Paula Newton
Paula stayed at her first YHA hostel at the tender age of nine years old, enjoying a life-changing experience that has shaped her travels ever since. She has hostelled extensively in both the UK and abroad to support her hiking adventures. More recently she has led groups of hikers on weekend trips staying at YHA hostels, opening up countless others to the benefits of the YHA experience.
Paula’s early career included stints at the BBC and BSkyB in operations management and leadership roles. She was part of the team that first brought interactive television to the world in 1999. She was awarded her Master of Business Administration in 2005. She lived abroad for the best part of 10 years, first in Ecuador as an Operations Director/Editor-in-Chief for a small start-up publishing company and later pioneering a digital nomad lifestyle running her own businesses. She travelled South America, Australia and South East Asia while serving her clients online.
An entrepreneur by nature, Paula has built her successful business advisory firms that provide specialised tax consulting services to established SMEs, and business plan development and writing for businesses of all shapes and sizes.
Paula has served on boards and committees of several membership organisations, including South Downs Leisure Trust. She brings a range of non-executive and trustee experience to YHA including strategic oversight, commercial and financial acumen, and risk management capabilities.
In her spare time you’ll find generally find her outdoors either hiking or cycling.