Meet The Directors

Claire is co-founder of Veterinary Spoonholders Facebook community and one of the founding directors of British Veterinary Chronic Illness Support (BVCIS) and Affinity Futures Consultancy, as well as a vet with over 22 years of clinical experience.

A passionate advocate for those with chronic illness, disability and neurodiversity, she works to ensure that discussions around mental health and wellbeing include everyone. Without including physical health and neurodiversity in the conversation we will always leave people behind.

She uses her personal experience navigating the veterinary world with chronic illness along with insights gained from the wider community to develop training and support resources that are inclusive and accessible to all. Driving change at both an individual and organisational level to support the creation of workplace that enable everyone to thrive and succeed.

Issa is a race equalities advocate and regular speaker on EDI on podcasts, panels, and international conferences. She is founder and trustee of the British Veterinary Ethnicity and Diversity Society. She speaks on a number of topics including allyship, diversity, inclusion, anti-racism, neurodiversity, and mental health.

She is a farm veterinary surgeon with over 15 years of clinical experience and a Lecturer in Farm Veterinary Clinical Practise at Surrey Vet School, and is a winner of a Collaborative Award for Teaching Excellence. She holds an MSc in Ruminant Nutrition and previous BSc in Animal Physiology. Issa is also the founder of the Courageous Conversations Conferences – the UK’s first dedicated veterinary diversity conference held in 2020 and 2021.

Leah works as a Diversity and Equality activist and educator with a focus on the LGBT+ community. She is a BVLGBT+ committee member and Past President and also delivers training as a Director of Affinity Futures.

As well as consultancy EDI work, Liv has worked in a variety of clinical and non-clinical communications roles since qualifying as a vet in 2016. She is currently working in clinical practice at PDSA, an environment as rewarding as it is fast-paced. She also teaches final year vet students on rotation, cemeting their skills in first opinion practice. As well as a veterinary degree, she also holds an MSc in Applied Animal Behaviour & Welfare and is additionally working towards postgraduate certificates in veterinary medicine and in higher education. She likes working with pragmatic, passionate, effective and diverse teams.

Living with an energy-limiting chronic illness and acting as a representative for the ‘Spoonie’ community has given Liv valuable insight into how diversity can strengthen the veterinary sector. Growing up at multiple intersections of marginalised communities, for the last five years, she has been putting this experience to practical use, educating the veterinary profession on how to recognise discrimination, improve diversity and inclusion, and move forward with accessibility. In particular, she feels strongly about ensuring disability inclusion in veterinary medicine, and as a Director of British Veterinary Chronic Illness Support (BVCIS) is championing inclusion for disabled students and staff across the profession, engaging with RCVS, BVA, universities and corporate and independent veterinary employers and various other organisations across the profession to make change happen.

Tobias is a new graduate mixed vet in Aberdeenshire  and also works as a Equality, Diversity, and Inclusion (EDI) consultant  with a focus on the LGBT+ and neurodivergent communities. 

They are involved with the work of BVCIS, BVLGBT+, and BVEDS, and they deliver training as a Director of Affinity Futures, facilitating the EDI and Active Allyship workshops at numerous veterinary conferences and as in-practice CPD. 

They are also a regular speaker on topics including LGBT+ language and inclusive practices, gender-affirming healthcare, and neurodiversity inclusion.

Tshidi is a Veterinary Wellness Coach, Speaker, Author, Award Winning Well-being Educator, and a Small Animal Veterinary Surgeon with over 20 years of clinical experience in almost all sectors of the veterinary industry. She holds a postgraduate Certificate in Small Animal Surgery & works in clinical practice. She is the Founder of Gardiner Coaching & creator of the Well-Being Champion Blueprint Certification. She is also a Director of Affinity Futures.

She is an elected member of the Royal College of Veterinary Surgeons. She is the current RCVS Diversity & Inclusion Committee Chair and Lead for Global development. She is a passionate Burnout Prevention Advocate, supports Mental Ill Health initiatives within the veterinary community and trainer for Active Ally-ship and DEI work. She is also a Trustee for Vets in Mind that creates triage tools & assessments for veterinary professionals.
Her process uses deep health as the basis for her Wellness Coaching & Stress Management practice. She is a mom of two and enjoys walking her dog along the beach for much-needed rest & recovery.