The Hope in the Heart Team
Directors and staff:
Tam Martin Fowles Founding/Managing Director
Tam is our CEO and Lead Facilitator. She founded Hope in the Heart in 2012, the same year she developed the AccepTTranscend Model for Transformation, the basis for many of her creative personal development workshops and courses. Based in South London UK, Tam is a writer, poet, activist, international group facilitator, innovator and trainer, as well as a wife, mum, and nana. She is committed to changing the paradigm of the pathologising of psychological distress, and founded Mad Woman Talking in 2022. She is a visiting lecturer at a number of universities, and a Master Facilitator of the UN-endorsed Virtues Project. Tam is passionate about social change and her personal experience of mental health distress and neurodiversity positively informs her work and life. .
Tam is our CEO and Lead Facilitator. She founded Hope in the Heart in 2012, the same year she developed the AccepTTranscend Model for Transformation, the basis for many of her creative personal development workshops and courses. Based in South London UK, Tam is a writer, poet, activist, international group facilitator, innovator and trainer, as well as a wife, mum, and nana. She is committed to changing the paradigm of the pathologising of psychological distress, and founded Mad Woman Talking in 2022. She is a visiting lecturer at a number of universities, and a Master Facilitator of the UN-endorsed Virtues Project. Tam is passionate about social change and her personal experience of mental health distress and neurodiversity positively informs her work and life. .
Sophie Coxon Director/Community Development
Sophie is HITH's Community Development Coordinator and Refugee Support Worker. Based in South London, she is a group faciliator, traninee counsellor, and Master Facilitator of the Virtues Project . Sophie works with other local organisations on collaborative projects and delivers bespoke workshops within established community groups. She has been an active contributor to HITH services since 2012. She has also supported a variety of international projects in various contexts, working with communities in the UK, Europe and Kenya. Sophie's personal experience of mental health issues and neurodiversity inspire her work in supporting and empowering others to overcome challenging circumstances.
Sophie is HITH's Community Development Coordinator and Refugee Support Worker. Based in South London, she is a group faciliator, traninee counsellor, and Master Facilitator of the Virtues Project . Sophie works with other local organisations on collaborative projects and delivers bespoke workshops within established community groups. She has been an active contributor to HITH services since 2012. She has also supported a variety of international projects in various contexts, working with communities in the UK, Europe and Kenya. Sophie's personal experience of mental health issues and neurodiversity inspire her work in supporting and empowering others to overcome challenging circumstances.
Gunel Ismikhanova Director is HITH's Refugee and Asylum Seeker Consultant, and founder of our partner organisation She for Her CIC. Based in Plymouth, UK, Gunel is a human rights lawyer from Azerbaijan. She was chief advisor in the Office of the Commissioner for Human Rights of the Republic of Azerbaijan on the protection of refugees and Internally Displaced Persons and has 14 years’ experience in human rights for refugees, IDPs and migrants. She was Chief of the Committee on Public Relations in the Women’s Bar Association in Azerbaijan, a lecturer at the Western University of Azerbaijan, and worked on various UN projects. She speaks 5 languages, is author of two books and 70 scientific articles, and a trainer in asylum and refugee rights. Her own experience of seeking asylum and finding refuge in the UK enriches her work with others.
Fenna Martin Director
Fenna is a London-based family therapist who has been involved with Hope in the Heart since its inception, both as a volunteer and project worker, and has co-facilitated HITH training in the UK and South Africa. Currently working within IAPT (Improving Access to Psychological Therapies) with a degree in psychology and a post-graduate diploma in family therapy, Fenna has also worked in therapteutic communities in Kent and London with children who have experienced severe trauma, and with women in the criminal justice system. Fenna has diagnoses of dyslexia and ADHD and, having struggled with her own neurodivergence, has a deep understanding of both the gifts and challenges neurodiversity can bring.
Fenna is a London-based family therapist who has been involved with Hope in the Heart since its inception, both as a volunteer and project worker, and has co-facilitated HITH training in the UK and South Africa. Currently working within IAPT (Improving Access to Psychological Therapies) with a degree in psychology and a post-graduate diploma in family therapy, Fenna has also worked in therapteutic communities in Kent and London with children who have experienced severe trauma, and with women in the criminal justice system. Fenna has diagnoses of dyslexia and ADHD and, having struggled with her own neurodivergence, has a deep understanding of both the gifts and challenges neurodiversity can bring.
Associates:
Lindiwe Tshabalala leads Phaphama Initiatives in Soweto, a partner organisation of the Charter for Compassion. (Phaphama is a Zulu word meaning "Awaken yourself".) Phaphama connects people through life-skills training, language and culture, and community tourism initiatives.
Lindi has hosted Tam, Fenna and companions on many Hope in the Heart collaborative visits to South Africa. She has made introductions to other organisations and professionals, organised HITH workshops and facilitated the assimilation of her guests into the local community. Hope in the Heart and Phaphama have several collaborative projects currently in development.