I passionately believe that learning, openness to new experience and having a sharing-mindset are what life’s about.

Ultimately I want everyone to be comfortable in their own skins, seek out fun & grab it where they find it, and do more to help each other out along the way.

Words that clients have use to describe their achievements with me: commitment, self-esteem, enablement, engagement, exploration, understanding, realisation, alignment, clarity, confidence, action, happiness.

Background 

I studied Psychology at Dundee University and spent a life-changing second year of that honours degree in Montreal, Canada.  After working in HR/ L&D for six years, getting my Masters in Organisational & Occupational Psychology, and then spending five years in a boutique training consultancy, I decided to become self-employed and I created ‘Peppermint Giraffe’.  This was back in 2006 and I’ve not regretted it for a single moment.

Over the years I’ve provided my services to a wide range of industries, as well as learning lots about the industries that my regular coaching clients are employed in. Experiencing this variety is one of the most fascinating and satisfying aspects of my work.

Sectors that I’ve had lots of experience in include Media, Music, Government & the Public Sector, Engineering, Charities/ NGOs, Regulatory Bodies, Pharma, Transport & Travel, Publishing, Health, Finance, as well as - to a slightly lesser extent - Retail, Hospitality, Insurance and Oil.

Although most of my work over the last couple of decades has been centred on London, about 15% of the projects I’ve been involved in have taken me to other parts of the UK, and about 10% have - very enjoyably - involved travelling widely across Europe and as far afield as Dubai, Johannesburg and Seattle. 

And why ‘Peppermint Giraffe’? There are several different layers of meaning for me - but it’ll probably be easier to explain when we meet!

Personal life

I’m from Hampshire originally, lived in London for 30 years but recently moved to the beautiful village of Lindfield in West Sussex. The cat also seems to like it here. My husband and I married in 2021 which, as well as being happy news, gives me a great excuse to add to a long list of travel destinations when we honeymoon: Petra, Buenos Aires and Tokyo are up there in a top ten of previous adventures.

I’m told I’m a great cook (I won an informal ‘Come Dine with Me’ amongst friends!) and - as well as doing the mandatory Sunday roasts with all the trimmings - bake pretty good soufflés, home-made breads and cheesecakes. I’ve recently got into photography and am finding that playing around with a surrealist style is my thing. I think Glastonbury rocks, have been going there for twenty years and love it for its very special atmosphere even more than for its music.

I’m a big Marvel fan too. It’s great that the rest of the world has finally caught up with my geekiness but, when the world turns again and Hollywood is no longer making superhero films, I’ll still unashamedly love the stories, characters, symbolism, psychology & sheer creativity that goes into that universe. I never get bored reading non-fiction too and should probably read just one book at a time. On the flip-side, I am getting comfortable calling myself a writer.

So there you have it! I have my struggles, like everybody else, but am happy way more often than I am sad and am the sort of person to appreciate life’s positives. I guess that’s why I do what I do.