Bianca Smart
Nominated by: Anonymous
Department: Adult Social Care and Health
Reason for nomination:
Bianca is a former student, who now works within Erewash and is completing her ASYE. In the 6 months since Bianca started her ASYE, she has demonstrated an abundance of enthusiasm and willingness to learn. Bianca takes every opportunity to work with others to gain experience and knowledge.
She is reflective in her approach and is a fantastic example of what you want an ASYE to be – reflective, curious and open minded in her learning. Bianca is constantly thriving to improve, taking on board and actively seeking feedback on her work because her goal is to be the best advocate for the people she works with. Bianca’s development is measured very clearly within her work, her assessments and her recording – she has come on leaps and bounds and demonstrates a work ethic that deserves recognition.
Bianca is a valued member of the team, volunteering to support new students and other ASYE’s without any need to be asked. She shares her knowledge with the team, and is always an active participant in training or CPD sessions we put on. Bianca’s big personality and infectious laugh are also a testament to what a fantastic team member she is; in a time of uncertainty and where morale in teams can dip because of the difficult job we face, Bianca’s presence is a real balm to the team and I thoroughly feel her contribution should be recognised.
Natalie Pepperell
Nominated by: Anonymous
Department: Adult Social Care and Health
Reason for nomination:
Natalie has not long completed her ASYE.
Natalie supports clients and colleagues to the best of her ability and is always positive and caring towards those in the community that we support.
Jack Breeze
Nominated by: Bryde Beighton
Department: Corporate Services & Transformation
Reason for nomination:
I’d like to nominate Jack Breeze for the Rising Star Award. He joined our team as a Team Leader in 2024 and has quickly made a real impact. In April 2025, he was successfully appointed as Business Services Manager, a testament to both his capability and the respect he’s earned in a short space of time.
From the beginning, he’s stood out for his eagerness to learn, his thoughtful approach, and his genuine care for people. He’s taken on challenges with maturity and focus, and nothing is ever too much trouble. He has built strong, positive relationships with colleagues across the board, and it’s clear that people value his input, trust his judgment, and respect him both as a person and as a manager.
One of his standout achievements has been recently being the Business Services Manager for the Flexible Resource Pool, which supports the deployment of care workers across adult care services county-wide. It’s a complex piece of work, but he’s approached it with clear thinking, initiative, and a real drive to make services work better. He’s has been running it as if he has been doing the role for years, but in reality, its only been a couple of months. He’s someone who sees the bigger picture, who is always thinking about how to improve things—not just for the sake of change, but with a clear focus on outcomes.
He’s not afraid to test ideas, learn through doing, and adjust as needed. That level of self-awareness and commitment is rare, especially so early in a leadership journey. Jack has shown real leadership, resilience, and innovation. He’s made a strong start to what I know will be an exciting career for him, and I truly believe he deserves recognition as a rising star.
Ellie Tomlinson
Nominated by: Anonymous
Department: Corporate Services & Transformation
Reason for nomination:
Ellie has stepped up to cover the complaints managers role for the last 12 months nearly. She is responsive, works collaboratively with colleagues in the QA team around complaints responses which has had a positive impact on the working relationships, holds us to account for deadlines and is very approachable and efficient.
Holly Chambers
Nominated by: Anonymous
Department: PLACE
Reason for nomination:
Holly Chambers is nominated for her exceptional contribution as an Engineering Technician in Transport Development Management, a role she took up in February 2025 following 18 months in DCC's inaugural Graduate Programme.
In just a few short months, Holly has delivered one of the most impactful changes to the service in years. She led the creation of a digital mapping system that captures every Section 38 and Section 278 development in Derbyshire, past and present. More than just a map, it is now fully integrated with our back-office database, linking each scheme’s geospatial location to its technical drawings, legal agreements, and communications. This has fundamentally changed how we operate.The result is a tool that has transformed how we respond to internal and external queries. Where previously it could take hours to trace the right development based on partial location details, we can now identify it within minutes.
This has delivered major efficiency savings and improved the quality and speed of our responses to residents, developers, and Members. Holly clearly understood the brief and delivered a system that exceeded expectations. She worked with the team to gather feedback, proposed a workable solution to a longstanding problem, and managed the delivery of the system independently alongside her core duties. Her attention to detail and commitment to quality have made the system a reliable and valuable asset to the team. She has shown curiosity, initiative, and strong problem-solving skills, and has approached the role with maturity and confidence well beyond her grade.
Holly’s work has already made a lasting difference to the team and the wider department. Her contribution exceeds what would be expected at this stage of her career and she is an outstanding example of a rising star.
Ruth Tunnicliffe
Nominated by: Helen Forster
Department: Corporate Services & Transformation
Reason for nomination:
I, on behalf of Property SMT, nominate Ruth Tunnicliffe for the Rising Star Award.
Ruth's journey has been nothing short of extraordinary, embodying the very essence of all of the council's values.
Stepping into a new profession is a daunting challenge, yet Ruth has not only embraced this transition but has thrived, proving to be a true asset from day one. With a remarkable ability to grasp new Asset Management concepts and apply them effectively, Ruth has hit the ground running, demonstrating an unparalleled work ethic and a commitment to delivering outstanding results on a daily basis.
What truly distinguishes Ruth is her dedication to continuous learning and development. Enrolled in a university course on a one-day release schedule, Ruth balances academic pursuits with her professional responsibilities seamlessly. Ruth's ability to integrate new knowledge into her work showcases a rare blend of passion and accountability. Beyond her impressive individual accomplishments, Ruth contributes immensely to the success and morale of the Asset Management and Property teams. Ruth's positive attitude, eagerness to collaborate, and willingness to go above and beyond sets a shining example.
Ruth does not just adapt to change but thrives in it and this is the main reason I believe Ruth is a future leader in the making.
Katy Rhodes
Nominated by: Sue Mason
Department: Corporate Services & Transformation
Reason for nomination:
Katy joined Derbyshire County Council in July 2024 as an agency worker, thrown into an office that had just lost 3 out of 4 permanent members of staff.
Katy applied for and became a permanent member of staff in the office and by this point it was only myself and her as all 4 previous office staff had now left. It was sink or swim time for us both. Katy's computer skills got us through some difficult times and my little bit of knowledge as to how the office ran got us going.
Its been nearly 12 months and Katy is in charge of the office, the phones, the booking system and now has another staff member she has trained. As a small team of 3 Katy is my right hand woman and we would not be as efficient, competent and reliable as we are today without her leading the way. She is only 19 but so mature and wise and will go far within Derbyshire County Council.
She is a very popular member of staff and helps in any department that is needed, she has helped coach our apprentice, she will listen to anyone’s problems be it work related or not. She is a very driven motivated person, she has led the way with delivering a whole new booking computer system and successfully completed her first financial year end and worked so hard to ensure we have our price list completed ready for booking for 2026-2027. No mean feat when you have never done it before nor the fact that she hates maths.
Dan Merry
Nominated by: Renata Hale
Department: PLACE
Reason for nomination:
Dan joined Derbyshire County Council in December 2024 as a Compliance Officer within the Contracts and Commissioning Team. Coming from a logistics background, Dan demonstrated exceptional adaptability and quickly grasped the complexity of his new role - despite it being a significant career change.
Since joining, Dan has consistently delivered high-quality work and has made a real, positive impact across the wider service. He embodies the Collaborative value in everything he does. He works closely with colleagues across the Council—including Legal, SEND Transport, and Adult Care Transport teams—to deliver shared goals that improve both service delivery and safeguarding for vulnerable users.
Dan is proactive and full of practical ideas. One standout example of his contribution was the development of a new screening process for operators registering onto our Dynamic Purchasing System (DPS). This process, created and implemented by Dan, ensures that all new operators are fully engaged from the outset—setting a positive tone for ongoing compliance and reducing the risk of safeguarding issues and complaints.
His work has already made life easier for the SEND Transport Team and strengthened our working relationships with over 125 contracted transport providers. He has also supported improvements to our internal processes—streamlining tasks and improving efficiency for the team.
Dan regularly offers support to colleagues and contributes far beyond the expectations of his role, making him an invaluable asset to the team. Dan is a genuine rising star—hardworking, collaborative, solutions-focused, and already making a significant impact in his first year. He has a bright future at Derbyshire County Council, and we believe he thoroughly deserves this recognition.
Hayley Gleeson
Nominated by: Anonymous
Department: Adult Social Care and Health
Reason for nomination:
Hayley stepped into her Public Health Lead role 2 years ago. In that time she has demonstrated her leadership skills within the Strategic Intent team, but also within the wider Public Health department as she has played a critical role in developing the Public Health Strategic Plan and Health and Wellbeing Strategy for Derbyshire.
Hayley has utilised traditional line management to empower the team to develop the Strategic Plan and supporting tasks, but has also lead and championed the development work of the Strategic Plan across Public Health Senior Management Team and the Extended Leadership Team.
At times this was a challenging area of work and building consensus across all leaders was critical and has been delivered. Throughout Hayley has been positive, led by example and inspired others to participate in the strategy development. The Strategic Plan and the Health and Wellbeing Strategy outlined how Public Health can make continual improvement across the department, but also within key programmes of work.
The Strategic Plan and the Health and Wellbeing Strategy is new to the Council Plan, ensuring that everything we deliver in Public Health maximises impact and outcome.