Sally Gardner is a British children’s writer and illustrator whose work has been translated into more than twenty-two languages. She won both the Costa Children’s Book Award and the Carnegie Medal for Maggot Moon (Hot Key Books, 2012). She has severe dyslexia, diagnosed at aged 12. Despite not learning to read until she was 14 she did very well in college, and worked as a theatre set designer before turning to illustration and writing.

Sally demonstrates how playing to her strengths and utilising her creative has contributed to her success as a global author.

Jim Lee is is a London-based photographer and film director. His earlier photographs form part of the permanent collection at the Victoria and Albert Museum. He has produced TV commercials for brands such as Levi’s, and Elizabeth Arden. Lee has also written several books including his autobiography Life in B&W.

Jim will be talking about how his dyslexia has affected his life path and his perception of the world. He tells us whether he thinks it made him do things differently.

Jeff Spires is an accomplished business owner, Therapist, Nutritionist and author. Owner of Inspired Business Success, Jeff uses his own dyslexic struggles with reading, self-doubt and anxiety to help others acknowledge their limitations ,and focus on what they are able to achieve with the right mindset.

As a child, the simple act of being asked to stand up in the classroom and read aloud would instantly fill Jeff with fear. It wasn’t until he fell in love with music and went to college to become a sound engineer that Jeff realised he was never stupid, just being taught wrong. He discovered a passion for learning and now finds himself making up for lost time. Jeff easily consumes a book a week via audio books and online video training programs, and wants others to find the same joy in overcoming their fears.

Pennie Aston is the Director and Founder of GroOops Dyslexia Aware Counselling – a registered charity that focuses on developing resilience, building therapeutic dyslexia aware approaches and promoting awareness of the emotional repercussions of dyslexia. Pennie is dyslexic herself and has raised a neurodiverse family.

Jen Martin is an HR consultant and accomplished education professional with experience of working in more than 16 countries across continents.

Her continued passion for learning led her to a Masters in Global Politics from the University of London before her current PhD which focuses on innovative pedagogy required to effectively teach the modern generation. In this session, we will look at innovative learning styles and disruption in the education sphere and think about our own learning styles so we can improve on our own learning and help get the best out of the people that we work with.