IPIA 2023: Meet the speakers

Nichole McGill-Higgins (she/her)

International Bestselling Author | Belonging Leadership Coach | Multi Award Winner | Global Keynote Speaker | Positive Disrupter

Founder of BEE-Longing, by Nichole McGill-Higgins and Changez.Life Consultancy, partnering with clients and organisations to create cultures where everyone is/feels included.

Khareem Jamal (he/him)

Multi award winning Historian | Musician | Playwright

Khareem Jamal is the co–creator and musical director of the multi award winning musical play “Black Heroes in the hall of Fame”. Writer and director of “The Abolitionist” – the story of David Walker and co-director of “Whirlwind and The Storm” – The life and times of Marcus Garvey and “The Voices of Black Folk”.

Rachel Staunton (she/her)

Artistic Director of London Youth Choirs | Conductor | Choral entrepreneur | Associate of the Royal Academy of Music

Born in the north of England, Rachel Staunton is a conductor based in London, UK. She gained a choral scholarship to read music at Royal Holloway, University of London, where she graduated with a first-class honors degree.

Margaret Pierre (she/her)

Co-CEO of ML Community Enterprise | Non-Executive Director for the Regenda Homes Group | Trustee for the National Communities Resource Centre

Margaret has worked within the voluntary sector for over 25 years. She was CEO of High Trees Community Development Trust in Lambeth for 10 years until 2019 when she left to start her own community development consultancy, Pierre Consulting Ltd.

Steph Dickinson (she/her)

Managing Director of Pie Factory Music | Musician | Songwriter

Steph is the Managing Director of Pie Factory Music, an East Kent charity who celebrated their 20th anniversary last year! PIE believes in a world where every young person has a good quality of life with equal access to creative opportunities and a community of support.

Kiz Manley (she/her)

Hip Hop HEALS Founder | Therapeutic Hip Hop Guru | Poet | Writing for Wellbeing Workshop Facilitator | Story Director | Event Organiser | English & Drama Teacher | GCSE English Tutor

Founder of Hip Hop HEALS, a mental health project that tackles mental health inequalities in disadvantaged groups, particularly Global majority groups, young people and men, Kiz’s goal is to spread knowledge and research about the therapeutic power of Hip Hop culture.

Sarah Medley (she/her)

Singer | Advocate for young people | Member of Voice Expressions

A passionate singer who is committed to being an advocate for young people by helping them to discover their authentic voices. She participated in the Black Lives Matter event in 2022, where Lea Morris premiered her song ‘Lifting as we Climb’.

Brenda Rattray (she/her)

Curator: Sound Connections Workforce Development Programme | Educator | Artist | Empathetic leadership advocate | Performer | Composer

Brenda Rattray works internationally as an ‘Educator, expressive artist and empathetic leadership advocate’ and has travelled over 40 countries as a freelance creative artist, performer, and composer.

Bollo Brook Youth Centre

Colin Brent is a youth worker who has worked at Bollo Brook Youth Centre since 2008. Amal Barkhad attended Bollo Brook Youth Centre as a young person from 2016 and now works as a youth worker at JE Delve. Ami Kourouma attended Bollo Brook Youth Centre as a young person from 2016 and now works as a youth worker at JE Delve.