In this episode, Ashanti Bentil - Dhue talks to Ellie Highwood about her transition to becoming a DEI practitioner from the world of academia and research, and the similarities involved in the two fields.

Episode Highlights:

• Ellie Highwood’s journey to becoming a DEI Independent consultant 
• The skills needed in other to become a competent DEI practitioner 
• How important continuous learning is to DEI practitioners 

About Ellie Highwood:

Ellie Highwood is a diversity and inclusion consultant, and a career and personal development coach to academics and scientists. Ellie has been running her own portfolio career since 2019 following more than 20 years as a leading climate scientist and 4 years in a strategic leadership role as Dean for Diversity and Inclusion at the University of Reading in the UK.

As a Diversity and Inclusion specialist, Ellie works in depth with HR and leadership teams, inclusion networks or diversity and inclusion champions to review or develop strategy, develop meaningful action plans, deliver or develop training, and support diversity and inclusion champions in their role. Her recent and current clients span the world of Higher Education, Learned and Professional Societies, the UK military and co-ownership organisations in the UK. Ellie utilises all her experience working in and managing international research collaborations and leadership teams, teaching and talking to audiences from age 5 to 85, collecting, analysing and interpreting data, and “leading through influence” at Board level to identify where they need to drive change in culture and process.

As a Career and Personal Development Coach Ellie specialises in helping academics and researchers grow in their roles, plan their careers and deal with the deluge of demands on their time and energy. She also loves working with would-be career changers to discover what is right for them, and empowering women in science, engineering and leadership to find confidence and success whilst remaining true to their values in these traditionally male dominated environments. 

These roles give Ellie the opportunity to work with fascinating people and organisations, and use all her experience of juggling leadership, research, management, parenthood and life to contribute to making the world a fairer place. When she is not working you can find her walking, crocheting, baking, listening to audio books or dancing in the kitchen.

Connect with Ellie:

Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ellie-highwood/

Twitter: https://twitter.com/EllieHighwood

Website: www.equasense.co.uk

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You can find out about the services we offer here:

https://sites.google.com/benhue.com/dei-pro-training-and-coaching/home

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Stay Connected with Ashanti:

LinkedIn: Ashanti Bentil-Dhue 

Get in Touch:

ashanti@benhue.com