Paris Bartholomew

An extraordinary individual with a compelling, inspiring life story of care lived-experience, personal growth & resilience

Paris is an award nominated CPD trainer, lecturer and motivational speaker who became a looked after child at the age of 6. By the time she left local authority care she had multiple placements in a range of geographical locations, overcoming discrimination, stigma & childhood trauma. Despite all the odds stacked against her, she became a successful educator who is passionate about her work with charities and helping vulnerable people reach their potential.

Paris entered the care system as a result of her birth mother’s prison conviction for abuse which, due to its severity, was featured in the local press. She remained a looked after child in London, Essex and the surrounding areas till formally leaving at aged 18.

In her early ages, she developed a personal interest in psychology, in order to gain some understanding of her own history. Multiple placements took its toll, but Paris, named as one of the most resilient people her social worker had ever met, began to provide support to disadvantaged children within the care system. At aged 19, Paris become an Independent Advisor, attending conferences and giving talks in the wake of the 1989 Children Act. Some of the young people Paris supported were those who had developed mental illness & disorders, in part, due to their disturbed pasts.She won the Whitebread Volunteer Award for her service to a range of charities as a volunteer and currently colunteers for the Royal Society for Blind Children as part of their well-being programme.

After qualifying as a teacher & working as a lecturer in Health, Social Care & Psychology, Paris did a MA in Philosophy / Psychology combined at Middlesex University and began working freelance delivering a combination of education and motivation to young people, social workers, probation staff, foster carers and youth offenders.

She uses a combination of mindfulness and meditation to enhance her own well-being and has a passionate, fun but inspiring approach to her talks. She challenges her audiences to ‘survive, grow and inspire’ others by sharing a range of techniques she uses for achieving this within her own life; her basic message is one of hope & inspiration, her mission, to let her audiences know that recovery from trauma is possible.

The importance of equality, diversity & inclusion is finally getting the recognition it deserves, organisations should be looking to build strong, diverse teams. Paris offers true insight, through her own experience, in order to help you reflect on inclusivity, making a resounding impact - there has never been a better time to book her in order to speak at your event. Paris is a finalist in the CPD Trainer of the Year awards 2023 and has recently been nominated for a National Diversity Award.