the activists
Tim Fisher
A specialist in facilitation and change projects. Tim has been a social worker for 15 years, currently a service manager working across children and adults services with masters degree research on empowerment models in social work and published academic writing on community approaches. He has collaborated with organisations to develop restorative practice, like family group conference, methods which have been gifted to us from indigenous people for talking and thinking about the future. Under the banner To Love is to Act a connecting message for citizens and professionals, our collective encourages people towards Relational Activism which for us means action in the everyday and making change happen through personal and informal relationships.
Also experienced in community organising around the issue of climate change. A fellow of the Royal Society of Arts. He is a director of Energise Sussex Coast who are putting solar panels on school roofs and issuing community shares bonding recipients and providers of energy in one inclusive initiative.
Kar-Man Au
Kar-Man is a research assistant/peer researcher at CASCADE, the Children's Social Care Research and Development Centre, Cardiff University.
She is working on an NIHR-funded research project led by Professor Jonathan Scourfield - Family Group Conferencing for Children and Families: Evaluation of Implementation, Context, and Effectiveness (Family VOICE), and a Nuffield Foundation-funded project led by Clive Dias - Parental Advocacy in England: a realist evaluation of implementation
Kar-Man also participated in another NIHR-funded research project led by Professor Jerry Tew of Birmingham University- Family Group Conferencing in Adult Social Care and Mental Health: Exploring How it works and what difference it can make in people's lives.
In addition to the research work, Kar-Man also has other collaborations with Royal Holloway University London and the University of Sussex.
Furthermore, she serves as a Parent Advocate for the Child Protection and Family Group conferences at the London Borough of Camden. She is a member and coordinator of the Camden Family Advisory Board. In addition, Kar Man holds the position of Lay Member in the Camden Safeguarding Children Partnership.
As a Relational Activist and working with Relational Activism, Kar-Man is dedicated to using her experience through work and relationships to achieve social change. Her interests revolve around Family Group Conferences, Peer/Parent Advocacy, Participation, Co-Design, Child Protection, Child Development, and Domestic Abuse.
Seth Oliver
Seth has exhibited his sculptures and drawings in Kyoto, Toulouse, Barcelona, London, Bristol, Chester, Birmingham and Cardiff. He has published ‘Momentum’ in 21st Century: The Journal of the Academy of Social Sciences, and ‘Tide’ in Sense In Place.
Seth is Director at Fizzi Events where he creates live events and works on art works and happenings with a wide arching vision of ‘paying attention’, what we do to each other and what we can do ‘with' each other, and future visible truths. As an innovator and improviser, the key concern in Seth’s work is the search for a language as close to experience as possible…More recently specifically taking his Relational Activist title as an Agitator Maker into Social Care, and Family Justice as a consultant Seth makes Films and provocations in arts based research where we look at being open about our needs together and how we can work with those needs and the needs of others through radical honesty towards transformation at a speed determined by everyone included.
Richard Devine
Rich is a Consultant Social Worker, with over 12 years of experience working with children and families in a child protection context.
He has a Master in Attachment Studies from Roehampton University, London (2018) and is currently a Visiting Researcher at Cambridge University. He writes one of the UK’s most popular social work blogs, exploring topics such as direct work with children, assessment and relationship-based practice.
He has co-facilitated a series of webinars on co-design and co-production with Tim Fisher, and undertook research on parental advocacy with Dr Clive Diaz from Cardiff University.
Clarissa Stevens
Clarissa is a parent activist with lived experience of the child protection system, family support worker and youth worker.
She facilitates events, training and workshops along with consultations supporting positive change. She has done mentoring with parents in Public Law matters to help empower them to see their true worth and specifically to help them navigate through a system which can be confusing for them. She feels it is important to break down the jargon and advocates strongly for them.
Within the private law arena for CFS she is a resilient and diligent contact supervisor who is able to challenge parents when they are not able to put their children’s needs before their own and she has worked with some complex cases at High Court Level. She was once called unexpectedly to give evidence in just such a case and we share a wry smile to this day at the fact that she was cross examined whilst wearing a track suit in the Royal Courts of Justice. She was in fact commended in the subsequent judgement for the clarity of her evidence as well as of her reports, despite her attitude.
Azara Issifu
Parenting Facilitator & Accredited Independent FGC Coordinator
Experienced Family Group Conference Coordinator and a parenting programme facilitator since 2000 and as a coordinator since 2004. Very often willing to learn and take on new programmes and takes on other duties outside the scope of daily responsibilities, for example and enjoys the challenges that the role presents. Also gets involved in Early Help programme initiatives, the adult FGCs and various training workshops within the London Borough of Camden. Additionally, I also worked with various FGC Services London wide and now in Wales.
I enjoy my job and with my understanding of FGCs coupled with my experience of managing complex family dynamics make my job a very satisfying one. I am aware and very often apply a great deal of time negotiating between various partners. Patience is the required ingredient and a level of empathy, compassion and professionalism makes my job fun and fulfilling. The families and professionals that I come into contact with as an Independent FGC Coordinator are all contributing factors that make collaborative work very satisfying.
I have a teaching and community development background but what I enjoy most now is my work as an Independent Family Group Coordinator or Practitioner. I feel inspired when I have been able to help a family or even at times a colleague.
Michael Clarke
I think that in order to be a good facilitator and spokesperson you need to have a great level of awareness.
You need to be curious and eager to make sure you are easily accessible and inclusively engaging with and enabling a range of diverse people with various needs in order for them to attend and participate fully.
You will need to be hypervigilant and sensitive towards the conversations taking place whilst paying ultimate attention to the atmosphere and energy being produced by the room in order to assist with the natural flow of things either steering conversations when appropriate or allowing them to form naturally.
One of the biggest assets you could have is a high level of emotional intelligence. You need to be empathetic, caring and overall understanding of the different contexts and experiences shared by the people you meet but most importantly being respectful of the difference of opinions whilst being able to challenge ideas and theories.
I believe another massive strength you could have is the ability to not only advocate for yourself and others but to be able to do it creatively and accurately, delivering powerful messages using various techniques and methods to stir people's thoughts and understandings
Becca Dove
Becca is a family worker and a Head of Service for Early Help services. Becca is a Fellow of the Royal Society of the Arts, Manufacture and Commerce, and is an accredited Family Group Conference Coordinator. She has worked in services for children and families for the past 18 years, and was previously a national Sector Specialist for Families, Parents and Carers for the Centre For Excellence and Outcomes.
Faye Hamilton
Using creative techniques and role play, I facilitate workshops intended to highlight the importance of lived experience, culminating in a collaboration towards systemic change.
I also speak at care giver conferences, have co-led community events and been an independent consultant for pop up dialogue with social workers on my personal lived experiences.
Suzy Patterson
Recently I have worked predominantly with children and young people with complex disability support needs, from autism, to life limiting physical disability I have met a range of children and young people who are unable to participate through verbal conversation. Working with these young people has caused me to re-think what participation really means. They taught me that often my interactions with children had been based on what I needed to fulfill organisational demands rather than on their lived experience. When I started interacting with children and young people who could not complete pre-printed consultation forms or tell me what their views were about a particular upcoming meeting I had to think what their involvement really meant.