Sue Potts brings over 25 years of leadership and development expertise across the voluntary, higher education, and cultural sectors. She has a long-standing connection with Venus, first serving as Development Manager from 1999 to 2002, and returning as Chief Executive in 2021 with a proven track record of driving innovation, social impact, and sustainable fundraising strategies.

Sue was previously Head of Development at Heart of Glass in St Helens, where she secured significant investment from Arts Council England through the Creative People and Places programme, building a national reputation for socially engaged arts practice. Alongside her leadership roles, Sue has built a successful consultancy career, shaping cultural investment strategies for Wigan Borough Council, Manchester City Council, and Rushmoor Borough Council.

Her academic and research career includes working at Liverpool John Moores University’s Screen School, where she developed social impact frameworks for Liverpool Culture Company and the Canal and Rivers Trust. She led the research team for the Gulbenkian Inquiry into the Civic Role of the Arts, and was lead researcher on SILO, a major Erasmus+ project using participatory arts to create supported learning opportunities for hard-to-reach groups.

Earlier in her career, Sue was Head of Digital Inclusion at the International Centre for Digital Content, LJMU, leading multimillion-pound programmes in creative technology and digital skills, including multiple EU projects and the Four Corners project for Liverpool Capital of Culture 2004 to 2010. In 2018, Sue co-founded Rule of Threes, a not-for-profit arts development agency committed to making small but beautiful projects that embed contemporary art practices in everyday life.

Sue holds an MA in Cultural Leadership and Management and is a Fellow of the Higher Education Academy. Her career reflects a consistent commitment to cultural inclusion, social impact, and empowering communities through creativity.

Venus Service Lead

Carlie is the Service Lead for Venus Services. During her career at Venus, Carlie has worked on family support, homelessness programmes, and refugee resettlement programmes in the Sefton area. She has a 25-year professional history of working with vulnerable and excluded groups of people in the local community and is passionate about social justice for disadvantaged members of our communities. Carlie has been involved with the Venus Centre for 22 years, working on various programmes to support women and their families, but has also previously worked as a mental health nurse. Outside of her Venus work, Carlie serves on the board of trustees for a local NPO and is a qualified psychodynamic counsellor working therapeutically with a variety of people.

Star Service Lead

Jean is the Star Centre Service Lead, Venus’s Therapeutic Service for Children and Young People. With a background in Early Years and Education, she is passionate about improving the mental health and well-being of children. Jean’s Venus journey includes working on different programmes, including supporting women and their children, care leavers and training volunteers. She returned to training in 2017 to complete a Children and Young People, Improving Access to Psychological Therapies postgraduate course, following which she trained in clinical supervision for parent trainers and finished her IAPT training by completing a Service Leadership course, which she is applying to help develop the service to ensure it meets the needs of children and young people in our community.