Laura Evans, Coventry HDRC Research Ambassador
Meet Laura
My background
I am a JNC qualified Youth Worker and a BACP registered Adolescent Counsellor and so bring a dual perspective of youth work and therapeutic practice. I began my career in frontline youth work, leading targeted programmes for young people at risk of exclusion and developing a strong foundation in relationship-based practice and early intervention.
Since then, I have held senior leadership roles across the voluntary sector, including as CEO of a specialist family support organisation, where I developed and scaled therapeutic and early help services across schools and communities.
Where I work and what I do
I currently serve as Director and Safeguarding Lead at Aptitude Organisation CIC, where I lead the development and delivery of accredited youth work and mentoring programmes.
Alongside this, I am a qualified therapeutic counsellor (MBACP), with specialist training in working with children and young people. I hold a Level 5 Diploma in Counselling Children and Young People and am currently undertaking postgraduate study in Child, Adolescent and Family Wellbeing.
My approach is trauma-informed, relational, and grounded in creating safe, trusting spaces.
The areas that I am researching
Our research will focus on strengthening the design, delivery, and evaluation of early-stage wellbeing programmes for young people. We are particularly interested in understanding what makes the greatest difference to young people’s mental health at an early intervention point, and how this can be translated into effective, scalable programme models.
A core strand of this work is developing a robust theory of change and logic model to clearly articulate how our activities lead to improved outcomes. Alongside this, we will explore and test the most appropriate ways to measure change and impact, with a focus on tools that are both evidence-based and accessible for young people.
This includes building staff confidence and consistency in using these tools, supported by in-house research training.
We are also committed to deepening our use of qualitative research methods to better capture the lived experiences of young people. Through co-design approaches, we will work alongside young people to shape both programme content and evaluation methods, ensuring their voices are central to defining what meaningful change looks like.
By combining quantitative data (through systems such as Upshot) with richer qualitative insights — including case studies and youth-led storytelling — we aim to develop a more comprehensive and nuanced understanding of impact.
Ultimately, this research will enable us to better evidence, articulate, and share the difference our work makes, while also embedding learning into our wider training offer for youth workers, contributing to stronger practice across the sector.