David Sharp has been Chief Executive of North Yorkshire Youth (NYY) since November 2011. As well as supporting community-based youth work around North Yorkshire, NYY owns and operates Carlton Lodge Outdoor Centre. His main responsibility is for the strategic direction of the organisation and the oversight of all major functions of the organisation.
Prior to becoming Chief Exec, he had been with NYY for 9 years. Before that, he went straight from college into a 12 year career in local authority leisure services where he attained Assistant Manager status for a local leisure centre. Throughout his time as a student and in leisure services he worked as a part-time youth worker, based in Ripon. This gave him a great experience of working with young people, from running football sessions to canoeing across Scotland!
He is currently a trustee of the Regional Youth Work Unit as well as Chairman of The Clock and finds time to fit being Chairman for Brompton on Swale Parish Council into the mix. Through his day job he sits on the Executive Board for Safeguarding, the Looked After Children’s Board and the Children and Young Peoples Overview and Scrutiny Committee as the voluntary sector representative for North Yorkshire County Council. This along with his volunteering roles means that he receives a vast amount of information which relates to young people, the voluntary sector, local government and on running an organisation. These skills allow him to be objective and sensitive to any decisions which need to be made to ensure Community First Yorkshire remains a sustainable and well respected organisation.