Who we are

Melissa Veszi-Gawanas, Director and Co-Founder

(pronounced: Vay-see - Gavanas)

Through her professional career in the Arts, including over 20 years teaching, Melissa has garnered a wealth of knowledge and expertise that will help school leadership teams culturally develop their pupils in a curriculum-enhancing, fun, and engaging way. Melissa ardently believes that schools that make cultural inclusivity part of their ethos create vibrant, progressive school communities.

Yetunde Ntim, Director and Co-Founder

(pronounced: Yetoonday Intim)

Yetunde is a former Co-Chair of the School Strategy Board for two Academy Trust schools in West Sussex. She has extensive experience working closely with senior leadership teams to deliver on strategic objectives. She is passionate about the role and responsibility of the education sector in positively shaping the character and worldview of all pupils so that they can contribute positively to and succeed in the global community.

  • As a performer in the arts, on diverse stages and on television, as well as a dance, drama, vocal and musical theatre instructor, Melissa is a seasoned, and motivated professional who has a passion for working with diverse young people of all abilities and ages.

    Being of mixed ethnicity, the daughter of a Trinidadian mother and Hungarian father, Melissa has both the lived experience and understanding of the importance of cultural inclusion, and its role in the development of confident, empowered, empathetic individuals.

    Through her professional career in the Arts, Melissa has garnered a wealth of knowledge and expertise, that will help school leadership teams culturally develop their pupils, in a curriculum enhancing, fun and engaging way. Melissa ardently believes that schools that make cultural inclusivity part of their ethos, create vibrant, progressive school communities.

  • Yetunde relocated from Lagos to London with her family when she was a young child. She acutely understands the issues around identity and belonging children and young people of non British heritage experience growing up in the UK.

    Her belief in the importance of learning about one’s own culture and that of others led her to study History and Politics at the School of Oriental and African Studies, University of London, before training as a barrister.

    She has served as the Race strand lead within staff networks across various government departments and agencies, and has created and delivered impactful diversity and inclusion training for civil servants.

    Yetunde passionately believes in the education sector's role and responsibility to positively shape the character and world view of children and young people.

    She recently finished her term as the Co-Chair of the School Strategy Board for two Academy Trust schools in West Sussex. During her term, she worked closely with the senior leadership teams to deliver on strategic objectives.

Our story

Our children were attending the same school when we initially started discussing the need for MY Cultur-ED in 2020, to try and address the lack of cultural and racial awareness and understanding they were encountering from their peers and teachers. We saw and continue to see, first-hand, the areas in which schools need guidance and support in consistently celebrating and valuing cultural diversity, dealing effectively with racist incidents, and teaching a contextual, diverse curriculum.

Our mission & vision

Mission

To support schools in culturally developing their pupils, and celebrating and valuing cultural diversity and inclusion in their whole school community. We are helping to build a better tomorrow by culturally educating the children of today and those they learn from.

Vision

To be a trusted partner and support system for school leaders, staff, pupils and parents/carers throughout the UK, and globally, in all educational and recreational settings for children and young people.