NeuroTalks receives Highly Commended recognition at Staffordshire University’s Alumni Awards

I’m delighted to share that I received the Highly Commended award in the Alumni Business Person of the Year category at the Staffordshire University Alumni Awards 2026.

The awards evening brought together graduates, entrepreneurs, professionals and community leaders whose work is making a difference across Staffordshire and beyond. To be recognised alongside established businesspeople—some leading organisations with multimillion-pound turnovers—was a significant moment for me and for NeuroTalks.

Recognising how far NeuroTalks has come

NeuroTalks began with a simple but deeply personal purpose: to help workplaces understand what neurodivergent people may be experiencing beneath the surface.

As someone with lived experience of ADHD, disability, masking and burnout, I know how easily talent can be overlooked when an individual does not think, communicate or work in the expected way. I also understand the difference that psychologically safe leadership, meaningful adjustments and genuine curiosity can make.

Through NeuroTalks, I now bring these experiences into workplaces through keynote speaking, interactive talks, management training and practical neuroinclusion workshops.

Receiving a Highly Commended award at this stage of the business feels especially meaningful. NeuroTalks is still growing, but its message is already reaching employers, managers and teams who want to create healthier and more inclusive working environments.

Highly Commended is something to celebrate

It can be tempting to focus only on who received the overall award. However, being named Highly Commended is an achievement in its own right.

This recognition was not automatically given to everyone shortlisted. It reflects the judges’ view that my work, business journey and future potential deserved particular acknowledgement.

For an emerging business to be recognised alongside much larger and longer-established organisations tells me that the impact of an idea is not measured only by turnover or team size. It can also be found in the conversations it begins, the assumptions it challenges and the changes it helps people make.

NeuroTalks may be a young business, but the need it addresses is substantial.

Why this work matters

Neuroinclusion is not simply about raising awareness or learning a list of neurodivergent traits. It is about examining how workplace culture feels to the people inside it.

Can an employee ask for help without being judged?

Can someone communicate differently without being viewed as difficult?

Do managers understand the signs of masking, overload and burnout?

Are reasonable adjustments discussed openly and implemented consistently?

Many neurodivergent employees possess exceptional creativity, focus, problem-solving ability and insight. Yet those strengths can be lost when people are required to spend their energy appearing “fine” in systems that were never designed with them in mind.

My work helps organisations move beyond good intentions and towards practical action. By combining lived experience with clear workplace learning, I help managers and teams understand not only what neuroinclusion means, but what it looks and feels like in everyday working life.

A moment of reflection

The awards evening gave me an opportunity to pause and recognise how much has changed.

Building a business around your own lived experience requires vulnerability. It means taking some of the most difficult parts of your story and using them to make the path easier for somebody else.

There have been moments of uncertainty, but there have also been conversations with people who finally felt understood, managers who began to see a situation differently and organisations ready to make meaningful changes.

Those moments are why I started NeuroTalks.

Being named Highly Commended has reinforced my belief that lived experience has genuine professional value. When it is communicated responsibly and connected to practical solutions, it can become a powerful catalyst for cultural change.

Looking ahead

This recognition is not an endpoint. It is encouragement to keep building.

My ambition is to take NeuroTalks into more organisations, support more managers and help create workplaces where neurodivergent people do not have to reach crisis point before their needs are recognised.

I want more employers to understand that neuroinclusive practice benefits everyone. Clear communication, psychological safety, flexibility and compassionate leadership do not only support neurodivergent colleagues—they help entire teams perform and thrive.

I’m incredibly grateful to Staffordshire University and the awards judges for this recognition, and to everyone who has supported NeuroTalks so far.

Being Highly Commended among such accomplished finalists is something I am genuinely proud of. It recognises what has already been achieved while also pointing towards the potential still ahead.

And for NeuroTalks, this is only the beginning.

If your organisation is looking for an engaging lived-experience speaker or practical neuroinclusion training, visit the NeuroTalks website to explore talks, workshops and collaboration opportunities.