Associates Team

Katie is an experienced trainer, facilitator and coach. She is especially interested in helping people think well for themselves and with each other to improve decision-making and deliver meaningful change. Formerly a Senior Civil Servant with over twenty years’ experience in the Department for Education and Department of Work and Pensions, Katie has been a Dods Associate for eight years. She regularly leads strategic thinking, leadership and policy development courses for public servants and public policy partners in the UK and overseas. Katie is also Vice Chair of Governors for her local Further Education College group.

After a 30-year career working at the highest levels of Government, David now runs his own consultancy. Working to help clients (nationally and internationally) become more effective through strategy, coaching, leadership and finance acumen. David is an experienced associate having more than 7 years’ experience of designing and running bespoke training courses for civil servants covering leadership, strategy, policy making, working with Ministers, and drafting skills. David is a passionate senior leader and continues to chair a secondary school, an FE college and as lay Chair of the Faculty of Medicine and Allied Health at the University of Buckingham

Sam is a proven coach, trainer, and facilitator with extensive experience in operational and policy delivery, Parliamentary business and leading through change, gained during her diverse 28-year Civil Service career, including ten years in the SCS, working in departments including the Department for Work and Pensions, the Home Office and the Ministry of Justice and their executive agencies. Her experience includes extensive collaboration with public and third sector agencies and partners and a secondment to the charitable sector. Sam was also a senior Trade Union representative and a Departmental Diversity Champion for the MOJ. 

In her training and facilitation, Sam draws on her career experiences and professional qualifications in coaching and workplace mediation to enable individuals, leaders, teams and organisations across the public, charitable, and private sectors to communicate effectively, collaborate widely, explore choices and solutions, and work towards successful outcomes. She is passionate about enabling individuals, teams and organisations to understand and work with their strengths to achieve their goals. 

Sam has been a Dods Associate for seven years and regularly leads sessions on how to communicate and negotiate effectively and policy development for a range of public sector organisations in the UK and overseas delegations. She is also a sought-after mentor for participants on the Crossing Thresholds development programme for aspiring females.

Matthew Cocks is an experienced trainer on policy courses and a former UK senior civil servant.  His specialisms include trade policy, relations with the European Union and regulatory impact assessment.   

Matthew’s civil service career included trade, regulatory policy and industrial sponsorship roles as well as Private Office.  He holds a master’s degree in Public Policy from University College London. 

Simon is an experienced trainer with an extensive background in policy development and delivery. As a former UK Civil Servant, Simon spent most of his career working on domestic security policy, including the Government's response to the Bichard Inquiry and the terrorist bombings of July 2005. He was also a Programme Director within the Home Office, where he was responsible for delivering the National Police Air Service. 

Upon leaving the Civil Service, Simon spent several years as a Strategic Advisor to the Abu Dhabi Police and the Ministry of Interior in the United Arab Emirates, where he supported senior leaders in developing the country's policy capability. Since returning to the UK, Simon now works in cyber security and recently became Chief Executive Officer of the Cyber Resilience Centre for London - a key deliverable of the Government's new National Cyber Strategy.

Charles has been a Dods Associate for ten years and has extensive experience running workshops on policy and negotiating skills, working with stakeholders, and writing for Ministers.

Charles was Head of Policy at the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority, where he led public consultations on cutting-edge areas of science and influenced changes in UK and European legislation. He has also held senior roles at the Department of Health, working in areas including blood safety and supply and NHS leadership.

He currently chairs the board of the Caldecott Foundation, which provides residential care, fostering, and education for some of the UK’s most vulnerable children.

Zoë is a CIPD-qualified training consultant highly experienced in delivering advice, coaching and training in policy and communication skills. Previously, she spent much of her career in the civil service, mostly as a policy adviser in various departments, before being appointed as a senior lecturer in policy and government at the National School of Government. It was here she discovered her passion for helping people work more effectively and with impact and confidence.

She applies her valuable professional experience, with her highly effective and motivational training and coaching skills, to deliver successful training programmes for a wide range of organisations in the UK, EU and extensively across the world. She has run effective and engaging writing and policy development courses for a diverse range of bodies over many years and is a Visiting Professor at the College of Europe.

Zoë was a Private Secretary to a senior Cabinet Minister and headed up a Strategy Unit, working closely with the Ministerial team and Special Advisers. She has also worked in the private sector, local government and voluntary sectors and is a published author of several short stories.

Gareth is highly skilled in learning design and delivery, coaching, facilitation and delivering capability improvements at the organisational level. He particularly enjoys working with cause-led organisations and helping individuals to unlock their innate potential.

Gareth became a Dods Associate over three years ago. Prior to this, he worked as a civil servant, with over fifteen years of experience in central government. Gareth regularly runs leadership and management development programmes for public servants and has facilitated learning for over 3,600 people since January 2018, including technology-enabled learning to c.2,300 people from March 2020 onwards (*). 

Kate is a qualified executive coach and mentor (L7, Institute of Leadership and Management). She has over 20 years senior leadership and management experience in local government, private sector and the UK civil service, working extensively with Boards, senior public sector policy and strategy leads, front-line practitioners and politicians. Kate has a strong track record in learning and development and change management, and is an expert facilitator.

Tony is an experienced facilitator and trainer who designs and delivers a wide range of policy, governance, management and communications training.

Tony’s career in the Civil Service covered operational, policy, international and Minister’s Private Office roles. His final role was designing and delivering policy and communications training at the UK National School of Government.

He worked at Dods Training from May 2007 until November 2023 as Director of Development. His role then included designing challenging policy programmes including:

• ILM accredited Diploma in Policy Leadership and Management
• Policy Basecamp programmes for new staff
• Policy Excellence programmes for experienced staff
• Strategic Policy programmes
• Award winning induction for graduate entrants.

His clients include government departments and agencies around the UK, private sector companies, charities and international governments

With over 20 years of coaching experience, Gillian is a professionally qualified Executive and Team Coach, as well as a Supervisor of Coaches. She leads her own coaching practice, dedicated to helping individuals and teams unlock their full potential and enhance their impact.

Gillian has worked with clients across all career stages and levels of seniority. Her coaching has supported people in navigating career transitions, building high-performing teams, overcoming personal and professional challenges, and achieving transformational growth. Her clients often describe the experience as “life-changing.”

Before establishing her coaching business, Gillian held senior leadership roles as a Civil Servant across multiple Government Departments and also spent time on secondment in the charity sector. Her extensive background spans operational delivery, policy development, programme and project management, finance, and human resources.

Passionate about diversity, equity, and inclusion, Gillian is committed to supporting individuals from under-represented groups to thrive and lead with confidence.