The Henley College Alumni Sophie Brownlee Builds Career in Politics and Public Affairs

Former student Sophie Brownlee frrom The Henley College, who studied at the College from 2011 to 2013, has gone on to build an impressive career in politics and public affairs.

During her time at The Henley College, Sophie studied English Literature, History, Politics, Ancient History and Photography, developing a broad academic foundation before progressing to higher education. She went on to study History at the University of Manchester and later completed an MA in History at the SOAS University of London.

Sophie is now an Associate Director at a public affairs agency and has spent the past 10 years working in politics and public affairs roles. Much of her work involves advising organisations including Specsavers and Kellogg's on how to engage with Government and achieve policy change.

After university, she volunteered at a local charity and completed internships at think tanks and public affairs agencies before moving into party politics. During the 2019 General Election, she worked for Change UK, also known as The Independent Group for Change, running the party’s campaign on the ground in Ilford and managing its parliamentary office in Westminster.

A significant part of her career has focused on the creative industries. She spent time working with Music Venue Trust to help achieve the introduction of a £1 ticket levy which is now applied to all arena and stadium tickets for live concerts. She is also a member of the London Mayor's Independent Nightlife Taskforce and over the past year has worked with fellow taskforce members to speak to more than 3,000 Londoners and produce recommendations for the Mayor on the future of nightlife in London.

Reflecting on her time at The Henley College, Sophie remembers her experience extremely fondly and has expressed a willingness to support the College and its students in the future.

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