Rare Diamond
UNMASK YOUR TRUE SELF
At Removing the Mask, we are dedicated to helping individuals uncover their authentic selves through a variety of transformative services. We offer couple therapy, trauma recovery, and unique programs like the Behind the Mask program and the Journey of Life program, all designed to facilitate personal growth and healing.
The Removing the Mask Panel
Maxine
Maxine brings resilience, compassion and a genuine commitment to supporting others. A devoted Christian and active church and community member, she has served as a church clerk, helped establish the Black Boys Can Project and contributed to a national church choir.
As a mother and family carer, including caring for her father in Jamaica, Maxine has developed a deep understanding of responsibility, patience and the different needs people carry.
Professionally, she has over 18 years’ accounting experience, alongside work as a support worker and Mental Health Champion, and has studied Human Services in the USA.
Today, Maxine is a Removing the Mask advocate and community voice, bringing warmth, authenticity and lived experience to conversations that encourage people to look beyond what is immediately visible.
She is not simply part of the team — she is one of the gems that helps make the team what it is.
Karis
Karis is a courageous survivor of childhood sexual abuse (CSA) who has transformed her experiences into a commitment to personal growth, advocacy and healthier relationships.
A university graduate, manageress and competent accountant, she brings independence, analytical thinking and practical insight to everything she undertakes.
Karis is known as a dependable “go-to” person within both her personal and professional circles. Her diverse relationships and experiences have contributed to her understanding of people and the complexities of life.
Her contribution to Removing the Mask comes from both lived experience and a genuine commitment to long-term emotional wellbeing, strong values and personal responsibility.
Karis continues to support Behind the Mask while also contributing to the wider Removing the Mask vision.
Chanel
Chanel is a mother, advocate and creative leader whose journey reflects resilience, ambition, creativity and determination.
Raised by a single parent and having navigated significant life challenges, Chanel has continued to invest in her education, family and future.
Her experience spans community work, project management, creative development and the study of law. She has a natural ability to turn ideas into action while keeping people at the centre of what she does.
Chanel brings empathy, innovation and practical leadership to Removing the Mask. Her contribution reflects the understanding that vulnerability and strength can exist together, and that growth can continue even when life presents significant challenges.
Ahmad
Ahmad is a university graduate, advocate and trauma-recovery supporter who brings a thoughtful perspective shaped by lived experience, family values, personal reflection and continued growth.
His childhood experiences led him to examine how trauma can influence perception, relationships and the way certain behaviours or cultural patterns are understood.
Through engagement with Behind the Mask and professional therapy, Ahmad has developed greater awareness of patterns he had previously accepted and has become more willing to question what is healthy, constructive and appropriate.
His journey has encouraged him to reflect on masculinity, relationships, responsibility and the impact of cultural expectations.
Ahmad brings a valuable perspective to Removing the Mask because his contribution demonstrates that meaningful change can begin with the courage to examine ourselves honestly.
Ivan
Ivan is an advocate, author, Grammy Award-winning musician and Senior Technical Service Engineer who brings a unique combination of lived experience, professional expertise and creative expression.
Although Ivan is not a CSA survivor, his understanding has been shaped through supporting his wife, a survivor, alongside decades of engagement with survivors and his own experience of domestic abuse.
He is the author of The History and Development of Reggae Music and was honoured in 2015 for his contribution to Morgan Heritage’s Strictly Roots, which received the Grammy Award for Best Reggae Album.
Ivan is also a creative producer and musician, working through his own studio and producing original music, including Cool Reggae. His creative contribution extends to Black Beauty, providing another way of expressing messages of awareness, identity and upliftment.
Alongside his creative work, Ivan's engineering career reflects his technical ability, discipline and professional leadership.
His contribution to Removing the Mask demonstrates how advocacy, creativity, lived experience and professional expertise can work together.
James
James is a teacher, event planner, fundraiser, accountant and advocate whose life has been shaped by persistence, responsibility and service to others.
Over several decades, he has developed a broad range of professional and practical skills while remaining committed to supporting people and contributing to his community.
His own experiences have encouraged personal reflection and growth, giving him a grounded understanding of the importance of resilience, responsibility and genuine support.
James brings a steady and thoughtful presence to Removing the Mask. His contribution demonstrates that advocacy can take many forms and that practical skills, lived experience and community commitment can all become valuable gems.
Jerome (Host)
Jerome is a family man, university graduate, music producer, advocate and critical thinker.
He brings a distinctive perspective to the panel, combining family experience, creative thinking and an ability to examine subjects from different angles.
As a music producer and creative contributor, Jerome understands the power of expression and communication. As a panellist, he is known for asking questions, challenging assumptions and looking beyond the obvious.
His “outside-the-box” approach encourages audiences to think differently and consider perspectives they may not previously have explored.
Jerome contributes to Removing the Mask through his creativity, critical thinking, lived experience and commitment to meaningful dialogue.
Rare Diamond
Rare Diamond is the founder and visionary behind Through Knowledge Gain Power Ltd, established in 2009, and the creator of the Removing the Mask platform and the Rare Diamond Educational Framework.
A survivor of childhood sexual abuse and multiple forms of trauma, Rare Diamond has spent more than three decades transforming lived experience, study, research, observation and community work into educational resources designed to encourage understanding, reflection and growth.
Her work has included supporting survivors of abuse, contributing to women's refuge settings, volunteering with the Samaritans, mentoring, delivering workshops and developing educational resources for individuals and professionals.
Rare Diamond is the creator and author behind Behind the Mask, alongside a substantial wider body of educational and creative material. Her work extends beyond a single book or subject, drawing upon a much broader collection of knowledge, resources and learning tools.
Removing the Mask extends this work into an educational, creative and collaborative platform. It allows different missions, audiences and needs to be approached using the appropriate knowledge, experience, creative expression and people.
Rare Diamond does not seek to define people by what has happened to them. Her approach is to look beneath what is immediately visible, recognise patterns, encourage honest reflection and create opportunities for people to understand themselves and others more deeply.
Her guiding philosophy remains:
“A boot camp with love, class, and empathy.”
And at the heart of the work:
Each person brings something different — a different experience, a different perspective, a different skill and a different gem.
Together, they create a space where people can listen, question, reflect and learn without being expected to compare their journey with anyone else's.
Removing the Mask is about looking beyond what we see, understanding more deeply and recognising the person behind the experience.
Awareness and unity for all. We are all one.
Understand more. Judge less. Grow together.
Our Common Thread
The panellists do not share one identical journey. They don't need to.