Suzy Kirby
Marketing/Communications Lead
"I love helping other people to express and share their own stories"
Hi, my name’s Suzy and I started as a blog and video volunteer at Money A+E in early 2019, moving into the role of Digital Marketer in July of the same year.
My professional background is varied, and I think is stronger for it! I initially studied French Literature and Translation, living in France for a time. I think I’ve always had a knack for processing complex information and finding the story hidden within it – and I love helping other people to express and share their own stories.
That’s what I love about Money A+E: the fact that the organization was built out of the personal stories of its directors, Greg and Jerry. Their desire to help others is based on experience of the effects of debt and money problems in their own lives.
In my work I am hearing from service users time and again the sense that the organization ‘gets it’, it understands their situation holistically and the complex web of cause and effect where a money problems are involved.
As I say, getting to this point has been a long and meandering path for me! It has taken in various admin jobs, being an executive PA, studying for an Accountancy qualification (when I discovered that I have no head for figures!) and running my own business.
My own money has always been a scary subject, but I am getting better at it. While I consider myself to come from a very fortunate background, I have experienced times of unemployment and the need to apply for benefits – which I found came with a whole range of difficult emotions. I have also felt the effects on self-esteem that come with being financially dependent while raising a family; this came as a surprise to me and I don’t think is talked about enough.