My first degree is in Social Theory and Institutions (University of Bangor, North Wales), which allowed me to study a range of diverse subjects such as Sociology, Social Psychology, Criminology, Philosophy and Study of Religions. Following University, I travelled for a year in India and South East Asia. My early professional career was in social work, mainly working with children and families in residential and community settings. I then moved on to teaching on a professional social work qualifying programme, during which time I gained a Masters degree in Race and Education at Birmingham University. In 1995 I established an independent centre for action research and education, which enabled me to be involved in a wide range of staff development and research projects in the public, private and not-for profit sectors. Initially these were mainly in education, social care and health settings, but over time I increasingly became involved in developing, delivering and assessing accredited programmes for managers in the corporate sector. Following completion of my PhD in 2008, I had a career change, and entered the academic world, initially at Liverpool Hope University, and now at York St John University in the School of Education. I have recently reduced my formal contracted hours, in order to give me more time for research and writing.