Amanda Ford | West College Scotland
I returned to education after having my children and gained my undergraduate degree in Computing before moving on to undertake my PhD focusing on Games based learning in particular investigating the use of constructing games as a method for children to learn in primary school, which is almost complete. I have always had an interest in technology and gaming with Super Mario being my first ever game that I completed and throughout the years have always had gaming consoles of one variety or another. Moving into studying computing was natural move as previously when working I had done a lot of I.T work and thought that it would be a good career move. I am a games lecturer in FE at present and teach a variety of subjects though have a keen interest in 3D modelling, Games Design and Virtual Reality. I enjoy using new technologies with my students where possible - for my 3D modelling class I use a mixed reality and virtual reality to show the students their own work in a new way.
Sumanjit Gill | UCL & NHS
I completed my training in general medicine, stroke and geriatrics in 2013 and have been working as a consultant in stroke medicine since then. I went to medical school at Barts and the London Medical School and did the majority of my training in North East London. I am also a committed educator and have recently been award an MA in Clinical Education from UCL. 3 years ago I took on the role of teaching fellow at UCL where I have designed and developed a Stroke Msc programme which is aimed at the multidisciplinary team. The majority of the students are from international backgrounds and it is my hope that they will be able to go on and have an impact on the stroke burden in countries in the developing world. I have also published a book of case studies, the proceeds of which I donate to a Sikh charity to help build schools in India. I have recently become an ambassador in the City Sikhs organisation which I hope to use as a vehicle to help young Sikhs into higher education. I am also a mentor with the Refugee Support Organisation mentoring unaccompanied children to the UK obtain qualifications in English and Maths.
Tina McDonald | Avalanche Coaching
During my 14 years as a Claims Manager I was introduced to Coaching and became fully qualified to support the companies vision of being a coaching culture. I was seconded over a 4 year period to run the intake training for the companies new trainees, each intake was approx 6 people and there was 2- 3 per year.
I have worked with graduates straight out of university and guided professional progression throughout my career to ensure my team members moved upwards in their careers and understood their opportunities. Providing learning opportunities and career advice and support to the team members who wanted to progress and performance management to those who were not performing in their roles so I could keep them my team and them not be lost.
After a car accident meant I was unable to return to work full-time in the role I was in, I decided to set up Avalanche Coaching and provide businesses with training in Leadership and soft skills and provide career advice, so I could continue what I enjoyed doing and ensure I was able to manage my health too. I have worked with students to help them see their abilities differently and find careers not just jobs and believe they have positive futures, regardless of the grades they get.
Susie Wolstenholme | London South Bank University
I arrived at my current position by an unusual route having left school at sixteen with few academic qualifications. I worked as an Accounts Junior in a fabrication company and experienced a company going down. It was this company that gave me the opportunity to redeem my poor school performance and gave me day release to the college where I later taught. Discovering that I enjoyed learning if under my control I embarked on a full time degree in Business Information Technology, and in my third year took the opportunity to spend 15 months working in China. This gave me an exceptional opportunity to discover my potential at a young age and I ended the year as a successful manager where I lead, managed and trained a thriving team of Chinese staff in the front office of a large five star tourist hotel in Xian. On graduation I took a training job with a publicly funded private training company in the East End of London where alongside a team of four developed a set of NVQ programmes in IT for unemployed adults from ethnic minority backgrounds, with the long-term strategic aim of providing access and employability to a disadvantaged sector of the London community. On discovering I enjoying teaching and was good at it I then qualified to become a Lecturer in Further Education, where I conducted my second teaching practice at a School and University in Budapest, Hungary and on return became a Lecturer in an FE College. Since that time I have worked in two FE Colleges teaching FE and HE where I developed and managed a series of GNVQ / degrees courses and worked with employers to develop their NVQ provision. In my current role as a Senior Lecturer in MIS I wear a number of hats which include my role as Course Director across a number of UG and PG programmes in Business and Management, Dissertation Co-ordinator, Placement Lead, Erasmus and Study Abroad Co-ordinator and organiser of a series of extra-curricular activities across the School to ensure that our students are graduate career ready, with a breadth of experience and can compete against students from traditional universities.
Hardeep Kundan | EY
Diversity being the core of what I do in my role in recruitment and network lead, I am particularly passionate about gender and BME equality.
Core member of D&I for both recruitment and Data Analytics- leading on the BME workstreams to harness the relationship between recruitment and the various EY Networks.
Having full recruitment oversight over Data Analytics recruitment means I am in a position to have an impact on diversity and am able to influence this through building relationships and trust.
I have introduced a number of initiatives in the past year in an attempt to influence our gender & BME mix.
- Revamped interview matrix- to ensure that every BME/female candidate has one stage of their interviews with a BME/female interviewer.
- Worked with brand and marketing team to profile and curate case studies on role models within the Data Analytics team, to showcase how EY supports them via flexible working.
Result: Have been able to positively influence our Diversity mix from:
Gender hires- 24% last year to 50% this year.
BME hires- 32% last year to 50% this year
Chair one of the BME faith based networks at EY; EY Sikh Network
Integral role in planning, designing and executing activities which enhance EY’s market leadership.
I have arranged & executed a number of events which tie in to and have influenced our talent pipelines and attract female and BME candidates
Outside of work, Trustee and volunteer for a charity called Binti www.binti.co.uk
Binti promotes menstrual dignity through access to sanitary protection and education.
In many parts of the world, unfortunately menstruation is a huge cause of gender inequality. Binti enables women within these communities to produce and sell sanitary towels in a sustainable social enterprise model, empowering them to fight against social stigma and become more equal participants within society, whilst also providing an extra source of sustainable income.
I have ran and lead menstrual education classes in India and East Africa. Spending time with these young children, both girls and boys has been hugely rewarding for me.
Using my background and experience in recruitment, I am also involved in dealing with the large number of applications we receive as a charity from volunteers and ensuing their skills are utilised in the appropriate projects.
I am thrilled to be able to have an impact on diversity both at work and outside of work and would love to inspire others to do the same.
Joanna Abeyie | Hyden
“I’m driven by the passion to see real and lasting change. My mission is to continue to steer the diversity agenda and create a more inclusive environment in creative industry for people from a myriad of ethnicities and backgrounds. From the boardroom, all the way down to entry-level.”
Joanna Abeyie is in a class of her own, a new breed of business leader, she is an award-winning, agenda-setting Diversity champion and recruiter, social campaigner, TV executive, broadcaster and journalist.
Aged just 29, there are few under 30s that can claim similar achievements, one of which being among Broadcast magazine’s hotshots of 2016. Joanna founded the award-winning creative industry diverse talent recruitment business Shine Media in 2009, which recently morphed into Hyden (taken from the old English word for ‘hidden’), as part of leading global recruiter SThree PLC. Hyden is an Executive Search Firm and Diversity Consultancy Practice Having helped to place more than 3,000 people from diverse backgrounds in permanent and freelance jobs in the creative industries, it is Joanna’s efforts in improving the creative industry’s diversity that truly have made her stand out.
As a campaigner for diversity within the publishing, TV, Radio, Digital and Creative Industries, Joanna is regularly at the centre of the diversity agenda, leading conversations around inclusion and representation. She is often called upon to steer, lead, plan, create or participate in established industry events or radio and TV discussions around the diversity conversation. Joanna worked as a consultant and became a key diversity partner for the BBC, ITV, ITN, Channel 4, Sky and The Guardian among others.
Joanna grew up in South London to a Ghanaian civil servant father and English mother. It was a working class family and she regularly witnessed a dearth of opportunities amongst her local community. Following graduation from Reading University where Joanna studied English and Sociology, these observations continued into her working life as she worked in a string of roles at many of the big magazine publishers, going onto do a Masters in Magazine Journalism at London’s City University.
“I noticed that in every one of my placements, everywhere I went the workplace had little or no variety. Where was the working class, where were the ethnic minorities? I was 17 years old, and I decided I wasn’t going to rest on my laurels. I wanted to do something to help bring about change.”
Displaying a rare work ethic, creative vision and sheer drive for someone so young, Joanna co-founded employment charity Elevation Networks aged just 19 while studying English & Sociology at Reading University. The charity still exists today and is a multi-award winning youth employment charity that develops the leadership potential in talented young people.
Joanna’s story doesn’t end there. She also harboured a passion to tell stories that challenge preconceptions of stereotypes and unearth hidden social subcultures. This saw her set up own production company LH Productions in 2014. It has seen her produce and present programmes on children of alcoholics for ITV This Morning at the end of 2016, as well as segments on female ex-offenders struggling to find employment for BBC Inside Out. In 2016, Channel 4 gave Joanna her biggest commission to date with Hip Hop Millionaires, a series of C4 shorts co-produced by LH with Sugar Films, Big Head Productions and supported by The TV Collective.
“It was a really exciting time for me, to get my first big commission from Channel 4, my aim with my TV work is to create spiky factual content, it isn’t always comfortable to watch, but I feel I have to find those stories, those individuals that are hidden from the rest of society and help them find a voice.”
“Joanna is a really exciting talent,” enthuses Sugar Films managing director Pat Younge “She combines her important work off-screen with a growing portfolio of commissions on a range of stories and subjects. She is definitely one to watch.”
The final string to Joanna’s bow is being a multi award-winning journalist and broadcaster with over ten years of experience in current affairs, news and entertainment news both in the UK and America. Joanna has interviewed some of the business and entertainment world's most reputable and successful professionals, politicians and celebrities for the BBC, ITV, Sky News, The Times Online, The Mail Online, BBC Radio 5 Live, BBC London, The Sun and Daily Mirror. Joanna also presents her own Sunday evening news and events roundup on BBC Radio London’s Dotun Adebayo show.
Joanna’s social campaigning has seen her gain a seat on the NUJ’s Black Members Council, a role on the Board of Director’s for The Lord Mayor’s Appeal, The Media Council, Investor in People and the board of advisers for Ghana-based leadership and upskilling initiative Cedi Street. She has also been a judge for awards including Audio Production Awards, Professional Publishers Association New Talent Awards, Royal Television Society Awards to name just a few.
Joanna’s TV work stands out in that it will decidedly be away from the worlds of showbiz and entertainment, but instead the purpose of her content will be not primarily to entertain, but to educate and inform. This strategic mission to create, lead and inspire, in tandem with Joanna’s ambitions for Hyden, reveals a visionary approach.
“I feel that I have a social responsibility to keep campaigning for change. I am passionate about helping individuals achieve their full potential regardless of background. My ultimate goal is to facilitate social change through my work.”
www.hydentalent.com
Twitter & Instagram: joanna_abeyie
Paige Horton | Citi
Paige is a Diversity & Inclusion Advisor at Citi specializing in BAME, disability and LGBT+ inclusion. During her time at Citi, Paige has worked on award winning projects and was selected to be part of a small innovation circle for the HR department. Paige is a committee member of the Citi Pride (LGBT+) Network in London, where she acts as the Trans* representative and D&I Advisor. Outside of work, Paige is the youngest member of the Gay Women’s Network steering committee and runs monthly networking events in Canary Wharf for LGBT+ women and non-binary people. She is an alum of the Stonewall Young Leaders programme and a volunteer for Diversity Role Models, a UK charity which aims to tackle homophobic, biphobic and transphobic bullying in schools. She graduated from Lancaster University in 2015 with a BSc in Business Studies.
Lauren Seaman | Deutsche Bank
After completing a Business Science degree at the University of Cape Town, I moved to London and joined The Royal Bank of Scotland. Two years later in 2009 I moved into Structured Finance at Deutsche Bank (DB).
While at DB I was nominated to join the department's Sports and Social Committee, later chairing the group, and also the Global Transaction Banking (GTB) Connectors Committee. Both leadership groups aim to bring employees together through social, sporting and charity initiatives. In addition, the latter provides a conduit between senior management and staff fostering open communication and inclusion.
Throughout my time in GTB I was keenly involved in charity initiatives; contributing as a fundraiser, volunteer and being a department representative for the bank's charity events. In late 2017 my career took an exciting turn when I was giving the opportunity to join DB’s Corporate Social Responsibility team (CSR). I now run DB's Born to Be youth engagement programme. In the UK, Born to Be helps less advantaged young people reach their full potential through education initiatives.
Whist still working in the business in 2016, I was approached to join the Steerco of Deutsche Bank's disability network - dbEnable. Made up of 15 employees across Deutsche Bank UK and Ireland, the Steerco's objective is to enable an inclusive and supportive workplace where all people affected by disability or illness can flourish. Becoming part of dbEnable was a transformative step in my career. It exposed me to the diversity landscape and ignited a passion to create a more inclusive environment in the banking sector.
dbEnable arranges numerous awareness events throughout the year on topics such as Autism, Dyslexia, Stammering, Mental Health, Physical Disability to name a few. We engage with staff and senior management internally and are part of various external disability and mental health forums such as “This is Me in the City”, Purple Space and Wharfability.
At the start of 2018 I was nominated for the role of dbEnable Co-Chair. We strive to embed a culture of inclusion in the workplace and continue to drive awareness while at the same time have a keen focus on the bank's disability and mental health policies. dbEnable is the bank's go-to group on disability, mental health and illness matters and I am extremely proud to be leading it.
Rania Svoronou | IBM
Design for me was never just an option – it is a way of life. I've studied abroad in UK and hold a BA on Graphic Design and an MA on Human-Computer Interaction Design. I've started my career 7 years ago at a small local print agency in Athens, Greece and after working in start ups, small design studios, Ad agencies, and global corporations, I am now the Lead Designer for a major client at IBM Interactive Experience - a new division within IBM, which has been named the largest digital-agency network in the world. I've joined IBMiX two years ago and I am an active speaker, a guest lecturer, an industry mentor, and get invited as a judge/mentor at multiple hackathons and design events across Europe. I am passionate about design & digital and one of my missions is to empower more women into design & technology and help connect the gaps between design education and the tech industry.
Maya Dibley | Lancashire County Council
Maya has a background in publishing management and digital product development, and later economic development and building technology business clusters. She is currently working in Economic Development at Lancashire County Council, while also studying part-time on the Lancaster MBA.
Maya's passion lies in building the capability and productivity of the North of England. At The Landing In Media City, she led the development of business support and incubator programmes to support growth in digital and technology SMEs as well as building a network of private partnerships to ensure the business ecosystem in Salford is sustainable.
She is currently leading the curation of the Northern Power Futures conference, a 2-day event powered by the Northern Power Women network, presenting talks and debates on the economy and society, all with speakers (men and women) under 35. She is passionate about finding ways to support younger leaders to find their voice and strength, and to this end has also sat on the national board of Girlguiding for the past 4 years. In this role she has contributed to a full programme overhaul, projects to improve governance and accountability, and is the trustee lead on the organisation's digital transformation work which recently saw the launch of a new member CRM system for 100,000 volunteers.
Maya began her career at Hearst Magazines UK where her understanding of young audiences and commercialising digital platforms saw her rise quickly to become one of the company's youngest publishers at the age of 26.
Elsewhere, Maya is a Director and Trustee of The Dukes Theatre in Lancaster, a Non-Executive Director of a small technology start-up, HE Inventions, and sits on the Industry Advisory Board for Lancaster University's school of computer science, advising on curriculum development to suit industry.