Consultant and Facilitator
Over the last decade Imani has worked at the intersection of education, social care, civic and organisational leadership, impact and justice; she has played many roles such as, frontline responder, disrupter, builder and guide.
Imani Clough-Brown
With over a decade of experience in the youth and community sector, Iāve supported organisations, practitioners, and young people to lead meaningful change from the inside out. As the founder and principal consultant of Imani Academy & Co (2016ā2025), Iāve worked across education, social justice, and youth development to champion values-led leadership, character education, and youth participation.
My work is rooted in a belief that when young people are given the space to lead, listen to one another, and access spaces of genuine belonging, they create transformative ripple effects in their communities. Iāve helped organisations build youth engagement initiatives from the ground up; including youth boards, councils, working groups and peer research projects ā ensuring that young people are not only invited into spaces of power, but feel confident shaping them.
As a facilitator, coach, and strategic consultant, I bring a whole-person approach to systems change. I weave together character education, participatory practice and somatic leadership tools to support individuals and institutions in transition ā helping them move with greater clarity, purpose and integrity. I hold a BA in Youth Justice and an MA in Character Education, grounding my work in both lived experience and academic rigour. I regular engage in professional development opportunities to grow my practice; Iām a trained Three Horizons Facilitator, Action Learning Facilitator and Pinpoint Facilitator.
Current roles include:
Alliance Member, Civic Power Fundās Youth Organising Alliance
Grants Panel Member, Barrow Cadbury Trust (Economic Justice, Birmingham)
Associate Facilitator, The Kingās Fund (Nexus Leadership Programme)
At the heart of all I do is a commitment to intergenerational learning, peer-to-peer wisdom, and community-led change. Thank you for being here ā whether you're just joining the journey, or have been walking alongside me for some time.
Highlights & Publications
Imaniās work has been featured across a range of platforms and publications that reflect her commitment to equity, leadership, and youth voice.
Impact Report for Imani Academy & Co - Capturing highlights of my youth particpatory work
š Author of Character Education Handbook: Mentoring Through Character Education and Centring Youth Voice: Learning Partnerships and Youth Participation! Card Deck
š Podcast Guest on UCLās Letās Hear It for School Belonging podcast (Episode 3), exploring the role of belonging in schools alongside students
š¤ Panelist at the NEC Food & Drink Expo, contributing to the discussion on Fostering an Inclusive Workplace Culture
Through her writing, speaking, and facilitation, Imani continues to share thought leadership that bridges intergenerational wisdom, social impact and organisational change.
Testimonials
I worked with Imani on the Character Education and Mentoring Practical Handbook. It was great to work with Imani and bring her unique perspective across both areas to bear on the publication. Itās a great output and Imani was a pleasure to work with. It has been well-received by practitioners and should continue to be used in schools.
Aidan Thompson, PhDAidan Thompson, PhD, Social Sciences Connect Programme Manager, University of Warwick
Imani delivered a three part youth participation training with our organisation. The sessions covered youth participation from introduction to evaluation and were curated to our needs. Imani also shared multiple useful tools for delivering and facilitating sessions with young people.
Overall, the sessions focused on delivering youth participation in a truly inclusive way and I would definitely recommend Imani to any one on the youth participation journey. Thanks!
Talia DundooTalia Dundoo, Senior Youth Inclusion Officer at Youth Futures Foundation
Imani is a gifted, skilled and thoughtful Lead Facilitator, who brings great care and attention to her work with diverse groups of participants. I recently commissioned Imani to lead the co-design and co-delivery of a session for Executive-level public sector leaders, working alongside three Associate Facilitators who are also young leaders.
Imani went 'above and beyond' to craft the co-design process, the session delivery and the 'aftercare' debrief and learning with finesse and professionalism. Imani is a pleasure to work with, and I wouldn't hesitate to recommend her. I hope we will have the opportunity to work together again soon.
Kathryn Perera, Senior Consultant at The King's Fund | Coach, Speaker, Facilitator with Cultivating Leadership
Past clients and collaborators (through Imani Academy & Co and as an independent facilitator):
