DR. BEV MORRIS  

EdD, MA, PGCE, BA, Cert ADS, Fellow of the Institute for Learning and AMED

Bev has had a diverse public and private sector career both as an operational and strategic manager. This work includes ministerial briefings, drafting legislation and project management of large refurbishment and new building projects across the UK. She has managed teams of up to 150 people and budgets of several million pounds and has been recruited to troubleshoot failing projects.

Whilst working in Whitehall, Bev trained as a person-centred counsellor, specialising in sexual harassment work, and studied for a BA in Arts and Social Sciences through the Open University culminating in a secondment to York University to complete a Masters in Public Sector Management. At the same time, she began learning British Sign Language to be able to communicate with deaf colleagues.  This led to a career change in 1996 when she qualified as a tutor working with adults.  She specialised in teaching disabled adults and qualified as a sign language communicator and deaf-blind communicator guide whilst teaching in several colleges in Essex. Within a few months of starting this work, Bev was recruited as a manager and quickly worked her way up to the position of Vice Principal. She then established a project to support soldiers in the East of England to improve their literacy, numeracy and ICT skills. This has subsequently led to work with the Royal College of Defence Medicine to provide counselling skills training to front-line medics.

Bev is now Director of Marvellous Minds Training and Consultancy which works across the UK. This company supports voluntary, public and private sector education providers to develop quality improvement processes, inclusive practices, staff development and financial probity. She teaches on a range of teacher-training and management courses including a Foundation Degree in Teaching.  As a qualified dyslexia assessor, Bev also supports a variety of organisations to make their services accessible to all users.

Most recently, Bev has completed a doctoral thesis in mentoring models for trainee teachers in the voluntary sector, has written several research papers with a colleague at the University of Nova Scotia and supervises mentors in education.

Bev has found time to sing with the band Kwajesima and enjoys success as a writer of women’s fiction, academic articles and training materials. Her latest works are a psychological thriller and a sitcom.