Author list

Emmie Bidston is an Associate Fellow of the Oxford Character Project and a Senior Fellow of the Community of Practice of the Human Flourishing Program at Harvard University. Emmie studied economics at the University of Cambridge before working for the UK civil service in a range of areas from education to contingency planning. She is the director of the Wellington Leadership and Coaching Institute. She has also co-founded a charity to help develop young leaders in Africa and runs conferences and coaching and leadership training for adults and young people.

Stephen Bigger PhD began his career as a secondary teacher and from 1981 was a lecturer in education in teacher training institutes, in Scarborough, Oxford and Worcester, ending as head of department and head of research in education.

Over that period he produced three books in collaboration with colleagues, made chapter contributions to others and wrote many articles and book reviews.

Click here to read Stephen Bigger’s blog.

Kristina is both a creative and an intellectual. Her prime motivator is to understand how we as humans manage our existence and express ourselves as a way of making sense of our experience. This deep drive has led her to turn every side of her into a vocational platform.

Kristina has authored critically acclaimed personal development book 101 Days to Make a Change and was nominated in two categories (Non-Fiction and Best Debut Writer) at the 2012 People's Book Prize. She has developed and run training for adults for over 20 years across Europe and the US. She holds a Bachelor of Business Studies, is a certified Life Coach and has numerous other professional qualifications such as Fitness Instructor, Meisner Actor, Music Producer and Film Maker. She divides her time between creative pursuits and learning notably for large organisations such as Deloitte University EMEA. She specialises in leadership development, communication and personal effectiveness and is passionate about human transformation and adult learning. She practices holistic wellness and advocates exercise, healthy living and mindfulness meditation in her courses.

Early in her career, Kristina worked as an actor and has continued as a filmmaker to produce communications and product launch pieces. She has released three albums of original music and created several music videos to support her work. She is a prolific voice over artist working across television, film and corporate media. Kristina is Swedish born and a resident of London, UK since 1998. Her childhood included stints in India and Canada, providing her with an international perspective early on.

With many different roles and abilities Kristina is uniquely positioned to advocate and guide the reader's path away from fragmentation and towards cohesion. She believes that by striving to be your authentic self there is no need to change hats' depending on which circumstance you are in. She believes that with the right support this mindset can be developed and maintained with balance and harmony.

David Birch works for The Philosophy Foundation, an award-winning charity that brings philosophy to schools and the wider community. He is also a teacher of philosophy and religious studies at both Newham Sixth Form College and Kensington Park School.

He has also been featured in Philosophy Now.

Read David's article featured in The Guardian, September 2014.

Gabrielle Blackman-Sheppard worked as a consultant, executive coach and life coach with particular expertise in intercultural communication, and organisational as well as personal effectiveness.

Click here to read Gabrielle Blackman-Sheppard’s blog.

Dr Erik Blair is Senior Lecturer in Higher Education Research and Practice at the University of West London. He has been an educator for over 20 years and has taught in universities in the UK and overseas, and is passionate about enhancing engagement and interaction within the teaching and learning environment.

Richard Bolstad PhD is a certified trainer with the International NLP Association. He has a doctorate in clinical hypnotherapy and is a member of the New Zealand Association of Psychotherapists. He has taught the RESOLVE model to psychotherapists and counsellors around the world. He is a co-author of the acclaimed book, The Structure of Personality.

The NLP Internationally Award was presented to Richard Bolstad at the NLP awards ceremony 2017.

Toria Bono is a classroom teacher who has worked in a variety of educational roles over the past 20 years. Toria is passionate about helping those involved in education to find their voice. She believes that when educators listen to and learn from one another, the young people in our nurseries, schools and colleges benefit from the collective knowledge and wisdom shared.

 

Ginny Bootman is an experienced teacher and SENDCO with responsibility for four primary schools, as well as a regular speaker at national SEND conferences. She is passionate about the impact of relationships within education, particularly for those working with children with additional needs, and is determined to improve understanding of the pivotal role that these relationships play within the school environment.

After working in computers, David Botsford trained in hypnotherapy. In 2000 he trained in stage hypnosis, and performed on television, stage and for private events. In 2003 he produced a series of seven self-hypnosis CD sets and from 2005 trained hypnotherapists in smoking cessation and marketing.

Danièle Bourdais is a French bilingual writer, editor and consultant. She has been working in the UK with educational publishers for nearly 30 years and in this time has co-authored a variety of print and online resources. Danièle has created high profile, award-winning courses for the teaching of French from KS2 to A level.

Steve's background is in education. He taught English for 18 years in Leicestershire High Schools, though is now a full-time writer, storyteller, educational consultant and also a qualified hypnotherapist.

He has also published over twenty educational books, principally in the fields of literacy, creativity, thinking skills and emotional resourcefulness. He has also written fantasy and SF for teenagers, adult and teen horror, romance, mainstream fiction for pre-teens, fiction and non-fiction for younger readers and poetry for all ages. 

Currently Steve is writing articles for Teach Primary magazine on topics related to literacy, creativity and life coaching skills for children.