Ada Parris

Catch Ada Parris on DO Radio's "Making Stuff Up" with Eleanor Tweddle from 26 January to 01 February 2026, or listen to the show in the DO Radio Archive.

Ada Parris is a strategic futurist, artist, relational ecologist, and founder of The Presence Lab™. Her book Leadership Legacy (Wiley, January 2026) emerged from a messy process that forced her to confront her own paradoxes, reshaping how she sees the world through power, paradox, and presence.

Her “another door moment” emerged when she chose to write her book; she temporarily closed the door to the narratives, ways of working, and identity she had cultivated before. What is emerging are frameworks, artistic and somatic practices, and rituals that help others navigate their own power dynamics and paradoxes through presence as a form of technology.

Her work draws on neurodivergent pattern recognition and collaboration with Indigenous knowledge keepers in Brazil. She is a keynote speaker, chairs Mental Health First Aid England, and works with leaders and senior teams at global organisations navigating transformation.