Ruth Young
Ruth Young is Compassionate Mental Health’s Place and Projects Lead. She was previously Head of Farm at Jamie’s Farm Hereford – an innovative education project that is transforming young lives through farming, family and therapy.
Areas of interest
- Helping Young people tell their stories
- Nature Therapy
- Improving Wellbeing & Boosting Self Esteem
Ruth Young is Place and Projects lead. She was previously Head of Farm at Jamie’s Farm, where farming, family and therapy is changing lives.
Ruth grew up in London and graduated in English at Birmingham University. In 1999 she started working at the Hay Festival of Literature and the Arts and initiated the Festival’s programme for families and young people, which is still running today under the banner Hay Days.
Inspired by her observation of the profound relationships that could be formed when adults and young people shared stories, Ruth trained as a teacher in 2008 and worked as a secondary school English teacher for a number of years. In 2014, Ruth became the Vice-Principal at the Steiner Academy Hereford – a state-funded school striving to hold to an ethos which nurtures and celebrates the child whilst ensuring an education which meets the demands of the 21st century. It is Ruth’s belief that self-esteem is key to success, and interactions with art, nature and community can ignite lasting change in the lives of young people.