My experience

I'm a facilitator, community organiser, creative practitioner, culture and systems analyst, researcher, writer, lived experience expert and co-designer. I do many things because my brain is wildly energetic, and shifting between roles has always helped me to bring a more rounded approach to creating change within the world.

To do my work I draw from wide range of disciplines such as sociology, anthropology, economics, psychology, philosophy and physics, as well as my professional experience in organisational development, equity and inclusion, product and service design, and community building.

Alongside that I bring embodied wisdom from mothering, gender dysphoria, class conflict, complex PTSD, navigating disabling environments, and building queer communities and networks of love and care that transcend all of the above. In my approaches I am always seeking inspiration from and alignment with the natural world.


I keep coming back to our sessions in my thoughts - many of the things we discussed I had never really discussed in the context of my work and career, and for me was deeply important to honour and give space to. It sparked so many ideas on things I could weave into my work… I felt so immensely empowered by our discussion.
— Vera, Campaigner in Food Justice

My approach

I start all of my projects, no matter how big or how small, with an exercise that enables everyone to identify what they value and what they are mindful of. I do this because we are all unique in our approaches, and will be arriving with different expectations and cultural norms. Below are some of the values and behaviours that show up when I work with others:

Mutual

As an experienced equity & justice practitioner I have repeatedly witnessed the ways power imbalances can manifest in any space or relationship. For this reason I centre mutuality very strongly within all my work - paying close attention to what value is being exchanged / what expectations there are / who has access to what level of decision-making. Every layer of the work I do requires active engagement from everyone, combined with creating capacity for agency for anyone.

Oscillating

I pride myself with the ability to shine a light on different layers of knowledge and experience, and this is why I thrive within roles where I am translating between diverse actors. I frequently oscillate between the whole picture and the micro detail, bringing strategic thinking into the smallest of decisions. When I facilitate it means I find it easy to adapt and respond to needs of different people, shaping and reshaping the plans or approach in collaboration with others. This natural tendency is perhaps linked to my love of music and the innate knowledge that different rhythms and frequencies are what makes it so enjoyable.

Pattern-seeking

As an autistic person I am constantly pattern-seeking to be able to navigate every day life. Over the years I have developed a microscopic lens on people, relationships and culture, and often find myself identifying potential problems or opportunities within teams much earlier than others. As a result of this natural tendency I enjoy in depth analysis and connecting the dots between a wide range of issues or questions within my work.

Experimental

With a background in product management, and a life that sits outside many societal norms, I am a huge advocate of experimentation in all of my work. I believe experiments can create safety in how we explore possibilities beyond our imagination. Driving forward change always comes with risk but through experiments we can hold those risks and tensions in a way that is both manageable and inspiring.

Spiritual and practical

In my work I am always seeking inspiration from creative and spiritual practices and believe this can often unlock people’s constrained thinking or behaviours. However whenever I use these kinds of practices I do so while grounding us in what our practical realities are.


Ray has given me the tools to create open communication with my team, get out of my box and try out new ways of working, and most importantly encouraged me to continue to question and learn.
— Emily Lincoln-Gordon, Chief Operating Officer

Examples of my work

Youth programmes

I co-designed and ran 4 different youth programmes for marginalised young people to work alongside freelancers and small businesses on a paid basis.

As part of this we built a community and training opportunities which created opportunities for young people to experiment.

I also lead and facilitated research on issues that matter to young people as part of this.

Equitable funding

I've worked with a variety of funders, such as Environmental Funders, the Wellcome Trust, and the Health Foundation, to experiment with more equitable and transformational approaches to funding. This has included designing equitable and mutual selection processes, facilitating transparent and collective decision-making around resources with communities, and creating resources and tools to support others.

Writing

I love story-telling in ways that offers people an opportunity to think differently. I particularly enjoy translating challenging concepts or opaque language into easy to read content.

I’ve worked on a variety of projects such as drafting plain-English HR policies, creating thought pieces on topics I care about, and co-writing longer-form essays.

Community building

I run a community space where we host activities for LGBT+ groups, kids and their carers, and those needing space to simply be/ create/ connect.

I am also part of the housing co-operative movement and organise around different forms of living.