About Katya Veleva (they/them)

‍Trauma-Informed Coach | Inclusion Strategist | Fat Liberation Advocate

I’m Katya, the founding director of Blush Cloud, and a certified trauma-informed coach specialising in personal and leadership development for people who live and lead from the margins—queer, neurodivergent, and fat folks who are done squeezing themselves into spaces that weren’t built for them.

My coaching practice is rooted in years of working at the intersection of innovation, inclusion, and care. I’ve supported global organisations—from architecture firms like Grimshaw and Alison Brooks Architects to fast-paced consultancies and equity-driven networks—with inclusive strategy, learning design, and behavioural change. I’m a certified DISC assessor, an EMCC-accredited Senior Practitioner, and a speaker and facilitator with a passion for making complex ideas human-shaped.

But like many people who end up doing this work—I didn’t start here.I began my career in architecture and digital construction, helping design hospitals and implement new technologies across the built environment. In those years, I saw first-hand how systems—even the ones meant to help—often failed the very people they were designed to support. My work was technical, but what moved me was the people—the misfits, the changemakers, the quiet disruptors.In 2020, in the wake of the global pandemic and renewed calls for social justice, I made a shift—from the context to the contents. From buildings, to people.

Today, my practice is deeply shaped by my own lived experience as a queer, neurodivergent, and fat person navigating healthcare systems, hostile workplaces, and everyday bias. I’m also a community organiser, leading Learning and Insight for Fat Lib London, a fat liberation initiative, and designing iFAT<3, a trauma-informed, peer-led health self-advocacy programme for people living in stigmatised bodies.

Whether I’m coaching one-to-one, facilitating groups, or building tools for collective learning, I bring a steady belief:
You are not a problem to be solved. You are someone to be witnessed, supported, and empowered.

‍For more on my work, speaking, or background, you can check out my LinkedIn activity.