With a background in Psychology and over 20 years working in hyper-diverse contexts, I bring a wealth of experience as a facilitator. As a tour guide I worked across the Middle East and North Africa, following this I spent eight years supporting refugees in Scotland, before working with Interfaith Scotland since 2013.
I specialise in the intersections between religion, culture, gender and ‘race’. My approach is non-judgemental and seeks to highlight our shared humanity, while also emphasising where our differences matter most. I use the phrase ‘empathising across difference’ as a summary of what I seek to achieve.
My approach invites learners to see the individual and interpersonal in the context of the wider organisational and societal systems we are part of. The complexity of human diversity can feel overwhelming and intimidating for participants. I support this by introducing delegates to a set of short phrases which provide insight into the common patterns which underlie so much inequality.
An example is ‘advantage is invisible to those that have it’. This framing helps explain the gap between someone’s deep knowledge and emotion around their own experiences of discrimination, in contrast with their lack of appreciation of the barriers facing other people.
Professional Experience, Highlights and Distinctions:
- Training design and delivery
- Facilitation especially of challenging and emotive topics
- (Gestalt) coaching
- Public