Presenting…The Deepr Learning Marathon
Meet the latest (double) cohort of peer explorers to embark upon a six month learning marathon…..
We (Deepr, Enrol Yourself and Hawkwood Centre for Future Thinking) were looking for twelve people from diverse backgrounds who, like us, wanted to explore how we might embed human connection into the systems and services we all use every day. We found twenty.
We have designers, psychotherapists, systems thinkers (and doers), makers and players. Here they all are….
Kat Murray-Clark
Kat’s the Director of Innovation at Breakthrough Global, an organisational culture transformation consultancy. She started her career in creative roles, working in digital design before moving into animation. After working as a freelance Motion Designer Kat did an MA in Digital Management at Hyper Island, where she learnt to use Design Thinking and digital processes to develop working solutions that answer real human needs. She believes in creativity and the power of play to transform how we work and connect. For Kat, life long learning is at the heart of developing working cultures and communities that can thrive in a future of constant change.
Kat’s Learning Question is ‘how might I support organisations to create inclusive team cultures that encourage diversity?’
Mildred Cheng
Mildred is a user experience designer and researcher by trade, a thinker of everything and anything. She’s particularly curious about philosophy, psychology and politics. Her favourite question to ask is, “Why?”. She’s a mixture of Hong Kong, Singapore and London and she is constantly learning.
Mildred’s learning question is ‘how does the lack of human connection affect us?’
Sesh Vedachalam
Sesh is a strategist and experience designer at frog by day — working hard for gender equality by night at Women In Innovation. Sesh brings an inclusive, hybrid, systems-led approach to designing experiences and businesses. She’s obsessed with the idea of how design can impact individuals and society as a whole.
Sesh’s Learning Question is ‘how can games be used to help people engage in and unpack complex issues that feel overwhelming — like the climate crisis?’
Marika Finne
Marika believes our world urgently needs leaders in business who have the necessary skills, confidence and self-awareness to challenge how business is done and who strive for maximising true well-being for all. She is currently working at UnLtd, Foundation for Social Entrepreneurs, where she gets to lead UnLtd Connect, their mentoring & pro bono community where professionals across sectors and industries come together to volunteer their time and skills to support social entrepreneurs. Marika is particularly interested in exploring how deeper connection to self and others can help social entrepreneurs build their personal resilience and thus affect their venture’s success.
Marika’s Learning Question is ‘how might we…maximise human connection in the design of our support in order to build the resilience of our social entrepreneurs?’
Katy Swoboda
Katy is a psychotherapist and a member of the UK Council of Psychotherapy. She sees NHS patients in Wandsworth and is working towards an MSc in Gestalt Psychotherapy. Katy’s professional background ranges from customer service, research in linguistics and psychology through to teaching.
Katy’s Learning Question is ‘how can I successfully run coaching sessions and workshops on the topic of human connection, using my skills and values and meeting my financial needs?’
Zoë Sandford
Zoë Sandford is a digital learning designer, cyborg witch, and pessimistic utopian. They hold a BA in Arabic and French from St John’s College, Oxford. Before ending up in edtech, they worked in publishing, wrote poetry, and flirted with a career in literary translation. Zoë’s professional interests include storytelling, human-computer interaction, and the intersections of identity, society, and technology. They live in North London with a collection of very resilient houseplants, and spend their spare time playing tabletop roleplaying games and reading sci-fi novels.
Zoë’s Learning Question is ‘how could game design and playful learning approaches help create online learning experiences which centre and facilitate human connection?’
Matt Evans
Matt makes lots of things. He builds event spaces and photo shoot sets, installs living roofs, dresses theatrical palaces and sowswild flowers. He works with the skilled and unskilled, with public and private clients and enjoys having satisfied customers. Matt dreams of one day going to art school and is fascinated by prehistory. He’s been intrigued by human interactions for as long as he can remember, and enjoys discussing the quirks and nuances of behaviours and social constructs. Matt loves being surrounded by nature and loves even more the chance to get his wife and daughters out in it too.
Matt’s Learning Question is ‘can I develop a community project which incorporates rewilding a natural burial site and wellness retreat, to allow people to explore their relationship with their lost loved ones, their own humanity/mortality and the importance of self care and nurturing of others?’
Sophie Howe
Sophie has found the sweet spot between her background in festival and event production to more recent career in creative tech, identifying the crossover of interest within these worlds as ‘experiences’ and ‘communities’.
She is currently Growth Manager at professional creative network The Dots, working at the intersection of product, marketing and UX — using interaction insights and data analysis to help inform product development and community growth.
Alongside this, Sophie works as an activator at Morning Gloryville (sober raves), a consultant for Camp Wildfire (adventure camp for adults) and is currently supporting the launch of Flying Fantastic’s new aerial studio in Peckham. She also has an adoration of drag and circus.
Sophie’s Learning Question is ‘how can you create inclusive spaces (digital or physical) to nurture meaningful human connection and build ‘valuable’ communities?’
Karen Hawkins
Karen is a site specific artist and teacher based on the North Devon coast. She has run a Public Arts Company for 18 yrs working mostly to celebrate our natural environment working with public groups. Karen currently leads the Art & Design and Outdoor Learning Curriculums in the primary school where she works full time.
She has 2 teenage children and love wild, windy walks on the beach but is equally as excited to be visiting London more over the coming months to take part in this course and take in some more upbeat culture!
Karen’s Learning Question is ‘to develop a way of working that encourages individual creative people to work together to provide support for the development of creative practice in culturally relevant ways.’
Hasmita Chavda
Hasmita is a facilitator, producer and project manager. She is experienced in creating informal learning project and is currently supporting young people to set up their own business with Business Launchpad as well as facilitating soft skills workshops with the British Council. Hasmita has created, managed and delivered projects that promote creativity, wellbeing, leadership and enterprise in young people.
Hasmita’s Learning Questions are ‘what does deep human connection look like? How is it created and what impression and impact does it leave? How does connection to one’s self influence the human connection that we have with others? How does play effect both our connection with ourselves and others?’
William Rogers
Will is a Narrative Designer (MBA Creative industries management — FRSA) enabling Localisation of Sustainable Development Goals, with a current focus on Asset Based Community Learning4Adaptation model (groundED reGEneration) — Collective connection to nature for resilient ecosystems.
He’s also the director of qualitative marketing/social research tech4Gd agency. In the past he was Founder/Director of The Service Coop: Communications & Learning for development agencies, founded at School for Social Entrepreneurs — True Story CIC: Creative Social Responsibility
Will’s Learning Question is ‘what is minimal practice to adapt and steward my self into a sustainable, trusted & generative asset, relative to experiences that contain a whole story?
Stephanie Hall
Stephanie is a psychology grad curious about attention, better communication and the power of connection to self and others. She’s interested in helping people to realise their potential, enabling symbiotic, self-sustaining and thriving societies. She coaches rowing, as well as people with mental health challenges to help them take control of their recovery, develop skills and lead meaningful lives. She also helps to run a startup, and am exploring entrepreneurship. outside of work, She values honesty, thinking conversations, meditation and getting outside.
Stephanie’s Learning Question is “how can we enable people to discover the possibility, power and importance of human connection?”
Rebecca Ford
Rebecca Ford is Head of Design & Innovation at social change charity the RSA, where she brings together human centred design, systems thinking and innovation methods to accelerate the RSA’s mission: uniting people and ideas to resolve the societal challenges of our time.
Rebecca has 9 years’ experience managing the strategic development and delivery of social innovation programmes. Previously she managed the RSA Design portfolio and RSA Student Design Awards competition, and prior to working at the RSA she was a project lead at youth innovation agency Bold Creative. She is Chair of Spear Bethnal Green Trust, a team leader on BBC Radio 4’s The Fix, and holds an MSc in Social Anthropology from UCL.
Rebecca’s Learning Question is, ‘how can I co-create transformative gatherings through a period of radical organisational change?
Daniel Ford
Daniel’s a sustainability strategist at Forum for the Future, a non-profit that uses futures and systems practice to inform action on some of the complex challenges facing us today. He started off studying Philosophy & Theology, asking big questions about the world and our varied ways of finding meaning in it. After spending time working in sustainability at a large corporate and a fun-but-failed attempt at selling insect protein as an alternative to meat, he’s now interested in how we can organise ourselves and relate to each other in ways that might help us respond to the troubled times we find ourselves in.
Daniel’s Learning Question is ‘how do we become freer to move with power together?’
Ellen Fruijtier
Ellen works as a Design Researcher for the Children’s Society. In her work she has noticed that there are often loads (at times too many) ‘humans to connect to’ for the vulnerable young people we work with and yet, somehow, they are often left feeling isolated. In her free time she loves going for long walks on Hampstead Heath and has recently taken up an interest in virtual reality.
Ellen’s Learning Question is ‘how can I place human connections at the heart of the services I help design for those children and young people that are most isolated, in ways that may benefit others in the sector?’
Emily Stewart
Emily is a systems thinker, and has led strategy and organisational change projects within social enterprises, a number of charities and a venture capital firm, and is now working freelance as a researcher, consultant and facilitator. She is an On Purpose fellow, Sister Stories women’s circle facilitator, and a certified Warm Data Lab host.
Her work and activism have immersed her in a variety of social and ecological challenges: homelessness, cancer prevention, the climate and refugee crises, intergenerational relationships, ethical careers, responsible leadership, food sustainability, community building and financial and economic reform. She believes a story of separation underpins them all, so she works to create opportunities for a more interconnected understanding to be collectively, and kindly, discovered. She recognises the deep shifts that are required to work in this way and is excited to be discovering collaborations that enable herself and others to both challenge and offer space for new (and old) ways of being to (re-)emerge.
Emily’s Learning Question is ‘how can I enable myself and others to operate from an understanding of our interdependency?’
India Harley Roche
In her role of Service Designer with the Dartington Service Design Lab, India is passionate about putting the realities of people’s lives at the heart of design — working with them and those delivering services to look at creating wider systems change for children and families. Having previously worked on the frontline of mental health services, India tries to bring empathy, participation and creativity to every project.
India’s Learning Question is ‘what does ‘good help’ mean for adolescents with mental health issues who have experienced multiple challenges?’
Sean Andrew
Sean is a multi-stakeholder engagement practitioner focusing on collaborative governance, conflict resolution, and on developing adaptive strategies that help us work on interrelated socio-ecological and economic challenges. His work has often had him asking how we can create conducive spaces in contentious contexts comprising diverse experiences, opinions and agendas — and much knowledge — that foster trusting interpersonal and institutional relationships.
Sean’s professional experience ranges from facilitating transversal partnerships in the public sector; sustainability consulting for corporate clients; managing a community-based micro-enterprise; designing participatory action-research and evaluation programmes; forming governance structures in informal settlements; and founding a wilderness connection and survival organisation.
Sean’s Learning Question is ‘How can we transform conflict arising from ecological collapse, inequality and ideological divides into systemic forms of collaborative governance?’
Rebecca Birch
Rebecca is an experienced service designer, qualitative researcher and coach with a background in innovation consulting, youth and community work, and ethnographic research. She helps organisations from across the sectors who are interested in learning how to listen deeply to their customers. Rebecca supports teams to turn insight into action and together they design experiences that are relevant, memorable and satisfying.
Rebecca’s learning question is ‘How can I take traditional rituals and practices and apply them to modern milestone moments?’
Janice Johnson
Janice is a creative, coach and storyteller who’s most at home in those moments when deep conversation creates a real spark of connection. She’s on a mission to break down the stigma around social isolation by helping people share their experiences and connect with each other through storytelling. Janice has had a varied career including more than ten years with one of the UK’s most loved retail brands where she founded a diversity and inclusion network that helps people get comfortable talking about the uncomfortable.
She now has a portfolio career, working as a Development Manager for a charitable foundation, a cake designer, and a development coach. She’s a fan of campfires, lunch and dinner tables, looking up from screens, and other things that lead to powerful conversations and authentic connection.
Janice’s Learning Question is ‘How can social storytelling be a tool for cultivating emotional literacy, resilience and a culture of everyday compassionate conversation in our increasingly polarised society?’
Ellie Osborne
At heart Ellie is an inquisitive listener, curious explorer, nature lover, creative collaborator, befriender, culture vulture and swimmer. Professionally she spends her time as a facilitator, researcher, coach and designer, sitting at an intersection between innovation, systems thinking, futures, trends, insight, ethnography & personal growth.
Her thirst to learn, create and grow is matched by her love of helping others connect and do the same.
Hosting the Deepr Learning Marathon is the perfect ground to explore her fascination with the power that lies in meaningful connection — to ourselves, to others and to the world around us, and how it is fundamental to making the shifts in society we need to.
Ellie’s Learning Question is ‘How can I weave more meaningful connection into the fabric of the systems I am part of?’
Matthew McStravick
Matt’s a social designer, entrepreneur, coach and mindfulness teacher.
In a previous, rock and roll life he toured the world as a bass player and managed the likes of Saint Etienne and The Duke Spirit. That ended with one bike crash and two brain hemorrhages.
The thread Matt’s followed since then is one of deeper human connection in our everyday lives; as founder of Echo, Sharing Economy UK and now as co-founder of Deepr — one third of the partnership behind this learning marathon.
Matt’s also fascinated by myth, archetypal psychoactive image and the role these have to play in shifting us onto a sustainable course into the future.
Matt’s Learning Question is ‘what does Deepr really want to be?’
Why the Learning Marathon & Enrol yourself is important. Read more here.
Does Enrol Yourself or the #LearningMarathon sound appealing?
Find out more on the Enrol Yourself website.
