Neurodiversity is our passion – delivered by experts
Our experienced team includes accredited, highly skilled psychologists specialising in the field of neurodiversity and occupational psychology, and ILM level 5 qualified employment coaches. All of whom bring expertise and experience in engaging with neurodiverse individuals at work, with many of them having lived experience of being a neurominority or supporting neurominority relatives.
At Genius Within, we take guidance from the core standards set by the British Psychological Society (BPS), and our team members are registered with professional bodies including The Health & Care Professions Council, International Coaching Federation, and the International Society for Coaching Psychology.
Along with our ND analysis, we also measure our representation across both gender and race, as it is important that we are reflective of our whole community.
We remain committed to fair pay for all and will continue to monitor and evaluate our pay structures to ensure that we remain alert to any unconscious bias within our employee community.
Our leadership team
Angelica Simpson (MA HRM, Assoc CIPD)
Head of HR
About Angelica
Angelica has worked in a variety of HR roles including HR support, onboarding, recruitment, Learning & Development, apprentices Programmes and supporting Leaders in growing high performing teams. Angelica’s passion is working with people (aligns perfectly as she is a Chatterbox!) and thoroughly enjoys supporting others and being integral to an individual’s personal development.
Charlie Eckton, MA (SocSci) PGCE MSc MBPsS
Psychology Lead
About Charlie
As a Business Psychologist and senior consultant, Charlie helps organisations develop neurodiversity awareness, create systemic inclusion and manage the work environment through the process of universal design so that neurominority individuals can excel.
Charlie is a member of the BPS Division of Occupational Psychology, Special Group in Coaching, and holds Level A and B certificates of competence in Occupational Testing. She has extensive experience of using psychometric tools for neurodiversity profiling and empowering individuals to truly understand their strengths and have a better understanding of their needs.
Fiona Barrett
Director of Operations
About Fiona
Fiona is the Director of Operations at Genius Within CIC with overall responsibility for our Social Justice Projects. She is responsible for leading, developing and supporting the Senior Leadership Team to drive performance and develop customer relationships. Fiona is an experienced frontline senior manager, specialising in implementation and leading high performing teams in the Employability Sector.
Combining her public sector knowledge, she can bring together an in-depth understanding of employability alongside diversity and inclusion. She recognises the barriers that people with disabilities face, and has a working knowledge of how to support individuals and businesses to overcome them.
Jacqui Wallis
Chief Executive Officer
About Jacqui
Jacqui was diagnosed with dyslexia in her third year at university, when she was 23 years old. She then went on to spend the next 25 years hiding her dyslexia at work, developing complex masking techniques to avoid having to share her struggles as she believed that being open would damage her chances of promotion and success.
As Genius Within’s Chief Executive Officer, Jacqui serves on the Board and her role is to help businesses and organisations understand how they can remove the stigma of having a cognitive difference at work by sharing the amazing strengths that neurominorities bring to the companies they work for.
Jacqui has over 26 years’ experience in senior leadership roles ranging from starts-ups to large companies. She is experienced in delivering strategy and leadership across the teams that she works with.
Jess Sollom, BSc (Hons), MSc
IPES Team Leader/Assistant Psychologist
About Jess
Jess has completed a BSc (Hons) is Psychology and Child development and an MSc in Applied Research (Psychology). She has an ILM Level 5 qualification in Leadership and Management and is currently studying towards a MSc in Occupational Psychology.
In additional to her Team Leader role, Jess works as an Assistant Psychologist with long term unemployed neurodivergent individuals to identify their barriers to work and provide intensive support with the aim of moving them closer to employment. With focus on building their confidence, managing disability and health concerns and improving their overall wellbeing and mental health.
Jess also volunteers as an Independent Parental Support Worker providing support for parents and carers of children and young people with Special Educational Needs and Disabilities.
Kate Omonigho Pearson
Head of Employability
About Kate
Kate is one of our Employability Team leaders and has worked for Genius Within for 4 years. She was a runner up for ERSA’s Employment Advisor of the Year in 2019.
Prior to joining Genius Within, Kate spent 9 years delivering and managing Offending Behaviour Programmes. She also studied a Criminal Justice and Criminology Degree during that time.
During her first 3 years at Genius Within, Kate worked for the Criminal Justice team with neurodiverse offenders in custody and the community to develop employability skills and support them into work. She then became a Team Leader in the Employability Team and has since then gone on to become Head of Employability. She is currently studying her ILM Level 7 in Leadership and Management.
Nicola Maguire-Alcock
BBO Team Leader and Psychologist
About Nicola
Nicola has worked at Genius Within for 4 years and is a Team Leader in the Employability Team. As a Team Leader she can draw on her passion for delivering a high-quality service which is accessible and applicable to her clients.
Nicola has always had a passion for working with individuals to maximise their potential and work to their strengths. She works with those who are long term unemployed and hard to reach as a neurodiversity coach, delivering the Employable Genius course and conducting Positive Assessments.
Prof. Nancy Doyle
Chief Research Officer
About Prof.
Prof. Nancy Doyle, C. Psychol. led Genius Within as our CEO for over 10 years, before moving to Chief Research Officer in September 2021. As a proud neurominority herself, she is passionate about improving the way neurodiversity is treated in the workplace. She is also the founding member of a British Psychological Society Working Group, providing guidance to other Psychologists in the field. Nancy wrote a definitive guide to neurodiversity at work for the BPS and has contributed to many other publications and expert reference groups with organisations such as ACAS, ERSA and the DWP.
Nancy’s research work in evaluating coaching and demonstrating a tangible impact from managers’ perspectives was commended by the BPS. In 2019, Nancy was also recognised for her contribution to Policy Impact in Occupational Psychology.
