About me
I was a Liberal Democrat councillor from 1997-2010, representing the ward of Chessington North and Hook in the Royal Borough of Kingston upon Thames. During that time I served as Mayor of the Royal Borough of Kingston upon Thames for the year 2006-2007.
From 2004 to 2006 I held the Executive portfolio for Children and Young People's Services, and before that, for two years, my portfolio was Participation and Communication. From 1997-2010 I served as Chair of the South of the Borough Neighbourhood Committee.
I have a deep interest in e-government, and in e-democracy in particular. From November 2003 to March 2006 I served as Chair of the Local e-Democracy National Project. When that project ended I joined the Board of the International Centre of Excellence for Local e-Democracy as Vice Chair. I am currently Chair of e-Democracy.org, a US based, international organisation that fosters neighbourhood forums and other online projects for democratic interaction.
Another passion of mine is the Rose Theatre, of which I was a trustee for eight years. This unique and very special theatre finally opened in Kingston in January 2008 under the inspirational guidance of Sir Peter Hall and Stephen Unwin.
Professionally, I worked in further education for many years, but I now spend my time writing educational books under the name K Mary Reid. These are all on ICT and are mainly targeted at the post 16 market. I have also designed a number of websites.
To keep sane I sing with Kingston Choral Society.
My husband Ian was also a councillor and he occasionally contributes a guest blog. We are both active members of St Pauls' Church, Hook (one of my designs). We have two adult sons who both work in the music industry, and two very lovable grandsons.
A long time ago I gained a BA Hons degree in Philosophy and Mathematics from the University of York, and followed that with a Postgraduate Certificate in Education and an MA in Philosophy of Education from the University of London Institute Of Education. I returned to academic studies in 1990 when I achieved an MSc from Imperial College London in Intelligent Knowledge Based Systems. I am a Chartered Information Technology Professional.
