Apart from range of pro bono work that I already commit to, hold formal roles in, across arts & culture, neurodiversity, creative interdisciplinary research and more, particularly enjoy frontline volunteering in settings outside of my specialism. Better than formal CPD, these roles enable learning, which I seek in every activity throughout my professional & personal life. It is when working in what Donald Schon would describe as ‘swampy’ ground, away from ivory tower, that feel positively challenged, (un)learning. From being a London Ambassador for Olympics (2012, winning Excellence Award) to serving food to homeless people (Mustard Tree, 2019), and using rusty Mandarin as NHS responder at vaccination centres in Chinatown (2021), these hands-on roles seek to run counter to elitist, armchair & ableist approaches which are common in gilded circles of arts, culture & Higher Education (HE). Learning in embodied & tacit way, from everyday heroes – not just dead white men inscribed in books – can benefit those I work with/for, and myself. Volunteering also remind me of my current privilege as someone from working class background with parents who were school dropouts, & how myself, HE and cultural/creative sectors must work harder in EDI. For other pro bono roles as consultant/advisor, see here. For current pro bono roles as chair, trustee etc in professional bodies, see here. For the rest of my CV, click here.
- 2023: Donation for Bee Pedal (inclusive space for women to learn to fix, repair and ride bikes, Manchester). Working with refugee/asylum seeker on UK postgraduate studies.
- 2021: NHS Responder/Steward at Covid-19 vaccination centres. Chinatown and The Vallance Centre Brunswick, Manchester
- 2020: Greeter. After UK’s first lockdown. Manchester Craft and Design Centre, Manchester
- Since 2019: Food Server. Mustard Tree (homelessness charity), Manchester
- Since 2016: Monetary donations to:
- Distributed AI Research (DAIR, founded by the exceptional Dr. Timnit Gebru),
- Doctors of the World (monthly)
- Artists for Palestine (charity since 2015) (set up since 2015), United Nations Relief Work Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA) (which has been proving humanitarian aid for Palestine Refugees living in the Gaza Strip, the West Bank including East Jerusalem, Jordan, Lebanon, and Syria for 75 years), United Palestinian Appeal (established in 1978 in New York by Palestinian-American professionals, with focus on Health and Wellness, Community and Economic Development, Education and Outreach)
- Headway East London
- peers’ participation in marathons
- friends’ gender confirmation surgeries
- Royal National Lifeboat Institution (the ‘taxi service for illegal human trafficking gangs‘)
- White Helmets (Syria)
- West End Refugees Services (Newcastle)
- Wikipedia, Guardian, Pankhurst Centre, MS Trust, Migrant Journal, Goodenough College and more.
- 2012: London Ambassador. Olympics. Shortlisted from 34,000 applicants. Attained Excellence Award. Greater London Council
- 2010-2: Fundraiser as marathon runner. Including for
- Homelessness charity Shelter (£1520) at Virgin London Marathon (2011)
- Medecins Sans Frontieres at a 10 km charity race (2010)
- Rotary Charities at the Farnham Pilgrim Marathon (2010).
- 2016: Marshall, World Naked Bike Ride. Graphic Designer. Community mobile café B’spoke. Graphic Designer. Wildcatz Canoe Polo club. All Manchester
- 2011-4: Bloomsbury Festival Guide. On the social role of Art (Art & Society). Cultural Bloomsbury Guide. Both London
- 2014: Helper. Johnnie’ Johnson Housing (housing association), Manchester. Photographer. Lewisham Homes, London
- 2013: Helper. Get More Bikes, London
- 2010: Gardener. Brunswick Square, London
- 1980’s: Community volunteer. Put flyers in mailboxes and sang Christmas carols for local community groups. Singapore