From community and youth worker to organisational development consultant, change agent and business woman, Yvonne is recognised by her peers and colleagues in London as an inspirational female leader. She has worked locally, regionally, nationally and internationally at all levels of public sector and third sector organisations during a career that spans almost 30 years.
Yvonne has worked with front line staff, middle and senior managers in schools and community education, young people’s services, Children’s Trusts, NHS Primary Care Trusts, Mental Health and Acute Trusts, Sure Start, Children’s Funds and Health Action Zones programmes and numerous Not for Profit organisations.
Yvonne has experience in designing and facilitating adult and young people’s learning, organisational development, change agency, facilitation skills, coaching, mentoring, business development as well as programme and project management.
From the mid 1990’s until recently, Yvonne established and grew an award-winning consultancy and training business which promoted social inclusion, diversity and partnership working. During this period Yvonne, her staff and associates worked in collaboration with and on behalf of socially excluded groups throughout London, helping to facilitate their engagement in local services.
Yvonne’s company designed and implemented effective consultancy interventions, as well as designing and delivering learning and development solutions (which included accredited leadership and mentoring programmes), to more than 3500 staff employed across a wide range of public and third sector organisations.
Over the past ten years, Yvonne has led and facilitated change processes in organisations and services. She recently intervened in, and turned around, a large multi-agency/multi-disciplinary change management project in a local authority’s children’s services department. She has also been designing and implementing a number of innovative learning programmes and projects for young people and young adults outside of mainstream educational provision, as well as offering coaching interventions to professionals.
As a result of her entrepreneurial activity and the growth of her business, Yvonne spent several years contributing to the development of national and regional business policy and plans through her membership of strategic boards, particularly focusing on Black, Asian and minority ethnic businesses, as well as women in business in the UK.
Yvonne provides mentoring to black women business owners and is a board member of a number of charities in London. She has also been a Non-Executive Director of a mental health trust and a school governor.
Yvonne has an MSc degree in Change Agency Skills and Strategies and an MA degree in Social and Community Work Studies. She is also a professionally qualified social worker and community and youth worker and is a Fellow of the Royal Society of Arts.
Yvonne recently joined Reos as a partner, after using the U process, amongst others models, to explore her professional and personal identity as a black British change agent in England and in South Africa.