EDI Lunch 2024: Championing Fair Work: A Path to Excellence

Maddi is Head of Talent at Bruntwood, looking after all things talent attraction, development, culture and engagement as well as driving the group Diversity and Inclusion strategy forward in conjunction with their colleague networks and allyship group.

Aaron Saxton has been disruptive education leader at UA92 since 2021. His leadership has solidified UA92’s position as a trailblazer for incorporating advanced technologies such as Artificial Intelligence, Web 3.0, and the Metaverse into higher education.

Sax has been instrumental in shaping UA92’s forward-thinking curriculum, launching apprenticeships, and spearheading digital bootcamps that prioritise vital tech-centric skills. Under his stewardship, UA92 celebrated the opening of the Digital Academy in September 2022, made possible by a significant £2 million grant from the Office for Students.

This innovative academy serves as a hub for digital excellence, featuring a Metaverse for virtual experiential learning, a VR/AR lab for immersive technologies, and a 360-degree Igloo learning space for interactive study. It provides a broad spectrum of students with an employer-responsive, industry-collaborated curriculum designed to prime them for the digital economy. The Digital Academy offers an array of certified short courses, including in-demand fields like DevOps, Cloud computing, Linux, web development, data science, cyber security, and augmented and virtual reality, all underpinned by a strong foundation in artificial intelligence.

Sax’s ethos revolves around the conviction that investing in emerging talent is paramount for advancing the digital skills market. His bold, innovative approach not only prepares students for the digital future but also redefines the standard and delivery of digital education.

Sonia Watson-Fowler (she/her) is a consultant, coach, writer and performer. Founder of Inclusive Communication Consultancy (ICC), she provides a range of executive, creative and education Equitable Practice and People Centred Leadership workshops, mentoring, conflict mediation services and coaching, as well as creative writing sessions to UK and international clients.
She is currently Factory International’s Equity & Representation Manager and a Relationship Manager at Black Lives in Music. Sonia has worked extensively with a range of educational, arts establishments and businesses focused on addressing issues of inclusiveness and equitable practice. Her initial primary focus was on anti-racism following the 2020 resurgence of the BLM movement. Sonia is a Trustee of Bird College Conservatoire for Dance and Musical Theatre and was Director of Culture & Creativity at ALRA – Academy of Live and Recorded Arts, prior to its sudden closure.

Tom is the talent acquisition lead for Mony Group, a tech-focused FTSE250 with a strong presence in the Manchester Tech community. His role is to help support and drive a more inclusive recruitment process, looking at initiatives that allow the group to hire colleagues that best represent their users.

Brain-Healthy Workplace Consultant, Trainer, and Applied Neuroscientist

Naomi transforms brain science into practical hacks, tools, and strategies that work in the real world. Honoured to be described as a thought leader, she has delivered expert keynotes and workshops for organisations such as Google, the NHS and Westminster Insight.

Specialising in neuroinclusion, women’s workplace health, and brain optimisation, Naomi designs workplaces where brains can thrive. She holds a master’s degree in Applied Neuroscience from the renowned Institute of Psychology, Psychiatry, and Neuroscience at King’s College, London where she is a Guest Lecturer in Brain Health.

Naomi is also a faculty member at the Alzheimer’s Research and Prevention Foundation (USA), teaching on their latest Brain Longevity Training Course. Through her firm, Neuro-Informed, she and her expert team provide consulting, training and brain health gyms.

Ngozi Weller is a wellbeing and productivity consultant and an ICF accredited coach who helps build resilience into your business by creating psychologically safe workplaces that enable employees to thrive. Her programmes increase employee engagement, drive productivity, and promote lasting behavioural change.

Having worked for over 15 years in the world of Big Oil, Ngozi has experienced first-hand how challenging the corporate world can be. Following her own battle with work-related depression and anxiety, she set up Aurora with her psychologist cousin Obehi to normalise the conversation around workplace mental health and to provide strategic wellbeing support designed to strengthen your employees’ mental resilience and improve workplace productivity. She is also the co-host of the award-winning podcast ‘The Wellbeing Rebellion’.

Kyle is a solicitor based in Manchester and is the national Chair of The Black Solicitors Network (BSN), leading the organisation at Board-level as the network enters its 30th anniversary. BSN represents more than 4,000 members, ranging from students through to those within the judiciary.

Kyle specialises in restructuring and insolvency at Knights, whereby he advises directors, shareholders and insolvency practitioners on a range of transactional and contentious insolvency matters.

He has worked in the legal profession for over 15 years in various management and fee earning roles, including having has advised more than 100 law firms and business on how to structure their firms to become more commercially minded and profitable.

In 2016 Kyle was voted to become the Chair of the relaunched BSN (North) group and then in February 2022 was elected to become the national chair of BSN.

Kyle is also sits as a Council Member at The Law Society having been elected as one of three ‘Ethnic Minority’ representatives.

His ethos is to lend a hand to those he is able to and to share his insights in the hope that others who are from similar backgrounds can fulfil their potential in law.