Alison James is a national teaching fellow, principal fellow of the UK Higher Education Academy (now AdvanceHE), LEGO Serious Play facilitator and professional coach. She has worked in higher education institutions in a range of senior leading positions in learning and teaching enhancement since 1990, and is known for her creative and playful approaches to teaching, staff and educational development. She has spoken extensively internationally on the use of these approaches and published widely, including in the two books Engaging Imagination: Helping Students Become Creative and Reflective Thinkers (2014, with Professor Stephen Brookfield) and The Power of Play: Creativity in Tertiary Learning (2019, with Dr Chrissi Nerantzi). Since December 2019, Alison has been focusing on a scholarship project exploring the value of play in higher education, funded by the Imagination Lab Foundation. She is also active as an academic consultant, coach and speaker.