I am visual and critical thinker with a positive attitude. I have engaging people skills, loads of creative energy and am committed to inclusion and human rights. I have a range of research and evaluation skills, along with significant experience of working with community based organisations. In terms of my approach to art, I am self taught through being a chronic doodler and natural fidget with a passion for the things people say and the meaning that everyday places hold for them. My blog shows some recent examples of my art work and interests.
Having left school with no qualifications, I later received the labels of dyslexia, dyspraxia and attention deficit. Reflecting on these nowdays my preference is for the term neurodiverse, and I 've learnt to embrace and harness my diverse language use and organisational approach to the world. Indeed this gives me a great deal of insight in terms of the how we engage with each other. Returning to university as a mature student, in 2008 I completed a with a PhD in Social Psychology. An abridged version of my thesis was published as a chapter in an international text in 2009 'Disabilities: Insights From Across Fields and Around the World'. I've since also written about experiences of dyslexia and the joy of using screen readers, see here.
In 2000 I set up a disabled persons organisation in Tower Hamlets, now part of Real. This provided information, peer advocacy and adaptive technology advice, as well as promoting equality and inclusion. From 2008 – 11 I ran the Disability LIB project, a £4million national lottery funded capacity building program, providing management consultancy skills to 200+ community organisations around business and strategic planning, quality reviews, fund raising, HR and leadership development initiatives.
I am based in York and London, and willing to travel.