About me:

As a professional writer and editor, I have developed editorial content for clients such as Travel + Leisure, Shape Magazine, Reader's Digest, Shape Magazine, Lexxic, and Uptimize. ​ I have also been featured on numerous podcasts and radio shows. A more complete overview of my press and media appearances is available on my press page. 

My debut novel, Stumbling Through Space and Time: Living Life With Dyspraxia, formally released in the fall of 2022. Since its launch, the book has been loved and endorsed by everyone from The Mirror's Disabled Britain Columnist to Dyspraxia Reddit, Wellington City Library, Edinburgh Napier Library, and The Denver public Library.

Examples of topics I am comfortable with:

From a dyspraxic, neurodivergent perspective I can talk to your target audience about...
  • Neurodiversity and employment
  • Women's issues and neurodiversity 
  • Neurodiversity and education
  • Coping mechanisms and body image issues in terms of neurodiversity and disability more broadly speaking.

Availability

Depends on the workload of other freelance projects, my trustee responsibilities,  the time commitment of books I am working on, and media commitments I have made. My schedule and workload varies weekly. Give me as much advanced notice as you possibly can about your event to increase your chances of me saying yes.

Before the event, make sure you have read my access rider page as well. 

Requirements for all speaking engagements 

A willingness to accommodate neurodivergence and other disabilities through asking not assuming what is needed. 
An honorarium: putting together slides and practising for the event takes time that could be dedicated to other paid projects. So this is a necessary courtesy.
An open minded viewpoint: you do not see me as an inspirational/motivational speaker. Instead, you see me as a lived experience educational resource for all who live and work with people with mutual conditions. 
For both virtual and non-virtual events, set aside time for testing out all tech used, make sure you have a back-up plan prepared and agreed upon in case of tech glitches during live events, and set aside time to review the slides and all other elements of the event itself ahead of time, and send over some sort of agenda before the event if necessary.

Available for events* for:

  • Corporate audiences
  • Schools
  • Charities and not-for-profits

Comfortable with:

  • Panel discussions
  • Q &As
  • Webinars and presentations
*All  events must have an appointed moderator who will gently and periodically remind me how much time I have left, moderate all questions and feedback, introduce me to attendees, shift from one slide to the next one when prompted to do so, and kick out anyone being verbally abusive or interrupting the event. I don't however, mean interruptions because of ADHD, autistic, and Tourette's traits. I often begin my speaking engagements with a disclaimer that any behaviour related to neurodivergence will not be judged or discouraged and specify what I mean by that. Keep in mind that the moderator cannot be me, especially because multitasking interrupts my focus and thought process.
*Please note for in-person events an honorarium and travel expenses covered by your organisation is expected. This is not an "either or" situation. If you don't want to cover my travel expenses but can pay an honorarium, plan a virtual event instead.

Where am I based?

My life alternates between living in Marrakech (Morocco) and being in Toronto Canada . This makes a lot of different options possible. When I am at my place in Marrakech, most major central European and UK cities are a short plane ride away, and I don't mind going to other parts of the African continent too that I can easily get to from Marrakech airport.

​When I go back to Canada for a bit, places like Toronto, Montreal, and Ottawa are extremely accessible, and occasionally Eastern USA cities such as Washington and New York. 
 For more info about my speaking work, check out my Speaking In Neurodivergent profile page. Feel free to flip through the samples below in the meantime! Many of the clips featured are lengthy clips so feel free to just browse through whatever you have time for instead.

Reach PLC: a panel discussion event hosted by an English media company with a diversity and inclusion mandate

Lightbulb is illuminated with Reach Inclusion Leader's Lounge.
A graphic from the Reach Inclusion Leader's Lounge event. The event organisers describe it as "an inclusive space to think and thrive". Panelists include Carlota Belanga Fernandez, Jessica Squires, Rosemary Richings, and Krystal Shaw. The event happened in August 2022.
On August 24, 2022, I was a panelist on the Reach Inclusion Leader's Lounge panel discussion entitled "Neurodiversity What is it". Here's what the event facilitator thought of the final results:

D & I Manager
/
Reach PLC

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We had the pleasure of hosting Rosemary Richings, Carlota Berlanga Fernández, Krystal-Bella Shaw, and Jessica Squires as we explored the topic of neurodiversity with our leaders at Reach plc. I felt really proud to facilitate such an important discussion with 4 phenomenal people and definitely learnt so much.

Natasha Whitehurst

Former Diversity & Inclusion Manager
/
Reach PLC

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@Euromoney AVID event: teaching a corporate audience about dyspraxia and neurodiversity in the workplace

A promotional graphic from the AVID event I spoke at in December
A graphic from the event I did for the staff members of Euromoney who were there to learn more about dyspraxia and neurodiversity.
On December 13, 2022, I did a speaking engagement where I was an invited to educate Euromoney's Disability Employee Resource Group, a program meant to educate the company's staff on what it's like to live with a disability in the context of their workplace. Side note: Euromoney is now called Delinian, as of a recent company announcement.

​The program I was invited to speak at is known as AVID (Awareness of Visible and Invisible Disabilities).

Ellen Fowler, who organised the event and invited me to guest speaker told me in an email that my presentation was "really insightful and gave some helpful advice"! 

The slides from the original presentation:

Neuropride Ireland: Author panel
On August 2023, I participated in the Neuro Pride Adults Festival as a participant in their virtual author panel as part of #NeuroPride23.

Book reading: dyspraxia awareness week 2023

Some aspects of the original event were omitted to respect the confidentiality of event attendees who used it as an opportunity for seeking support who did not want their personal issues to be publicly broadcasted, but the clips included are me reading passages from my book, Stumbling Through Space and Time: Living Life With Dyspraxia.

Sound like something you need?