Associate Members
Mutisunge Edwards
Mutisunge Edwards is the Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion Lead at Christ’s Hospital School in West Sussex. She works closely with students to amplify young voices and nurture future leaders, fostering a culture of belonging and empowerment. As a trained Associate of the Six Stages Framework, she supports schools and organisations in advancing anti-racism and systemic change. At Christ’s Hospital, a school renowned for its commitment to providing life-changing opportunities to students from diverse and often overlooked backgrounds, Mutisunge leads initiatives that challenge inequality and foster a culture of belonging. Her role is uniquely positioned outside the traditional teaching structure, allowing her to focus fully on strategic EDI development, working closely with safeguarding, mental health, chaplaincy, and PSHE team
Marcia Ore- Marcia Ore
MSc, MA, PgCert, Assoc CIPD| DEI Consultant | Coach | Mediator | Advocate for Equality and Inclusion | Aspiring Non-Executive Director
Marcia Ore has developed her deep commitment to activism and advocacy to combat racism and discrimination, especially towards Black people, Black women, women, and individuals who identify as LGBTQI+, which began during her 30-year career as a Police Officer.
A highly respected Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Consultant who provides impactful services across the UK and North America, including charities, health, and mental health, housing, education, nuclear, marketing and legal sectors
Recognised for her expertise, Marcia has been featured in articles and interviews on various media platforms, including TV, radio, and podcasts. For six years, she shared her insights through monthly articles in Jane’s Police Review. As a distinguished keynote speaker reaching global audiences on the critical topics of diversity, equity, and inclusion.
As co-founder and director of Women In The Shade, Marcia is dedicated to uplifting, Black women working in uniformed services, particularly those in junior ranks. Her efforts ensure their voices and experiences are acknowledged, respected, and valued. She co-authored a transformative 30-day journal designed to empower and support Black women. She is also working as Operations Manager for Board Racial Diversity UK, a charity whose mission is to increase the number of Black and Asian trustees on UK charities’ boards.
Marcia is on the Advisory Board of Inclusion and Diversity in Nuclear and the Advisory Board of Big Sister app. The app, a digital guardian that uses AI, creates a ‘danger list’ to identify threats and send alerts to parents and carers, promoting a safer and more inclusive online environment.
She has been a School Governor and had responsibility as a Linked Governor for mental health and offsite school visits. Her commitment to education and special needs advocacy is further demonstrated by the role she held on the Board of Trustees at the Independent Provider of Special Education Advice (IPSEA), a UK charity that provides legal advice to parents and carers of children and young people with special educational needs and disabilities.
Committed to her personal and professional development, Marcia has attended numerous training courses, including those focusing on equality, diversity, inclusion, and being a mental health first aider. In addition, she has several academic qualifications, with two Master’s degrees in Coaching and Mentoring for Personal, Business and Organisational Development, Education, Management, and Leadership, and two Postgraduate Certificates in Mediation and Personal and Business Coaching, and a Level 5 Diploma in Learning & Development.
Dr Laura Cockburn, Chartered Educational Psychologist
HCPC registered (UK)
Laura is currently working in the London Borough of Haringey, a diverse and mobile community. She works with schools and a range of different professionals to support children and young people, together with providing a range of consulation and training. This has given her a lot of insight into the current challenges in the UK with regards to the mental health and well-being of children following the Pandemic. The importance of determining how best to support these children and their families continues to be a strong focus. Mental health and well-being has become a strong focus and work is being carried out across age ranges, from Nursery to Secondary schools and Colleges.
Laura is one of the managers of a special interest group for EPs in Autism, which has been running for over 13 years. They have run conferences and more recently written a book ‘Educational Psychology Perspectives on Supporting Young Autistic Children’. In addition, we provided a webinar, focusing on the impact of the Pandemic on Autistic Children.
Laura has always had an interest in supporting children and young people and in ensuring they achieve their potential and positive outcomes. As a result of her background, she has always had an interest in travel and different communities and cultures. At the age of 20, Laura spent some of her breaks from University working on a camp in North America for children with special needs. She supported 3 autistic children within a provision using a behavioural approach.
Laura’s career has included a wide range of experiences focusing on being an advocate for children and young people, trying to ensure they are understood and provided with appropriate support and encouragement.
Laura began her career as a teacher in both mainstream and special education in the UK, helping to develop her knowledge and skills in working with a range of neurodivergent children. She then trained to be an Educational Psychologist (EP) and developed specialist skills in working with Autistic Children, in addition to the broader work with a variety of children. Laura has over 30 years of experience in working as a Psychologist, both as a clinical professional together with working in educational systems and other contexts.
Following several years working in the London Borough of Greenwich as an EP, Laura moved to work for the Ministry of Education in Singapore in a variety of roles. She worked together with other specialists to support the government in setting up a School Psychological Service and specialist support systems for children. Laura also completed activities in the special schools in Singapore helping to further develop training and assessment practices. Following this, she set up an independent company, providing assessment, consultation, and training across the local systems in Singapore as well as for international schools and expatriates.
Laura has maintained an interest in culture and has worked in UK and South East Asia. Her doctoral research focused on ‘Third Culture Kids (TCKs)’ helping to further develop understanding of people who live in different countries and communities.
On return to the UK, Laura was employed as an academic and supervisory tutor for over 10 years at the University of East London, on the Doctoral training course in Child and Educational Psychology.
Laura was also employed as the head of one of two Diagnostic Centres in the National Autistic Society in UK. She led a large clinical team in diagnostic work together with training and consultation providing support to children and their families at a national and international level.
In addition, Laura has worked as a consultant and tutor for Real Training which provides unique online learning environments. Laura provided supervision and training for specialist teachers in International Schools, in a variety of different countries.
