The RiseUp Team
Our Executive team have over a decade of experience developing and delivering third sector programmes in some of the most challenging places, with those hardest to reach.
Dr. Ashleigh Nugent
BA (Hons) PhD
I am the Co-Founder & CEO at RiseUp. I have worked in community arts for over 25 years, designing and delivering projects throughout the UK. Through RiseUp, I have also delivered life-changing courses in prisons since 2015. My debut novel, Locks, was published by Picador in 2023. The story follows a similar journey of self-discovery and personal growth we teach in the RiseUp programme. I have subsequently been awarded a PhD in English Literature in 2026.
I started RiseUp because I wanted to teach other people the same techniques that I used to get control of my own life. At twenty-one I had never read a book, I had a lengthy criminal record, no qualifications, and little hope for the future. By studying how the mind and emotions work, learning techniques to control them, and taking the risk of admitting to the world who I really aspire to be, I took ownership of my own story. It has been an incredible and exciting journey, and I am honoured to share the process with others and to see them becoming better and better versions of themselves.
Rising up is an internal process that ripples into the external world. Once we own our own story and control our own state, we can then know true success. Success is not a solo process; true success means making the world a better place for us all.
Stuart Coady
BA (Hons)
I am the CEO and Co-Founder of RiseUp. I spent ten years in the construction industry as an area sales manager, key account manager, and finally a national account manager. After spending a decade in suits and ties I left to pursue a degree in Journalism at the University of Central Lancashire, whereby I became a freelance sports journalist. Having worked for the British Rally Championship, Greenlight Television, and various publications covering everything from boxing to badminton, a more important calling announced itself.
Having left school with no qualifications, I spent a summer earning money breaking in to, as well as stealing cars. After being thrown off a college course, and with little prospects, I found a new sense of purpose and value through music.
The arts changed my perspective on life, my outlook, and more importantly, the way I thought! I was able to gain some control over my life and re-entered education.
Rising up is about self-determination, control over ones thoughts, feelings, and behaviours; it’s about expression of self, about understanding the world around us, our relationship with others, the environment, politics, community, and where we, as individuals can impact future generations to empower their own rising!
Contact Us
If you would like to speak to us about a project or collaboration, we would love to hear from you.
Let’s RiseUp together.
