May 12th 2012 10:44 pm
Profile: Cllr Karen Chilvers
I served the people of Brentwood West for four years between 2007 and 2011, lost by ten votes in 2011 and returned with 1,003 votes and a 336 majority on 3rd May 2012.
I’ve always had a lively interest in politics and joined the Liberal Democrats after being a long-time supporter and voter. My real involvement in local politics began when I, by accident rather than design, became the lead campaigner in the “Save Thorndon Park” campaign in Winter 2005. It was through this that I realised that I was capable of standing up for a cause and for others and I felt that standing for council was the right thing to do. I’m glad to say that we won and Thorndon Park is currently safely preserved for future generations due to this campaign.
Born at Rush Green Hospital on 3rd April 1971, I grew up in Upminster, attending Branfil and Gaynes schools, and then moved to North End, Warley, with my mother and sister in 1992. I now live in a garden flat in Brackens Drive, having spent 3 years (1999-2002) in Stondon Massey. My place is a few metres away from the edge of the ward, but I’m in Brentwood West most days as my mother lives in the ward!
I hold the Chartered Institute of Marketing’s Diploma in Marketing and gained chartered status in 2004. I studied for my marketing qualifications in my spare time, via home study which taught me to be disciplined!
I started work in 1989 at Selfridges and worked my way from junior secretary to Marketing Executive when I left the store in 1996. I worked on Tesco Clubcard for 18 months, then went to Lakeside Shopping Centre in a senior marketing role and then to the National Gallery as marketing & sales manager. Many people in Brentwood know me from my next role where I was to spend five years as Business Development & Marketing Manager at BUPA Hartswood Hospital in Warley. I left in April 2006 after a wonderful time at Hartswood and being named as one of the top 3 marketing managers in the country. I then joined the Office of Fair Trading, where I was Head of Marketing for Consumer Direct, the government’s helpline for consumer advice, for four years. The website I managed was named in The Guardian’s Top 100 websites for two years running and was one of the top three consumer sites in 2009! I have recently set up my own marketing consultancy, Three Little Words Ltd and am currently working for a global service provider.
In my spare time, I am a gardener, a twitcher, a shopper and an animal lover. I have two cats – Dillon & Daisy and there’s my lovely Louis the shih tzu too (he’s a cute ball of fluff who you will often see me walking around Brentwood West) and I enjoy spending time with friends and family, especially my nephew, Freddie. I have traced my family tree back to the 16th century, finding links to weavers, publicans, the military and The Krays!
By the way, I have appeared on two TV Quiz Shows (Don’t Forget your Toothbrush in Christmas 1998 where I won a Mini Cooper (!) and The Weakest Link in January 2007 where I finished third, after being tactically voted off in the penultimate round!)
…and this is the sort of thing I get up to as your local councillor!
