What people say about Ra and Remarkable Things

 "Having worked with Ra for a number of years I consider her to have exceptional capability in accountability, scrutiny and constructive challenge, supporting governors to ask the right questions while maintaining a culture of professional trust and continuous improvement.

She consistently provides the board with insightful intelligence on local context and national priorities, enabling informed, forward-looking decision-making. Her leadership has strengthened how we monitor performance and benchmark outcomes, embedding rigorous systems of assurance, risk management and transparent reporting across the organisation. 

Her influence has significantly enhanced the effectiveness of governance processes, ensuring that self-assessment, external review and improvement planning are both robust and impactful.

She is highly effective in helping the board interpret complex financial and learner data with confidence, contributing to sustainable planning and strong resource management.

She has transformed governor development through high-quality induction, ongoing training and careful succession planning, ensuring the board has the right balance of skills, diversity and experience. Her relationship management and communication skills are exemplary; they work seamlessly with senior leaders while also engaging external stakeholders with clarity and professionalism. "

"Sometimes you really need the trusted, professional and honest counsel of experienced Governance Professionals. To find a person that is all three of these, plus able to provide the advice and wisdom of experience is not only helpful and reassuring, but also transformational. Ra is just that person and more."

"Ra has been the Director of Governance for Chelmsford College for a little over a year and during this time has provided not only excellent support to the Board  but also has been an excellent right-hand to me as Chair. 

Ra has reviewed all our governance processes and procedures, and used her excellent skills, experience and knowledge to help us deal with the business at hand and also ensure that we have had time to properly discuss knotty issues impacting the College.  She is well organised, up-to-date and well-connected and has used all these skills and traits to the benefit of the college.  She plans ahead, provides excellent agendas, minutes and briefings and is a mine of information. Ra is also incredibly practical and understands all the foibles of managing a diverse group of volunteers to provide good Governance. Ra's work rate cannot be faulted, providing timely support to meetings and relaying useful information to all governors ensuring that the information needed for discussion/decision is clear and to hand.  She has supported the development of the Board with recruitment and induction of new governors, providing training sessions and bringing different and engaging ways of working to these which has helped us all deepen our knowledge and thereby improve our effectiveness as a governing body.  Ra has developed good working relationships with the senior team as well as board members,  she is very approachable whilst maintaining professionalism. I value her honesty and pragmatism as well as her knowledge skills and experience. "

 A huge thank you to Ra Hamilton Burns for the outstanding interim governance support she has provided to WCG. Ra has been an absolute delight to work with—bringing a rare combination of professionalism, clarity, commitment, and warmth to every interaction.

Her brilliant communication skills, coupled with her approachable and human style, have made a significant impact across the organisation. Ra has helped us develop a comprehensive business cycle, reviewed and refined our Articles and Instruments, and strengthened our approach to committee agendas—ensuring we’re sharply focused on the issues that matter most.

On top of all that, she’s been great fun to work with and made the hard work genuinely enjoyable. While we’re sad to see her interim support come to an end, we’re comforted knowing she’s only ever an email away.

If you haven’t already, check out her work at www.remarkablethings.co — a fitting name for someone who truly delivers remarkable things.

"We were in the middle of a complex merger and in need of additional support to get us through the heavy lifting of college integration. Ra brought her considerable experience of mergers and governance to the fore and made an immediate impact on the rate of completion of tasks, advising on a wide range of issues from HR to PR. Her easy working style fitted in well with the rest of the team and reports and minutes were accurate ,concise and prompt. I have no hesitation in recommending Ra for governance roles and governance support."

"Ra has made an invaluable contribution towards West London College's journey of recovery.  She has extensive knowledge and expertise in all governance matters.  Ra is very personable, hard working and totally reliable.  I have no hesitation in recommending Ra as she would be an absolute asset to any team."

"Ra continues to be an active and valued member of the Group offering the Education Administrator sound advice and is not shy of asking the ‘difficult questions’ when the situation requires it. In addition to her technical expertise, Ra has the insight to look beyond processes, forward scan and model options in order that the governance of the organisation can prepare and support whichever outcome is deemed most appropriate. Her relationships with me as the Group Principal/CEO and the rest of the management team are extremely positive and communication is strong even at times of extreme pressure. 

It is immediately obvious to all who meet her that Ra has extensive experience of Boards in a variety of circumstances from the ‘normal’ to those in extreme difficulty. She has over 18 years’ experience working at Colleges which have undergone major capital projects, mergers and Board restructures. What sets Ra apart is her ability to use her FE Sector knowledge and network to support colleges and governors in times of extreme pressure with a calm approach and guiding manner to encourage others to focus on what really matters."

"In my national role with Colleges I have dealt with many Boards.  Ra stands out in my experience of Governance as having a powerful combination of the knowledge, skills and qualities needed to lead governance effectively.   As well as being a technical expert in FE Governance, she has the insight and skill to look beyond process and structure to understand how power works and how effective governance really happens – or does not.  She is very supportive and solutions-focused, but also not afraid to challenge, and she carries an authority that few in her role can muster, in my experience.  She is one of a very small number of governance professionals nationally whom I would recommend to any College looking for expert guidance and leadership, no matter how challenging their circumstances."

"Ra has a deep understanding of the political dimensions, expectations, and both potential and real conflicts [of mergers], and was able to  use her experience, diplomacy, and political skills, as well as charismatic personality, to build trust amongst all parties so that her voice was heard and respected. She was strong with her own executive and Board where required, and equally strong in representing their interests where appropriate. Her deep knowledge of governance processes, together with her wider experience, and most of  all her sensitivity and sound judgement, enabled her to support her own governors and the wider group. 

Ra played a critical role in effective planning of the workflow to ensure the critical timelines were dovetailed with communication with her own Board and other governance professionals. She was able to use her prior experience of mergers to give confidence in what was an incredibly pressured timescale. She was particularly helpful during a time where there was a potential conflict, where her professionalism, knowledge, and strength of character enabled her to give advice."

Throughout my time as a Student Governor, Ra has played a significant role in helping me understand the responsibilities, expectations, and importance of governance within FE.

Being a student in a professional governance board environment can feel extremely overwhelming at first, but Ra has always made the process feel supported, structured, and most importantly involved. She has taken the time to explain key governance processes, support me in understanding board papers and meetings, and ensure that I felt confident enough to contribute in those meetings.This has made a real difference to my development as a governor, as it allowed me to move from simply attending meetings to actively understanding the purpose behind discussions and decisions and make meaningful inputs. From a student governor perspective, I believe Ra has helped improve governance by ensuring that student voice is not treated as a smaller voice, but as a valued, equal and respected part of the board’s contribution to the college. Her support has helped create an environment where student governors feel able to contribute, ask questions, and represent learners with confidence.

It is always being noted how great a Governance Professional she is, and I genuinely could not find anyone who could fault her. In addition to  her natural characteristics that allow her to thrive, Ra has consistently shown dedication, professionalism, and a clear passion for governance. She has supported not only the work of the board, but also the development of those around her. From my perspective as a Student Governor, her guidance has helped me grow in confidence, understand governance more deeply, and contribute more effectively to board discussions.

" Ra took me on as a mentee 19 years ago when I moved from the HE to FE sector.  She is hugely knowledgeable around all areas of governance,  is generous with her time, sharing advice and experiences to teach the principles of good governance and the nuances to get the best out of our FE systems. 

Her unwavering commitment to strong,  open and transparent governance and belief in the importance of FE to change people's lives for the better shines through and she has supported and worked with hundreds of Governance Professionals, governors,  CEOs, and senior managers and related professionals.  

As a mentor she is inspiring, collaborative, and passes on her faith,  commitment and love of FE governance.   Her support and encouragement enabled me to make a confident transition from HE to FE and continued guidance has seen me take on greater challenges such as West Kent College in administration, Richmond College as GP and merger advisor and interim roles at Hugh Baird and Warwickshire Colleges."

"I was mentored by the wonderful Ra Hamilton Burns over six sessions. The initial session was to determine what I wanted to achieve from the sessions and how these could be achieved in the long term by listing goals and creating achievable action plans. This structured approach ensured that I could access the knowledge and training that I needed for support and that my practice was well planned and comprehensive. Ra explaining the intricacies of FE Governance was invaluable for me as I hadn’t come from an FE background.  

Ra has stayed in touch and has taken an interest in and encouraged my progression. The programme itself provided me which much confidence that I lacked at the time. It gave me great insight in to the Governance Professional’s role, one of the key takeaways for me was learning types of behaviours that could really drive Board and College effectiveness.   

The learning and confidence this series of training and mentoring gave me supported my journey in FE Governance. It contributed to me securing a role as Governance Professional for Bradford having been an assistant when I started."