Jacquie Cole is Woodbrooke’s Programme Coordinator for Quaker Service and Roles.

Throughout her working life in education, training and consultancy, Jacquie has sought to empower others to fulfil their potential. As a ‘social artist’, she has encouraged and enabled practitioners and volunteers to come together and share learning through Communities of Practice.

Jacquie’s facilitation style has been fundamentally shaped by her MA dissertation (Educational Improvement, Development and Change). Considering a values-based approach to collaborative and reflective dialogue, she offers a framework for supporting reflection on practice and facilitating change.

Jacquie’s love of writing and commitment to mindfulness came together when she worked with artist Neil Ward to help bring to fruition his illustrated book. A gentle exploration of how stillness can allow us to be with, and be transformed by, our emotional states, “Alice and Bertie: The Tree” was inspired by experiences of Quaker, Buddhist and mindfulness retreats and practice.

Being involved in this creative endeavour has drawn Jacquie deeper into spiritual enquiry. Seeking to strengthen the spiritual aspect of her life and inspired by the Quakers she had met over the years, she became a regular attender at her Local Meeting early in 2022. She has welcomed and cherished the shared silence of Meeting for Worship, which both complements and supports her long-standing mindfulness practice.