About Us
About PhoenixRize
PhoenixRize is a specialist consulting practice focused on one thing: helping organisations build inclusive workplace cultures where people can do their best work.
We work with leaders who understand that diversity, equity and inclusion are not side projects. They shape everyday decisions, staff experience, psychological safety, and organisational credibility.
Through diagnostics, training, advisory work and leadership support, we help organisations handle sensitive culture issues with more confidence, more consistency, and better follow-through.
What we do
Our work sits across three connected strands. You can start with any one, depending on what’s happening in your organisation.
Diagnose
We help you see what’s really happening beneath the surface, especially where staff experience does not match the “official story”. This can include culture and inclusion diagnostics, staff voice work, focus groups, targeted reviews, and policy or process reviews. The aim is simple: clarity you can act on.
Develop
We build practical capability through training and learning programmes that focus on behaviour and decisions, not just awareness. People leave with language, tools and confidence they can use in real moments.
Embed
We support you to make inclusive practice part of how your organisation runs, through advisory support, policy and framework work, implementation guidance, and leadership clinics. This is where inclusion stops relying on goodwill and starts becoming consistent.
Client Ratings
What we’re known for
Clients typically work with us because we
Name the real issues
We surface patterns that quietly undermine inclusion, safety and trust, rather than producing generic DEI outputs.
Make sensitive topics speakable
We facilitate conversations about race, gender, bullying, harassment and microaggressions in ways that are honest and contained, not chaotic.
Bridge strategy and lived experience
We listen closely to staff at every level as well as leadership and documentation, so recommendations reflect how things actually work.
Work across contexts
We bring a nuanced understanding of Irish institutional culture, Nigerian workplace realities, and international expectations, so advice fits both your local reality and your wider obligations.
Focus on follow-through
We design action plans that name owners, timelines and practical next steps, so the work doesn’t stall after the workshop or the report.
Who we work with
- Universities and higher education institutes
- Research centres and learned societies
- Arts, culture, film and television bodies
- Financial institutions and professional services
- NGOs and international programmes
- Public sector organisations and agencies
Working across Ireland, Nigeria and international contexts
- We work across Ireland, Nigeria and international projects. That means we regularly support teams navigating different cultural norms, power dynamics, legal and regulatory environments, and stakeholder expectations.
- Our approach is always tailored to where you sit, who you are accountable to, and what is realistic to implement.
About Adaku Oliver-Nnona
- PhoenixRize is led by Adaku Oliver-Nnona, a Gender, Diversity, Equity and Inclusion specialist with over 15 years’ experience across universities, research institutes, arts organisations, public bodies, financial institutions and non-profits.
- Her background spans academic research, organisational consulting and the creative industries. She is completing a PhD focused on ethnic diversity and inclusion in Irish film and television, with a specific interest in how representation, power and opportunity intersect on and off screen.
- Her background spans academic research, organisational consulting and the creative industries. She is completing a PhD focused on ethnic diversity and inclusion in Irish film and television, with a specific interest in how representation, power and opportunity intersect on and off screen.
- Clients bring Adaku in when culture, safety and inclusion have become too complex, too political, or too sensitive to handle with generic training or off-the-shelf policies. They need someone who can talk plainly about race, gender, class, power and harm, while keeping an eye on governance, relationships and what good practice requires.
- Clients bring Adaku in when culture, safety and inclusion have become too complex, too political, or too sensitive to handle with generic training or off-the-shelf policies. They need someone who can talk plainly about race, gender, class, power and harm, while keeping an eye on governance, relationships and what good practice requires.
- For larger or more complex projects, PhoenixRize brings in a small network of trusted collaborators, but you work directly with Adaku from first conversation to final handover.
Trusted Collaborators
PhoenixRize partners with trusted independent experts where specialist expertise is required. PhoenixRize remains your main point of contact and is accountable for overall quality and delivery.
Equality policy and strategy
Olwen is an equality policy and strategy specialist with deep experience across the arts and public sector in Ireland. She has led and advised on major equality, diversity and inclusion policies and culture-change programmes for national institutions, with particular strength in governance, public policy and organisational strategy.
Data, analytics and DEI insight
Meera is a data and analytics specialist with a focus on gender and race inequalities. She supports organisations to use workforce data and evidence to shape, test and refine their equity work, translating numbers into clear insight, practical recommendations and measurable action.
Our working style
Calm and contained
Even when topics are emotionally charged.
Direct but respectful
We say what needs to be said, without inflaming the room.
Structured
You always know what stage we’re in and what happens next.
Human
we hold both organisational responsibility and real lived experience.
If You Are
- Trying to move beyond statements into real accountability
- Holding complex complaints or tensions you cannot ignore
- Concerned about emerging culture or inclusion issues