Shameema Yousuf
Human Performance Coach
Anti-Racism Specialist
About Shameema
Better known as Shams, Shameema is a transnational UK practitioner psychologist and mental health therapist working at the intersection of performance, mental health and culture.
Profile
Shams is lead sport and performance psychologist for UK Motorsport, consults to national football organisations and clubs as well as works closely with corporate executives cross-Atlantic to support performance, wellbeing and leadership change through a multicultural lens.
In 2020 Shameema was credited on the International Muslim Women in Sport Powerlist for her contributions to sport. All this speaks to her passion for having impact for a more equitable society where belonging for all is central to performance wellbeing conversations.
Expertise
Her career spans three decades with 16 years in financial service and more than 10 years experience working in Olympic, professional, NCAA and youth sport, mental health non-profit organisations, and corporate and healthcare institutions.
Shams is a published scholar and author on performance, culture and diversity in sport and is co-editor of an upcoming academic book on performance wellbeing of women of African descent. She is a guest lecturer/speaker on cultural diversity in high performance environments for several universities cross-Atlantic and a conference keynote speaker. She is a scholarly reviewer for Women Sport International that informs IOC position stands, and is Executive Board Leader for the Association for Applied Sport Psychology, USA.
PlanetK2 Role
As well as fulfilling the role of a human performance coach at PlanetK2, Shams is one of the leads on our anti-racism mission. Shams’ expertise and knowledge perfectly positions her to aid other members of the team navigate and understand what racism through an intersectional lens in the corporate environment is. She is a fantastic repository of experience and perspective.
Other Stuff
Shams is motivated by learning about different cultures, and this takes her travelling to wonderful places in the world turning her into a foodie, inspired by different tastes around the globe. Once an athlete, always an athlete according to Shams – and in her recovery time between Netflix and being a bookworm, she can be found stretching her legs on a run or cycle, smashing several tennis balls, or bravely launching herself off snow packed mountains.