About

Naomi is interested all things Education, Innovation & Global Exploration.
She is from the Emerald Isle of Ireland and is very proud to be a Derry Girl. Since leaving home at 18years old she has been teaching, learning and leading in a variety of places including Tokyo, Auckland, London and Costa Rica. 

Researching topics such as Neuroscience, Psychology and Digital Transformation, Naomi has interviewed leaders around the world including Barbara Oakley, John Hattie and David Lee. On a quest to better understand our brains and bodies, Naomi believes this will provide pathways that transform leading and learning while inspiring human development. 

Naomi started her career teaching in Hackney, London. Working with children and adults from all walks of life and backgrounds. As Arts Co-ordinator, she developed a deep curiosity for creativity and the important role it plays in brain development. Achieving a once in a lifetime opportunity of meeting Sir Ken Robinson in 2017 at Bett.

Alongside many highlights, it was during this time, in her first year of work specifically, where she got a rude awakening to the importance of mental, social and emotional wellness. 

She says "I was getting migraines almost daily. I noticed my whole body reacting to the unknown. I was burnt out, afraid to ask for help and tired all of the time. My body no longer felt like my own. I couldn't help but think, I am supposed to have been trained for this work, why am I feeling so under prepared and overwhelmed?"

So this set Naomi on a journey of process, perseverance and possibilities. She has made it her life's mission to better understand our brain, our breath and our behaviour. As she believes awareness of how and why we do what we do can equip us with tools and strategies to take charge of our own lives, improving connection individually and collectively. 

In July 2017, Naomi set off to continue her global quest of exploring approaches to holistic health and education from all corners of the earth. She spent a few months traveling across South America which included diving in the Galaopagos and the opportunity to experience teaching Sustainability at schools in Costa Rica.

Naomi's next chapter took her to Auckland, New Zealand where she taught in an Innovative Learning Environment. This started to expose her to alternative ways to approach education and innovation. Learning about the power of collaborative leadership, speaking at conferences and becoming a Google Innovator in Singapore in 2019. 

Living in New Zealand, Naomi was connecting with different ways of seeing the world. Maori and Pasifika cultures had a big influence on her. The importance of land and language started to make her realise that the human experience is so much more than what she had been shown through her traditional education and training. 

This started her on the holistic health path, planting seeds that she didn't realise would continue to flourish as she explored how other countries approached education and innovation. 

"The biggest asset in the world is your mindset"
Gary Vee

Over the years, Naomi started to realise that the more she challenged herself and put herself in places where she felt out of her comfort zone, the more she would learn, grow and go beyond what she thought was possible.

So, in 2019, Naomi joined City Kickboxing where amazing athletes like Brad Riddell, Israel Andesanya and Genah Fabian train. Here, she took part in the Wimp 2 Warrior challenge where she had 20 weeks to go from no experience to getting in a cage and having an MMA fight.

She lost. Got concussion and a black eye. Would she change it? No way - the experience taught her about how we can to be accountable for ourselves and the thoughts we have in our head. Recognising how fragile and wonderful the mind truly is. Our emotions, thoughts, and behaviours can make or break how we adapt and grow.

In 2020, while the whole world was navigating change, Naomi took the risk and moved independently to a country where she didn't speak the language or know anyone. She spent a year teaching at an international school in Tokyo, Japan, gaining an understanding of the IB Curriculum. Continuing to explore alternative ways to approach learning and leading. 

Even though she loved Japan, it was here that she started to realise New Zealand was where she wanted to be to set up the next chapter of her life. So in 2021, when she moved back, Naomi spent some time as a Head Teacher in a Reggio Emilia inspired Preschool, completed her NLP Practitioner certification and spent two years leading digital transformation across a variety of educational settings. Helping leadership teams develop sustainable strategic plans as well as implementing change through ongoing training programmes. Weaving wellness across workspaces and communities. 

"Happiness can be found, even in the darkest of times, if one only remembers to turn on the light."
Dumbledore

In 2024, some major life changes and loses led to Naomi facing her darkest times yet which resulted in her having to learn some big life lessons about how to turn life's light back on. 

When faced with loss, grief, change, no matter how big or small, our bodies can store the hurt and emotional baggage. 

This put Naomi on a different trajectory, changing careers, exploring a variety of wellness modalities. Learning how we can connect with our brain, breath and behaviour during challenging times to reclaim connection, clarity and confidence. 

She learnt how to lead Sound Healing sessions in New Zealand, completed her Level 1 Breath Work Facilitator training with Rewild Breathwork in Bali before moving back home to create a base in Ireland and completing her Level 2 Business and Breathwork course in the beautiful Cliffs of Moher, Galway.

The world we are living in is changing dramatically day by day with the evolution of technology. 

Naomi decided to take her experience of digital transformation and delve deeper into the world of creativity starting her role with Canva, leading workshops and presenting at global conferences. 

These experiences have shown her the need for human connection and capability now more than ever. It has been amazing to see the power of these digital tools, how they can enhance creativity, collaboration and beyond. 

Alongside the training of digital tools, Naomi believes it is vital that we keep our human skills up to date. The more that technology develops the more we need to be weaving human skills throughout our learning and leading experiences. 

Without the human skills Naomi has seen humans getting consumed by the digital space. Her drive is to weave her digital knowledge and experience with her wellness skills and strategies to enable humans to thrive in this ever changing landscape. 

"We do not inherit the world from our ancestors, we borrow it from our children"
Chief Seattle

Naomi's global learning quest has been looking at questions such as; What does it mean to be human in the digital age? How might we give children tools to look after their wellness? How can we harness the power of the Breath to improve our social emotional health? What supports can leaders provide to create sustainable systems and embed wellness within their workplace culture?

These questions have now turned into learning adventures within Soshi Emoshi - The Social Emotional Gym. Just like we go to the gym to grow and take care of our physical muscles with ongoing maintenance to ensure our physical health is looked after. Naomi believes this approach can be taken to look after our social and emotional health too. 

Soshi Emoshi provides a holistic toolkit based on awareness and action. Supporting Schools, Businesses and Communities through Brain, Breath, Behaviour training. Transforming learning and leading as well as inspiring human development.

Naomi includes "I am looking forward to learning, exploring, growing and having fun with you as we go on these learning adventures together!'

Reach out to see how Soshi Emoshi can weave wellness within your setting today.