203: Yvonne Howard

Nostalgia Interviews with Chris Deacy

This week's guest is Yvonne Howard, an educationalist, creative practitioner, and artist-writer. Yvonne grew up in Leeds in a challenging environment and turned to writing to process the events from those days. Yvonne left school at 15 with no qualifications. She returned to education in her late 20s, building into her first degree personal experiences on diversity and exclusion issues. She then worked in conflict resolution, adult education and community relations in east London.
I first met Yvonne in the 1990s when she was studying for a British Academy-funded PhD in Lampeter on mediation, social inclusion and community cohesion. Yvonne worked extensively in equity, diversity, group dynamics and interpersonal communication.
More recently, Yvonne's Diversitree.Wales won an award for its representation of nature, art, photos, and poems in Wales. She also appeared on Dare to Dance with Amy Dowden. Yvonne is readying a book for publication in 2025.
We talk about how a return to education later in life as an access student impacted her perspective, especially when it centred on aspects of lived experience. We discuss how Yvonne’s background subsequently influenced her students, encouraging them to follow their dreams and return to education. We discuss how art can be a creative tool for transformation and provide moments of escape when faced with difficult realities.
We explore autobiography, journal writing, and the pros and cons of returning to places of oppression from the past. We talk about processing personal insecurities, self-help, overcoming personal fears, and the power of positive thinking in educational and professional journeys. We discuss the evolution in education over the years in terms of how we fit into a mould, and the benefits of a neurodivergent perspective on the world. We talk about how the belief and understanding of a teacher from 40 years ago resonated with Yvonne when she contacted him again shortly before he passed away.
We also learn about Yvonne’s involvement with community interest groups in Wales, including the Women’s Institute, mental health advocacy groups, and organisations associated with diversity and inclusion.
Then, at the end of the interview, we find out whether Yvonne considers herself to be a looking back or a looking forward type of person, and the way past, present and future interrelate.