Haley Sneed is a community-based researcher, educator, and youth worker with over a decade of experience supporting young people across educational, community, and justice-related contexts. Passionate about rights-based practice and youth voice, Haley’s work centres on co-production, trauma-informed facilitation, and systems change driven by lived experience.
Haley’s academic background includes an MEd in Adult Education, Community Development and Youth Work, an MSc in Academic and Career Advising, and a PhD (pending) from the University of Glasgow. Her doctoral research investigates young people’s reflections on wellbeing, care, and constraint in a post-pandemic Scottish youth work setting, with a focus on amplifying youth perspectives to inform practice and policy.
Before joining CYCJ, Haley worked as Lead Youth Worker at DRC Youth Project, where she co-founded a youth committee to strengthen participatory decision-making and local advocacy. She has also taught at the University of Glasgow, designing and delivering modules on research methods, community development, and social justice, and providing academic support across disciplines.
At CYCJ, Haley’s role as Participation Advisor focuses on amplifying the voices and experiences of children and young people in conflict with the law, ensuring their perspectives inform practice, policy, and systems-level change.
Haley is a passionate advocate for relational, inclusive, and transformative approaches to participation, and is committed to creating spaces where young people feel heard, valued, and empowered to influence the systems that affect their lives.