guide - Cosplay & Girlhood
Katelyn Simkins is an award-winning makeup artist with over twenty years of experience in creative and editorial work. Her journey began in childhood, sketching faces and exploring theatre, and has since evolved into a career rooted in artistry, self-expression, and connection.
Katelyn’s approach celebrates individuality — helping people feel confident and seen rather than “made up.” Alongside her industry work, she enjoys sharing her craft through teaching and collaboration, inspiring others to explore creativity and beauty with authenticity and joy.
Beth Deverson
Forest School Facilitator
Beth Deverson has worked as a Forest School Lead for 5 years and more recently qualified with a level 3 in Wilderness Therapeutic Approaches. She co-founded Oak Tree Montessori, a learning community for home educated children aged 5-12 and supported in the classroom for the past 2 and a half years. She home educates her children aged 10 and 7. She is delighted to be working with Streams to offer a group for older children to explore nature and conservation. Beth loves foraging and making medicinal herbal recipes.
Charlie Long
Forest School Facilitator
Charlie Long comes from a background in early years and has 6 years experience working as a Forest School Lead. She as spent several years working closely with a local autism specialist school bringing nature into their curriculum on a regular basis. More recently she has been mentoring children with additional needs and during school holidays she can be found running holiday clubs for primary aged children in the woods. Charlie loves exploring the creatures that are in the woods and den building.
Romina Trevino
Spanish Facilitator
Hello! My name is Romina and I am the Spanish learning facilitator at Streams this year.
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I have recently graduated from University of Bristol with my undergraduate in Liberal arts and am beginning my Masters in Law this September.
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I was born and raised in Mexico, which means I grew up speaking Spanish at home and in school. I love reading in Spanish and listening to music in Spanish, specifically Argentinian and Mexican rock. My favorite Authors are Roberto Bolaño and Gabriel Garcia Marquez.
Natalie Christiansen
Journalism Facilitator
Natalie is currently a language tutor by day, fire performer by night, and forest ecologist at heart. Raised around the globe she was gifted fluency in five languages and an insatiable appetite for learning. Probably leading to her affliction of pursuing more hats than she has heads.
Her interdisciplinary foundations consist of a BSc in Psychology; serving in humanitarian assistance in deep rural communities; an MScR in forest ecology; and working in academia and environmental research.
Natalie is a learner-centred educator who has taught English, German, Swedish, and Environmental Science to people aged 5-73 across a range of linguistic and cultural backgrounds. Her classroom experience includes working in multilingual, neurodiverse and low-income primary schools.
She is particularly passionate about returning confidence in those she works with, striving to make learning feel accessible and more like play. She aims to do this by tending their personal interests, as curiosity is a most valuable skilled to be celebrated and nurtured.
Joel Edwards
Social Media Manager and Art Facilitator
Hi, I'm Joel!I am a Fine Art student at UWE with a passion for all things weird and unusual. I specialise in illustration and print based mediums. I plan on training to become an educator post uni, that’s why I am so glad to be helping alongside the team at Streams Learning Hub! I create posts for Streams workshops and create content from the sessions. I occasionally help with Art based sessions at the Hub.
Charlie Proctor
Science Creates Outreach Lead
After completing her degree in Early Years Education, Charlie began her career as a Primary School Teacher in Bristol before moving into Educational Consultancy, working with schools across the city.
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In 2016 she was part of the founding team of Science Creates and it was during this time that she realised how little hands-on inspiration there is for young people within the field of science and entrepreneurship. In response to this, she founded Science Creates Outreach, a charity offering workshops in the specifically designed Learning Lab, Q&As with real scientists and tours of working labs for students of all ages.
Charlie designs and facilitates these workshops along with some of the amazing members at Science Creates, helping learns to see the practical application of science in cutting edge technology here in the heart of Bristol.
Oscar Jones
Events Coordinator
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Oscar is an events coordinator at Streams Learning hub, bringing previous experience across retail, events and student engagement and has just graduated from Bristol Law with a 2:1.
Alongside Streams, Oscar works as a Retail Assistant at Up & Running, where he supports customers with their needs and developed strong communication, teamwork and customer service skills. He also worked as an Events and Spaces Assistant at the University of Bristol’s Student Union, supporting the planning and delivery of events at the University. He lead day trips to cities across the UK, and supported numerous events giving him hands-on experience in event management, leadership and working with large groups.
Gaz Lawrence
MoSAIC Workshop Facilitator
In Bristol, Gaz embarked on a unique journey, choosing science and music at a London university over traditional art school. Discovering parallels between music and science, he later became a science teacher in London and Bristol, realizing his passion for blending diverse subjects.
Despite having a limited art background in school, Gaz began painting as a hobby in 2017, gaining recognition for his work. By 2022, his art has been displayed in galleries in London and Bristol, reflecting his varied interests: science, music, poetry, and personal stories about his family and the LGBTQ+ community.
In 2023, Gaz transitioned to full-time artistry, spearheading "The MoSAIC," a project using art to teach science to youth. Art sales contribute to supporting The MoSAIC. Gaz, adept with oil, acrylic, and ink, crafts paintings that simplify scientific concepts for children while fostering creativity. His art, laced with humour, is not just for serious contemplation—he encourages a lighthearted approach to his work.
Gaz has run one off workshops for the Streams Learning Hub - stay connected via our newsletter for when the next one is.
