The PPA Next Gen Awards exist to champion 30 of the most exciting rising stars in UK specialist media. Victoria Hart, Mark Allen Group’s Communities Manager and Sean Boyle, the editor of both the recently launched International Journal for Advancing Practice, as well as British Journal of Healthcare Assistants have both been recognised in the list.

Victoria, or Torie, has excelled in a completely new role for Mark Allen Group as the Communities Manager. Digital communities are a rapidly emerging part of the media landscape, representing an exciting opportunity for new ways to engage with our audiences. A Communities Manager requires a diverse skill set including digital marketing, editorial, sales, social media and even coding, as well as the personal skills needed to work with the teams representing our internal and external stakeholders.

Torie launched from scratch the SEND Network, a new community to build upon our existing Tes SEND Show. Already delivering over 2,000 members, a new revenue stream and a new channel to communicate with our audiences, the SEND Network is an astonishing achievement for an individual so early into their career.  Torie presented her work on stage to the wider media industry at the Publishing Show where she received plaudits from senior figures in attendance.

Sean joined the Mark Allen Group in February 2022, as the acting Editor of the International Journal of Palliative Nursing and Journal of Kidney Care. During his time on those titles, Sean  commissioned, organised peer review for, edited and designed 170+ articles, completed 10 issues of his journals and created a new psycho-social series which has been so well received that it has been recreated in other Healthcare titles.

Sean’s enthusiasm and can-do attitude meant that he stepped up and became the Launch Editor of the International Journal for Advancing Practice, in association with Health Education England, as well as Editor of the British Journal of Healthcare Assistants. Launching a new journal is no easy feat, but Sean managed this with aplomb, creating an international multidisciplinary editorial board and content that made the first issue so appealing that it had subscribers signing up before the journal was even launched. Sean’s helpful and diligent nature has made him a wonderful addition to the Mark Allen Group Healthcare division. He is a worthy winner of this award.