MaryCatherine (Cathy) Burgess

Born and raised in Iowa, MaryCatherine (Cathy) then moved as a young adult to Omaha, Nebraska, where she was actively involved in civil rights initiatives; university and city-wide human relations challenges; secondary education teaching; organizational transformation work within business; holistic healing collaborations; and personal and spiritual transformation retreats and workshops through her experience as a psychodrama trainer, minister, shamanic practitioner, licensed mental health practitioner, and facilitator of Divine Feminine explorations.

As her son Sean was graduating from university in Seattle, she moved in 2001 to Edinburgh, Scotland, UK, to pursue her PhD at the University of Edinburgh – something she received in 2005 (Religious Studies). During and after those studies, she worked at the University as Associate Chaplain for Spirituality and Multifaith; Research Fellow studying the spirituality and counselling interface; teacher of courses on Myth and the Hero/Heroine’s Journey and on Action Methods (including psychodrama); and Honorary Fellow – a position she began in 2008 and still holds in 2021. Her book A New Paradigm of Spirituality and Religion, was published in 2008.

While a chaplain, MaryCatherine became a certified Barrett Values Center Facilitator in 2005; signed the Charter for Compassion in 2008; and since then, has continued to deepen her study of compassion and to contribute to various compassion initiatives at the University, in the UK and in the USA. She currently facilitates Compassionate Integrity Training (international) and Boundless Compassion (US) programs; serves as a UK Charter for Compassion Task Force member; and recently was appointed to the Spirituality in Education Alliance in the UK.

In November 2020, MaryCatherine helped organise a Compassionate Edinburgh global webinar hosted by the Charter for Compassion and featuring a number of Edinburgh community leaders. With some of the presenters at that November webinar, in February 2021, she hosted/facilitated a Compassionate Edinburgh workshop as part of the Edinburgh Fire Starter Festival.

Princess Green

Born in Botswana, Princess grew up in Zambia and Botswana. Her passion for personal and community development has blessed her with opportunities to oversee, and take part in, the implementation of an array of community fundraising and outreach programmes in both countries. With a BA in Tourism and Hospitality Management, her purpose has led her to the sustainable development sector where she currently holds the position of Communications and Supporter Relations officer at Cecily's Fund, an NGO in Witney, Oxford that provides education and care to vulnerable Zambian children orphaned by AIDS. Her dedication to introducing compassion into the hearts and lives of children and youth is amplified by the compassion she experiences from raising her own two young children.

Heather Hall - Compassionately Portsmouth

In my professional life I was involved with Banking and the Law both regulated by rules. As a Third Order Franciscan, again, my life is lived by a corporate and personal rule of life. The later has ten headings one of which is “work”. It is appropriate for me that the “golden rule” features predominantly in this section; the Portsmouth initiative is my retirement ministry.

I really do care about Portsmouth, the city of my birth, which is noted for a wonderful community spirit; so why not harness that spirit to grow and nurture a compassionate city initiative in the company of concurring companions. Who said compassion was easy, it is an invitation to look without judgement, distortion, or analysis, only with love and then act, shedding the fear that you may be misunderstood, taking a risk to be human. Always, asking the question “how can I help?”.

This is a journey of discovery for me; to be who I am and to become what I can be.

Ann Howell

Ann Howell is a co-founder and the current Director of SimpleGifts. With a background in technical communications and project management, Ann moved to London from Montreal, Canada in 2010. Looking to change gears and shift her focus to the community development sector, she was excited to find an opportunity to build a project at the former Unitarian Church in Bethnal Green. Working with the early development team, she helped to map out a plan for organic growth using the resources of the building space and also of the culturally rich local community. Ann’s love of cooking and food as a medium for the sharing of stories has meant she is very happy that community meals are a focal point at SimpleGifts!

Frank Liddy, Belfast & Northern Ireland

Frank has worked in the community care voluntary mental health sector for some twenty-five years and currently delivers mindfulness programmes for the leading charity Aware. Frank is the founding Director of the Belfast Mindfulness Centre. He is also the co founder of Compassion City Belfast. As an indigenous Belfast born practitioner he has been at the forefront of developing creative cross community mindfulness / compsssion based initiatives to communities / groups traumatised by the Northern Ireland troubles. Frank studied mindfulness at the University of Wales and is a qualified integrative humanistic counsellor. Presently Frank teaches mindfulness compassion through the life long learning programme at the Queen’s University of Belfast and has also successfully delivered experiential and practice-based training programmes to mental health and allied professionals working in psychiatry, nursing, social work and the criminal justice system.

Tam Martin Fowles

Tam Fowles is founder of Hope in the Heart (www.hopeintheheart.org) and long-time course/workshop designer and group facilitator based in the UK and working internationally. Tam’s own experience with mental ill health in her 20s and 30s inspired her to work creatively with others facing challenges of all kinds. She developed The Accept Perspective, a model for personal and global transformation, celebrating the remarkable capacity of the human spirit to transcend adversity and live a richer, more proactive life as a result. She is Master Facilitator of The Virtues Project and associate of the Anne Frank Trust, a campaigner and educator for equality and social justice. She founded the Compassionate Cornwall community initiative in 2014, and is a member of the CfC UK Task Force.

Magdalene Sacranie, Kinross Compassion Group, Scotland UK

Magdalene lives in Oxfordshire and is involved with compassion projects in the City of Oxford. She is particularly interested in efforts to embed compassion in the school curriculum for primary and pre-school age children.

Andy Spragg

My name is Andy Spragg. I have been a practising Buddhist for around 26 years now. I have never been ordained into a Buddhist order. Coming close once or twice but choosing to stay connected to my current world but practising within it. I have primarily practiced with the monks at Ameravati and with Triratna and order members from the Cambridge Buddhist Centre. My wife and I are the directors and owners of The Sangha House, Taunton. A Buddhist based holistic health centre. The main underlying influence for the house is mindfulness. Everything that we do in the centre, in some way, re-enforces mindfulness practice. The Sangha House have signed the charter and Denise and I are passionate about spreading the charter further.

Rianne C ten Veen

Rianne is most content when collaborating in an interdisciplinary context. She has an LLM, an MA in International Politics and MSc in Development Management and in October 2016 starting a PhD around the subject of globalisation. Issues of justice and compassion have been a key motivator since as a third country national school pupil being taught to accept different sides of a conflict at different times of the school day. She relishes in being able to contribute to bring more compassion, to ourselves, each other and the wider environment we live in and all rely on ultimately. Her adopted faith inspires her to facilitate compassion for all.

Darran Trute

Darran Trute has created a range of transformational partnerships, including helping to innovate, align and co-ordinate large networks of advice providers. He currently works in a emerging healthcare Alliance contract involving hospitals, Doctors and major healthcare providers to better co-ordinate healthcare services. As Director of the UK office of the International Centre for Compassion Organisations he works in helping refine a compassionate mediation process to resolve workplace conflict through a workplace trust leader programme and facilitating a reduction in community conflict through a community leadership training programme. He has also delivered workshops developing compassionate approaches in organisations and is co-owner of Positive News the worlds first positive solution focused Newspaper.