I’ve been working in the DEI field for nearly 15 years, first in the Higher Education and Charity sector, and more recently in video games and tech.
During my time in higher education, I was the first Our transgender full-time Sabbatical Officer in the UK back in 2013-14, during which time I worked on providing more inclusive facilities and policies for our trans, non-binary and gender non-conforming students and staff. I then worked as a disability support adviser, providing reasonable adjustment plans and support for clients and campaigned for better resource for both clients and advisors.
In 2020, I left higher education to move into the games industry where I established the consultancy BalancePatch and worked with multiple clients across the sector, including Ubisoft, Splash Damage and Sega.
In 2021, I joined Sumo Group, a UK-grown games group consisting of 19 studios across 4 geographic locations and a population of 1,700 employees to head their newly established Inclusion & Belonging department.
Since joining I have and made lasting, impactful change across the business. My role engages with key stakeholders throughout Sumo Group, from C-Suite to Juniors, to thread inclusive thinking and practices through the whole company
I created and launched PRISM – Sumo’s internal Inclusion & Belonging community – and has supported its evolution to oversee it embedded further into company structure. PRISM houses 4 main community streams – CHROMATIC (Underrepresented Ethnicities), IRIDIAN (LGBTQ+), ULTRAVIOLET (Women & Marginalised Genders) and WAVELENGTH (Ability & Wellbeing), each cultivating fantastic, engaged communities. PRISM members can openly discuss topics, ask questions or raise concerns in a safe and understanding environment, meet new people and find community. In 2023, I supported the creation of PRISM’s internal Refractions & Reflections Q&A sessions—quarterly opportunities for people across Sumo to submit EDI-related questions and receive answers direct from the business. He also supported the creation of PRISM’s Kaleidoscope Topics, a monthly events that bring unique and exciting external guest speakers into to share insights on a range of topics, first to Sumo’s internal audience before being made available to the public.
I firmly believes in empowerment for all. Over 2023, my team embed a ‘Sponsor’ into each PRISM streams who sits at Director level or higher and is a member of the community they represent. Sponsors work with dedicated changemakers to guide the community, provide support, and escalate concerns or suggestions as needed. For 2024, we also introduced an ‘Executive Sponsor’ to PRISM’s structure to facilitate better senior communication in Sumo Group’s CFO, Andy Stewart. Now entering its third year, PRISM has 390 members from Sumo’s 19 global studios and businesses and continues to evolve.
Elsewhere, I coordinate Sumo Group’s partnerships with fantastic external organisations including Women in Games, Code Coven, Mission Gender Equity and Limit Break. Not only is he an exceptional representative, but he remains in constant dialogue with each partner, resulting in Sumo engaging in countless events, providing mentorship and training, and delivering a range of talks and workshops.
For 2023 and 2024, I spearheaded Sumo Group’s Transition in the Workplace Guidance, the annual Sumo Census, and the newly created Inclusion & Belonging Committee to facilitate stronger strategic goals linked to inclusion within Sumo Group and beyond.
I also mentors both within Sumo and externally via programmes like Limit Break and Payload Studios Tentacle Zone Incubator programme – perfect examples of his commitment to fostering and nurturing the next generation of game developers.
Outside of Sumo, I’m an active advocate for LGBTQ+ and trans rights and role model for younger trans and non-binary developers. He is a member of UKIE’s EDI Working Group, chaired the LGBTQ+ Roundtable at Develop:Brighton 2022 and 2023, and will be attending Develop:Brighton in 2024 to deliver a talk entitled “You’re Expensive for Just Dealing With Pronouns and Wokeness”: The Real Cost of Workplace Inclusion.
Finally, I’m also a UK Games Industry Slack Admin supporting a community over 7,000 UK games professionals, and a member of the Writers’ Guild of Great Britain’s Games Committee.
