Founding CEO

Dr Nicole Ponsford FCCT is an award-winning educator, researcher and EdTech innovator, and Founder & CEO of the Global Equality Collective (GEC) — a global inclusion community and research-informed platform supporting schools, trusts and education systems to strengthen belonging, equity and participation through lived-experience insight.

Previously an Advanced Skills Teacher and national Achievement Coach with Achievement for All, Nicole has spent over two decades working across Early Years to Post-16 education supporting leadership teams with school improvement, inclusion strategy and digital innovation. Her work sits at the intersection of education, technology and equity, with a particular focus on how data can be used more ethically and effectively to support students and staff.

Nicole is the creator of Kaleidoscopic Data, a doctoral research framework designed to help education leaders interpret lived-experience insight alongside traditional datasets such as attendance, attainment and behaviour. Her EdD (Intentional Inclusion: Investigating Equitable Education and Intersectional EdTech) bridges academic research and real-world implementation across hundreds of schools internationally. She was shortlisted for BERA Doctoral Thesis of the Year.

Through the GEC Platform, Nicole’s work now supports nearly 250,000 learners across 30+ countries, helping leaders better understand inclusion, belonging and wellbeing through intersectional evidence rather than assumption. The GEC Circle has also grown into the world’s largest collective of education inclusion specialists, connecting thousands of educators, researchers and system leaders working together to improve practice.

Alongside her work with the GEC, Nicole serves as Co-Head of Education at Microlink, supporting national work on assistive technology, accessibility and inclusive digital learning. She has contributed to several Department for Education programmes, including the EdTech Demonstrator Programme and the Assistive Technology Pilot, supporting thousands of schools nationally.

Nicole sits on advisory groups including the techUK AI in Education Board and contributes to sector work with organisations including Ofsted, BETT, Schools & Academies Show and the Festival of Education. She is also an experienced examiner (OCR Media Studies) and has written professional learning courses for organisations including Microsoft and FutureLearn.

Her earlier book TechnoTeaching (Harvard published) explored the role of digital practice in classrooms, and her current work continues to champion ethical AI, inclusive innovation and data for inclusion across education systems.

Nicole has been recognised internationally for her work, including being named one of Europe’s Top 50 Women in Tech (#InspiringFiftyEurope) and BESA Person of the Year. She regularly speaks at national and international conferences on inclusion, belonging, ethical EdTech and the future of education leadership.

Nicole believes that meaningful inclusion happens when schools move beyond surface metrics and begin listening carefully to the lived experiences of their communities — because inclusion measured well is belonging built well. 🌍📊✨

Chief Operations Officer

I’m Gem, I’m Chief Operations Officer - or "the glue that holds it all together".

I've worked in administration in one area or another for the last 20 odd years. Gradually working from a general administrator to Office Manager to PA to Executive PA . Like many women, I found that I had to leave my job after having a baby because the flexibility needed to fulfil an Exec PA role and look after a young child just wasn't there at the time.

I started helping out a neighbour with their baking business, taking over all the admin and customer service for them so they could concentrate on their product and suddenly realised that virtually assisting someone from my own home could actually be a 'thing'. I was making a difference in their business while working around my child's routine.

Nic and I are close friends from school and have known each other for over 30 years. We caught up on the phone one day, me sharing my news of starting my own Virtual PA business and Nic sharing her news of this amazing start-up idea that was going to change the world. It was a real 'meant to be' moment and the timing couldn't have been more perfect for us both.

I truly feel that everything I had learnt over the years had been building to this moment. Now I have two boys of my own, the need for them to be brought up in an inclusive world with equal rights for all is more important than ever. So to be working for the GEC and to achieve our dream - to help break new ground with equality, diversity and inclusion has been one of my proudest achievements to date. Our Collective blow me away on a daily basis and I am so proud to be part of this movement!

Relationship Manager

Since I began my journey in education, promoting diversity, equality and inclusion in the classroom has been a guiding principle.

I firmly believe that everyone should have access to the transformative power of education to reach their full potential. I am proud to champion and grow GEC’s solution for a more inclusive educational environment.

Head of Tech Support

I'm excited to join the team and dive deep into the inner workings of the GEC Platform! Our members are already seeing the benefits of our powerful and intuitive features, but I’ll be working to take the platform's technology even further—enhancing its functionality to bring increased value to schools and trusts worldwide.

With my tech experience joining the hive mind at GEC, I’m committed to ensuring we deliver a tool that continues to empower educators to make a lasting impact on their students, staff, and communities.

Edtech Advisor

The GEC is everything I love - a fast moving, Edtech solution with strong female leadership. I strongly align with everything the GEC stands for and I am thrilled to be part of the team!

Ryan Tannenbaum is an educational consultant who specializes in data, data-driven culture, and pedagogically grounded technical implementations for schools. He began his career teaching in international schools throughout Asia. Over more than a decade working as a teacher, principal, and IT director, he founded For.Education—a company that provides schools with data and AI solutions.

Driven by the core philosophy that we can either lead technology forward in our organizations or be led by it, Ryan helps the GEC to leverage data structure and AI technology to drive its mission forward and create a more equitable world for all learners.

Sonia Sood is a data analyst with over 10 years of experience in the higher education sector. She specialises in work around addressing continuation and awarding gaps.

As a person of colour working in Higher Education, Sonia has come to understand the importance of visibility and representation. She recognises that amplifying the voices of marginalised people, and recognising the intersectionality of these groups, is essential in working towards a fairer and more equitable future for all. She is passionate about the role that good data analysis can play in creating opportunities for communities and individuals that have long been underserved by policy and practice.