10th Making Diversity Interventions Count Annual Conference
2021

Uduak Archibong is Professor of Diversity at the University of Bradford, UK, where she directs the Centre for Inclusion and Diversity and provides strategic oversight for equality and diversity across the institution. Uduak is a thought leader in inclusion and diversity and currently leading in setting agenda to drive research, learning and knowledge exchange activities internationally. She has a sustained, distinguished presence in this field and much of her work has focused on workforce diversity, diversity-competent leadership in public, private and third sector organisations.

Uduak’s academic and professional work has major impacts locally, nationally and globally. Key among these impacts is that the body of her research work has provided a robust understanding of challenges of applying diversity interventions in enhancing workforce diversity and inclusive service delivery. Her research provides a clear international definition of positive action and application for representational and participative diversity. She has recently led a major multi-million European Commission funded action research project, GENOVATE, across 7 European Universities and is currently involved in a multi-million Horizon 2020 project, RRING, along with 22 international partners.

Uduak has published extensively and is on the editorial board of a number of academic journals, including Guest Editor of a recently published Special Issue of the Journal of Psychological Issues in Organisational Culture entitled 'Reframing Diversity Interventions in Austere Times'. Uduak was listed in the New Year Honours list 2015 and was made a Member of the Order of the British Empire for her contributions to higher education and equality.

Kim has been the CEO at The Cellar Trust since 2014. Before moving into the Voluntary and Community Sector (VCS), she worked in organisational development, employee wellbeing and communications roles within the public sector. Kim has an MSc in Leadership and is an Institute of Leadership and Management qualified coach. She is passionate about the role of charities and is currently the Chair of the Bradford District VCS Assembly, which is the voice and influence structure for the local sector. Kim represents the sector on the Bradford District Wellbeing Board, Bradford and Craven Integrated Care Place Board and the Strategic Coordination Group for Bradford District. She is also a member of the NHS England Adult Mental Health Steering Group.

Dr David Ragland is one of the co-founders of the Truth Telling Project and the director of the Grassroots Reparations Campaign. David is a writer, scholar, and activist. David recently published a series on reparations in Yes Magazine and Truth Telling and Decoloniality in the International Journal of Human Rights Education. He currently teaches in Depth Psychology, Eco-Psychology and Community Liberation at Pacifica Graduate Institute. Georgetown University’s Advocacy lab included Dr Ragland’s research as part of the “most important research on advocacy” in the last forty years. David was recently inducted into Rev. Dr Martin Luther King Jr. Collegium of Scholars at Morehouse College.  In the past, David served as the Senior Bayard Rustin Fellow at Fellowship of Reconciliation, board member for the Peace and Justice Studies Association and the United Nations representative for the International Peace Research Association

"Shirley’s priority is to engender a vibrant culture for staff and students reinforcing the University’s commitment to excellence in teaching & learning, research, knowledge exchange and equality, diversity and inclusion. Having lived and worked in the Bradford City Region for ten years she is committed to positioning the University at the centre of the region’s social and economic regeneration."

Shirley is responsible for the leadership and management of the University of Bradford, leading the development of its values and strategy. She is the eighth Vice-Chancellor of the University of Bradford and is the first woman to hold the role. Shirley has significant experience of working in higher education championing the quality of the student experience, widening participation, engagement with business and communities and advancing the quality of research and innovation. Originally qualifying as a Registered Nurse, Shirley’s professional and academic expertise lies within the area of health and social care, service modernisation and cultural change, research methods and evidence-based practice. She has a strong track record in all aspects of university leadership, having worked within the field of higher education for 25 years and held senior roles in three different universities. She is committed to value led leadership, equality, diversity and inclusion, increasing social inclusion and mobility through widening participation in higher education; opening up opportunities and unlocking potential for people of all backgrounds.

A tireless ambassador for students, she is committed to ensuring that they get the best possible education and support that leads to a rewarding career after they graduate. Her number one priority is to place the student experience at the heart of all aspects of University activities.

Kersten has been Chief Executive of Bradford Council since 2015. Kersten’s main priority is to deliver sustainable and inclusive growth. Bradford District has the youngest population in the UK and is also one of the most diverse, globally connected and entrepreneurial. Kersten chairs the Yorkshire and Humber Chief Executive’s Board and is the lead Chief Executive for the Yorkshire Leaders Board. She leads on innovation, business growth and the digital agenda within the West Yorkshire Combined Authority.

Kersten is a trustee of the Young Foundation whose mission is to develop better connected and more sustainable communities across the UK. She is also a member of the Council of the University of Bradford, a member of the advisory board of the Bradford Literature Festival and a lay canon of Bradford Cathedral. Kersten’s career has included work in the higher education, central government (as Director of Local Government for Yorkshire and the Humber) and the voluntary sector as well as 30 years in local government. She was previously Chief Executive of the City of York for six years. She is passionate about building resilient and confident communities, supporting local democracy and sustainable urban growth. Despite her Edinburgh accent she regards herself as a bona fide Bradfordian and Yorkshire woman, having lived and worked in Yorkshire for most of her adult life and bringing her children up in the great city of Bradford.

Kersten was made a CBE in the 2020 new year’s honours list for her services to the communities and economy of Bradford.

Professor Charles Egbu was appointed the Vice-Chancellor of Leeds Trinity University on 1 November 2020. With more than 25 years’ experience in higher education, Professor Egbu was previously Pro Vice-Chancellor for Education and Experience at the University of East London, where he was responsible for student experience, student success, student retention, quality assurance and enhancement, the Centre for Excellence in Learning and Teaching, and the Students’ Union. He is also a member of various external bodies, including the Advance HE Pro Vice-Chancellor Network and QAA Panel of Experts.

Prior to this, Professor Egbu was Dean of the School of Built Environment and Architecture at London South Bank University and Head of the School of Built Environment at the University of Salford, and held academic posts at University College London, Glasgow Caledonian University and Leeds Beckett University (formerly Leeds Metropolitan). His first Degree was in Quantity Surveying. His Doctorate was obtained in the area of Construction Project Management.

Professor Egbu’s research interests focus on project management, construction management and sustainable development; subjects about which he has written 12 books and contributed to more than 350 publications in various international journals and conferences. He has supervised over 25 PhD students and examined over 100 PhD candidates world-wide. In addition, he has acted as an external examiner to many undergraduate and postgraduate programmes in universities all over the world.

Saj has worked across several NHS organisations and has significant experience of dealing with complex service issues through the various operational and strategic management roles he has held over his 20-year career within the NHS. Prior to joining Bradford Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust, he worked at Leeds Teaching Hospitals. Having joined the NHS in a clinical capacity in 2000, he moved into a career in NHS Management in 2003, while at the same time undertaking a master’s degree in business administration.

Saj is an experienced leader and has skills across performance, budgetary, personnel and service development functions. He is a highly regarded individual and has established an excellent reputation for service delivery among clinical and management colleagues both at a local and regional level.

Professor Calvin Moorley RN, PhD is Chair of Diversity and Social Justice at London South Bank University. His research focuses on the interplay of gender, culture ethnicity and health.  Since graduating from the University of Essex as an adult registered nurse, Calvin has followed a clinical/academic career, remaining close to clinical nursing, particularly in the critical care environment.  Calvin has a keen interest in how health is theorized using social media platforms. He has published widely in nursing and social media and is developing a set of nursing European principles for the use of social media. His most recent works include Knowledge, attitude, and beliefs on sex among Black Africans; Psychosexual Experiences of FGM survivors and Experience of Stroke among Caribbean populations in the UK.

Calvin is well recognised in the field and this can be seen in his esteem factors which include: Guest Editor for a special issue of Journal of Clinical Nursing on LGBTI Health 2017; the Mary Seacole Prize for Leadership in Nursing and is editor for Journal of Transcultural Nursing. Calvin collaborates nationally and internationally including working with teams in Trinidad, Jamaica, and Australia.

Penny Wangari-Jones is an anti-racist activist, organiser, and director of the Racial Justice Network and currently undertaking her PhD at university of Manchester looking at 'How coloniality shapes Black activism'. Born and raised in Kenya, her experiences of discrimination and racism became a catalyst for fighting for racial and social justice. The past 12 years have involved working in marginalised communities affected by mental health, homelessness, poverty, addictions, domestic violence, sex work, seeking sanctuary and so forth. She is committed to understanding how colonialism has and continues to impact the lives of Black and Brown people both in the Global South and the UK, and she is dedicated to addressing this in her work.

The Racial Justice Network (RJN) is a charity based in West Yorkshire and our vision is holistic, economic, spiritual and cultural repairs to end racial injustice and address legacies of colonialism. RJN is a network of individuals, communities and organisations working together to end racial injustice and address legacies of colonialism. We do this through various things: Community building - create safe spaces for dialogue, connect individuals and groups, build solidarities and grow our power between different oppression and sectors; Mobilising and catalysing - we deliver training, organise as well as call on people for actions/disrupt to raise awareness about racial injustices; and Influencing and shaping public discourse/advocacy - we organise events, speak out in public forums/spaces and support others (including campaigns) to do so. We occupy decision making spaces and use our platforms to advocate and inform on issues affecting Black and Brown communities.

Stacy Johnson, an Associate Professor in the School of Health Sciences, University of Nottingham is an emerging international thought leader in critical inclusive leadership. She is founder of the award winning National and European Junior Leadership Academies for student nurses and midwives. Her latest work, The ReMEDI Project is a ground breaking reverse mentoring framework for enhancing diversity and inclusion. Stacy was included in the Health Service Journal’s 2013 list of 50 BME Pioneers and was made a Member of the British Empire in the 2019 New Year’s Honours list for services to healthcare and higher education equality, diversity and inclusion. 

Sayma is an award winning strategic and system collaborator with a lengthy clinical background including over 21 years’ experience working for the NHS. Sayma has an outstanding track record of leading large scale system transformation programmes, building system leadership capability and driving forward inclusion agendas. Her contributions have led to winning a national HSJ award. Sayma started her career in the NHS as a paediatric nurse initially progressing into senior roles in clinical and operational fields. She then moved into system leadership and transformation programme roles across local and regional systems.

Sayma is currently working for the West Yorkshire and Harrogate Health and Care Partnership as the Associate Director for System Leadership and Development. Sayma also works with national bodies to champion transformational change on equality, diversity and inclusion. She is known to continuously advocate for better patient outcomes, amplifying the patient and employee voice, and equity of experience and opportunity. Sayma enjoys inspiring and influencing teams to achieve outstanding results by working together, and continually supports individuals through coaching and mentoring.

Dr Roselyn Masamha has a clinical practice background in forensic learning disabilities secure services, working with people at the interface of mental health law and the criminal justice system. Her research interests are in the experiences of disadvantaged and marginalised groups, the politics of knowledge production and migration. Her doctoral research used postcolonial theory to explore the entanglements of the teaching and learning exchange for migrant nursing students, for whom race and a migrant status had implications for their access to knowledge production participation ‘permissions’.

Dr. Kutoma Wakunuma is Associate Professor Research and Teaching in Information Systems. Her research interests are in understanding social and ethical implications of emerging technologies in both the developed and developing world. She focusses on the Plastic Circular Economy, gender, SDGs, Responsible Innovation, ethics and ICT for development. She has been involved in several funded projects where she has taken on different roles including work package leader, evaluator as well as part of the coordinating team. She is also Subject Group Leader for Information Systems and Programme Leader for MSc Computing within the School of Computing Engineering and Media where she also teaches and supervises a number of PhD students.

Sarah works as a consultant in public health at West Yorkshire and Harrogate Health and Care Partnership, passionate about collaborating and connecting to improve population health. She has a keen interest in healthcare public health, specifically embedding approaches to reducing health inequalities and exploring the contributions we can make to improve the determinants of health. Sarah held previous roles as a Public Health Registrar within NHS England national teams, Public Health England regional teams and local authorities. Prior to public health training, Sarah qualified with a BSc Hons in Biomedical Science and completed the NHS Graduate Management Scheme and a MSc in Health and Public Leadership before working as a commissioning manager in the NHS.

Professor Bugewa Apampa has accrued wide-ranging experience of working with staff and students on projects designed to ensure that disadvantaged students, many of whom are Black and Minority Ethnic, realise the benefits of Higher Education. With a strong belief in the power of education to change lives for the better, she regards education as a fundamental human right and therefore a moral value. Her conviction that the transformative power of education can be unleashed through a systematic and evidence-based design of teaching, learning and assessments, saw her lead teams of academics and a range of stakeholders in the collaborative design and development of outcomes-focused, integrated core curriculum for Pharmacy, at the University of Kent in 2013 and the University of Sussex between 2013 and 2019.

Urfan Faqir is the Project Lead for the Graduate Workforce Bradford Project. Urfan has a number of years’ experience in the career and employability space. Working in corporate recruitment, delivering work experience programmes in schools and colleges and developing apprenticeship opportunities. Most recently supporting students/graduates into internships, placements and graduate job opportunities at the University of Bradford. The Graduate Workforce Bradford Project aims to identify the barriers to employment for BAME students/graduates and will help boost the job prospects of Black, Asian and minority ethnic (BAME) graduates across the Bradford Metropolitan District.

Sasha Bhat is the head of commissioning for mental wellbeing in Bradford. She has a background in public health and psychology (University of Hull), having specialised in post graduate studies in addiction at the Institute of Psychiatry and Kings College, London and in Policy and Participation at University of Central Lancashire. She is a qualified systemic psychotherapist (University of Leeds) and has a strong track record of working with statutory services and the voluntary and community sector to develop initiatives aimed at improving quality and promoting the integration of mainstream health service provision with communities. She speaks from a lived experience perspective on migration, racism and mental health. She is a member of Speakers Corner Collective and actively volunteers on issues relating to her homeland, Kashmir. Twitter: @shubly

Kath has worked in the field of access and inclusion for over 20 years.  She is experienced in engagement, training and people development across a wide range of sectors, as well as having an excellent project and programme management track record. She is an expert in diversity issues and has provided strategic advice to a range of organisations to support their diversity aims. She is also an experienced researcher and evaluator, with a track record of successful impact assessments. Kath is leading the research activities on the Graduate Workforce Bradford Project through students / graduate, employer and community discussions to understand the key issues young people are facing. The findings will help us understand the type of support to put in place and identify structural changes which can be made to increase graduate success.

Dr Colins Imoh is passionate about social action, sustainable development, diversity, and Peacebuilding. He is a scholar and teacher. He taught peace studies at the University of Toledo and California State University, Sacramento. Professionally, he obtained his doctoral degree from the University of Toledo, USA, An MA in Conflict Transformation and Organizational Leadership from Eastern Mennonite University, Harrisonburg, USA and an MPhil in Environmental Management and Sustainability from the University of Cape Town, Cape Town, South Africa. He was the pioneer coordinator of the Africa Network of Young Peace Builders, a strong network of about 200 youth-based organization and individuals involved in Peacebuilding, human rights and good governance working from the UNOY Peacebuilders Foundation International Secretariat in the Netherlands. He served as the Partners for Peace (P4P) Project Manager, a network whose mission is to build social capital around Peacebuilding.  P4P is an initiative of Chevron Inc, USA. He is an Advisory Board Member of the International Institute for Peace Education (IIPE); Board Secretary, African Peace Fellows –California State University, Sacramento. He is on the editorial board of In Factis Pax journal of peace education and social justice. He has written articles and book chapters in his areas of interest.

Mohammed is the Founder and Director of Meri Yaadain CiC, a community interest company supporting BAME people living with dementia and their family carers.  Mohammed has over 25 years of experience working on health and social inequalities matters.  A former Manager in a Local Authority, now completing his PhD exploring BAME carer coping strategies whilst managing complex dementia transitions.

Charles holds a master’s degree in diversity management. Much of his work and experience addresses complex equality and diversity issues that impact on individuals, communities, and organisations, and developing approaches that enable leaders to better understand the needs of the people they serve. He has considerable experience working for and with Local Authorities, leading on and advising those with responsibility for ensuring that services are delivered in a fair and equitable way. As chair of the statues and monuments review across the Bradford district, Charles is working with community members and key stakeholders who are central to a successful outcome. His leadership of the Windrush commemoration events in Bradford, led to the raising of the windrush flag in a number of key cities across the country. Charles sits on the boards of Ice Hockey UK and English Ice Hockey Association as a Director with key responsibility for Safeguarding, Equality and Diversity.

Dr Gurnam Singh is currently Associate Professor of Educational Attainment at Coventry University and Associate Professor of Sociology (Hon) at the University of Warwick. He is also Visiting Professor of Social Work at the University of Chester and Visiting Fellow in Race and Education at the University of Arts, London. Before entering academia in 1993, Dr Singh worked as a professional social worker and community activist in his home city of Bradford. Dr Singh has published widely on issues relating to social justice, social work, and higher education. In 2013 he published a book 'Acts of knowing: critical pedagogy in, against and beyond the university, Bloomsbury'. His latest book, published earlier this year (2020) by Palgrave Macmillan, is entitled Anti-Racist Social Work Practice: International Perspectives.

Born in Bradford, Penny has a degree in theatre arts and over 30 years experience as an arts practitioner and coordinator of projects across the UK in schools, museums and the community. More recently Penny has worked in the heritage sector, coordinating Arts Council / National Heritage Lottery funded community heritage projects with a particular remit to tell the stories of Bradford’s diverse communities. In 2019 Penny started in role as heritage learning officer at St George's Hall, Bradford’s newly refurbished Victorian concert hall. The learning programme there has been developed to create new relationships with communities and links with Black, Asian and Ethnic Minority groups in Bradford. Currently, Penny is supporting the Monuments Review which was commissioned by Leader of CBMDC, following the Black Lives Matter campaign and national debates about elements of the public realm which celebrate individuals who benefited from slavery.

A Registered Nurse and Mental Health Promotion Specialist with over 30 years Public Mental Health experience educating the health, social care and voluntary/community workforce at clinical and non-clinical levels. Creator of the innovative and award-winning trauma informed Resilience Passport psycho-education programme for primary schools featuring the Engage Together system of well-being batteries, offering a whole school approach to fostering resilience. A trauma survivor, she is 100% committed to engaging in kindness and compassion with herself and others for better mental health.

Dr Sufyan Abid Dogra does anthropology of modern Britain. He works as a Senior Research Fellow at Bradford Institute for Health Research. He explores ways to encourage healthy dietary habits and enhance physical activity among children and young people from ethnic/religious minorities living in deprivation in the UK. His interests are ethnicity, religion, health, diversity and coproduction of research for the public policy involving ethnic minorities and British Muslims. He conducted a pioneering research on how mosques/madrassas can be used for health promotion in the UK. His findings led to Bradford Council’s successful bidding for government’s Trailblazer Childhood Obesity Programme.He is leading on the following programmes within Born in Bradford Study at Bradford institute for Health Research:

• Trailblazer Childhood Obesity Programme
• Longitudinal Qualitative Research plans for the Age of Wonder phase of BiB birth cohort
• Active Faith Settings: Delivery of physical activities in religious setting with JUMP Programme
• Community Research for Preventing Violence among Young People: Youth Endowment Fun

Mark R D Johnson is Emeritus Professor of Diversity in Health and Social Care at De Montfort University Leicester UK. He founded the Mary Seacole Research Centre and UK Centre for Evidence in Ethnicity, Diversity and Health, the first evidence-based database of research into minority ethnic health issue in Europe. Mark was the first Professor of Diversity in Europe and continues to provide expert advice and input to evaluations, peer reviews, and professional training programmes. He has researched ‘diversity’ in relation to most major conditions including cancer, arthritis, heart disease and diabetes, and ‘migrant health care’ across Europe. He works closely with community members in developing research and policy around issues including end of life and dementia, sight loss, musculo-skeletal conditions, learning disability, and health promotion and is passionate about inclusion of people from minority groups in research and development, and communities having access to research evidence. As one of the Expert Academic Advisors to the NHS Race & Health Observatory, he will continue to fight for that link between research and practice improvement.

Zahra is the Programme Lead for Bradford Council on the Integration Strategy communities programme, which runs under Bradford For Everyone.  Bradford For Everyone is a £3.6m programme with 71 interventions and activities supported through its funding; around four pillars of Getting on, Getting Involved, Getting Involved and Feeling Safe. Bradford is one of five cities to have been invited by the government department MHCLG to test and learn from new approaches and build on existing good practice on integration and cohesion. Born in Pakistan in Chakwal, and raised in Bradford, Zahra is deeply committed to the city and its people; and expresses this through championing diversity and equality. Zahra graduated from the University of Bradford in 2001 in Interdisciplinary Human Studies and completed a Postgraduate Certificate in Business Administration in 2008. Zahra is also the Director of Impact Hub and has previously been a Public Governor for the Care Trust. She has a background in project and programme management with experience of supporting programmes of up to £49m.

Ricardo Barker is a filmmaker and music composer residing in the north of England. He worked for ITV in the UK as a single camera television director before becoming a Freelancer of short-commissioned documentaries for the BBC and Channel 4. His passion lies in the cinematic portrayal of narrative drama. He is a Senior Lecturer in Film Production at Leeds Trinity University.