Dr Nancy Doyle

She / Her
Founder and Chief Science officer at Genius Within CIC and Visiting Professor at Birkbeck University
Genius Within CIC

Award category:

Education and Research

Dr Nancy Doyle is a Visiting Professor of Psychology at Birkbeck, University of London, where she co-directs the Centre for Neurodiversity at Work. Nancy is a Chartered Occupational and Coaching Psychologist and an Associate Fellow with the British Psychological Society and an International Associate of the Society of Industrial and Organizational Psychology in the USA. Nancy has co-authored Neurodiversity Coaching: A Psychological Approach to Supporting Neurodivergent Talent and Career Potential, as well as a long list of academic papers, guest chapters and business articles for Forbes magazine. Nancy is a co-founder of the Occupational Psychology special group for the Society of Occupational Medicine and a long-time volunteer at the British Psychological Society, currently a member of the Committee for Testing Standards. Nancy’s work was featured in the BBC documentary Employable Me, which syndicated in 15 countries in 2016-2019, and was part of the rise in neurodiversity awareness. Through her work, Nancy has influenced public policy around Neurodiversity Inclusion in public services such as DWP and MoJ provision, as well as employment practices in both the USA and UK.

Nancy has written two books in the past 12-18 months, her latest, ‘Learning from Neurodivergent Leaders’, will be published in February 2025 and is available for pre-order on Amazon.

Nancy has also innovated a change to the economic model of neurodiversity provision, to ensure that it is scalable and efficient to meet upcoming demand.

Nancy’s Grandad quoted Emerson at when she was 18 and failing all her A Levels. He said: “Do not follow the trodden path, go where there is no path and leave a trail.” He then told her that she wouldn’t get on in life until she learned self-discipline and that she wouldn’t learn it at school. He suggested she go to work. She got a job as a carer in a group home for adults with learning disabilities and Autism……

Nancy is motivated by changing the things she cannot accept.

She hopes others see that stress can be productive, and we don’t achieve things without hard work. The things we are most proud of probably cost us anxiety and worry. This is to be expected, not avoided. Reframe stress as progress, and any stress that impedes progress as a good sign it is time to stop.

Disability Inclusion is a moral, social and economic imperative. We all lose when human potential is squandered.

Q&A

Dr Nancy Doyle
Consider rest part of progress. Rather than working until you have to stop because you are exhausted, consider how much rest you will need in order to deliver your best work.
Universal design – break down the rigid structures of work cultures and HR protocols so that more people can work at their best, without needing to ask for ‘favours’ or ‘help’.
Go camping in my van! I am a recovering extrovert and an aspiring hermit.
I like sunsets and margaritas, swimming in open water and hiking for a good view. I love losing myself in a good book on a weekend, whilst lying in bed listening to the rain, with my husband who is my best friend.
Both! Dogs bring joy, cats bring sarcasm. No life would be complete without both.

Areas of expertise

Business, Charity, social enterprise, Disability Advocacy, Employment, IT, Tech, Web design, Politics, Publishing, Science, Television, radio, podcast

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Image credits: Genius Within