About Natalia
For more than eight years, Natalia Tamara has worked across education, creativity and inclusive learning, exploring one central question: How can we help people understand, express and develop their ideas in ways that work for them?
Her experience spans mainstream and SEND education, creative learning, educational resource design, illustration, publishing and professional development. Alongside her creative practice, she has developed a particular interest in how people learn, think and communicate, especially when traditional approaches do not work for everyone.
Today, Natalia brings these perspectives to ThinkingBigger Accelerated Cognition, working alongside Gary Fyles across the UK and Latin America to develop ideas, resources and practical applications of the ThinkingBigger Learning Architecture Framework.
A Journey Shaped by Learning and Creativity
Natalia's journey began in Fine Art, but her interest soon extended beyond artistic practice.
While studying for her BA in Fine Art at the University of Reading, she volunteered as a Spanish Language Advisor within the university's Language Department, supporting BA, MA and PhD students. She also created Spanish-language learning resources and provided one-to-one coaching for IGCSE preparation at a leading secondary school in England.
These experiences sparked a deeper interest in education and led Natalia to complement her artistic background with formal teacher training.
She subsequently moved into education in Colombia, where she spent three years working as Head of Art and Design, Art and Theatre teacher, and mentor at ASPAEN schools. This experience strengthened her understanding of how creativity, communication and structured learning can work together to support both academic and personal development.
After returning to the UK, Natalia completed a Master's degree in Illustration and Animation while working in a special educational needs setting. Supporting learners with autism, ADHD and SEMH developed her interest in creative and visual approaches to learning, particularly where conventional forms of communication do not always work.
Throughout this journey, creativity became more than an artistic practice. It became a way of communicating, exploring ideas, expressing emotions and helping people engage with learning.
Developing Her Practice
Natalia's work brings together education, visual communication, creative learning and resource design.
Her experience includes:
- Educational resource design
- Illustration and visual communication
- Children's publishing
- Creative learning and workshops
- Art and creative education
- Book design and illustration
- Inclusive learning
- Branding and visual identity
- Strategic communications
- Creative direction
Her debut children's book, Finding Joy in Being Different, explores a neurodivergent child's journey towards self-acceptance and celebrates difference as a strength.
In You Choose the Story, her illustrations help bring metacognitive thinking into a narrative experience, encouraging readers to reflect, question and actively engage with meaning.
Across these different forms of work, Natalia uses illustration, storytelling and visual language as tools for learning and connection.
The ThinkingBigger Journey
Natalia joined ThinkingBigger in 2023, initially working with Gary as an illustrator following the publication of his first book, Just Try, from the ThinkBig Playroom series. She was drawn to the ThinkingBigger message, and what began as a creative role gradually developed into a much broader collaboration. As Natalia became increasingly involved in publishing, administration, communications and strategic development, she and Gary began combining their different areas of expertise to develop new ideas, resources and ventures.
Through this work, Natalia developed a deeper understanding of accelerated cognition, metacognition and learning design, exploring how these principles could be translated into practical educational resources, workshops and learning experiences. Her role evolved from creating the visual side of ThinkingBigger to helping shape how its ideas could be communicated, developed and applied in different educational and cultural contexts.
As ThinkingBigger's Creative Director and LATAM Representative, Natalia has also helped bring these ideas into educational settings in Colombia, delivering metacognition workshops and sharing ThinkingBigger methodologies with educators and representatives of the Colombian Department of Education.
Today, she contributes to strategic meetings and decisions, develops content and educational resources, supports partnerships and represents ThinkingBigger in Spanish-speaking countries. She works alongside Gary on the development of new applications of the ThinkingBigger Learning Architecture Framework across areas including education, neurodiversity, professional development and sport.
Looking Ahead
Learning is becoming more visual, collaborative and adaptable, with new technologies creating more ways to access, share and explore ideas. For Natalia, the question is not simply how to communicate more information, but how to help people understand ideas, explore them, ask questions, express themselves and put what they learn into practice.
Within ThinkingBigger, she brings together her experience in education, creativity and communication to help translate the ThinkingBigger Accelerated Cognition Framework into resources, experiences and ways of communicating that people can understand, connect with and use. Her work continues to explore the connection between how people learn and how ideas are communicated, and how creative approaches can make learning more meaningful, accessible and practical.
The Evolution of an Idea
Natalia's professional journey has developed across education, creative practice, inclusive learning and educational innovation. Each stage has contributed to the perspective she brings to ThinkingBigger today.
Foundations in Education
Fine Art • Spanish Language • Learning & Resource Development
While studying for her BA in Fine Art at the University of Reading, Natalia volunteered as a Spanish Language Advisor within the university's Language Department, supporting BA, MA and PhD students.
Alongside this, she created Spanish-language resources for IGCSE preparation and provided one-to-one coaching at a leading secondary school in England.
These experiences sparked her interest in education and led her to complement her artistic background with formal teacher training.
Teaching & Educational Leadership
Art • Theatre • Mentoring • Curriculum
Natalia subsequently worked in Colombia for three years as Head of Art and Design, Art and Theatre teacher, and mentor.
Working directly with learners and taking on wider educational responsibilities strengthened her understanding of how teaching, creativity, communication and structured learning can work together.
Illustration, Animation & Creative Communication
Fine Art • Illustration • Animation • Visual Thinking
Natalia later returned to the UK to complete her Master's degree in Illustration and Animation while working in a special educational needs setting.
Her experience supporting neurodivergent learners became an important influence on her practice, particularly in exploring how visual and creative approaches can support communication, reflection, emotional expression and learning when traditional forms of communication are not always effective.
Publishing & Creative Practice
Author · Illustrator · Resource Designer
Natalia's experience in illustration, storytelling and educational resource design developed alongside her work in education.
Her creative practice includes illustration, visual communication, book design, educational resources and creative learning experiences. These interests have continued to inform the way she approaches learning, particularly through the use of visual language and storytelling to make ideas accessible and meaningful.
Her work as an illustrator eventually led to her first collaboration with Gary and ThinkingBigger, creating the illustrations for You Choose the Story, a book designed to encourage readers to reflect, question and actively engage with narrative and meaning.
Joining ThinkingBigger
Creative Direction · Publishing · Learning Resources
Natalia joined ThinkingBigger in 2023, initially working with Gary as an illustrator. Her first project was illustrating You Choose the Story. What began as a creative role gradually developed into a much broader collaboration as Natalia became increasingly involved in publishing, administration, communications and strategic development.
Working closely with Gary, she developed a deeper understanding of accelerated cognition, metacognition and the principles underpinning the ThinkingBigger approach.
Her role evolved from bringing ideas to life visually to helping develop, communicate and apply those ideas through resources, workshops, partnerships and new ventures.
Applying ThinkingBigger in Colombia
LATAM Representative • Metacognition Workshops • Educational Outreach
As ThinkingBigger's LATAM Representative, Natalia helps connect the organisation's work across the UK and Latin American education contexts.
She has brought ThinkingBigger's ideas into educational settings in Colombia, delivering metacognition workshops and sharing ThinkingBigger methodologies with educators and representatives of the Colombian Department of Education, while also exploring opportunities to apply its approaches more widely across Latin American education.
This work has included supporting the translation of ThinkingBigger resources into Spanish, helping make its ideas more accessible to Spanish-speaking educators and learners.
Building New Applications
Strategic Development · Creative Direction · Learning Innovation
Alongside Gary, Natalia has contributed to the development of new ThinkingBigger initiatives across education, neurodiversity, publishing, games, leadership and sport. Her work has included strategy, content, educational resources, visual identity, communications and the development of practical applications of ThinkingBigger’s approach. This has included shaping projects such as ThinkingBigger in Football, ThinkingBigger Leadership, ThinkingBigger Games/Extreme Calligrams, BrainyBudz CIC, Authors Hub UK, among others.
Her own children’s book, Finding Joy in Being Different, was subsequently developed and published after she joined ThinkingBigger. The book reflects her continuing interest in identity, inclusion, communication and the ways creative storytelling can help children understand themselves and others.
Today
Creative Learning • Strategic Development • UK & LATAM
Today, Natalia works across education, creative learning, publishing and educational innovation while contributing to the continued development of ThinkingBigger Accelerated Cognition. As Creative & Publishing Director and LATAM Representative, she works alongside Gary to develop ideas, resources and applications of the ThinkingBigger Learning Architecture Framework.
Her contribution sits at the intersection of learning, creativity, communication and practical application, helping turn ideas about cognition and learning into resources, experiences and initiatives that can be understood, shared and applied in different contexts.
