Consulting & Facilitation
Over the last decade I have worked at the intersection of education, social care, civic and organisational leadership, impact and justice; I have played many roles such as, frontline responder, disrupter, builder and guide.
With over a decade of experience in the youth and community sector, I’ve supported organisations, practitioners, and young people to lead meaningful change from the inside out. As the founder and principal consultant of Imani Academy & Co (2016–2025), I’ve worked across education, social justice, and youth development to champion values-led leadership, character education, and youth participation.
My career has taken a few twists and turns, but one thread has always stayed the same: a deep commitment to creating spaces where people feel seen, supported, and connected. Whether it’s an online workshop, a peer-peer learning journey, a community group, a panel discussion, or an away-day gathering, I can step in to hold both the logistics and facilitation — adapting to what groups need.
What I bring:
Over a decade of experience designing and facilitating cohort-based learning — from intimate peer-to-peer spaces to large-scale away days and conferences with hundreds of participants.
Skillful design and tech support for virtual events, with a focus on structure, access needs, and connection that make online spaces engaging and aligned with the right energy
A strong grounding in community building and cross-cultural collaboration, with sensitivity to nuance, relationships, and the dynamics that shape group work.
A whole-person approach to systems change, weaving participatory practice with embodied tools to support individuals and institutions in transition — moving 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; I’m a trained Three Horizons Facilitator, Action Learning Facilitator and Pinpoint Facilitator.
Current roles include:
Facilitator, One Million Mentors
Associate Facilitator and Trainer, Young Trustees Movement
Learning Partner / Facilitator, The Blagrave Trust
At the heart of all I do is a commitment to intergenerational learning, peer-to-peer wisdom, and community-led change.
Highlights & Publications
My 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 participatory work
📘 Author of Character Education Handbook: Mentoring Through Character Education and Centring Youth Voice: Learning Partnerships and Youth Participation! Card Deck
🎙 Podcast Guest on UCL’s Let’s Hear It for School Belonging podcast (Episode 3), exploring the role of belonging in schools alongside students
🎤 Panelist at the NEC Food & Drink Expo, contributing to the discussion on Fostering an Inclusive Workplace Culture
Through my writing, speaking, and facilitation, I continue 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. It’s 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
A selection of current projects and client partnerships
Barrow Cadbury Trust: Panel Member for: The Act to Change Fund. The fund was aimed at local groups and organisations tackling economic injustice in Birmingham. As a panel member I was responsible for the distribution of £200,000 of grant funding. We supported a range of organisations and groups ranging from small grassroots campaigns to more established organisations with a track record of supporting local people to campaign for change. Groups could apply for up to £50,000 to support community-led activism, community organising or campaigning in Birmingham.
Young Trustees Movement brings together current and aspiring young trustees, employers, and allies to increase the representation of trustees aged 30 and under on charity boards. I recently trained young leaders and participants of the National Lottery’s Heritage Fund programme and Youth Council UK (YCUK). To strengthen their understanding of governance and leadership, helping create spaces where young trustees can contribute confidently and effectively to boards and decision-making
As a Learning Partner for The Blagrave Trust: a collaborative place based funder, I facilitated and curated a peer-learning programme for senior staff and frontline youth-sector practitioners in the South West of England. As a consultancy team we curated a peer learning journey to enable participants to pool expertise around fundraising and sustainability, team welbeing, co-production and collaboration and team culture.
Project team: Imani Clough-Brown and Emily Danby
EDUCATION AND COACHING QUALIFICATIONS
ICF ACC Accredited Coach, March 2025
The Somatic School Body-Oriented Coach ICF Level 2
MA Character Education – University of Birmingham - 2020
Youth Justice BA (Hons) – Nottingham Trent University - 2014
MOE Certified Coach - 2020
Trauma informed practitioner (ABC of Trauma Awareness) - 2018
Mental health First Aider (Dec 2021)
Youth Mental Health First Aider - 2018
PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT
Trauma Informed Yoga Teacher Training - November 2025-February 2026
Three Horizons Practitioner, 2025
The Management Center, Managing to change the world Leadership Training , 2023
Past clients and collaborators (through Imani Academy & Co and as an independent facilitator):
