Suran Dickson
Director - Flipside Consulting
Suran returned to New Zealand in 2016 after spending 14 years in the United Kingdom where she became a leading expert on equity, diversity and inclusion.
She is the founder and ex Chief Executive of Diversity Role Models (DRM) a charity that tackles gender and sexuality related bullying by encouraging empathy and critical thinking in young people. The charity went from a seed of an idea to being a highly respected organisation with national remit.
Schools, government and businesses frequently sought Suran’s input around inclusive practices and challenging inequality. Prior to initiating this organisation in 2011, she was a teacher in both New Zealand and the UK for twelve years. Suran has written two well-received guides for teachers on how to work with students with special educational needs in a mainstream setting.
Through her work with DRM and as an independent consultant, Suran has vast experience of working with corporate organisations to engineer innovative solutions to their people challenges. Passionate about inclusive leadership with a strategic focus on fostering authentic, happy and productive staff teams, she has conducted culture reviews and leadership workshops for Enable, Orion, Connetics, Christchurch International Airport and Christ's College. Suran has also facilitated panels and delivered keynotes, workshops or strategic advice for Radio New Zealand, Google, MI6, the Police, Farmlands, AgResearch, Ryman Healthcare, Canterbury Cricket and CCHL amongst many others.
An influential writer and speaker, with numerous awards under her belt, including a British Rising Star CEO accolade in 2015, Suran was named the 10th most influential person in the UK in the Independent newspaper's annual pride list. She is also a patron of the Diversity and Inclusion specialists, UKIED.