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code red the empowerment project

London

The founder, Calvin E J Wilson LLM (LSE), is a Barrister who has a longstanding interest in educating students, young adults, and their parents on the workings of the criminal justice system. The Empowerment Project Qualifications and Studies Barrister at Law, Inns of Court, School of Law, United Kingdom Attorney at Law Supreme Court of Trinidad and Tobago Senior Crown Prosecutor, Crown Prosecution Service, United Kingdom Banker, Bank of Commerce, Trinidad and Tobago Master of Laws (Commercial) London School of Economics Bachelor of Laws University of London The Empowerment Project Experience Post graduate education and training in the law, with valuable experience on the frontline of the Criminal Justice System including almost eight years prosecution experience at the Crown Prosecution Service and the Criminal Courts, and operational experience with advising Teams at New Scotland Yard. Devised and successfully delivered this series of workshops and has conducted mentoring, motivational speaking and awareness raising sessions at Youth Clubs and Community Centres around London. Direct contacts with officers of the Met Police at ranks of Constable, Sergeant, and Inspector. Guidance and mentoring experience with black young adults. The Empowerment Project Skills Strong professional, administrative, managerial, and creative skills. Resolute adherence to good governance, accounting and auditing best practices. Devising and implementing new and improved working arrangements and innovative projects. Unique skill set that is critical to the effective leadership and delivery of the objectives of Code Red Empowerment. Established Consulting firm Calvin Wilson and Associates, which offers strategic and public affairs advice to governments and the private sector globally, on anti-money laundering and combatting the financing of terrorism issues, and on preventing trans-national criminal gangs from preying on young people. Founded The Empowerment Project The Empowerment Project Books Author of the book “Voices from Violence. A Woman’s Journey to Self-Healing” which is presented to audiences in the Readers Theatre format by CODE RED Ensemble, as an advocacy vehicle to empower young girls and women and to sensitise boys and men in order to reduce or eliminate the level of violence globally. Desilu Banton desilu banton I was born in Dulwich Hospital, East Dulwich Grove,SE22 3PT, on 11th December 1961. I began my life in a house at 102 Railton Road, Herne Hill,SE24 OET, on the ‘Front Line’ of ‘Brixton’, London. What I remember most of my childhood is drawing, drawing all the time, every opportunity. My father loved music and loved to dance. We would dance together. My mother designed clothes and was a dressmaker and cake baker. My parents had arrived in England in 1954 from Jamaica and lived in the Brixton area. They lived on Concannon Road from around 1955 and moved to Railton Road in 1959 after they had wed at the church at Santley Street, around the corner of Concannon Road. Today I live by my painting and continue in my mothers’ and fathers’ legacy as a creator. I am open to producing works of art by commission. painting Painting is expression, a way of me talking with everybody else about how I feel, like a bluesman would play his blues. The whole thing is about feeling. Painting is blues. I paint those feelings that are from inside my head, from inside my soul. The spiritual part of all this is the heritage, the thing that comes from my ancestors, the ingredients that everybody talks about when they talk about the past, where we all come from, which is DNA, the genes. What I am doing is recording the memory that comes to me from nature, along with the music that came from West Africa and the Atlantic experience, all of it, and what I do then is give it form, give it some skin, textures and colours, the whole thing is like an umbilical cord that has not lost its life force, it is the whole nine yards. Jackie Burton Jackie Burton Born and raised in West Yorkshire, I took a trip to London in 1983 and have remained here since then. I am a black woman, a Christian and a mother. A retired Social Worker, I have a passion for children, young people and their families. Over the last 40 years I have had roles in church including youth leader and Pathfinder club leader as well as teaching in children’s Sabbath school & children’s church. It was my joy, to find the most creative and interesting ways to engage children and young people with so many varied learning styles. Over the last 12 years of my career I was a Team Leader for a local authority Fostering Service; having responsibility for facilitating training, assessing foster carers and placing children from diverse and challenging backgrounds with those carers. Life-long learning is part of who I am and I started becoming more interested in paper crafts when my now, 25 year old son was around 3 years old. We started to make cards for every occasion and stopped buying them from the shops. Paper crafts opened the door to so many other crafting pursuits and my love for crafting has only grown since then, from wedding decoration, decoupage & canvas art to knitting & simple sewing, I have done many and various and still do. Nothing pleases me more than sharing my love for something with others, and creative crafts is certainly one of those very many things. I have done this via children’s craft workshops; transforming spaces for Vacation Bible School (VBS); school holiday clubs; card making workshops for children and adults. If it includes crafting, I will consider it. Currently I am involved in a weekly Craft Café project where we are using hobby crafts to support people in our community who may be lonely, socially isolated or feeling low. Sr Josephine Udie MP, MSc, GC HDip, NP Reverend Sister, Steer Right Project Coordinator, Power Coach Expert, Health Care Professional Reverend Sister, Steer Right Project Coordinator, Power Coach Expert, Health Care Professional Sister Josephine is passionate about the dignity of the human person. As a trained Power Coach and Health Care professional, Sister enjoys using her skills to coach, support and empower children and families to become who they are meant to be. Steer Right is a charity for which Sister Josephine is Project Coordinator, uses the strap line Little help Big Difference to highlight the effectiveness of what a small amount of intervention can do. Amari Smith-Foster Amari Smith-Foster I am a mental health advocate and a student counsellor. I am extremely passionate about mental health and well-being. After battling with my own mental health, being sectioned at just 13 and becoming part of the system, I am using those same life experiences to help others overcome. My story, my pain and this rollercoaster of a journey has given me great insight to help others and make a change. Me speaking up and using my voice, allows so many others, old, young, male, and female to feel heard, to feel seen. Now I am in a position, I have promised myself , it is pivotal that I make a change for the mental health system. My social profiles: Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/accounts/onetap/?next=%2F LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/amari-smith-foster-26a68417b/ Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCPMHXb5U40E0Zw1B3h4vcJg Please feel free to contact me should there be any issues. Norman Mine Norman Mine Norman Mine is an Italian-born London based multidisciplinary artist whose practice encompasses visual art, acting and social work. Using autobiographical scenarios as a starting point, Mine's practice expands into fantasy and delusion and in his alter-ego, Dino Desica, an aspiring Italian actor who exists only through a video format, as "performance to camera", becoming an ephemeral simulation of the self. Mine's practice explores the infinite possibilities of the self, the authenticity and the structures of inclusion and exclusion in which it is constructed. For the past three years Mine has run creative workshops co-working with people of different generations, backgrounds, and abilities; developing a specific approach that unsettles the scenario in which participants perform to stimulate creativity and imagination as an opportunity to navigate within. Mine has obtained a Masters Degree in Fine Art at Goldsmith College in 2018. His work has been shown at Performance Istanbul (2021), disORDER Live Collective (2020), Deptford X (2019), The Koppel Project (2019), Platform1 Gallery (2018), Art Night London (2017). He was a recipient of the DYCP grant, Art Council England (2021). In 2022 Mine has founded Norwood JunkAction, an eco-community art project based in Croydon, London. Diana Wilson Diana Wilson Diana Wilson is an Executive and Life Coach professional as well as a Psychodynamic Counsellor, who in parallel, has enjoyed a substantial career in Education and Training and Development across Schools and local Government. Diana is fluidly proficient in a myriad of modalities with a keen focus on Cognitive Behavioural Coaching. She offers leading-edge, inspirational coaching that stimulates thinking, accelerates transformation, and empowers clients to accomplish their aspirational goals. My social handles: Website: www.dwcoach.co.uk LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/diana-wilson-564a6941 Richmond Trew Richmond Trew A Professional Trainer/Workshop Facilitator with 25 years’ experience of working in communities and custodial settings nationally and internationally. He is also a recording & performing artist fronting the collective Abstract Word and currently has Publishing & Production contracts with (Peer Music LTD-MAP Music). Richmond also leads a group of free-lance Arts Practioners under the name of Journeyman Arts (Using the Arts to share & pass on Knowledge). He also Runs 492 Korna Klub next generation Ltd that runs live improvised drama weekly on Galaxy Radio.

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hope bereavement support group cic

HOPE Bereavement Support began in 2013 when the visionary and founder, Ansa, realised that there needed to be a place of safety and inclusion for all mothers who had sadly lost a baby to miscarriage, stillbirth or at any other stage of their child’s life. What was sorely needed was an accessible place where everyone would be able to find comfort and support for their loss; not feel alone or ostracised. She had a vision where everybody – regardless of age, sex, religion, ethnicity or any other difference – had the ability to access mental health and emotional support for their loss. Ansa’s ambition came from a painful journey; she is the proud mother of 9 rainbow children. Her determination to succeed grew after she struggled to find a suitable support group after her losses. During her healing process she became more empowered and went back to study, changing her career path to become a qualified and registered counsellor and Training Consultant. There was at that time very limited multi-lingual counselling services available, and furthermore, it was very expensive and the clinical models applied did not feel culturally diverse or sensitive to BME therapeutic needs. HOPE Bereavement Support initially started with three trustees (the founder, a secretary and a treasurer) as a small constituted community group in Leeds, setting up bereavement support groups run by befrienders and volunteers for women and families to meet after suffering the loss of a child. Over 7 years on, the organisation is now running support services in Leeds, Bradford and London and specialises in all types of bereavement. We have a team of over 30 people consisting of qualified counsellors, coaches, an occupational therapist, clinical supervisors and many befrienders and volunteers. All staff members are based nationally in different parts of the UK working together remotely. Our services: Counselling Coaching Bereavement support groups Mental health and emotional wellbeing resilience workshops Educational and awareness building workshops Training and consultancy Research Media We also have service delivery partnership projects with Touchstone Staff Counselling and Touchstone ‘Blossom’ (Female Genital Mutilation) counselling: https://touchstonesupport.org.uk/ Our CEO Ansa E Ahmed has been nominated for the Positive Role Model (Race, Faith and Religion) Award at the National Diversity Awards 2021 “I was overwhelmed by receiving this nomination for the award, however, I feel and I believe that my HOPE team and organisation are well-deserved of this nomination and that this will be the first of many to come because we are a blackled organisation aiming to fulfil the short-comings in our national services in providing better health outcomes for our black communities nationwide. As the founder and CEO of HOPE services I feel very proud and overwhelmed with how much support, passion and dedication I have found in the people who have joined my organisation. When speaking and networking with other third sector and national organisations and their leaders, I was gratefully humbled for the respect given to our organisation in terms of what HOPE has to offer in fulfilling the need of our BAME communities access to mental health services in their own languages, and with our culturally inclusive person-centred approach towards each individual who accesses our services. Furthermore, I do not believe there is any other organisation that has achieved what we have in a short time as a Community Interest Company (CIC). This again is a testimony to the great BAME leaders from my board of directors, managers, supervisors and clinical practitioners that for me as a black leader I am proud to have alongside me as a driving force for HOPE. It feels like a lifetime ago when my career changed from the corporate field of working in the banking industry for 15 years of my life, I was able with my initiative and work ethic dedication to move up the management ladder to a customer service focused area manager role. So, therefore leading, motivating, coaching others from a leadership role comes very natural to me in my skill set as a CEO, but what really drives me is the passion and belief in compassion for all of humanity and this makes my job as CEO of HOPE very rewarding. From a personal development aspect I feel a winner as I am not only helping and giving back to my communities in the services that we provide in HOPE but also that I am helping my fellow BAME professionals nationwide who choose to join HOPE in their journey and development in furthering their career as BAME leaders within their respective fields of works. It has always been my mission statement as an individual and now as the head of the HOPE organisation that where possible I want to fight against stigma, shame, prejudice and racism in all its forms always with a heart full of compassion, love for humanity and kindness for all. I believe that true leadership is leading by example but also alongside helping your aspiring leaders. Your vote for me and HOPE would mean so much to us all, thank you 🙂 ”

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sew creative

Altrincham

Hi I’m Kate, I set up Sew Creative in 2016, however a lot of my customers are often surprised to hear that I haven’t always loved sewing - in fact I even paid one of my friends to sew my Year 7 Textiles project for me, then ditched the subject as soon as I was allowed in the following year! I eventually learnt to sew when I made the decision to study Fashion Design in Manchester. After my degree I worked in the fashion industry in both London and New York, before heading back up North to train to be a Textiles teacher and settle in Altrincham. Whilst teaching, I started to advertise sewing classes - it was originally just a way to earn a little extra money. I started on a table in Hobbycraft with a couple of old machines and some bits and pieces from my personal fabric stash. I sat there for several weeks, with no customers or interest, and was about to give up when Sue (now a member of staff!), my first ever customer, approached me asking if I’d teach her how to make her own patterns - and Sew Creative was born! Alex MANAGER Alex joined the Sew Creative team having left teaching in February 2020, just two weeks before the first National Lockdown! When she was a teacher, she taught social science, so sewing was a bit of a change! Alex sews most of her own clothes and can usually be found wearing at least one me-made item in store during the week. Alex teaches our adult classes as well as our teenagers. She is also the shop’s manager, so if you need anything, she is always happy to help! You can find her on Instagram @sewalexfaye "My favourite thing about being able to sew is making things that fit me properly. I'm almost 6ft tall so finding ready to wear trousers and dresses the right length has always been a challenge.Now I just make them to fit my body rather than the other way around!" Dawn TUTOR Dawn has been with us at Sew Creative for two years now and has become the heart and soul of the shop. Dawn is our resident neat-freak so she keeps us all nice and ship-shape. Dawn has been sewing for years and regularly makes herself gorgeous dresses and coats. Dawn can be found teaching our adults on a Tuesday and our Saturday classes. She is warm of heart and always up for a good natter! Jayne TUTOR Jayne joined Sew Creative in September 2020, in the midst of a Global Pandemic has has taken the rollercoaster ride like a true pro. Jayne’s career has been in lingerie design and she has worked with some of the biggest names in the biz! Jayne sews her won clothes, and loves making tailored trousers, she is always the picture of sophistication! Jayne works most weekdays and every other Saturday, teaching our kids and adult classes. She also teaches our Monday night adult lesson! George CHIEF EXECUTIVE George is the newest and most adorable member of the Sew Creative team. He’s not old enough to sew yet, but can often be found in the shop sporting a mum-made outfit. You’ll also find his full modelling portfolio on Instagram, where you are guaranteed a regular dose of cuteness. He keeps Eric and Dotty very busy and despite being so small, is always the centre of attention! We’re all convinced he’ll be the next Patrick Grant! Eric HEAD OF SECURITY Hi, I’m Eric. I can often be found guarding the front door at Sew Creative. While I might look big, tough and scary, I am actually quite a lovely chap. I love treats, cuddles, any food that you might be eating, and more cuddles. Please feel free to pick me up and cuddle me, instead of doing any sewing. I look forward to meeting you soon. Thank you. Dotty THE DUCHESS Hi, I’m Dotty. I am pretty shy, but if you’re quiet and gentle I will come for some cuddles. I can often be found sleeping in my basket, or following my Mum around - just to make sure that she’s still there! Volunteers and Party Facilitators In addition to our part and full time members of staff, Sew Creative also has a team of amazing volunteers who help us out every week. Lisa, Sue , Catherine and Liz can be found lending a helping hand in our kids and adults classes, alongside some of our teen sewers who give up their precious weekends to work with us! If you book a party with us, you will almost certainly meet our lovely party facilitators. Evie and Daisy have been sewing with us for years and as they have grown up, have proven themselves to be very capable seamstresses. Both ladies are excellent with kids and adults alike!

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zeba's legacy

An idea sparked during the Middle East boom in the late 70s… It was a time of lucrative trade, a fast-paced world with minds and hearts brimming with ambition. There was a gap in the market…there was space for something different. The modern and global nature of contemporary design needed a warm human touch. Through long nights spent in thought and reflection, Zeba was born. The Persian word Zebaish, meaning beautiful, came to mind. It was exotic, filled with mystery, culture and of course, beauty. This is where our legacy began…a legacy that was born to grow and evolve for the rest of time. Zeba was put in place to cater to the need for contemporary design married with style and culture. We started with creating traditional carpets and dhurries in historic and transitional designs and colours. This endeavour, started with good fortune which led to the setting up of our stunning factory in Mirzapur, Uttar Pradesh. In order to be true to our theme and idea of mystery, intrigue and culture, we built a magnificent Haveli to be the heart of our production. It is a one of a kind factory, and surely, it has played a huge role in our growth and success. Along this journey, we found ourselves gravitating towards adding a home textile range to the carpet and dhurrie offerings, thereby, allowing us to provide our customers with a coordinated look, and products by themselves. This again, allowed us to fill another gap in the market…We now satisfied the needs of dressing entire spaces with styles and pieces that were created to complement each other. Steadily, Zeba was growing. Our teams expanded, our reach broadened, our ideas multiplied and finally Zeba was coming into her own. If the question were asked, ‘What is Zeba?’, the answer could not be a simple one… " Zeba is the relentless pursuit of finesse that draws energy from an infinite pool of ever evolving creativity. It is timeless, as charming as yesterday, as forward looking as tomorrow. Zeba is our soul. And, it’s yours to bring home when you so desire." Sujata & Rajan Mehta Zeba is Disruptive Zeba is built to disrupt old school distribution models with its vertically integrated operation—from concept to customer. This becomes possible because we disregard the conventional model of having separate manufacturers, distributor, retailers etc. Every product and design is personal to us, stitched in place with strong and durable threads of passion and humble ambition. With our disruptive innovation and thought, we have created a new market and value network that will eventually disrupt and displace established market norms. We do not rely on any external entities to get our work done, we are self-sufficient. Zeba is Direct There is no outsourcing of labour, every product and project we take on is executed from start to finish by our own people, in-house. This way, we are completely in the loop and in control of every aspect of production, allowing us to have high quality home-wear at down-to-earth prices. The quality of what we create is of utmost importance to us, our products last for a long long time. Zeba Cares Integrity is woven into the fabric of our company, credibility and trust are the most important values of our brand. Reviving and preserving the great skills of Indian artisans is one of our prime focuses. We have a team of incredibly skilled Indian craftsmen who work with us, and help us breathe life into our designs. In an attempt to do our bit for the planet, we ensure to also use sustainable fabrics in our collections. All our fabrics are sourced locally from mills across the country as our effort to keep the Indian textile industry alive. It is important to us that everything we do and offer is overflowing good intentions, good vibes, and of course, great quality. Zeba is Nimble and Dynamic Zeba is flexible and constantly on the go, evolving with the world and various market demands and needs. We are not limited in thought, we thrive on new ideas and perspectives, always working towards a goal. Every day brings a new challenge and we look forward to taking it on! Our customers can dream and we can create it, nothing is impossible. We are not limited to certain spaces or certain niches. We can design any space, anywhere in the world, to fit any budget. Describing Zeba is a mission to last a very long time. There is no one way to describe the all-encompassing nature of what makes Zeba what it is today. It is an abstract concept, while also a very structured and tangible idea. Zeba dares to dream and is fuelled by an undying passion. Zeba is always growing, with new people, ideas, values and ambitions. Zeba was born out of love and is growing to spread it.

feelgood theatre productions

London

Founded by Artistic Director Caroline Clegg Feelgood have been creating award winning theatre since 1994 fusing the unusual with the imaginative - classical texts and ground breaking new commissions at traditional and site specific venue. A cappella singing and drumming, Shakespeare and African dance, abseiling, pyrotechnics and fire sculpting with music and drama - in parks, cliff tops, garden centres, African townships, museums and traditional theatres, national tours and West End transfers. We have distinguished ourselves with an array of acclaimed shows following our spectacular launch with the musical Our Girls in 1994, where the audience lined the runway at Barton Aerodrome and looked on in awe as a World War II bomber landed to disembark the cast. We have followed that with 24 years of incredible productions: Blue Remembered Hills, Pictures at An Exhibition, (Mussorgsky), La Boheme (Puccini), Wind in the Willows, Robin Hood, The Wizard of Oz, Rosa, The Three Musketeers, Dracula - The Blood Count, Arthur - King of the Britons, Macbeth and A Midsummer Night’s Dream, national tours and West End transfers of Not About Heroes, and we were honoured to be presented to HM The Queen and HRH Duke of Edinburgh at the opening of The Lowry theatre where we opened our production of Crystal Clear followed by The Wizard Of Oz, which sold out for their first Christmas show. Integral to each production is our commitment to making innovative education and community programmes. In 2007, Artistic Director Caroline Clegg and the company were awarded the prestigious Horniman Award at the Manchester Evening News Awards for their outstanding contribution to live theatre. They also hold the Angel Award for Artistic Excellence and Caroline was awarded the John Thaw Fellowship at the University of Manchester in honour of her companies work. In 2002 we developed Romeo & Juliet - Thando & Ruvhengo a riveting multi-cultural production made in Bulawayo Zimbabwe and performed in Bulawayo, Harare and Manchester as part of the Culture Shock Commonwealth Games programme. The journey was made into an award-winning documentary. In 2009 we collaborated in Manchester with the thrilling company exiled from Zimbabwe Theatre Under Fire to create our incredibly moving Macbeth in Heaton Park. In 2010 the world premiere of Slave - A Question of Freedom (the story of Mende Nazer) followed a trajectory of thrilling work from Africa that aims to celebrate the joy of diversity and raise awareness of modern slavery. It won the Pete Postlethwaite Best New Play Award and the Inaugural Human Trafficking Foundation Media Award which was presented at No 10 Downing Street. It was also performed in the House of Lords to aid the Nuba Mountains Solidarity campaign to highlight not only slavery in Sudan but the continued persecution of the Nuba people. In 2014 on the 100th anniversary of the outbreak of the Frist World War we followed in the footsteps of Wilfred Owen and Siegfried Sassoon went on an 18 venue national and European tour of Not About Heroes. We began at Craiglockhart War Hospital and toured across the UK to places pertinent to them both including La Maison Forestiers – (the Foresters House) in Ors France where Wilfred Owen spent his last few days before a 5 week residency beginning on the 11th of November at the Trafalgar Studios in the West End. The same year Feelgood were honoured with a second Lord Mayor's Civic Reception for our dedication to the arts. Alongside this tour we also created an international poetry competition to raise awareness of PTSD. Workshops took place at Catterick Garrison and in schools and community venues at our 18 venues culminating in a special winners award ceremony in 2015. Heaton Park is a special place for Feelgood. We used to tour our summer open-air shows across the country and went to Heaton in 1998 where we performed for 11 yrs. After a gap of 9 years we returned in May 2016 with Whispers of Heaton. We presented two new immersive site-specific commission plays, The Bugler and The Fight to commemorate the Battle of the Somme and the Manchester Pals regiments in Heaton Hall and Park. This announced our return to Heaton, the place we love to call our spiritual home and where we are now the Official Theatre Partner with Manchester City Council. In the summer of 2017 we brought back our open-air promenade productions with A Midsummer Night’s Dream. The park is a unique place with hundreds of stories to tell and we aim to reveal them as we re-ignite a passion for culture in the park. Our long term vision which we announced at a special dinner hosted by our sponsor PZ Cussons on November 14th 2017 is to build a theatre in the park. We are in year two of our vision development which is called ‘Field of Dreams’. We are undertaking a feasibility study in consultation with Manchester City Council in line with their new Manchester Park Strategy. We hope a Feelgood Theatre in the Park will be a cultural space for world class theatre, music, dance and open air activities. Heaton Park is cherished by so many and our aim is that we build a lasting legacy to ensure that theatre can be accessed by everyone.

her next chapter

Leamington Spa

Tenacious. Terrific. Trustworthy. Truthful. And sometimes Trouble. When you ask my family, friends and coworkers about me, they will probably list these attributes. Or qualities. For good and for bad. I am the only child to my mother Grace and my father Ken who met in Blackpool, England during the Second World War, which means much of my family resides in England. Including my daughter who met my son-in-law during her junior year abroad at Oxford University. I grew up not knowing that my mother had an accent, never understanding the difference between English and American terminology so that even today I will say a word and people will look perplexed, and I realize I am using the English word and not the American one. I’m an only child because my parents decided traveling back to England would be very difficult with more children. My father made a point to keep me from being spoiled which was a double-edged sword because his lack of praise left me with a feeling that I had to try twice as hard as anyone else just to keep up. The end result is one very motivated woman, and I constantly seek continued learning and new challenges. My first words were undoubtedly “When are you going to give me a horse?” and thus Patience Prize and I became a team when I was 14. My father once again made sure I knew the horse was not to be taken for granted when he said, “Now you’ve got a horse, you’d better get a job. And you won’t be paid for mowing the lawn anymore.” My love of animals produced my first job at the local veterinarians cleaning up cages and feeding animals. One small dog had broken her two front legs, was terribly vicious, and no one could touch her. After her surgery she was crammed up in a corner while still asleep, and I moved her into a more comfortable position and, of course, petted her and spoke to her. After that I was the only one who could open her cage and touch her without getting bitten. She must have known my smell. Years passed and I became both a photojournalist and regular journalist with local Berkshire County Massachusetts newspapers. When I returned to college to complete my bachelor’s degree, my journalism provided me with life experience credits and thus I completed my BA in English. What to do next? I had student loans, so I needed either grad school or a second job. My daughter waitressed at a local restaurant open only on weekends and they said they needed a dishwasher, so she said, “My brother needs a job.” Then they asked, “So who else do you have at home?” and she said, “My mom.” Thus, I tried the second job routine as a waitress. We served wine in long-stemmed glasses and carried them on a tray. During one shift I was at a table of two women and the tray started to tilt, and I couldn’t stop it! So, I stood there and watched the wine glasses crash down on the table and splash everywhere. It was not a happy time for all involved. So, I said, “That’s it, I’m going to grad school.” I took my daughter and son to see Phantom of the Opera on Broadway, we ate at the Russian Tea Room, and I told them they couldn’t bug me for two years. The non-traditional program at Vermont College of Norwich University was a full-time program so I had a full-time job, a full-time grad school program, a son in high school and a daughter in college. During my internship I worked 7:00 a.m. to noon, drove to Albany, New York (a one-hour drive one way), worked at a public relations firm from 1:00 to 6:00 and stopped at the restaurant where my two offspring worked about 7:00 for a glass of wine and a light dinner. Then I realized I didn’t have time to clean the bathroom, so I hired a cleaning lady (very inexpensive in a small town back then) and decided that was an expense associated with grad school. That was a valuable decision. The downside of a small town is that a master’s degree doesn’t allow for many jobs at a living wage. I decided I would move. After networking for several years and finding a church in Washington, DC I moved to northern Virginia on October 2, 1999, never having lived more than 6 miles from where I was born. I got a job the second day. I bought a house that January and a horse, Sonny Madison, in January 2001 and have never regretted my choice or looked back. At some point in 2018 I found Her Nexx Chapter and started writing for them. It provides me with a chance to get in touch with my creative style since my most prevalent job has been a technical writer. Now I’m also the Editorial Project Director and a member of the Advisory Board. It’s a tremendous value to women everywhere, and I always enjoying learning something new and sharing my blogs with the community. So here I am. I’m still horseback riding and trying to keep fit. I try to look for the positive side of life even in times of turmoil – notice I said “try” because sometimes life gets to be a tad difficult. But that’s my story and I’m sticking to it!

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school of dialogue

London

Arabella Tresilian MAHons PGCE FRSA Dialogue Facilitator, Mediator & Conflict Coach: Mediation, fully-accredited by the Centre for Effective Dispute Resolution (CEDR) Dispute resolution for Employment, Workplace, Civil, Commercial & Community cases Specialist in health and social care, including mental health, autism & disabilities Download a copy of my one-page profile here: Arabella Tresilian Mediator Profile Overview ‘Arabella Tresilian is a CEDR-accredited mediator, and a conflict resolution trainer, specialising in facilitating dispute resolution and employee wellbeing in the public sector. She has twenty years’ experience as a management consultant, leader and educator, and set up the School of Dialogue to teach conflict resolution skills. Arabella mediates independently and on behalf of the Medical Mediation Foundation, Resolve West and other panels where she specialises in lending her ‘expertise by experience’ in the fields of mental health and neurodiversity. Arabella’s 70+ case history since 2016 include mediations in the fields of Judicial Review, Court of Protection, Mental Health Act, Mental Capacity Act, Local Government, workplace, employment, community and public sector dispute resolution.’ I am an independent consultant specialising in dialogue facilitation, conflict resolution and partnership-building. My business development experience, studies in educational leadership and experience in dispute resolution combine effectively to allow me to support organisations, employees, families and individuals in finding win-win resolutions within complex scenarios. I have 20 years experience working in a strategic capacity for public, private and third sector organisations in the UK and overseas, and I have specialist consulting experience in the fields of sustainability, education and health/social care. I have also taught and managed at secondary level internationally and in the independent sector in the UK, and founded/directed a theatre company devoted to promoting the understanding of mental health and social exclusion. I am a CEDR-Accredited Mediator qualified to undertake employment, workplace, commercial, civil and community mediation. In 2017 I became a CEDR Associate with the Centre for Effective Dispute Resolution (CEDR), joining their world-renowned training faculty. In the community setting, I am a Certificated Mediator with Resolve West (previously Bristol Mediation) resolving neighbour disputes and hate crime cases. I am also the cofounder of Equisphere Employability and a workplace mental health trainer for Bath Mind. In the healthcare setting, I am a mediator, trainer and conflict coach with the Medical Mediation Foundation. I am a Quality Improvement Coach with the Q Community (NHS Improvement & Health Foundation) and a Public & Patient Involvement advisor for the National Institute of Health Research (NIHR). I am a Member of End of Life Doula UK and have undertaken Advance Care Planning training with Living Well Dying Well. I am also a qualified Mental Health First Aid Instructor training groups to become Mental Health First Aiders in their contexts. I am a member of the Civil Mediation Council as a Member of the Association of South West Mediators. I abide by the European Code of Conduct for Mediators. I have DBS clearance and am fully insured as a mediator, trainer,educator, mentor and coach. Professional Experience & Skills Overview Facilitation and Organisational Dialogue Strategic development and team coaching in the workplace Communications and engagement for public-facing organisations Design and delivery of multi-organisational commercial partnerships Stakeholder engagement for effective policy development Conflict Intervention and Negotiation Interpersonal mediation and conflict resolution for workplace contexts Conflict coaching and mediation for highly-escalated community conflicts Brokerage of interorganisational partnerships for socio-economic benefit Leadership Design / delivery of Leadership Skills for Employability training for University of Bath Postgraduate certificate in Educational Leadership & Management (2011) Founder of three social enterprises and experienced team leader and manager International Competence Partnerships negotiator for European Green Capital 2015 Merger & Acquisition consultancy – UK/Spain Educator in vocational, business and enterprise skills – Coimbatore, India Training and Coaching Experienced teacher, trainer, mentor and coach specialising in communication Mentor to young leaders in enterprise on Future Talent programme Mental Health First Aider and specialist trainer in mental health with Mind Charity My style and my specialisms I came to the practice of Conflict Resolution and Mediation through two distinct routes. One was through doing management consulting in the public and private sectors, and coming to understand just how much stress, inefficiency and sadness arises from communication and conflict difficulties in the workplace. The other route was through being a patient, a parent of children with disabilities and a family carer, and witnessing how difficult it can be to make plans for the future when the present involves difficult discussions and many people. So I specialise in making sure that people feel comfortable with the process they undertake with me, and that it leads them towards feeling comfortable and confident about their future. I aim to be thoroughly supportive, reassuring and encouraging at all times. My professional work and personal experience in health and social care mean that I am particularly experienced in supporting people who are living with any form of illness, disability, mental health condition or life-limiting condition. I have particular personal experience of working with people who are deaf or hearing impaired, on the autism spectrum, experiencing mental illness and living with dementia or stroke. Why I love being a mediator I came to mediation through a confluence of circumstances which made me think, ‘There must be a better way for people to deal with their difficulties than to threaten legal action, or refuse to engage in communication at all!’ I realised that a great deal of my management consultancy work was really… conflict resolution. It gave me such pleasure and relief when long-held rifts within and between teams melted away after some good, authentic communication. This piqued my interest to find out more about the art of conflict resolution, and I did my first certificated training, and started practising as a community mediator. Later I qualified as a civil and employment mediator, and have been mediating ever since. It’s astonishing to witness people’s lives turn from a turmoil of distressing, intractable ‘stuckness’, to a new phase in which, for example, neighbours can conceive of greeting each other again; or work colleagues re-establish trust between each other after maybe years of mistrust, stress and non-communication. Mediation takes empathy, patience and persistence, and it is a skill I will develop and hone endlessly over years to come, but its core aspect is a belief that people really can find peace again, given the right support and a safe space to explore options for settling differences. Facilitating such processes is a real honour. Nothing beats the sight of former disputants smiling, shaking hands, or even (more often than you would think) hugging, at the end of a mediation.

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ksenia belash

It’s a pleasure to greet you in my virtual home:) Meeting someone for the first time can feel a little awkward. As a way of introduction, let me share a few random and not so random facts about me: I spent a big chunk of my childhood daydreaming, journeying through whimsical worlds, exploring subtle energies and noticing things that other people strangely wouldn’t notice. I wrote my first poem at the age of 6. This is also when I experienced myself as a cloud during my first ever meditation, guided by my grand dad. One of my favourite treasures was a blue crystal ball that my mum brought home from a lab she worked at - it seemed to have come from a different dimension. For a long time, I made myself believe these things were silly and meaningless. These days, I cherish the magical, the whimsical, the weird and believe the sense of WONDER to be a potent medicine for the soul that I am privileged to share with others. Up until the age of 9, if I closed my eyes, I could see people’s emotional states as auras of different colours. I developed my own colour coding system to identify what was going on - it was quite accurate. Unfortunately, I don’t see auras anymore, but I get a lot of subtle information through my body sensations. Whenever I speak to someone, a whole big experience unfolds within me and, over the years, through studies of the nervous system and what not, I have developed a way of making quite a good sense of it. It is a huge resource that I bring into my work with people. I also see images and metaphors that come seemingly out of nowhere and bring insights into things. I am currently 38. Most people assume I am younger and it can feel mischievously delicious to see them acting in alignment with this assumption without breaking the illusion. I currently live in London, am planning to move to Portugal, was born and raised in Russia and my roots are mainly from Ukraine. I speak seven languages and know both the curses and the gifts of not having one single place of belonging. I came to the UK when I was 20 to study hospitality and tourism management…only to realise, a couple of years later, that my heart longs to create and express itself, not manage. So I got my BA, completed my internship in a Central London office and went on to pursue photography and other visual arts for many years to come. It is only recently that I have connected my early interest in hospitality with what I currently do - which hosting spaces where people can really land and feel at home, in connection with their body, soul and spirit. I spent many years of my life in a relationship that felt utterly destructive to my soul. In 2015, I felt desperate and went to see a therapist. I thought this work was useless and nothing would help. In 2016, I went through a painful separation and then divorce. At that time, I was also feeling completely lost professionally. This period felt like the dark night of the soul, but I have eventually managed to come through, with a different understanding of myself, my strength, my needs and things I stand for in this world. What felt like hell, turned out to be the beginning of my healing journey. A BIT ABOUT MY HEALING JOURNEY Having grown up in an environment where emotional depth, sensitivity to nuance, authentic self-expression and creative ways were not exactly appreciated, I know very well what it's like to feel different, misunderstood, not sure where and if I can ever belong. For many, many years, I believed that something was deeply wrong with and broken about me and how I am. No matter how much I tried, how much I pushed to change myself, I struggled to fit into the loud, noisy, rushing, linear, rationality-oriented world that at times didn't make any sense. Like so many other sensitive souls, I have developed my own ways of coping and fitting in - like hiding bits of myself that I deemed ugly, scary or uncool, swallowing my truth, hiding my thoughts and feelings even from myself to the extent of losing any sense of boundaries, disconnecting from my body and intuition, anxiously chasing after the next new thing and external validation, not giving myself any space to breathe and listen to my inner voice. Living like this was painful and at some point became intolerable, so I reached out for help. In the course of my own healing journey, one of the many things I have discovered that the belief that something was fundamentally wrong and broken about me, was just that - a belief, not a curse that determined how I lived my life. I have also discovered that the most healing thing was not this or that tool, modality or approach. It was not even a cognitive understanding of why things happened. What my inner system and the young parts of my psyche deeply needed in order to heal was an attuned relational space, where I was loved for who I was and allowed to go at my own pace and be fully me, with all of my feelings of brokenness, sadness, envy, confusion, darkness, guilt, lostness, anger, heartbreak, as well as joy, excitement, dreaminess, hope and pride and a myriad of other feelings. What my parts needed, were to be seen and consistently met with acceptance, love, warm curiosity, compassion and understanding by another human being. In the process, I have also discovered the power of connecting with my intuitive body wisdom and befriending my nervous system and what is often referred to as somatic intelligence - a resource I never knew was available to me. As a result, rigid ways of being/thinking/reacting that have felt like "just who I am", started to soften, release and transform, while my sense of authentic self, personal power, self-trust, boundaries and capacity to feel and handle difficult emotions, without becoming overwhelmed, has been steadily growing. Offering healing spaces like that and supporting others like myself on their journeys of growth and healing, has become my passion and vocation.

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mtm educational consultancy

London

For more than 35 years, MTM Consulting has supported schools (state and independent), universities and other education providers to remain in business and to develop and thrive, whatever the economic climate. We are all about providing solid data, insightful analysis and clear recommendations to enable organisations to plan for future stability and success and to uphold their responsibilities to parents who entrust them with their children’s education. In fact, we’ve worked with more than 500 schools and researched more than 250,000 parents. Our feasibility studies, supply and demand analyses and stakeholder research projects are all designed to help school business leaders to understand the potential of their organisation’s market, where they stand against their competitors, what the market wants and what it does not want. MTM equips education decision-makers with the information and insight they need to make the right choices for the future of their organisations. Education business expertise MTM’s team are all education business specialists with many years of experience. We understand the challenges and opportunities of the education sector and we want to use our expertise to help schools and other education providers to find the right course and achieve success. We are friendly and approachable We want to help We enjoy designing bespoke market research, marketing and business strategies to meet individual clients’ specific needs We encourage questions We communicate throughout We present or report on our findings and recommendations in a way that best suits each client We love to provide all the detail our clients need We follow up to see if we can help further We keep in touch Meet MTM’s expert team… Evidence-based decision-making MTM Consulting’s support of its education clients is based on facts, expertise and experience. Our market research projects focus on providing the data and information required to make crucial decisions on resourcing and activities to: improve recruitment and increase the school roll minimise student attrition and improve retention and raise the organisation’s profile in its target market and the education sector in order to attract families, teaching and non-teaching staff, leaders and governors who will bring their skills and work as a team to ensure the organisation’s future success MTM uses UK-wide demographic information and a combination of qualitative and quantitative research methods to acquire exactly the data required to inform clients of the realities of their organisation’s situation. Of course, we don’t expect our education clients to be experts in market research themselves – through a series of friendly, collaborative discussions our team members are able to work with clients to ascertain the information that would be of greatest benefit to them in their decision-making. We ensure that the pricing of our products is transparent, and realistic in relation to education organisations’ budgets. In fact, we have recently revisited our offer in order to break down projects into distinct elements to improve affordability, particularly with smaller organisations in mind. We also offer subscription packages and the opportunity to spread payments over time. MTM’s suite of market research projects is infinitely customisable to suit the needs of individual clients and can be combined to create a totally bespoke market research project designed to meet clients’ needs exactly. Real-world insight, analysis and recommendations for success MTM is a long-established education market research company, which has a true understanding – built over three decades – of education, coupled with unparalleled skills and experience to support education business leaders to make the decisions that will lead their organisations to be steadfast and successful in the long-term, for the benefit of their stakeholders, staff and students. Our researchers have at their fingertips many years’ worth of sector- and country-wide data and are adept at using this to benchmark our clients’ performance. This helps business leaders to develop a real understanding of their organisation’s position and to see ‘the bigger picture’ and the potential in their market. Sometimes it is not just about what the data shows, but what it doesn’t show – our experts are able to draw attention to the gaps in an education organisation’s performance that can be crucial when making decisions on areas of future development. MTM works with a team of business professionals, all with proven track records in their fields, who work with our clients to maximise the opportunities revealed by market research and analysis. Business, marketing and international expertise is on offer to ensure that the client is able to develop a practical action plan – and a set of key performance indicators that will allow it to be assessed and scrutinised – as the organisation heads towards achieving its objectives. Our business professionals are collaborative team-workers, but they also have the strength and experience to draw our clients’ attention to areas of weakness and aims that are unachievable. We know that facing up to realities makes for a healthier business in the long term and ensures that funds and resources are focused on attainable goals. Supporting education It is our great pleasure to see our education clients succeed. There can be no better business to be in than education, and MTM is a staunch supporter of parents’ right to choose the environment in which their children are taught – state or independent, small or large… We work with education providers of all kinds and we are firm believers in the importance of a breadth of offering to suit all families. Early Years: MTM’s Feasibility Studies provide vital market information to schools and groups considering opening a new nursery or re-shaping their existing provision. Independent schools: MTM’s market research, business and marketing strategy projects are designed to help schools to be successful and sustainable in the long-term so that they are able to offer their pupils the education they deserve for the duration of their school careers State schools: MTM offers great insights into pupil and parent satisfaction and staff wellbeing to help schools to engage with the school community and ensure that educational resources are being maximised. School groups: MTM is able to advise groups (independent and state academies) on the potential success of new acquisitions and to help streamline the business of education for efficiency and to ensure maximum resources are available for education. Higher education: universities and higher education providers turn to MTM to help them to understand the opinions of their students on the quality of education they are receiving and the potential effect on their next steps in education and employment. Long-standing relationships with education clients We maintain very strong relationships with our clients, many of whom we have worked with on a regular basis for decades. To see real examples of MTM projects, please read a selection of our case studies. Over the past three decades, MTM has worked with big and small names in independent and state education, early years providers, higher education providers and education suppliers and investors. Rather than engaging MTM as a supplier, we like to think we are part of the team, offering information, skills and experience to support education organisations to maximise their business potential and provide a secure learning experience for their students well into the future. Communication with our clients is on-going and we constantly ask which aspects of our service they have most appreciated, and which could be developed. We act on our clients’ feedback and hone our products and services to make sure that they offer our clients exactly what they need.

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gold leaf services

London

A Family Run Company Established in 1973 Serving The Gilding And Decorative Industries Ken Rees - Founder of Gold Leaf Supplies Ken Rees Founder In 2023 we will be celebrating our 50th year in business. Phew! Over the years, we have built a reputation for supplying high-quality products with an equally high level of service. We are passionate about gilding and specialist decoration techniques and we love to hear about your projects. At Gold Leaf Supplies we pride ourselves on our innovative approach to servicing the gilding and decorative trades. We are always exploring ways of expanding our services and seeking new horizons through interesting and exciting product ranges. Sue Govani - Director of Gold Leaf Supplies Sue Govani Director Steve Rees - Director of Gold Leaf Supplies Steve Rees Director Company History Gold Leaf Supplies is a family business, which was established as Services Supply Company in 1973 by Mr Ken Rees who was a senior partner in the business. Although Ken retired in 2008, he still had an involvement in the Company until his peaceful passing in May 2018. Having worked in the Italian Marble business for many years, Ken initially set up the business to supply gold leaf and associated products to the stone trade. The main emphasis being on offering an exceptionally high level of service and personal contact. Since 1973, our client base has expanded and diversified considerably, and we have increased our product range accordingly to meet our clients’ needs. We now cater to a diversified range of National and International clients involved in gilding, signwriting, glass manufacture, bookbinding, furniture restoration and manufacture, framing, interiors, architectural decoration, specialist decorating and monumental carving to name but a few. You can view examples of the prestigious projects that we have supplied for in our client gallery As the emphasis of the business changed so did the Company trading name - to Gold Leaf Supplies. From 1st March 2008, we became a Limited Company - Services Supply Company Ltd T/A Gold Leaf Supplies. Although the product range has diversified, and the company has grown, the philosophy introduced in 1973 has remained the same - "We offer quality products at competitive prices and a continuing high level of service." The business remains within the family and Kens’ son, Steve Rees and daughter, Sue Govani joined the company in 1989 and 1991 respectively. Steve has a background in Business whilst Sue’s background is in Art and Design bringing different skills and ideas to the business. Both are Company Directors and very hands on with the day to day running of the business. Steve is mainly involved with the purchasing and logistics. He has a memory like a filing cabinet and a sound technical knowledge relating to gilding techniques. When he has any free time, you will find him on the ski slopes or out walking with his beloved dogs. Sue is more involved with the creative side of the business and enjoys the sales, marketing and client facing events. Passionate about artistic techniques and applications, Sue is usually found trying out the new product ranges in her spare time. She is learning to gild is spending a little more time being a hands on creative which she finds a very meditative process. We all have enormous respect for the art of gilding and its traditional values whilst at the same time recognise and are inspired by the many diverse and contemporary ways that gold and silver leaf is being used today. Our Team It is important to receive your raw materials on time and we appreciate the tight deadlines that most businesses work to, therefore for approved accounts, most of our products are despatched the day instructions are received and delivered on a next day delivery basis. Where large projects are involved, supplies can be scheduled on a phased delivery. One of our strengths is that we can and have often been called upon to supply large quantities at short notice. Our prime objective is not only to supply, but also to provide a full service to our clients and our team makes every effort to ensure this objective is achieved. We have knowledgeable staff who are always on hand to offer advice and we respond quickly to any enquiries that you may have. Please feel free to contact us at any time. Sue Jewell Accounts Manager Sue J has been with us for almost 15 years and has been instrumental in setting up all of our accounts and bookkeeping administration. Since October last year Sue decided to reduce her hours to work part time to fit around her grandchildren and has been working remotely since lockdown. Accounts practices come naturally to Sue and she is continuing to teach all the office staff her accounting methods. She is still very much involved with managing and overseeing the office systems and administration on a weekly basis remotely although she no longer has direct contact with clients. Niki Rathkey Accounts Administrator and Order Processing Niki has been with GLS for two years now and handles all our day-to-day accounts and order processing. It is a busy desk, but Niki is always on hand with a smile to answer any accounting queries that you may have. She is like a magpie when it comes to our shiny products and uses a lot of them in her stone painting and interior projects. She has also built up a sound knowledge about how our products work and will answer most queries related to this. Niki has a strong background of secretarial and administrative skills and has previously worked for a variety of Accounts practices. Isabel Barriga Brown Accounts Assistant and Order Processing Isabel is a new starter for GLS who joined us in October 2021 but has quickly become an indispensable member of the team. Together with Niki they are the accounts team that keep our day-to-day orders ticking over and our records straight! She is very creative and artistic and helps a lot with our social media ideas and creative projects. Again, Isabel loves trying out the projects in her own home and is also learning to gild. She’s our social secretary and makes sure we get together outside as well as inside of work. Adam Rees Technical and IT Adam has worked at Gold Leaf Supplies for around 10 years and during that time he has built up a very good technical knowledge about the products and their uses. He is happy to answer any technical questions that you may have. He is very patient and interested in the challenges that customers projects often present. He will always go out of his way to find a solution and is interested in testing new products and applications. Adam also has responsibility for the Website and all our internal IT requirements. Ralph Davies Warehouse Manager Ralph has been with GLS for over 8 years and takes care of all the goods inwards, stock control and order despatch. Ralph is meticulous and methodical which is a good thing in a busy warehouse. He runs a very tight and organised ship and is a real character! Nothing is ever too much trouble! He always goes the extra mile to make sure your orders are packed well and despatched on time. Fred Govani Warehouse Assistant Fred is Sue’s husband and since taking early retirement during lockdown he comes into the Company part time to help out in our busy warehouse. Due to his previous and extensive work experience he also has a valuable input into logistics and systems practices. Debbie Rees Colour sampling coordinator. Debbie is Steve’s wife who also runs an online homeware store called Elsie Boo Collections. She helps out at GLS by preparing all of our Gold leaf and other metallic materials shade cards that our clients find so useful to have in their workshops or to show their own customers to help them make colour decision choices. Debbie makes sure that we are all stocked up with these and also helps us keep on top of office filing.

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