Ije McDougall
“Unashamedly Occupy Space” My name is Ije McDougall, I am a mum, a sister, a friend, a human resources professional, a family court magistrate, a motivational speaker and charity worker. Most importantly however, I unashamedly occupy space as a black woman living in the UK. I grew up in Nigeria as the eldest of three […]
Sandeep Saib
Trigger Warning: Suicide ‘to move forward you have to go backwards’ I am Sandeep Saib and I am a living experience mental health advocate. I really emphasise the ‘living’ in that title because I am still going through my own mental health journey. I am a philanthropist, public speaker and professional marketeer too and I […]
Stefania Catarinella
“Learning expands my life.” My name is Stefania Catarinella. I have been living in Leamington Spa for the past 3 and a half years and I’m originally from Puglia in the South of Italy. I lived in Puglia until I was 18 when I finished school. Then I left to follow my dream. I started […]
Steph Marie
Trigger warning: Child Abuse and Bullying “Learning that my disability doesn’t define me” My name is Steph Marie, I am from Bury and I am a social influencer, chat show host and a historian and I also have cerebral palsy. Cerebral palsy means that the part of the brain that sends signals is damaged. It […]
Sam Smith
“Every time a door is closed in your face, you’re closer to another door opening”. My name is Sam Smith, and I was born in Bolton in 1972 where I grew up. I came from a single-mother family where there were four kids and each of us had different dads. I didn’t ever get to […]
Andy Craddock
“Disability has not stopped me from being the person that I am”. My name is Andy Craddock. I went through life as an able-bodied person until I acquired a disability in adulthood. I’m from Birmingham. I come from a working-class family, and my father was in the military. Both my parents passed away a couple […]
David Morgan
‘There is more to life than the corporate way’. My name is David Morgan. I help rehabilitate people leaving prison by giving them the skills to start their own businesses. I’ve always been fascinated with how things work. I liked computers and engineering from a young age. Looking back, many of my friends were geeky […]
Caroline England
‘Stories are the most wonderful way to take yourself to another world and learn whilst it’s still fun.’ My name is Caroline England. Quite late in my career, I realised that the corporate world wasn’t for me and left that behind to begin my entrepreneurial expedition, founding ‘Featherbed Tales’. I was born in the South […]
Adya Misra
‘I like seeing people’s faces light up when they are doing something they didn’t think they could do because I was the same.’ My name is Adya, I’m originally from Newcastle and I live in The Wirral. I’ve lived in many places over the years. My parents were first-generation immigrants from South Asia. I’m talking […]
Siobhan Daniels
Trigger warning: mention of child abuse “I feel like I’m on the edge of the cliff and I’m ready to jump and I’m excited, I don’t know what’s going to happen but I’m there, it’s too late for me to crawl back.” I’m Siobhan Daniels, I’m 63 years of age. I worked for the BBC […]