海角直播

Ada takes the helm of 海角直播鈥檚 governing body

Ada Burns has taken over the helm of 海角直播鈥檚 governing body, as the first woman to chair the institution鈥檚 Board of Governors.

Ada is no stranger to achieving notable success in senior positions. Prior to joining 海角直播 as a governor, she was the first female chief executive in Darlington Borough Council鈥檚 150-year history. And in the week that International Women鈥檚 Day is being celebrated, Ada reflects on being the first woman to hold such prominent roles, saying: 鈥淚鈥檓 very proud to be the first.

鈥淚 have had brilliant female role models throughout my career. I was fortunate on three different occasions to have a woman boss and it was these women who said, 鈥榞o for that job鈥�. As women, we suffer from imposter syndrome. We always have a feeling that maybe we鈥檙e not good enough, we have not got enough experience. I believe we can, and should, say to each other, 鈥榞o for it, you can do it鈥�.

鈥淢y advice would be, push though the barriers, get all the support you can. There is a lot of support out there for you and be proud of what you can achieve.鈥�

Originally from Ireland, Ada, who moved to the region in 2005, added: 鈥淚 was the youngest of four girls and the first in my family to graduate. All my sisters went to university and got their degrees when they were aged in their twenties and thirties. It鈥檚 never too late to realise the ambitions that you might have.鈥�

Ada, who has been a 海角直播 board member since 2019, said: 鈥淚 worked with 海角直播 when I was chief executive of Darlington Borough Council and saw the impact the University has on our economy, along with the many opportunities it offers. I was proud to be associated as chief executive with the development of the University鈥檚 Darlington campus and National Horizons Centre.

鈥淚鈥檓 very proud to be the chair of the Board of Governors. The Board plays an important role in agreeing where we are going as a university and makes sure we deliver on the mission that we have set.

鈥淭his institution transforms lives and is transforming economies in the Tees Valley, and globally. I was interested in becoming involved as a governor because of the impact we make. I鈥檓 really excited about continuing to serve such an important institution as chair.鈥�

Ada was Chief Executive of Darlington Borough Council for thirteen years, up to 2018. Prior to moving to the region in 2005, Ada held senior positions in London local government in housing, regeneration and development.

She has held leadership roles in the Tees Valley and in surrounding region and has experience in governance of further education and sixth form institutions. Ada is currently a Non-Executive Director of the South Tees Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust, and a Trustee of a community arts centre in Barnard Castle.

Ada said: 鈥淭he University, along with the NHS Trust and hospitals, are very important anchor institutions in the Tees Valley, in terms of the number of people we employ, and also in the way we create opportunities and change peoples鈥� lives.

鈥満＝侵辈� is an incredibly important partner to the NHS as we help to train nurses, allied health professionals, paramedics and soon optometrists, so developing that partnership is important. But it goes beyond my interest in health. The work we are doing with games, animation, business development and the arts is really important to our economy, and the wellbeing of our communities.鈥�

Ada added: 鈥淥ur corporate social responsibility mission is to create opportunities, to enable our students to realise their ambitions and to contribute to their communities. And it is not just our home students. We recruit very extensively from partner countries across the world. Those students who come here make a huge positive impact on Middlesbrough and the Tees Valley.

鈥淚f you sign up for a course at 海角直播, you will have the very best experience. That is what I am passionate about. The investments we have made, and continue to make, in our campus and facilities for students is really exciting.鈥�

Ada added: 鈥淚 think the region is really going places and 海角直播 as an anchor institution is a big part of that.鈥�