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Biography

“If your dreams don’t scare you, they are not BIG enough.” BBC Bitesize science presenter Ayo Sokale possesses an array of talents and expertise, placing her at the cutting edge of the ever-evolving scientific, environmental and media landscape. She is a chartered civil engineer, a distinguished keynote speaker, entrepreneur, Terch CEO, and the Former Deputy Mayor of Reading. Ayo is widely recognised as one of the fastest engineers to achieve Chartered status. With an extensive background in delivering flood risk management projects, managing teams, supervising engineers, and influencing policy through key committees, Ayo is a dedicated advocate for engineering and sustainability. She works as a Major Project and Programme Delivery Business Manager for The Environment Agency. With experience in engineering, sustainability, diversity, mental health and the environment, Ayo is the perfect inspirational and motivational speaker for a range of engagements. She was recognised as one of the top 50 women in engineering in 2017, as the ICE President’s future leader in 2018, and one of the Top 24 Role Models for 2024. Contact Great British Speakers today to book Presenter, Civil Engineer and STEM Speaker Ayo Sokale for your next event. AYO SOKALE - STEM AMBASSADOR & ENTREPRENEUR Ayo Sokale was selected as one of Professor Lord Robert Mair’s Future Leaders for his year as President of the ICE. She is one of the ICE’s Water Superheroes aptly named Eco Warrior and is an excellent motivational speaker, particularly when it comes to inspiring young people to pursue STEM. She is a STEM ambassador and mentor, encouraging others to take up careers in civil engineering. She was also nominated for the Top 50 Women in Engineering Under 35 initiative run by The Telegraph in partnership with The Women’s Engineering Society. Through her engineering career she has worked on high-profile jobs including as a Site Supervisor for West Berkshire Council, a Graduate Civil Engineer for Jacobs, worked on the Thames Estuary Asset Management, floor embankment at Mortimer, fish migration at tumbling bay and the Abingdon flood alleviation scheme. In 2023 she founded Tessellated Future Technology, which went on to launch an AI-powered coaching app (Get Coached) in 2024. The app uses AI technology to provide 24/7 access to coaching. It is already set on revolutionising the coaching industry by bringing high-quality, bespoke coaching to everyone at an affordable price. Get Coached combines her passion for self-development and coaching with technology and her desire for a more equal society where everyone has access to the tools they need. AYO SOKALE - ENVIRONMENT & SUSTAINABILITY Ayo is passionate about helping the environment and promoting sustainability, promoting it through has civil engineer background and her work in politics. In 2019 she co-founded the Plastic Free Caversham Group which brought residents and businesses together to drive for single use plastic free status under the Surfer Against Sewers guideline. She also runs a YouTube series on sustainability and the three pillars – Economic, Environmental and Social. AYO SOKALE - MEDIA Ayo’s skills don’t just lie in engineering, she is also a prominent BBC Broadcaster and writer. She is best known for co-presenting the CBeebies ‘Get Set Galactic’ a captivating science-based gameshow for children. Her love of working with young minds shines through as she explores themes including gravity, pollination, the Solar System, and energy. Ayo’s broadcasting credits extends to BBC Bitesize, BBC Reel, National Geographic, Discovery Channel, Yesterday TV, Channel 5, and ITN. She actively contributes to the STEM field, engaging content for corporate clients and creating the “Wednesday Wisdoms Podcast” and Everyday Science Series and Esoteric Stories for Modern Lives. She has hosted a number of documentary-style programmes, including Abandoned Engineering (2016-), Smoke and Steel (2022), and Searching For Secrets (2021). She has also contributed to publications including The Daily Mirror, and is a successful author with her book Othered: How to Thrive and Disrupt in Spaces Not Created For You . She has been featured in books such as Engineers Making a Difference: Inventors, Technicians, Scientists, and Tech Entrepreneurs Changing the World, and How You Can Join Them (2023) by Dr Shini Somara, and Daniel Tammet’s Nine Minds (2024). AYO SOKALE - SPEAKING TOPICS - Civil Engineering - Sustainability - The Environment - Diversity and Inclusion - Neurodiversity - Mental Health - Women in STEM - Flood and Coastal Risk Management - Environmental Injustice - Water - Project Management - Digital Twins - Digital Transformation - UN’s 17 Sustainable Development Goals - Construction Health and Safety - Infrastructure - Women in Engineering - Technology - Belonging - Application of AI - Social Mobility In recent years, Ayo has felt more able to talk about being on the autistic spectrum. She has a diagnosis of Asperger’s syndrome and is an empathetic and inspirational speaker on neurodiversity, mental health challenges and how to overcome them. Ayo has presented at a range of live events including award ceremonies for St Theresa Effingham, the Installer Show 2022, JP Morgan Chase’s Innovation Week, various events for the Foreign Office, at Arcadis’ Global Access and Neurodiversity virtual event, for Shell’s Black History Month celebrations, various International Women’s Day events, at school events including Skelmersdale Science Summer School and The College of Richard Collyer’s Festival of Science. AYO SOKALE – KEYNOTE TALKS Sustainability : Ayo talks about key sustainable elements, including the environment, social and the economy, and the UNSDG’s goal role in outlining the breadth of the challenge; the importance of biodiversity, and single use plastic reduction; the role of the individual, business, and government; and environmental and climate injustice. She also discusses our journey as people towards sustainability and how humanity can manage upcoming pitfalls such as shame in our historical context of sustainability. Ayo’s sustainability talks can also include the following focusses: - The Economy: do our current economic practices make the cut? - Human Psychology: our natural desire to expand and grow, in conflict with the need to consume less. - Class: the undue impact of natural consequences and policy on the lower class. - The Future: children, and the Malthusian Theory. - Mental Health: a rise in Nihilism and fear for the future. - Technology: includes case studies from the Built environment. - Innovation: what is innovation? Research, implement technology, learning from failure, collaboration, and shared knowledge. - Climate Change: the case for change, adaption, and mitigation. Women in Tech, Construction, and STEM : In the modern world, the fight has drifted to the fight for equal representation of women in tech, construction, and wider STEM industries. Ayo talks about: - The value of having women in the room where the built environment and other technologies are designed and implemented. - The careers which currently predominate and are carried out by women, and question how these careers are perceived. - The important ways industries can positively influence the world, challenging the form of bias. - The myths and folklore and the representation of feminine and masculine energies and the way it’s being rewritten over time. - Natural diversity in the world, particularly Gary Ferguson’s master lessons of nature. Diversity : Ayo’s diversity talks focus on two areas. Firstly, what diversity truly means, including: - What does diversity utopia look like? - We think of diversity as diverse people in a space, but is this true diversity? - The evolutionary case for in-group vs out-group mentality. - How does diversity and assimilation come together? - How does diversity work in our current hierarchical structure which values some people as less than? - Is diversity in all levels of society possible? She also looks at why we should value the difference within diversity. Ayo believes the world needs diversity fo thought. As a black autistic woman in STEM, Ayo was often advised to be a certain way which was viewed more favourably. But this is not diversity. That is external difference, a form of exclusion. Ayo believes that the world needs to create spaces for everyone to show up as they are, knowing they will receive respect and value at work regardless of their approach. Neurodiversity : It is estimated that between 30-40% of the world’s population is neurodiverse, so why is the conversation around it just getting started? In this talk, Ayo: - Chats through famous neurodiverse people to bring the message home that there are so many people we don’t know are neurodiverse. - Talks about her own neurodiversity and the journey she has taken to sharing this. - Talks about the different kinds of neurodiversity and how they each mean for the individual, both the strengths and potential support needs. - Advises how we can all provide spaces that allow neurodiverse individuals to be themselves and to thrive. - Speaks about the importance of caution in our neurodiversity narrative, talking about the value of neurodiversity but also the inherent worth and value that neurodiverse people bring to business. - Shares tips and tricks for both neurodiverse people and non-neurodiverse, so everyone can do their part in this inclusion journey. Social Commentary : Ayo focusses on two elements here, the first being: Are you different and a little disruptive? In this talk, she uses personal experiences and case-studies to explore the idea of being different, the genetic and evolutionary reasons we pay attention to differences, and how this can cause disease. Ayo makes a case ofr and against ditching our evolutionary desire to be part of a tribe, outlining the research and the embedded cultural stories. Ayo then looks at: How should we think? In this talk, Ayo discusses a situation that commonly faces leaders, social change makers, politicians, thought leaders, and anyone working to impact the world. She uses her own experience from her political career and leadership roles to map out a talk on how you can truly change the world. She discusses the realities we perceive, the need to truly understand the change you want to make, discusses identity and problem solving, talk about the GROW model to help people identify their goal and the options available, and then uses the Kotter 8 steps to help you make that change. Coaching: Ayo takes a holistic approach to development and career, and in this talk she shares her lessons on leveraging growth across the various facets of our lives, talks about how you can hack your potential and take the scary actions required, and discusses the psychological benefits of the ‘why’. She also talks about the power of telling a better story. Stories are fundamental, they are howe we see the world and perceive ourselves. She uses Joseph Campbells’ Hero’s Journey model to explain how each hero gets on a journey, leaving their current life behind, to answer the call to adventure. Ayo helps the audience to see their life as an adventure, increasing their resilience and excitement about life. Social Mobility: Ayo believes social mobility is often the missing piece in the EDI conversation, particularly in the UK where class is woven into every thread of British Culture. To achieve a more equal society, it is important that the work is done to understand the structural issues affecting social mobility, revising policies to support people in lower social economic backgrounds, support education attainment, and to illuminate the pathways to great careers. AYO SOKALE - COACHING & MENTORING Ayo offers coaching and mentoring services to professionals wanting to achieve high performance whilst maintaining their wellbeing. She offers 1:1 coaching focussed on supporting – predominately neurodiverse – individuals to find their ‘why’. She uses her experience of a multi-layered career to bring you insight, clarity and help you achieve your goals. AYO SOKALE - CHARITY WORK Ayo Sokale loves the performing arts, fitness and is a presenter for BBC Reel. She has a passion for supporting great causes and has raised funds for a number of charities, using her platform as a beauty queen and finalist for Miss Galaxy England, Miss Earth and Miss Great Britain. In 2015, she founded an annual charity event to raise funds for Derriford Hospital’s Children’s Cancer Service and has supported the likes of Sands, Rainbow Hospice, British Heart Foundation, RSPCA and Prospect Hospice by running marathons, taking part in boot camps, organising fashion shows, singing in harmony groups and volunteering at homeless shelters. She is also a Trustee for the Autistic Girl Network Charity. She has also been made into an animated superhero called Eco Angel, reflecting her dedication to flood risk management and community protection. AYO SOKALE – POLITICS In 2018, Ayo Sokale was elected the women’s officer for the Reading Constituency Labour Party. She campaigned in 2019 as a Labour and Cooperative Candidate for Caversham in Reading. She wanted to be a Councillor because she knew she had what it takes to succeed at the job and was passionate about using her skills to transform the lives around her. Throughout her time as a Councillor, she has represented residents on the planning application committee, the Adult Social Care, Children’s Services and Education Committee, as well as sitting on the parenting panel and the Atomic Weapons Establishment Local Liaison Committee. Call +44 1753 439 289 or email  Great British Speakers  now to book Diversity and Inclusion Speaker Ayo Sokale for your corporate event. Contact us .

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