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Civil Engineering
Sustainability
The Environment
Diversity and inclusion
Social Mobility
Neurodiversity
Mental Health
Women in STEM
Motivational speaking
Flood and coastal Risk Management
Environmental Injustice
Water
Project Management
Digital Twins
Digital Transformation
UN’s 17 sustainable development goals
Construction Health and Safety
Infrastructure
Women in Engineering
Technology
Belonging
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Application of AI
Ayo Sokale
Exclusive Agent
Ayo Sokale is a Chartered Civil Engineer, Chartered Manager, Qualified Project Manager, and Fellow of both the Institution of Civil Engineers (ICE) and the Royal Society of Arts, Manufactures and Commerce (RSA). With over a decade of experience in the water sector and the built environment, including nine impactful years at the Environment Agency. Ayo now serves as Principal Engineering Manager.
Her career blends technical expertise, strategic leadership, and a deep commitment to public service. She has delivered major flood risk management projects, led high-performing teams, and shaped national infrastructure policy through roles on the ICE Thames Valley Committee, ICE Policy and External Affairs Committee, and ICE Council. As a Supervising Civil Engineer, she also mentors the next generation of professionals.
In 2023, she founded Tessellated Future Technology and launched Get Coached, an AI-powered coaching app offering personalised, 24/7 support. After two years of operation, Get Coached closed in 2025.
Beyond engineering, Ayo is a BBC Broadcaster, co-presenting the CBeebies science game show Get Set Galactic. Her presenting credits include BBC Reel, BBC Bitesize, and documentaries for Smithsonian Channel, National Geographic, Discovery Channel, Channel 5, and Yesterday TV. She has created STEM content for ITN, Trimble, and others, and produced her own digital series, such as Wednesday Wisdoms, Everyday Science, and Esoteric Stories for Modern Lives.
Ayo also served as a Reading Borough Councillor and Deputy Mayor, founding the Plastic Free Caversham initiative, which earned single-use plastic-free accreditation for the area. As a keynote speaker, she advocates neurodiversity, sustainability, innovation, and leadership. Diagnosed withAsperger’s syndrome, she brings authenticity and empathy to every engagement.
Her achievements have earned wide recognition, including nominations as Top 50 Women in Engineering (2017), ICE President’s Future Leader (2018), and Top 24 Global Ethnic Majority Role Model in STEM. She is featured in “Engineers Making a Difference” by Dr. Shini Somara and “9 Minds” by Daniel Tammet.
From holding titles like Miss Plymouth and Miss Sussex to embodying the animated superhero Eco Angel, Ayo Sokale is a vibrant, nonlinear thinker and public figure. She champions inclusion and education as a Trustee of the Autistic Girls Network and Patron of the Me2 Club.
Testimonials
Ayo was fantastic and the session went down really well. Please extend my thanks to her for such a well presented and well-rounded session, not only touching on race but also neurodiversity a topic we have also presented on earlier in the year.
“Ayo was a brilliant addition to our International Women’s Day celebrations, bringing infectious energy, positivity and great insight. We’d recommend her to anyone looking for a warm, energetic and uplifting speaker for their event!’
“Ayo did an incredible job this morning (even in the face of Zoom sound difficulties) and we’ve all left the call with her positive energy ready to #choosetochallenge!”
“Ayo was an excellent speaker for DVERSTY’s Intentional Engineering series, we were humbled to have her. She represented her experiences as a Chartered Civil Engineer and Councillor extremely well. Delivering her presentation so eloquently, Ayo gave our guests an insight into the DNA of Civil Engineering. We’d like to thank Ayo for encouraging everybody to use their ‘voice’ to challenge injustices seen in their environment.”
“What a wonderful evening you gave us! Who would have thought that sewers could be so 🤔 interesting!”
“Brilliant talk. Ayo was so enthusiastic.”
“What a wonderful speaker! Very dynamic, informative and entertaining.”
“Thank you so much, Ayo and organisers! I feel so inspired now”
“Thank you, Ayo!- a very interesting and thought-provoking presentation”
“Thank you so much, leaving the session feeling so inspired”
The event was hugely successful and Ayo was truly inspirational! Could you please convey our thanks and appreciation to Ayo for a very engaging talk – feedback has been very positive.
Very interesting – such a positive force of nature…People often say that change happens because people ‘stand on the shoulders of giants’. Today, I think we’ve all just met a giant! Ayo’s presentation was definitely another success. Our audience totally loved her. Very inspiring and memorable.
Ayo, I just wanted to say thank you very much for the talk today. Your energy and passion was incredible and you brought some very valuable insights and practical tips, for which we are very grateful. I truly don’t know where you find the time to do it all, but the talk and what you are achieving was a real inspiration both for me personally and I know for the 120+ people listening in.
I would like to take the opportunity to thank you for your invaluable contribution to our very first virtual IEMA members’ conference for environment and sustainability professionals. We were all so deeply inspired and empowered by what you shared with us, particularly in the area of tackling the sustainability challenge as professionals and for your ongoing commitment to a more sustainable future. We have already received so much positive feedback from our members around how beneficial and motivational they found the day and how brilliant our speakers were. This event would not have been possible without you, so thank you for giving up your precious time to be a part of this exciting inaugural event.
The session earlier today with Ayo was simply amazing I have never come across such an inspirational speaker
Ayo’s BHM session was full of energy and we had lots of interactions from the 40+ audience who were in the online session. The discussions were focused on career progression, especially for People of Colour. The feedback has been really positive and all of us on the call were truly inspired by Ayo.
Just a short note to pass on our thanks to Ayo for coming to our event last night, giving a great keynote and answering all the questions. It was great that she stayed for the panel session too and I know lots of people were thrilled to be able to meet her and chat with her afterwards.
Ayo offered a HUGE injection of energy into our Empower Women in Business programme. She was insightful, inspiring, relatable and left everyone feeling energised and motivated! Thank you so much Ayo! We will definitely be back for more”
The feedback has been so positive, and the session has already helped so many of our employees. Please thank Ayo for her time and her ENERGY!!
It was such a pleasure to host Ayo Sokale at our Slack Virtual Speakers Event bringing together our Abilities, Womens, and Earthtones communities during July’s Disability Pride Month. She provided some insightful thoughts on her own career journey and personal journey as a person living with autism which all our team very much appreciated. We’re so grateful for the experiences and learnings she shared with us given our inclusive audience which she was very much able to relate with. Thank you Ayo, all the best for your bright future ahead!
Ayo was brilliant. People found her engaging and energetic. I found her approach – and how interested she was – so helpful; rather than her just having a topic to talk about and talking at us, she was dynamic and bounced from what she knows and feels to how it’s contextualised for us, drawing on things she’d heard already and being considerate of who she is speaking to
Ayo was phenomenal. We’ve had really good feedback from people who were in the audience, in-person and online.
Ayo delivered an incredible and thought-provoking keynote speech and led the discussion wonderfully. She has an impressive background which was truly inspiring and she was the perfect keynote speaker and host for our event.
Thank you so much, Ayo, for being part of this special event celebrating engineers who make a difference. You are truly inspiring and an amazing advocate for the industry.
“I hope to share the recording with my daughter – Ayo’s journey was so inspiring”. “Session was really inspirational and covered more topics than I expected.”
On behalf of GSK, we wanted to extend our heartfelt gratitude to you for your incredible contribution as a speaker at our International Women’s Day event 2024. Everyone at GSK really enjoyed the session. Your personal anecdotes not only captivated the audience but also served as powerful examples of the importance of fostering an environment where everyone feels valued and respected. The dialogue has been an inspiring one and has added immense value to the occasion, making it an enriching experience for all attendees. Thank you once again for sharing your time, expertise and passion with us. Your contribution has made a difference and we are incredibly grateful for your support.
‘We loved our session with Ayo. She was very inspiring, and we particularly liked how action-oriented the talk was. She was very engaging, and many colleagues commented that they felt empowered to go away and think about the exercises she shared during the presentation.
“A huge thank you for helping to arrange Ayo Sokale as our guest speaker. Ayo was brilliant! We had such a great session, she was so engaging and fun and the trainees really liked her. Her messages were really powerful and it all made for a great learning event.’’
“Talking to a civil engineer. Ayo felt extremely passionate, and I was engaged in what she was saying. I’ve heard of a civil engineer and had an idea of it, but with this session I was able to get more information about it.”
“Ayo delivered an incredibly engaging talk at New Scientist Live 2024 and her passion for her field was evident throughout! Beyond her expertise, she was an absolute pleasure to work with.”
“Ayo was full of enthusiasm and vibrancy during the recording session. Ayo’s passion and natural flair for communicating science in a fun and educational way is a wonderful asset to our charity’s STEM project for blind and visually impaired children.”
“Ayo was excellent! We loved having her and the feedback has been tremendous!”
Jeremy Vine
New Scientist Live Speech
Can Maths Help You Win at Sport
Ayo Sokale Apprenticeship Webinar
Documentary Presenter
The Delicious Flavour with a Toxic Secret
BBC Bitesize Science Presenter
Championing Neurodiversity
