The people behind AURIS Institute.

Gemma Gardner is the founder of the AURIS Identity System™ and the originator of Identity Performance Psychology, a body of work built on a single idea: that when people leave the roles that have defined them, they don't just lose a job, they lose a sense of who they are.

She knows that first-hand.

Gemma served fifteen years in the British Army with the Adjutant General's Corps (Staff and Personnel Support), reaching Senior Non-Commissioned Officer. Her postings included 1 WFR (now the Mercians), HQ ARRC, the Reserve Training and Mobilisation Centre at Chilwell, Worthy Down as a Phase 2 Instructor, and 28 Engineer Regiment, before she was medically discharged from the Queen's Royal Lancers in 2014.

Like many who leave long-service careers, she found that resettlement answered the practical questions, employment, housing and retraining, while leaving the hardest one untouched:

Who am I now that I am no longer the role I once held?

That question became her life's work.

Gemma developed Identity Performance Psychology and the AURIS Framework, Awareness, Understanding, Regulation, Identity and Stability, and founded the Identity After the Uniform research programme, a long-term qualitative study exploring identity across the military, emergency services, healthcare and other identity-defining professions.

She is the author of three published papers and the parliamentary evidence review Identity in Occupational Transition: Evidence, Research and Future Directions for UK Policy.

Today she leads AURIS as both researcher and practitioner, working with organisations including Trafford Veterans CIC, Red Rose Recovery and Out in the Bay to pilot evidence-informed approaches to identity adaptation.

Her work is grounded in one principle:

Evidence first. Interpretation second. Recommendations third.

Gareth Gardner has built a career on leadership, discipline and an enduring commitment to helping others perform at their best.

Joining the British Army as a boy soldier in the late 1990s, he began his career with the Royal Artillery before successfully completing one of the Army's most demanding career courses to become a member of the Royal Army Physical Training Corps.

Across 23 years of military service he led teams, developed physical training programmes, managed regimental gymnasiums and supported operational readiness across multiple units.

During operations in Afghanistan he also served as close protection to his Commanding Officer, a role demanding exceptional professionalism, judgement and trust.

After leaving the Army he volunteered with Red Rose Recovery, supporting people rebuilding their lives through recovery by applying the principles of discipline, routine, physical wellbeing and resilience that had shaped his military career.

He later became CEO of a successful catering company before moving into hospitality as a business owner, broadening his leadership and operational experience.

Today Gareth leads charity delivery and facilitator development for AURIS, ensuring programmes are delivered consistently while building strong relationships with partner organisations across the UK.