About Amanda Gittens

I am the Managing Director of Acacia and I am a trained NLP Coach. I completed my Practionner and Mastery Certificates in NLP along with my certification in the European Coaching Training Programme from one of the leading European Institutes in NLP Coaching, ITS (London).

My professional background, skills and life experience are varied and probably sufficient to qualify me quite adequately as a Life Coach! Indeed, my journey attests to what can be achieved – by any one of us – with a little focus and determination.

Having left home at sixteen, I put myself through college and university, completing a BA (Honours) in French, Italian and Linguistics at the University of Westminster, (London), an MA (Honours) and first year of the PhD programme (equivalent to an MPhil) in sociology at the Sorbonne, (Paris), and most recently an MSc in Social Policy Research from the London School of Economics. My passion for languages – reading in five, three of which I speak fluently – has taken me to places both near and far including residing, for several years, in Paris and Rome.

I have always felt a strong commitment to help others achieve self-empowerment – whether on an individual or community basis – and this has remained at the core of what I do. I’ve worked as a teacher/trainer, mediator in community disputes and social policy researcher and Equal Opportunities & Diversity (EO&D) Advisor for various UK government ministries and international organisations, including the European Commission (EC) and the UN. Whether coaching/training/research or conflict management – essentially, I am most comfortable in a facilitator role – and it was this that provided the spark for creating Acacia: The Knowledge Tree.

I’m currently working towards my international accreditation as an International Coaching Federation (ICF) coach, a highly recognised qualification that only the top coaches possess.