The Story So far...
Throughout all the twists and turns of my career, one thread has remained constant: a deep passion for helping people thrive and reach their full potential, regardless of their starting point, circumstances, or challenges.
In the early days, that passion came to life in the vocational learning and development sector, where I worked with organisations such as Fenwick, Nisa, and JCT600, training emerging and existing talent in areas ranging from customer service and business administration to leadership and management, helping many individuals develop the skills and knowledge they needed to thrive professionally.
After being made redundant from this role several years later, I saw the opportunity to take my deep passion for personal development in a new direction, and I founded a social enterprise dedicated to making learning and development opportunities accessible in disadvantaged communities. The mission was simple but powerful: empowering individuals to realise and maximise their potential, utilise their skills, and achieve their goals. One by one, over time, I helped over 100 individuals accomplish these things and more.
From goal-setting workshops and healthy eating on a budget courses to digital drop-ins, I delivered a wide range of learning opportunities. Yet, one type consistently stood out for the breakthroughs it created: creative and expressive writing (personal writing with therapeutic benefits).
As someone with a personal love of writing, I was fascinated (but not surprised) to see how powerful this tool could be. By 2019, my social enterprise was almost entirely focused on helping individuals explore creative and expressive writing. I helped countless individuals unlock their creativity, process personal challenges through expressive writing, and find joy in self-expression through a supportive monthly writing group and various workshops.
That same year, I piloted wellbeing sessions in workplaces, introducing employees to simple forms of poetry and expressive writing. The impact was striking. Participants reported feeling:
- Intrigued → Ambitious
- Excited → Energised
- Anxious → Positive
- Daunted → Accomplished
Alongside these shifts in attendee mood and mindset, the organisations saw boosts in creativity, innovation, morale, and team connection, as well as a reduction in stress.
There was a clear case for these types of workshops in the workplace, so I hoped to start facilitating to many more of them. However, life had other plans, as in 2019, I also began running a community project for a community centre in the West of York aimed at helping local people access opportunities to feel part of their community through social interaction and participating in meaningful activities, as well as providing them access to the resources needed for them to have happy and fulfilling lives. When the pandemic hit in 2020, my role expanded dramatically as I supported an increasing number of vulnerable individuals through both the practical and emotional challenges of COVID-19 and, later, the cost-of-living crisis. As the demands of this work grew, I eventually made the difficult decision to wind down my social enterprise so I could fully focus my energy on the work that I was doing on behalf of the community centre.
However, the thought of the work I had been doing before, and the deep sense of meaning and fulfilment it gave me, never really left me. In recent years, my journey has come full circle, back to my core purpose of helping people thrive. I formally trained as a coach, adding even more evidence-based tools, strategies and approaches to my practice, which now blends the benefits of creativity with the principles of positive psychology.
Today, I work with both organisations and individuals to help remove barriers to wellbeing and success. For workplaces, this means reducing stress-related absences, enhancing resilience, boosting engagement, and strengthening team performance through online workshops and tailored wellbeing packages. For individuals, it means one-to-one coaching and creative workshops, both online and in-person, that empower people to live happy, fulfilling, and balanced lives they deserve.
At its core, my work is about transformation: helping individuals from all walks of life transition from a state of mere survival to one of thriving.
