I do what people call the "soft work" - and I do it really well.
You know that crucial work that gets dismissed as "just" relationship building, "just" listening, "just" creating space for people to think? The work that everyone knows matters but struggles to prioritise or do effectively? That's my specialty.
Hi, my name is Catherine Wilks
I'm an independent facilitator who helps support funders, charities, and public sector teams through the human challenges that determine whether your strategies actually work.
I’m interested in how we learn from each other, stay curious and work with courage.
Change isn't something that happens overnight—it's about showing up, connecting, and weaving simple, meaningful rituals into our everyday lives that help us try new ways of working together. This is what powers meaningful outcomes.
I’m currently available for conversations about online work from November 2025.
How I can help…
Peer Support Circles
Creating spaces where expertise is shared and challenges are solved together
I design and facilitate ongoing peer support circles for teams and collections of people in similar roles across organisations. Think programme leads for funders, department heads navigating similar challenges, or practitioners working in isolation who need connection with others who truly understand their work.
These aren't networking events - they're structured spaces for real conversation, problem-solving, and mutual support. Participants leave with practical insights, renewed energy, and a network they can actually use.
Who this works for: Teams facing similar challenges, professionals in specialised roles, leadership groups, programme managers across different organisations.
Learning Interviews and Strategic Insights
Turning conversation into strategy through skilled listening
I conduct in-depth learning interviews that uncover what your organization really knows about itself, its impact, and its possibilities. Through careful questioning and skilled facilitation, I help surface insights that inform strategy and future planning.
This isn't consultation where I tell you what to do - it's a process where your people's expertise and experience becomes the foundation for strategic recommendations. You get both the insights and the buy-in.
What you get: Strategic recommendations grounded in your organization's actual experience, clearer understanding of what's working (and what isn't), and a pathway forward that your team feels ownership of.
Collaboration with other Facilitators
Adding depth to your bigger projects through partnership
You're already doing great facilitation work, but sometimes your bigger projects could benefit from specialised input in peer support or learning interviews. I love collaborating with other facilitators who want to weave these elements into their larger engagements.
Maybe you're running a strategic planning process and want to include peer learning circles. Or you're facilitating organizational change and need someone to conduct the listening interviews that will inform the direction. I can work alongside you to add these dimensions without disrupting your overall design.
This is true collaboration - not subcontracting, but working together to create something richer than either of us could deliver alone.
How this works: We design together, I bring my specialty areas, you maintain the client relationship and overall project leadership. Everyone wins.
About Me
At 16, I wrote in my careers book that I wanted to be a community dance artist. I was told this wasn't a job. The day after I left University, I started work as a freelance community dance artist and began a career collaborating across education, health, social care, and business, finding movement, connection, and joy.
Over time I became more fascinated with the relationship than the moves—the feeling of moving together. I dove into learning more about facilitation, process, group dynamics, community learning, and listening.
Over the last 20 years, my career has continued to bring sectors together: as Development Manager of a Dance Company, Corporate Leadership Trainer, CEO of a Mental Health organization, and Arts and Activism Lead with a Social Movement—always creating opportunities for different worlds to meet.
I’m from Manchester in the UK and currently based in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.
My practice in facilitation has benefitted from training in Relational Dynamics, ToP Group Facilitation Methods, Communicating with Clarity and Facilitation with Ease. I am also a member of the International Association of Facilitators.
My recent move with my family from the UK to Malaysia has deepened my understanding of how we navigate uncertainty and unfamiliar territory. This experience of stepping into the unknown—learning new ways of being, communicating across cultural differences, and finding our place in a completely different context—has enriched my facilitation practice.
Today, I am an Independent Facilitator, a Trainer and Practitioner with Jabadao and CoFounder of the SHOOPERY.
Ready to invest in the work that really makes a difference?
The "soft work" that powers meaningful change. Let's talk about how peer support or strategic listening could help your organisation.