Anne has been involved with the Centre since its inception in 1995, initially as a Director and then as Chair of Trustees from 2009. She stepped down as Chair at the end of 2019 and continues as a member of the board of trustees.

She has worked alongside the creator of SML, Ian Cunningham, for over 25 years. She is a seasoned and deeply experienced Learning Group Advisor and is passionate about bringing the benefits of SML to individuals of all ages, but particularly to leaders in large, complex and global organisations.

Anne is the CEO of the consultancy Strategic Developments International Limited, which financially supports the Centre. She provides leadership development programmes and executive coaching support for organisations across all sectors in the UK and Europe. She is also the Editor in Chief for the international journal ‘Development & Learning in Organizations’ and previously served on the governing bodies of two schools.

Anne currently lives in Monmouthshire with her partner and daughter, enjoying walking in the Brecon Beacons and Black Mountains.

Avis is a member of the Governing Body of the Self Managed Learning College and has represented the former as a Trustee on the Board of the Charity since 2015.

She became interested in Self Managed Learning as a well-researched and effective method, when her home-educated daughter attended the College from 2008-2011 before moving on to higher education and who is currently studying music at Leeds College of Music. During her daughter’s time at the College, Avis was a regular volunteer and acted as a parent representative on the governing body.

Before becoming a home-educating parent, Avis studied law at the London School of Economics moving on to teach law at Middlesex University.   She returned to college in her daughter’s teen years to study horticulture and now works for a local environmental charity and as a freelance gardener.

In addition to gardening, she also enjoys walking and, as reported at the time in the local paper, once spotted the ‘Beast of Bevendean” – a large wild cat known to roam the Brighton area.

Liz has been involved with the Centre since 1997 and has served two terms as a trustee since the organisation became a Charity.

She came across Self-Managed Learning in 1992 and she believes that being accepted onto the Self-Managed Learning MSc in Managing Change was one of the major events in her life. It has led to a lifelong continued interest in Self-Managed Learning.

Liz feels that she didn’t fulfil her potential at school; she was petrified of the head at Junior school and then endured indifferent teaching and rigid streaming at Grammar School.

Following a varied leadership career in both the public and private sectors, ranging from banking and finance to the civil service, she has been a management consultant since 2000, specialising in collaboration and facilitation in addition to her work as a Learning Group Adviser with Strategic Developments International.

As a farmer’s daughter, Liz’s love of animals continues today through her involvement with alpacas. She screens alpacas for the British Alpaca Society, acts as a judge in the UK and Europe and provides training for aspiring judges and other breeders.

Sam joined CSML as a Trustee and the Director of Research in 2018, and was elected as Chair of Trustees in 2020. He first found out about Self Managed Learning in 2011 when he took a sabbatical to investigate why so many young people are unprepared for modern citizenship.

He founded the charity, Guidance for Youth, to help young people experience the benefits of taking responsibility, valuing themselves and others, planning for the future and building relationships. Self Managed Learning was selected as the most appropriate framework to deliver this to over 50 students in Dorset between 2012 and 2017. He is passionate about the long-term success of CSML and using impartial research to demonstrate effectiveness.

Sam has worked as an IT consultant for almost 20 years across the private and public sectors. He spent 7 years working at Bristol University Medical School and has been involved with a large number of clinical trials. He currently works for an automaton company in Dorset that specialize in Cell Line Development Research.

Sam lives in Dorset with his wife and two daughters and likes heading down to the beach in winter when it’s all calm and peaceful.

Vikki has been a Trustee of the Centre since 2015 and also acts as the Centre’s Company Secretary.

She became involved in Self Managed Learning in 2008 when she introduced Self Managed Learning as the central tenet of the Leadership Development strategy for Nike across Europe. Having seen firsthand the power of the approach in terms of building competence, confidence and a culture of coaching and feedback, she is committed to spreading the word and supporting the ongoing development of the Charity.

She has an international HR background in organisations including Nike, Vodafone, AXA and more recently the University of Plymouth. Since 2016, she has operated as a consultant and executive coach, she delivers SML programmes in organisations as part of the Strategic Developments International team and she lectures on HR and leadership related issues at undergraduate and Masters level.

She lives in Devon with her husband, daughter and their two hypo-allergenic cats, and enjoys taking advantage of the beautiful moor and coastal landscapes that the location offers.