About Us
Why Chyra?
Chyra intentionally has as its essence the Cornish word 'chy' which means 'home'. The name Chyra has multiple meanings, incorporating innovation, independence, determination, courage, sincerity, smart, kind - and even 'heaven sent'. Our company is located in Cornwall and, as a company, we embody the Cornish motto 'One and All' - a philosophy of diversity, equity, inclusion and belonging.
Our vision is to create an empowering community which welcomes everyone, just as they are, helps them to discover and connect with their own unique sense of purpose, and empowers them to shine brightly doing what they love. A place where they instantly feel accepted and at home. Where they feel they belong, just as they are. Putting all of this together gives us our meaning and company philosophy for Chyra.
Meet Our Team
Christine Clacey, Director of Learning
Our Director of Learning, Christine Clacey, has spent over thirty years in large corporates including Microsoft, Fujitsu and Sun Microsystems. A lifelong learner with many years of experience in learning and development, she specialises in developing leaders and building award-winning, global teams. Her experiences have given her extensive insight into the challenges of leadership and organisation transformation.
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Christine is a Master NLP Practitioner and NLP Coach as well as a Certified Practitioner in Brain and Behaviour Change. She has studied applied neuroscience and neuro-leadership and is certified in Brain Based Coaching. Christine is also a Certified Master Mapping Coach and uses Brian Mayne's Goal Mapping, Life Mapping, Self Mapping and Action Mapping systems to help clients set goals and achieve authentic, sustainable success.
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Christine regularly supports Robbins Research International events as an Anthony Robbins Trainer. She has founded two corporate Toastmasters clubs, enabling hundreds of members to grow their leadership and communication skills. She is passionate about contribution and regularly volunteers her time to teach leadership skills to teenagers from all over the world.
Nik Ramsay-Trease, Director of Applied Neuroscience, GMBPsS
Nik embarked on her IT career thirty years ago, fuelled by a profound curiosity not solely for technological advancements, but also for her intersection with human cognition based on her background in Clinical and Neuropsychology. This curiosity, nurtured through extensive academic pursuits at both BA and Masters level in Psychology and Applied Neuroscience, set the stage for her career marked by an innate comprehension of how technology and human psychology harmonize through the creation and development of high performing teams.
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Her coaching and leadership ethos encapsulates the essence of guiding change, nurturing innovation, and leading with empathy through an understanding of what drives the Human Brain to change and develop.
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She has a wealth of experience in driving organisational change programs, coaching leaders and senior teams in the application of neuroscience in the workplace. Her special research interest is in dealing with anxiety, work-based stress and corporate burnout through optimisation of the gut microbiome.
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Sophie studied Fine Art at the Slade School of Art, graduating with a First Class degree in 1994. Her early inspirations were a diverse mix of landscape artists from different eras, including Peter Lanyon, Cezanne, Monet, and Turner. After leaving art college, she fostered new creative skills in web design and followed a career in technology and change management for many years. She has always had a passion for bringing creative thinking into her career, through projects, leadership workshops, and consulting engagements.
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However, the powerful lure of her art roots remained, and she enjoyed capturing seascapes in watercolors while on sailing trips, particularly around the west coast of Scotland. In 2018, she discovered fused glass and started creating panels inspired by the sea. In 2020, she finally achieved her lifelong dream to live by the sea and moved to Cornwall close to Falmouth and the Helford River. The last couple of years have been spent building her own art studio at home.
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Her passion is painting the Cornish coast and colors, capturing the different moods of the coastal scenery and ever-changing light. She is looking to capture her emotional response to the experience of being in this landscape, and has found that oil paint and cold wax gives her the rich visual vocabulary to do this. She has recently started to share her art practice with others, to help them grow their creative skills and techniques, and she is passionate about the role that art plays in health and well-being and helping the health of the brain in thinking creatively. As someone who has previously experienced corporate burnout, art was her own route back to full health, and she now helps others achieve the same balance.
Sophie Velzian, Director of Creativity/Professional Artist
