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(he/him) Ed Ed's passion for social justice was shaped by growing up in Northern Ireland during the height of the troubles. As a gay Catholic, he experienced first-hand the challenges of inequality, prejudice, and conflict, which drove his commitment to combat these issues. Ed is a cis, white, gay man who is married and has recently adopted his son Ashton. He is the founder and CEO of Inclusion Crowd and the founder of Inclusion Earth , an International Inclusion Think Tank. Ed's commercial background is in transformation and change, which he combines with his expertise in recruitment, hiring, and retention practices to drive authentic, practical, and radical ED&I performance across various sectors. Ed Jervis Looking for a Guest Speake r ? Get in touch Our Recent Articles... DEI Trends in 2025: Practitioner Wellbeing and Career Sustainability. UNLOCK | Queer Leadership 101 with Pius Kennedy Harnessing Queer Joy as an Act of Resistance. Create Space for Change. We work with 100+ Businesses, ERGs and Change-Leaders providing bespoke DEI solutions. Through consultancy we design shared learning experiences, produce insights and craft content that support individuals with strengthening their roles as change-agents within their communities and organisations. Discover our bespoke corporate solutions... Work with us

Bias A prejudice in favour of or against one thing, person, or group. Brains automatically make quick judgments and assessments. They are influenced by our background, personal experiences, societal stereotypes and cultural context. It's not just about gender, ethnicity and other visible diversity characteristics such as height, body weight, names, and many other things can also trigger unconscious bias. Unconscious bias can have a significant influence on our attitudes and behaviours, especially towards other people. It can influence key decisions in the workplace and can contribute to inequality, for example in selection and recruitment, appraisals, or promotion. Understanding unconcious bias is key to understanding the origins of discrimination and inequalities which marginalised people are victim of. < Back to Glossary

Mental Illness / Ill-Health Mental illness, also called mental health disorders, refers to a wide range of mental health conditions — disorders that affect your mood, thinking and behaviour. Examples of mental illness include depression, anxiety disorders, schizophrenia, eating disorders and addictive behaviours. < Back to Glossary

Surrogate A surrogate is a person who carries the pregnancy of another person or couple. This process usually includes a legal agreement between the surrogate and parent(s). Surrogacy is pursued by people and couples who are not able to carry their own children, such as AMAB couples or AFAB people experiencing fertility issues. < Back to Glossary

Burnout Burnout is a state of physical and emotional exhaustion. It can occur when you experience long-term stress in your job, or when you have worked in a physically or emotionally draining role for a long time. When we feel like we are burning out, it is important that we ask for help from the people around us, so we can protect our wellbeing. To avoid burnout, we must ensure that we set boundaries for ourselves, and acknowledge when we have reached capacity. < Back to Glossary

(she/her) Paula Paula spent over 15 years working within the HIV sector, setting up an HIV/AIDS support agency called Body & Soul for women, teenagers, children and families in 1994. She worked to raise awareness of those living with or closely affected by HIV/AIDS, collaborating with The Body Shop, Comic Relief, Children in Need and MTV to bring conversation around HIV into the mainstream. Paula is passionate about fighting misogyny and racism within the LGBTQ+ community. Paula Harrowing Looking for a Guest Speake r ? Get in touch Our Recent Articles... DEI Trends in 2025: Practitioner Wellbeing and Career Sustainability. UNLOCK | Queer Leadership 101 with Pius Kennedy Harnessing Queer Joy as an Act of Resistance. Create Space for Change. We work with 100+ Businesses, ERGs and Change-Leaders providing bespoke DEI solutions. Through consultancy we design shared learning experiences, produce insights and craft content that support individuals with strengthening their roles as change-agents within their communities and organisations. Discover our bespoke corporate solutions... Work with us

(he/they) Alex Alex is a trans non-binary person based in London. They currently work full-time for a homeless social care support charity. Before making a recent career change, Alex was previously a graduate trainee at a large consulting firm, working across Banking Risk consultancy, HR consultancy and Audit. He simultaneously worked with the firm’s LGBT-network, representing the firm at multiple LGBT recruitment events, and reviewed the firm’s policies regarding LGBT-inclusivity. Alex transitioned while at work, and learnt to juggle personal challenges and uncertainty, while maintaining workplace full-engagement. Alex Howell Looking for a Guest Speake r ? Get in touch Our Recent Articles... DEI Trends in 2025: Practitioner Wellbeing and Career Sustainability. UNLOCK | Queer Leadership 101 with Pius Kennedy Harnessing Queer Joy as an Act of Resistance. Create Space for Change. We work with 100+ Businesses, ERGs and Change-Leaders providing bespoke DEI solutions. Through consultancy we design shared learning experiences, produce insights and craft content that support individuals with strengthening their roles as change-agents within their communities and organisations. Discover our bespoke corporate solutions... Work with us

Well-being A complex combination of a person's physical, mental, emotional and social health factors. < Back to Glossary

Trigger In mental health terms, a trigger refers to something that affects your emotional state, often significantly, by causing extreme overwhelm or distress. A trigger affects your ability to remain present in the moment. It may bring up specific thought patterns or influence your behavior. < Back to Glossary

'Who am I?' is an LGBTQ+ Leadership Programme. Each virtual retreat explores your unique identity as a Queer Leader through a sequence of experiential and interactive workshops, carefully designed around tried and tested psychological and holistic practices. Who Am I ? Join a Leadership Retreat About the series Who Am I? SELF-LEADERSHIP PROGRAMMES FOR LGBTQ+ CHANGE MAKERS Join us (virtually) as we take you through a unique holistic process of self-enquiry and exploration. View dates and book Join mailing list Your safety About the programmes. Each ‘virtual retreat’ explores your unique identity through a sequence of experiential and trauma-informed workshops , carefully designed around tried and tested psychological and holistic practices . These transformative techniques elicit a deeper connection and greater understanding of ‘self’. Studies show that this work is most impactful with groups of individuals who have had similar or shared experiences. For this reason we have created three bespoke programmes, dates and teams, each dedicated to specific identity groups within the community: GBTQ, LBTQ and TQ+ . Please choose whichever programme resonates with you the most and download an invitation pack below for more information. GBTQ LBTQ TQ+ PROGRAMME STATISTICS Participants include senior execs from these highly regarded companies: President at UN Globe "This programme is essential to equip future leaders and shapers within our community." Diversity Manager at ENEI “Probably the best ten hours I’ve spent learning about myself.” Managing Editor at Channel 4 "A genuine mind-opening experience that has stuck with me ever since." Editor at BBC News "The most amazing thing about the programme - was realising how much I needed it." Senior Comms at Hyatt “Cathartic and empowering.” Associate Director at EY "I felt like a weight had been lifted from my shoulders." Anchor 1 Any questions? For more information or enquiries please don’t hesitate to get in touch . Otherwise use the booking links provided below. View dates and book Request more info Please note - we do welcome subsidy requests from those individuals who are not being funded by their organisations or networks.

(she/they) Ashley Ashley's research critiques how power, economics, and politics influence social change, while advocating for imagination and creativity as alternatives to neoliberal market logics. As a full-time professor of communications, Ashley is continuing to develop projects rooted in place-based pedagogy, urbanism, public intellectualism and equity. Her recent project, Home x Work, has been praised for its phenomenological originality. This project does not perceive the city as a blank campus upon which we can experiment, but rather, aims to use collaborative measures to dissect and render visible the various social and material flows that both (re)produce hegemonic power structures and dismantle them. Ashley Marshall Looking for a Guest Speake r ? Get in touch Our Recent Articles... DEI Trends in 2025: Practitioner Wellbeing and Career Sustainability. UNLOCK | Queer Leadership 101 with Pius Kennedy Harnessing Queer Joy as an Act of Resistance. Create Space for Change. We work with 100+ Businesses, ERGs and Change-Leaders providing bespoke DEI solutions. Through consultancy we design shared learning experiences, produce insights and craft content that support individuals with strengthening their roles as change-agents within their communities and organisations. Discover our bespoke corporate solutions... Work with us

(they/them) Chris Chris is a trans neurodivergent Accredited Psychotherapist, Advanced Accredited GSRD Therapist, and DEI consultant. As the Founder and Managing Director of The Queer Therapist , a UK-based online therapy service, they provide GSRD (gender, sexuality, relationship diversity) therapy and neurodivergent affirming therapy. Chris is also the Lead Psychotherapist at Voda.co, the LGBTQIA mental health app, Clinical Associate for Pink Therapy , and Inclusivity Board Advisor for Soho House . They have expertise in topics such as language and terminology, workplace allyship, intersectionality, LGBTQ+ history and discrimination, mental health and wellbeing, identity, neurodiversity, culture change, activism, trauma, and sexual health. Chris Sheridan Looking for a Guest Speake r ? Get in touch Our Recent Articles... DEI Trends in 2025: Practitioner Wellbeing and Career Sustainability. UNLOCK | Queer Leadership 101 with Pius Kennedy Harnessing Queer Joy as an Act of Resistance. Create Space for Change. We work with 100+ Businesses, ERGs and Change-Leaders providing bespoke DEI solutions. Through consultancy we design shared learning experiences, produce insights and craft content that support individuals with strengthening their roles as change-agents within their communities and organisations. Discover our bespoke corporate solutions... Work with us

(he/him) Aditya Aditya (Adi) is an experienced Marketing Strategy Director and proud immigrant, currently based in south London. As a South Asian Queer person, he has found strength in his cultural heritage and is passionate about advocating for intersectional identities. Adi is also a talented Hindi/Urdu poet and lives with his loving English partner. He has a personal connection to mental health, as he lives with complex-PTSD, and is committed to promoting well-being and self-empowerment. Adi is a strong advocate for anti-racism, workplace allyship, and trauma-informed care. He is also an expert in leadership and faith-based activism, and actively supports Queer POC in their careers. Adi Sinha Looking for a Guest Speake r ? Get in touch Our Recent Articles... DEI Trends in 2025: Practitioner Wellbeing and Career Sustainability. UNLOCK | Queer Leadership 101 with Pius Kennedy Harnessing Queer Joy as an Act of Resistance. Create Space for Change. We work with 100+ Businesses, ERGs and Change-Leaders providing bespoke DEI solutions. Through consultancy we design shared learning experiences, produce insights and craft content that support individuals with strengthening their roles as change-agents within their communities and organisations. Discover our bespoke corporate solutions... Work with us

(she/her) Sophie Sophie has been an advocate for women and HIV for almost 2 decades ensuring gender visibillty and health equity in the HIV response and that women's sexual reproductive health and rights are achieved. She has provided policy advice to public health organisations, NHS England , NICE, NGOs and academics, WHO and UN Women advocating both nationally and internationally.Sophie’s work includes advocacy on PrEP knowledge and equity in access for all women, and is the current co chair on the London PrEP Equity working group. She is CEO of the Sophia Forum whichexists to empower all women living with HIV to reach their full potential, and to ensure their voices are heard and their needs prioritised within the health sector and wider society. Sophie Strachan Looking for a Guest Speake r ? Get in touch Our Recent Articles... DEI Trends in 2025: Practitioner Wellbeing and Career Sustainability. UNLOCK | Queer Leadership 101 with Pius Kennedy Harnessing Queer Joy as an Act of Resistance. Create Space for Change. We work with 100+ Businesses, ERGs and Change-Leaders providing bespoke DEI solutions. Through consultancy we design shared learning experiences, produce insights and craft content that support individuals with strengthening their roles as change-agents within their communities and organisations. Discover our bespoke corporate solutions... Work with us

Plus A way of speaking about the variations of marginalised sexual orientations and gender identities that might fall under the LGBTQ+ acronym. < Back to Glossary

Perfectionism Perfectionism, in psychology, is a broad personality style characterized by a person's concern with striving for flawlessness and perfection and is accompanied by critical self-evaluations and concerns regarding others' evaluations. Perfectionism drives people to be concerned with achieving unattainable ideals or unrealistic goals that often lead to many forms of adjustment problems such as depression, anxiety, OCD, OCPD and low self-esteem. When you don’t feel accepted for who you are while you’re still developing, it can lead to constant feelings of worthlessness and insecurity in adulthood. To overcome the feeling of being “not good enough,” perfectionism can emerge as a defence mechanism. Proving yourself to others, whether it’s as the most talented, smart or successful, becomes a means of keeping yourself safe. Left unchecked, perfectionism can create a cycle of anxiety and depression that makes achievement even harder. This, in turn, fuels greater feelings and fears of inadequacy. You’ll suddenly find yourself trapped trying to be the best while constantly feeling the worst. See: Achievement, Adversity, Burnout and Resilience. < Back to Glossary

Lived Experience Personal knowledge about the world gained through direct, first-hand involvement in everyday events rather than through representations constructed by other people. Lived experience is an invaluable resource, both in helping us navigate our lives, but also as a tool for educating others. < Back to Glossary

Community Development Community development is often linked with community work or community planning, and may involve stakeholders, foundations, governments, or contracted entities including non-government organisations (NGOs), universities or government agencies to progress the social well-being of local, regional and, sometimes, national communities. More grassroots efforts, called community building or community organizing, seek to empower individuals and groups of people by providing them with the skills they need to effect change in their own communities. < Back to Glossary

(she/her) Chloë Chloë is an award winning founder, creative, dynamic social impact consultant, chef, and entrepreneur who has dedicated much of her 20+ year career campaigning for inclusion and equality in all spaces, whether in-house at agency level, corporate organisations or through wider community engagement. She was a ADCOLOR 2024 Rockstar of the Year Nominee, Advertising Week Europe 2024 The Future is Female Winner and named on the 2024 Campaign Magazine UK A-list. In April 2023 she founded ‘It Takes A Village Collective’ - a global hub for Black women in advertising, media, marketing and comms whose mission is to ensure that 1 in 5 people in adland will be a Black woman by 2028. Chloë Davies Looking for a Guest Speake r ? Get in touch Our Recent Articles... DEI Trends in 2025: Practitioner Wellbeing and Career Sustainability. UNLOCK | Queer Leadership 101 with Pius Kennedy Harnessing Queer Joy as an Act of Resistance. Create Space for Change. We work with 100+ Businesses, ERGs and Change-Leaders providing bespoke DEI solutions. Through consultancy we design shared learning experiences, produce insights and craft content that support individuals with strengthening their roles as change-agents within their communities and organisations. Discover our bespoke corporate solutions... Work with us

(he/him) Luca Luca is an Italian public speaker, author, and facilitator, who has been living in Barcelona since 2006. After two decades in the corporate business sector, he shifted his focus to academia and consultancy, blending the analytical perspective of engineering with humanities-driven soft skills. In 2016, he joined BCN Pride Toastmasters, a queer-inclusive community, where he has delivered over 100 speeches, moderated panels, and organized events. He is passionate about piano playing, storytelling, and the power of beauty. His keywords are: creativity, innovation, and strategic planning. Luca Magagni Looking for a Guest Speake r ? Get in touch Our Recent Articles... DEI Trends in 2025: Practitioner Wellbeing and Career Sustainability. UNLOCK | Queer Leadership 101 with Pius Kennedy Harnessing Queer Joy as an Act of Resistance. Create Space for Change. We work with 100+ Businesses, ERGs and Change-Leaders providing bespoke DEI solutions. Through consultancy we design shared learning experiences, produce insights and craft content that support individuals with strengthening their roles as change-agents within their communities and organisations. Discover our bespoke corporate solutions... Work with us