Our trainers

The Centre has brought together a team of talented and experienced communicators, leaders and trainers who share your passion for learning and development. 


Alvin Ramsamy

Alvin is an experienced manager who specialises in soft-skills training. He loves helping people grow in their professional and personal lives and helping organisations to operate efficiently.

Carolyn Graham

Carolyn is a CEDR (Centre for Effective Dispute Resolution) accredited mediator and member of the Civil Mediation Council, working as mediator, trainer, facilitator and consultant. She works with a diverse range of organisations and sectors including Government, Banking, NHS, Higher Education, Arts & Entertainment and Charities.

Chris Powell

Chris specialises in helping individuals and teams design plan and deliver their own high-quality event experiences. With over 500 events successfully completed and over 3500 events managers trained, he knows a thing or two about the 'how to' of organising events.

David Aylwin

David Aylwin is one of the country's leading trainers in Fast effective reading and Speed reading. He has specialised in the field for over 25 years. David works with local government, NHS, banks, the police, law firms, and manufacturing.

David Goodman

David has over 30 years' experience as a coach, consultant and trainer focusing on enhancing performance and productivity with individuals, teams and organisations. David specialises in the Management Ladder, creating strong leadership at all levels.

Deborah Maguire

A Chartered Accountant for over 20 years, Deborah has an in-depth knowledge of accounting and finance. She has worked with many different companies and Industries throughout her career and can relate to the specific needs and industry challenges of individuals.

Fiona Lewis

Fiona uses her extensive experience in marketing, PR and communications to support individuals, non-profits and businesses to understand their ambitions and engage effectively with their audiences.

Fiona Russell

Fiona is an experienced trainer working with individuals and groups to develop management skills and personal effectiveness. She combines training with project management consultancy.

Gill Dandy

Gill is a communications professional with 25 years consultancy and in-house experience in the PR industry. Gill is a Fellow of the Chartered Institute of Public Relations, Chair of Fifth Estate, the voluntary sector PR network, and non-executive director of Shared Interest, a not-for-profit social investment fund.

Henry Russell

Henry runs the Centre's Proofreading course. Henry worked in publishing for over 10 years as an editor and a sales director before becoming a professional writer. He trains, coaches and lectures on every aspect of written communication.

Howard Exton-Smith

Howard is a specialist in business, programme and project management. He has particular expertise in strategy development and implementation, organisational effectiveness and marketing. He has held senior positions in the private sector, and has worked with the public and third sectors, in the UK and internationally.

Jakki Bendell

Jakki Bendell has over ten years' experience as a consultant, trainer and coach specialising in business writing skills. As a practising professional writer, Jakki draws on a wealth of stories and personal experience to illustrate her courses.

Jane Sullivan

Jane is a business psychologist, consultant and coach driven by the desire to support individuals and organisations to achieve the best possible performance through the creation and maintenance of positive working environments.

Jeffrey Wotherspoon

Jeffrey Wotherspoon is a certified executive coach, facilitator and high-risk conflict resolution specialist with a BSc (Hons) Psychology.

Laura McMillan

Laura has over 15 years experience as a Learning and Development professional and is a skilled trainer and coach. She has held management positions in the voluntary sector and now works as a consultant across all sectors.

Liz Sewell

Liz has extensive consultancy experience with both the voluntary and public sectors. As former chief executive of Gingerbread, Liz is a sought after consultant and trainer.

Dr Michael Cassop Thompson

Michael specialises in creativity, strategic management, leadership, value creation and marketing. A vastly experienced tutor he has designed, developed and delivered commercial training seminars and workshops to over 10,000 candidates throughout the UK.

Michelle Harrington

Michelle is an experienced Learning and Development professional with a strong background in Financial services. Her informal training style puts delegates at ease, whilst still achieving objectives of both individuals and organisations.

Russell Caird

Russell has a wealth of experience in the Financial Services industry having spent over 25 years in retail and corporate banking. As an accomplished facilitator he has worked with a range of public, private and voluntary sector clients in many industries. Russell also has experience in the design and delivery of bespoke training.

Sal Pearman

Sal has been working in People Development for 15 years. Sal specialises in Authentic Leadership, Positive Psychology, Equality and Inclusion, and organisation wide development programmes.

Sara Jones

Sara is an experienced journalist and media trainer. She has been media training for around 20 years and her clients have included major organisations in the commercial, public and voluntary sectors such as the Home Office, Pfizer, the Department for Work and Pensions, Philips and Channel 4.

Simon Horton

Simon Horton has spent over 10 years as an expert in the fields of Negotiating, Influencing, Leadership and Management Skills, working with an impressive list of high-profile clients, in the private, public and voluntary sectors. He is also a Visiting Lecturer at the Royal College of Art, University of London.

Susan Croft

Susan is an international public speaker, corporate trainer and PR practitioner and trains in sales, communications, marketing and management. She is a trained journalist and specialises in media and public speaking training for executives, educators and other professionals.

Will Baker

Will specialises in helping individuals realise their potential for impact, no matter what their role within an organisation. He works with organisations to develop effective procedures that further their goals and values.

Zahoor Bargir

Zahoor is a personable and versatile finance trainer who is experienced in delivering training that is interactive, effective and fun. A qualified accountant by profession, he has worked as a consultant and manager in numerous sectors before specialising as a trainer.

Lucy Duggan

Lucy has been working in the mental health sector since 2006 and specialises in helping people and organisations to reach their potential for resilience.

Sue West

Sue is a senior Human Resources professional with 20+ years of operational and strategic HR practice in a variety of sectors including financial services, education, tourism, retail and voluntary.

Edward Demosthenous

Edward has over 23 years experience in varying hospitality roles and over eight years experience within work based learning.

Chantel Xidhas

Chantel has worked within the Hospitality Industry in South Africa and the United Kingdom for over 10 years before becoming a Qualified Assessor in 2008.

Yihya Sirhan

Yihya has considerable experience in management from working in the Hospitality industry and the retail sector. He has a proven track record in training, assessing learners and organising people.

Matthew Lloyd Smith

Matt is a motivating training consultant who is naturally enthusiastic about learning, training, and development. He has worked in business training and coaching both in the UK and abroad in the following places: Barcelona, Copenhagen and Lisbon.

Sophie Brigden

As a leadership and management consultant, trainer and coach Sophie has worked successfully with leaders from the private, education, public and charity sectors helping them to lead with empathy and authenticity and awaken their best selves.