Founder
Michelle Shavdia, MSc (Dist.), BSc (Hons) is the founder of Find Your Spark (Social Enterprise). She is a positive coaching psychologist who is passionate about supporting young people and their parents to raise their wellbeing.
Having lost her father at 14, she found herself lost for several years. She can understand, therefore, the challenges some young people face and the tools that can help bring them back from destructive behaviours. Michelle has a BSc (Hons) Degree in Psychology from Warwick University and an MSc (Dist.) in Coaching Psychology from the University of East London as well as eight years’ experience of coaching, mentoring and delivering inspiring talks to young people.
Michelle is especially interested in the issues that at-risk young people face and how using coaching and positive psychology can prevent further problems from developing. She is also passionate about working with parents to raise their wellbeing so that they are better able to parent their children going forward.
Her Master’s thesis research looked at what the perceptual life changes were for at-risk young people following participating in a coaching and positive psychology programme. Outcomes found were the ability to control emotions and reactions, increased experience of positive emotions and thoughts and the identification of purpose and meaning to life. This was published in a highly regarded coaching journal in 2015. Recently Michelle won a Haberdashers’ Grant and funding from Investec’s Bromley By Bow’s Beyond Business programme which enabled her to set up Find Your Spark as a social enterprise. She also received one to one business coaching from Ernst & Young.
Cristina Gedo – Administrator
Cristina Gedo has a background in Psychology and Special Needs Psychology and a Masters in Public Sector Management and administration.
She has always been passionate about helping people and has spent the past seven years working in the Health and Social sector subsequent to working for four years in an orphanage. Cristina will be responsible for a wide range of administrative tasks and meeting and greeting parents/professionals, printing, filling and archiving reports, organise/take part in interviews as well as event organising amongst other things.
Workshop Facilitator
Tuki Sande BSc (Hons) is an Early Childhood Studies graduate from The University of Roehampton. She has always been passionate about working with young people. She has been involved with Social, Emotional, Behavioural Development with Autistic children and has also spent some time volunteering with The Kids company.
As a result of her experiences within the education and voluntary sector, she truly appreciates the value of shaping the attitudes of children, young people can bring. It is through an adaptable, character building and compassionate manor that Tuki wishes to serve positive psychology to the young people of today at such a fundamental stages in their lives. She regards keeping up to date with legislation and research as essential, when promoting positive behaviour and handling behaviours where additional support may be required. Studying the Certificate of English Language Teaching to Adults (CELTA) course enabled her to gain intensive exposure to an array of teaching practices that she can effectively apply when delivering coaching sessions.
Workshop Facilitator & Coach
Jeffrey Wotherspoon, BSc (Hons) has a background in Youth work and has worked with some of London’s most challenging young people between the ages of 14-25 years old at the Kids Company, where he was a part of their High Risk Outreach Team.
He excelled in his role there and was a face on their ‘SEETHECHILD’ Campaign- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=omo7_MSdVVo
Jeffrey also has experience working with the Newham Youth Offending Service and volunteering as a Mentor for Trailblazers at HMP/YOI Isis. Currently Jeffrey works with SparkInside where he facilitates workshops and provides one-to-one coaching sessions for young people between the ages 18-25 years old in custody. Jeffrey is a qualified Executive Performance Coach and Accredited High Risk Conflict Resolution Specialist. He is currently licensed by Crisis Prevention Institute as a Management of Actual and Potential Aggression (MAPA) practitioner. In addition, Jeffrey is an experienced trainer that has worked in the Private, Public and voluntary sector. He has trained staff and service users in a variety of programmes such as Coaching Skills, Conflict Resolution (Mediation) and niche projects, which he has been asked to, developed upon request.
Mindfulness & Cognitive Behavioural Therapist/Trainer
Jamie Shavdia, MSc (CBT), PGDip (Mindfulness – Dist), BSc (Hons), Cert.HealthSci (OU) D.Hyp, PDC.Hyp, PDCB.Hyp (Dist) Prof. Memberships – MBSCH, MAREBT, MMA, MBABCP combines several schools of thought to form his own powerful and unique style.
His work integrates cognitive, behavioural, hypnotherapeutic imagery and mindfulness-based psychology. He has a long-standing interest in human potential and works to build healthy belief structures within the mind, breaking down barriers to optimal psychological health and a richer experience of perceiving reality. He works mostly with adult clients on either a 1-1 or group therapy basis. This occurs mostly in his private practice in Colchester (Essex), however he has also worked in various other forums, including; an NHS IAPT service; university psychological services and occasionally for staff development training within private organisations.
Jamie is a fully qualified and accredited therapist. He holds an MSc in Rational-Emotive & Cognitive Behavioural Therapy and two advanced Practitioner-level diplomas in Clinical Hypnotherapy. He received a distinction for the Diploma in Cognitive Behavioural Hypnotherapy before then progressing to complete the CBT MSc. Additionally he has completed a Post-Graduate Diploma in Mindfulness at the University of Aberdeen in association with Samye Ling Buddhist Temple and the Mindfulness Association, building on fourteen years of Zen training. He has extensive work experience as a Cognitive Behavioural Therapist at London Metropolitan University Counselling Service and also as a Mental Health Support Worker, supporting students with diagnosed mental health difficulties. He has also worked as a CBT and Mindfulness-based therapist at University College London (UCL) facilitating individual and group mindfulness therapy of his own design. He is also a Senior High-intensity CBT/Mindfulness Therapist and clinical supervisor at Mind in Bexley (an NHS IAPT hub in Kent). He also provides Mindfulness-based group programmes to the general public based in Highgate, North London and Colchester, Essex. He also runs a busy private clinic in Colchester too seeing clients on a 1-1 basis.
MSc Career Coaching Student
David Hancock is an MSc Career Coaching student from the University of East London seen here with Tuki. His research project is seeking to understand how disaffected youth experience a solution-focused career coaching approach.
As part of this investigation he is conducting career coaching with youth at City Gateway charity in Tower Hamlets. He is also currently supporting an ex-offenders rehabilitation project in Shoreditch offering life coaching to ex-offenders helping them to make new positive starts to their lives and encouraging positive change. He currently works with St Columba’s Catholic Boy’s school special educational needs department and has over five years experience supporting students with autism, dyslexia and ADHD as well as receiving extensive training on how to support and work with all of these conditions. He also works as an educational coach with St Columba’s Catholic Boy’s school supporting failing students with positive coaching interventions. His previous experience includes working as a football coach with Charlton Athletic football club community project. In this position he worked on council estates in southeast London to encourage disaffected youth to participate in football aiming to prevent or lower anti-social behaviour.
