We’re very proud of our team and the work they do to create a friendly, professional service for you, your members and your delegates. Find out more about them and the unique skills and experience they bring to Echo…
Membership Services Secretary
Events Manager
Sponsorship Manager
Claire Westgate, DirectorClaire is a professional conference and event manager with over 14 years experience delivering client services and project management. Along with Dorothy & Tracey, she oversees the day to day management of Echo and client services.
Prior to Echo, Claire spent 8 years in London working for specialised B2B media groups - EMAP and Centaur Media. She was an integral part of the conference team at EMAP and delivered events across their publication portfolio which included Retail Week, Architects Journal and The Lawyer. In 2008 she moved to Centaur Media as Head of Events for Centaur Conferences. Leading the logistics team in their delivery of around thirty events a year including conferences, exclusive round table dinners and 121 summits. On her return to Newcastle Claire has delivered a number of events for Echo's clients ranging from large academic conferences to award ceremonies. In 2018 Claire headed up the launch of Echo's North East Marketing Awards which attracted over 300 marketing and business professionals from across the North East. The event has quickly become the 'go to' event for the marketing sector, attracting brands such as Barbour, Fentimans and Nexus.
Claire is a full member of ABPCO (Association for Professional Conference Organisers).
Dorothy Inverarity, DirectorMore than comfortable in a multi-national environment, Dorothy brings her extensive knowledge and experience in all aspects of events management and organisation including strategy, implementation and evaluation. Along with Claire & Tracey, she oversees the day to day management of Echo and client services.
Prior to her return to the UK in 2013, Dorothy spent several years managing programmes for large scale international conferences and events for MCI in Brussels. Specific projects included events such as the Society for Clinical Data Management (Baltimore, LA), Dioxin Annual Conference (Brussels), 20th EACMFS Congress with over 1900 delegates (Bruges), and the United Nations Global Compact Leaders’ Summit (New York). Fluent in French and with a PhD in Chemistry, Dorothy heads up Echo’s international congress and association management services, creating an international and scientific slant to client events.
Tracey Christy, DirectorTracey Christy is an experienced finance manager with extensive financial knowledge gained from over two decades working within a range of different sectors. Along with Dorothy & Claire, she oversees the day to day management of Echo and heads up the finance division.
Tracey manages the finance team who cover a wide range of services for clients, from the day to day back office finance functions, to more complex finance functions, such as cash flow and working capital management, foreign currency risk management, and preparation of Management Accounts and EU Project Reports for International clients.
Tracey specialises in finance system processes, reviewing and improving current systems. For clients this means improved efficiency, compliance and management information reporting.
Throughout her career Tracey has worked for employers such as the NHS, Royal Mail and Local Council, through to charities and private sector Ltd companies. Tracey is a fully ACCA qualified Accountant.
Rachael Scott, Associations ManagerRachael joined Echo in 2018. Her role has evolved from initially being Membership Services Administrator to requiring her to work with a number of associations supporting all the associations teams in their day-to-day work.
Rachael's career started at age 16 and involved a number of customer-focused roles. This was followed by working and travelling throughout Australia taking on a wide variety of roles requiring differing skill-sets, from a small company requiring a new filing system, to working for the Minister of Tourism in Sydney. The commonality has always been creating effective systems to ensure efficient organisation. Rachael then worked in business travel before joining Echo.
Rachael's strong work ethic and kind, supportive manner see her being a reliable sounding board for the rest of the team on variety of matters.
When asked what she likes most about working at Echo, Rachael said,
"The varied role, my days can be very different from booking travel, speaking to members, arranging meetings & attending those meetings, to then also doing my management role. Also working with such an amazing team, who are all so lovely."
Sarah joined Echo Events in March 2020. Sarah handles membership queries, works on the day to day running of associations, and provides administrative support for committees and board members – including project management, meeting and event planning and report-writing – as well as many ad hoc tasks that are required.
With world-wide experience supporting Directors and events for both small and large firms in a variety of industries, combined with a ‘can do’, independent attitude, Sarah takes pride in efficiency and is utterly dependable as part of the Echo team.
Sarah’s 30-year career began at a media relations firm in Washington DC, where she was responsible for the design and production of client-tailored training and marketing materials for internationally renowned organisations such as the World Bank, Shell and NASA. Her next base back home in Northern Ireland, saw her become Executive Assistant to the Financial Director/Company Secretary of a UK-based manufacturing company and its subsidiaries. During this time, she also impressively managed to complete her PG in Administration and Law.
Sarah next had a 14-year stretch in Saudi Arabia, beginning as a Secretary to Management before becoming a planning and programmes analyst for Saudi Aramco, coordinating the Petroleum Engineering and Development participation in major international oil and gas conferences and planning and organising training and events for up to 1,600 employees.
Returning to the UK in 2015, initially to undertake an MSc in Sustainable Agriculture and Food Security, Sarah’s real passion, she then temped in administrative roles for the Director of the IHS at Newcastle University, the Executive Committee monthly Seminar Series, and other Institute staff groups. Of particular note, Sarah was key organiser of a “5 Giants Conference” arranging travel and accommodation for 40 invited speakers and guests, and all event logistics for the 400-strong delegation.
It is clear that Sarah enjoys her role which she puts down to the type of clients Echo supports as she says,
“The work our clients do is important and lifesaving, whether on the front line as critical care nurses, developing critical communications technology or sharing knowledge on this with emergency services workers. I enjoy that we evolve with our clients, and that no two days are the same.”
Sarah has a Higher Diploma in Secretarial and Administrative Procedures, is an ACS (Chartered Secretary) and is a member of the Chartered Governance Institute UK & Ireland.
Leona joined Echo in 2019 providing administration and event support. As Membership Secretary Leona provides day-to-day coordination on associations, meeting support, and event coordination including marketing and financial support, and anything else that is needed.
With a kind and thoughtful nature, Leona is always first to check on the well-being of the Echo team, and she turns her hand to the wide variety of functions required of her with great care.
Before joining Echo, Leona provided support for students and professors in the School of Architecture at Newcastle University for seven years, and before that was at the Department for Work and Pensions for four years.
Leona’s perhaps surprising degree was a BA (Hons) Music Theatre and she remains adept at playing the violin and piano.
She enjoys working at Echo adding;
“I love working in a small, close-knit team that feels like family. I enjoy the variety of the role and being able to work closely with clients to support the day-to-day running of their associations. The support within Echo is always there to learn new skills and develop and I am proud to be part of such an amazing company.”
Ebony joined the Echo events team in July 2024.
Ebony works across all of Echo's events supporting Claire and Dorothy with the planning preparation and execution of all the events across Echo Events. This can range from responding to delegate queries and registration, liaising with suppliers, and sourcing and coordinating venues to fit our requirements.
With over 8 years of experience as an Event and Hospitality Manager, Ebony has been general manager of multiple sites of independent café, bar and venues hosting over 15 events per month. Ebony was also Assistant Director and Director for Short form and Music Videos. She has also travelled internationally as a street theatre performer to over 23 countries.
So far, Ebony has enjoyed the supportive and welcoming team at Echo appreciating the personal reward from a fast-paced and varied role working with not-for-profits and charities. She added,
"It’s great to be surrounded by a lot of smart, driven and confident women, it is empowering to be a part of a women lead company."
Steven joined the Echo finance team in November 2023.
He is a CIMA (Chartered Institute of Management Accountants) accredited accountant responsible for the finance management of British APCO, BACCN, and BSG.
Following studies in Economics and for an MBA, Steven gained over 25 years of experience in Finance, Accounting, and Payroll. His varied previous roles include working for an accountancy practice, an insurance broker, a Spanish company requiring fluent Spanish (which he sadly thinks he has now forgotten), and a sports club.
Steve enjoys the pleasant working environment and the nice group of people he has met at Echo Events.
Donna joined Echo in July 2023 in the role of associations accountant. This role holds responsibility for the management of client associations’ finances, monitoring their income and expenditure and producing financial accounts as well as providing cover whilst Jessica is on maternity leave.
Donna's career in a variety of accountancy roles began in the private sector working for Allied Bakeries in their Bakers Oven division, followed by other large organistaions such as Stagecoach plc and the NHS. For the last 16 years, Donna has provided accountancy for the not-for-profit/charity sector.
Her gentle and efficient nature have made Donna's transition to working at Echo seamless, and she is already a much-valued member of the team.
On joining Echo, Donna commented,
“I am looking forward to working with the lovely Echo team and their clients and using my qualifications and experience in the role.”
Donna is a CIMA-qualified accountant.
James joined the Echo finance team in June 2024.
James assists the finance managers across multiple associations and Echo Events, with a focus on logging, producing and reconciling sale and purchase invoices in the day books and Sage.
Having worked as a chef for 6 years at well-respected restaurants, James then had a career change to become an accounts assistant supporting the growth of a small north east charity that helps people in need in the Tyneside area. During this time, he became aware of the finance function and decided to study for his AAT.
James enjoys the diversity of work relating to the different events and the associations and added,
"Echo is such a friendly work environment and I'm grateful to feel such a lot of support from the team as I study the AAT."
Jenny joined Echo in August 2022 where she is responsible for sponsorship account management and development, new business development, exhibitor and sponsor-related event planning and management, and all related tasks.
With a contagious upbeat energy and passion for life, Jenny is a much-valued member of the Echo team. She has a determined commitment to ensuring the best customer experience, satisfaction, and success, and is it part of her nature to go the extra mile for sponsors and exhibitors.
Jenny’s previous seven years in sales, business development, and event management include being Sales Manager at St. James’ Park, home of Newcastle United Football Club, as well as Business Development Manager at Silverbean affiliate marketing agency.
And her favourite thing about working for Echo?
“The team ethos is really great with everyone working together to reach our goals. We also offer an unrivalled customer experience to our clients and delegates which I’m proud to be part of.”
“I have always worked in the hospitality industry in both operations and sales settings, and this role allows me to fully understand both sides of the coin; event logistics and sales. The importance of understanding and executing these two functions is paramount to a successful event!”
Natasha joined Echo in August 2022 in the role of marketing manager. This role holds responsibility for supporting the marketing requirements across the associations and events teams, as well as those of Echo itself.
Natasha's career began in investor relations and financial PR in the City of London. After studying for an MBA, she became Head of Marketing and Communications for a subsea engineering firm before setting up her own marketing consultancy in Newcastle upon Tyne. Natasha joined Echo after working on the marketing team of a Law and Claims Management firm for four years.
Natasha is a friendly, thoughtful and valued member of the team who is always willing to go the extra mile for clients and colleagues. Her expertise and knowledge of marketing are invaluable and much appreciated by the team.
Natasha said of working at Echo,
“This is such an impressively widely experienced and world-wise team who give the impression of being far more people than they are! It is also a pleasure to work for clients who make such a positive difference to the world in their variety of ways.”