Tony Ghaye

Profile

I was born in a small fishing village in the south-east of England and had a blissfully happy childhood. I could swim almost before I could walk! By the age of 10 years I knew more about fish, the sea, and the beach than I did about writing, mathematics and reading.
I could say that these early experiences of living, playing and appreciating what happened at the boundary of land and sea has influenced my thinking and action greatly throughout my life. I have always loved working at interfaces. I have come to regard these as creative, emergent and fascinating. Also tensioned, unpredictable and sometimes a bit dangerous.
I have worked in practice and studied at the Universities of London, Birmingham and Worcester, U.K. I am the founder and Director of the not-for-profit, social enterprise, called Reflective Learning-UK which seeks to improve lives and livelihoods through participatory and appreciative action and reflection (PAAR).
I am also the founder and Editor-in-Chief of the international, peer-reviewed journal called ‘Reflective Practice’ (Routledge Taylor & Francis Publishing).

I regard myself as an organisational strategist. Most recently I have worked extensively at the interface between personal and organisational development in emerging and developed countries and in public, private and 3rd sector organisations. I am a member of NorAforsk (Nordisk Senter for Aksjonsforskning og Aksjonslæring) and the founder of New Vista Publications, a company which offers future-oriented perspectives, that have the potential to improve work, workplaces, lives and livelihoods. I have written or co-authored 18 books and 105 peer reviewed papers in the field of reflective learning.
My enduring commitment is to try to build and sustain work teams and organisations that act creatively, ethically and with moral courage.