About Katrice Rodrigues
Keynote speaker, transracial adoptee, dyslexic thinker, and founder of Unity Swimming CIC and Swim Fearless, speaking on diversity, neurodiversity, identity, and overcoming fear.
The Girl Who Swam Alone
In the late 1980s and early 90s, a young Black girl competed in swimming across the UK for a Leicester swimming club. She was fast. She was dedicated. And she was almost always the only one who looked like her.
That girl was Katrice Rodrigues. And that experience of isolation shaped the rest of her life.
The Teacher Who Saw the Gap
Since 1996, Katrice has been teaching and coaching swimming. In 2019, she became a Swim England Tutor, delivering swim teacher qualifications across the UK. But as she trained teachers, she noticed something troubling: the lack of diversity wasn’t just in the pools, it was in the workforce too.
The Advocate Who Founded Unity Swimming
In 2022, after years of people from Black and Asian communities asking “Do you teach adults?”, Katrice founded Unity Swimming CIC. It started as swim lessons. It became a movement.
Unity Swimming isn’t just about teaching people to swim, it’s about creating safe spaces, breaking down cultural barriers, and building a diverse aquatics workforce so the next generation doesn’t have to swim alone.
The Coach Who Understands Fear
Working with adult swimmers at Unity Swimming, Katrice noticed that fear was the biggest barrier. Many had tried to learn before and “failed” not because they couldn’t swim, but because traditional lessons don’t address the psychological roots of water fear.
In 2023, Katrice trained as an Advanced Aquaphobia Coach with the Institute of Aquaphobia and founded Swim Fearless offering specialised coaching for people whose fear of water has been holding them back for years.
The Speaker Who’s Changing the Industry
Now, Katrice is taking her message to the national stage. She speaks at conferences, delivers training for Swim England, The Institute of Swimming and works with organisations across the UK to increase diversity and inclusion in aquatics.
Her message is clear: The drowning gap isn’t biological. It’s systemic. And we can change it.
The Dyslexic Thinker Who Was Written Off at 7
Long before Katrice was changing the swimming industry, she was navigating a very different kind of barrier, in the classroom.
Written off at 7 by a teacher who told her parents she would never pass any exams. Placed in bottom sets. Struggling silently for a decade with no explanation and no support. It wasn’t until she was 18 that she was finally diagnosed as dyslexic and 26 before she understood she was also dyspraxic.
The irony? A motor coordination condition, and she became a master of teaching physical coordination through swimming.
Today Katrice speaks about what dyslexic thinking actually is, pattern recognition at scale, big-picture thinking, systems thinking, creative problem-solving and why the people who measured her with the wrong ruler had no idea what she was building. Her keynotes on neurodiversity are for schools, universities, corporate teams, and anyone who has ever felt they didn’t fit the mould.
The ruler was broken. Not her.
The Transracial Adoptee Who Found Her Voice
Katrice was placed for adoption before she was even born. She was raised in a white British family, in a white British village, where nobody looked like her, not at school, not in her family, not in the swimming pool.
For years, she navigated questions of identity, belonging, and what it means to be yourself when the world around you reflects nothing of who you are back at you.
In 2026, for the first time publicly, Katrice is able to say: being placed for adoption was the best thing that ever happened to her. Not because it wasn’t hard, but because of everything it built in her.
She now speaks about transracial adoption, identity, and belonging with a candour and warmth that is rare on any platform. Her story is one of the most powerful threads running through her forthcoming memoir, Swimming Through Fire, coming 2026 and it resonates deeply with anyone who has ever felt they didn’t quite belong in the room they were standing in.
Put up for adoption. Not given up. And entirely, unapologetically herself.
Credentials & Expertise
Competitive Swimmer (1980s-90s) – Leicester swimming clubs
Swim England Swim Teacher (Teacher since 1998)
Secondary School Teachers QTS (since 2007)
Swim England Tutor (since 2019) – Delivering swim teacher qualifications across the UK
Founder, Unity Swimming CIC (2022) – Swimming lessons for Black and Asian communities
Advanced Aquaphobia Coach (Institute of Aquaphobia, 2023)
Founder, Swim Fearless (2023) – Aquaphobia coaching and courses
30 years of teaching and coaching experience
Swim England National Award Winners (Unity Swimming )- Inclusion Impact Bronze Award 2023
BBC Make A Difference – Active Award Finalist 2026
East Midlands Chambers Women in Business Award Finalist 2026 – Female Entrepreneur of the Year & Social Commitment Award
Why Katrice?
01
Lived Experience
Katrice isn’t speaking from theory, she’s speaking from decades of lived experience as a Black swimmer in predominantly White spaces.
02
Professional Expertise
As an experienced Swim England Teacher, Tutor and Advanced Aquaphobia Coach, Katrice has the credentials and knowledge to back up her advocacy with evidence-based solutions.
03
Data-Driven Insights
Katrice grounds her message in statistics and research, challenging assumptions with facts and offering concrete, measurable goals (like 12% diverse representation in Team GB by 2032).
04
Real-World Impact
Through Unity Swimming and Swim Fearless, Katrice is doing the work, not just talking about it. She’s teaching swimmers, training teachers, and building the infrastructure for systemic change.
05
Compelling Storytelling
Katrice’s personal journey from the isolated young swimmer to the advocate changing an industry resonates deeply with audiences and inspires action.
Book Katrice
Whether you need a keynote speaker for your conference, a trainer for your staff, or a consultant for your Diversity and Inclusion Action Plan, Katrice brings expertise, passion, and a vision for change. Learn more about Katrice’s work: Unity Swimming CIC & Swim Fearless
