CAST: Meet the team!
Continuing our series of Q&As with members of the CAST team, we chat to Tori Ellaway, Head of Digital Practice. Tori leads our work on Coffee Connections, Digital Campus, Design Hops and the Digital Skills Framework, as well as working across many of our free digital resources.
Look out for more Q&A pieces with the CAST team over the coming months — and of course, if you have any questions you’d like to put to us, we’d love to hear from you; please get in touch via hello@wearecast.org.uk.
Hi Tori! Firstly, please could you tell us a bit about your background and how you ended up working at CAST?
Tori: I always wanted to work for charity, and after a few years working in the private publishing sector on digital projects I made the move to Cancer Research UK’s digital team. Following that I worked at vInspired, a youth volunteering charity, then came across CAST when one of my colleagues was hired by them. Having experienced the challenges of being a digital lead in charities both small and large, with buy-in and sometimes without, I was very excited to be able to support people in a similar position to me in a role at CAST.
What sectors have you worked in?
Charity mainly, but I also worked a few years in the online publishing sector, first at Wilmington (which publishes a directory of UK charities and used to have an online donation and volunteering platform — so a direct link to my wish to working in charity) and then at Property Week which gave me lots of great experience of writing, editing and developing a weekly tablet app for readers.
What is the most valuable course or professional qualification you have completed?
While I was at Cancer Research UK I did a short User Experience course at City University which was really interesting and got me out and about asking people questions in cafes as part of the course homework. It put me out of my comfort zone, taught me how to ask questions in a non-biased way and gave me the user research and experience bug.
What is the most successful or enjoyable project you’ve worked on?
When I first started at CAST I worked on Fuse, a 3 month accelerator where we worked intensively with a person from a charity to design and test a new service for their users. Although I’ve enjoyed many other projects since then, Fuse has a special place in my heart as I was able to build really strong relationships with the participants and years on, we’re able to see the difference those services, products and teams have made.
What skills/knowledge have you picked up over the years which supports your role at CAST?
Coaching — I think I already did this unknowingly before joining CAST as I generally like to listen to people and ask questions, but I feel like I’ve formalised this skill more since working at CAST. I’ve had lots of opportunities to coach and mentor people on various programmes during my time at CAST, and it’s something I really enjoy doing.
What would you say is your ‘superpower’? What’s the thing you particularly excel at?
I’d say my superpower is finding patterns in qualitative data — when we synthesise user research interviews and other datasets, I love pulling it all together so that it makes some sort of sense and we can spot key themes to take into subsequent phases of the design process.
We are allocated two volunteering days per year at CAST. Can you tell us about any ways that you have used this in the past — and any plans for the future?
In the past I’ve used volunteering days to participate in meetings for the two advisory boards I’ve sat on: Hestia’s Digital and IT Subcommittee and LAWRS Advisory Board. It has also allowed me to input into specific topics where additional support was helpful.
Do you have a particular area or sector you’re most interested in?
I enjoy working with all charities that are keen on improving their services, but in recent years I’ve worked quite closely with organisations from the refugee and asylum sector. I’ve also spent quite a lot of time focussing on digital skills building within these organisations and others. My favourite topic to work with charities on, though, is definitely user research. It can be totally eye-opening for individuals and organisations, and I love being able to witness that ‘aha’ moment.
Can you give us a typical ‘day in the life’ of your role at CAST: what would a typical day involve?
I generally find that there’s no such thing at CAST, which is probably part of why I love my job so much! My days can vary from the very practical, like designing or delivering a workshop with charities, setting up monitoring and evaluation mechanisms, reporting, doing user research, or testing out AI tools; to the more strategic, like planning programmes of work with partners, creating budgets and writing funding bids. It’s a mixed bag and I definitely agree with the “Variety’s the spice of life” proverb.
What do you enjoy doing outside of work?
I have 2 cats, which are such joy-bringers (not just for me, but also for my fellow CAST colleagues who now expect feline appearances during our online meetings, and sometimes even assign them meeting actions!). I’m a trained upholsterer, and I have far too many projects on the go to actually get done, but it keeps me busy and I really enjoy having a physical project to work on alongside my digital role. I also play padel tennis and love paddleboarding when the weather allows it. Oh, and in recent years I’ve become a Camino de Santiago enthusiast.
