USCMA Connect
USCMA Connect
Podcast Description
The University of Sydney established the world’s first Masters of coaching psychology degree in 2001. USCMA (University of Sydney Coaching and Mentoring Association) was set up a year later as the place for students of the degree to meet up, share ideas, organise guest speakers, establish peer supervision groups and conferences.
Almost 25 years later the degree has close to 1000 graduates and USCMA continues to be the place for students and graduates to congregate.
In our post pandemic world, USCMA has established this podcast as a way to connect its members together and back to the source.
Podcast Insights
Content Themes
The podcast covers a wide range of topics related to coaching psychology, including executive coaching, positive education, and the evolution of well-being. Episodes feature discussions on optimal reflection methods for leaders, systemic well-being in education, and the impact of AI on coaching, with concrete examples such as interviews with thought leaders like Dr. Suzi Skinner and Assoc. Professor Aaron Jarden.
The University of Sydney established the world’s first Masters of coaching psychology degree in 2001. USCMA (University of Sydney Coaching and Mentoring Association) was set up a year later as the place for students of the degree to meet up, share ideas, organise guest speakers, establish peer supervision groups and conferences.
Almost 25 years later the degree has close to 1000 graduates and USCMA continues to be the place for students and graduates to congregate.
In our post pandemic world, USCMA has established this podcast as a way to connect its members together and back to the source.
Dr Ruth Simpson is an executive coach, researcher, and founder of Animi, with over 20 years of experience coaching senior, executive, and board-level leaders. Before moving into coaching, Ruth spent her corporate career as a management consultant at PwC, and in sales, marketing, and distribution roles at Mobil Oil and Esso Petroleum.
She holds a PhD and an MSc in Coaching and Development and is accredited by the EMCC to Master Practitioner level under the Global EIA framework. Ruth's PhD — undertaken at Oxford Brookes University and presented at its 2026 Research Conference — breaks new ground by examining how group coaching supports leaders making the transition into senior positions.
She developed the first empirically grounded theory of how group coaching works for leaders in a workplace context and produced a practical group coaching framework applicable to organisations grappling with leadership development, succession, and collective intelligence. Her upcoming book will be called Developing Collective Leaders: The Group Coaching Advantage.
Alongside her practice, Ruth is Vice Chair of Bourne Education, a large Multi Academy Trust in the Southeast of England, and she hosts her own podcast, The Evolution of Leadership. Her clients describe her as pragmatic, direct, skilled, flexible, and empathetic.
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