Global community of 250+ lived-experience speakers, delivering impactful talks and social impact projects to challenge stigma and discrimination.
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- Dr Andrew Mayers- Speakers Collective
Andy is a Principal Academic in Psychology at Bournemouth University, where his teaching and research focuses on mental health. Andy is a Principal Academic in Psychology at Bournemouth University, where his teaching and research focuses on mental health. < Back Dr Andrew Mayers Specialisms: Mental Health, Maternal Mental Health, Fathers’ Mental Health Andy is a Principal Academic in Psychology at Bournemouth University, where his teaching and research focuses on mental health. Andy is also a mental health campaigner and educator, with a particular expertise in perinatal mental health (for mothers and fathers). He is Patron for Dorset Mind and works with many other local and national charities. He also acts as a perinatal mental health advisor to organisations across the UK. Andy has spoken about mental health at many national conferences and has appeared frequently on local and national radio and television. His campaigns have taken him into UK Parliament to urge better support services for mother and fathers. He has worked in perinatal mental health for more than 17 years. In the last 5 years, that worked has extended beyond mothers to also include fathers. He jointly leads the UK element of International Fathers Mental Health Day. info@speakerscollective.org BOOK A SPEAKER OR GET IN TOUCH FOR MORE INFORMATION Submit Thanks for your speaker request and we will be in touch soon.
- Kev Waite- Speakers Collective
I speak from the heart about living with bipolar disorder, and how I’ve overcome drink and drug addiction. I speak from the heart about living with bipolar disorder, and how I’ve overcome drink and drug addiction. < Back Kev Waite Specialisms: Mental health, living with bipolar disorder and overcoming addiction. I speak from the heart about how I’ve learnt to live successfully with bipolar disorder, and how I’ve overcome drink and drug addiction. I speak about the journey I’ve been on with the intention to help others suffering from similar conditions. The more I speak about my story, the less stigma there is. I feel it’s my main passion to try and improve understanding and awareness. As I speak from lived experience, people are able to connect with what I’m saying, and also what I say is the truth and straight from the heart. info@speakerscollective.org BOOK A SPEAKER OR GET IN TOUCH FOR MORE INFORMATION Submit Thanks for your speaker request and we will be in touch soon.
- Andrea Knowles- Speakers Collective
Andrea Knowles (she/her) is a powerful, unapologetic voice for equity, inclusion and belonging. Andrea Knowles (she/her) is a powerful, unapologetic voice for equity, inclusion and belonging. < Back Andrea Knowles Specialisms: Intersectionality, Racial justice, LGBTQIA+ inclusion, ableism in healthcare, staff wellbeing, and women’s health inequalities Andrea Knowles (she/her) is a powerful, unapologetic voice for equity, inclusion and belonging. A Black, queer, disabled woman with extensive experience in healthcare and social justice, Andrea uses her lived experience to challenge systemic discrimination and inspire transformative change. With a background as an NHS nurse and EDI Lead, Andrea is now the founder and director of Staff Equality Networks Ltd the UK’s first 100% Black, woman, disabled and LGBTQIA+ owned consultancy dedicated to employee resource groups. She is also a public speaker, campaigner, and published thought leader. Andrea speaks nationally on intersectionality, racial justice, LGBTQIA+ inclusion, ableism in healthcare, staff wellbeing, and women’s health inequalities, often drawing on her own powerful story of medical misdiagnosis, resilience and advocacy. She has addressed audiences at Pride, Black History Month events, NHS Trusts, and international awards, and was a 2025 judge for the Queer Student Awards. A proud charity Trustee for Black Beetle Health and All4Inclusion, Andrea brings a unique blend of professional expertise, policy knowledge, and lived experience. Her talks are moving, bold, thought-provoking and always rooted in justice. info@speakerscollective.org BOOK A SPEAKER OR GET IN TOUCH FOR MORE INFORMATION Submit Thanks for your speaker request and we will be in touch soon.
- Danielle Bridge- Speakers Collective
Danielle Bridge is Interim Chief Executive at Black Minds Matter UK, which is a charity connecting Black individuals and families with free mental health services with professional Black therapists to support their mental health. Danielle Bridge is Interim Chief Executive at Black Minds Matter UK, which is a charity connecting Black individuals and families with free mental health services with professional Black therapists to support their mental health. < Back Danielle Bridge Specialisms: Mental Health, Intersectionality, Anxiety, Child Survivor of Domestic Violence, Childhood trauma. Race and Mental Health Danielle Bridge is Interim Chief Executive at Black Minds Matter UK, which is a charity connecting Black individuals and families with free mental health services with professional Black therapists to support their mental health. She is also the award-winning Founder and CEO of ABC Life Support CIC (Community Interest Company), a Social Enterprise First Aid Training organisation that delivers physical and mental health first aid training across the UK. She is the host of ‘It Is What It Is’ the Podcast as well as a speaker on the importance of psychoeducation in the community as well as empowering others to overcome stigma which in turn normalises the mental health conversation. Danielle often talks about her own lived experience of poor Mental Health, specifically around the Pandemic experience and how therapy has helped her recovery. info@speakerscollective.org BOOK A SPEAKER OR GET IN TOUCH FOR MORE INFORMATION Submit Thanks for your speaker request and we will be in touch soon.
- Jack Donnelly- Speakers Collective
I am autistic, and my lived experience shapes how I see the world, communicate, and work.I am autistic, and my lived experience shapes how I see the world, communicate, and work. < Back Jack Donnelly Specialisms: Autism, Anxiety, Depression, Mental Health, Power of the Mind I am autistic, and my lived experience shapes how I see the world, communicate, and work. I value clarity, honesty, and structure, and I care deeply about making complex or misunderstood topics accessible for everyone. Over time, I have realised the importance of sharing my perspective on neurodiversity and inclusion. I am now pursuing opportunities as a speaker, helping organisations, schools, and communities better understand autism from the inside out. info@speakerscollective.org BOOK A SPEAKER OR GET IN TOUCH FOR MORE INFORMATION Submit Thanks for your speaker request and we will be in touch soon.
- Chandy Green- Speakers Collective
Chandy is disability & mental health advocate and active fundraiser who’s won awards for his work in his local community. Chandy is disability & mental health advocate and active fundraiser who’s won awards for his work in his local community. < Back Chandy Green Specialisms: Mental Health, Disability, life-threatening illness, resilience Chandy is disability & mental health advocate and active fundraiser who’s won awards for his work in his local community. After being diagnosed with a brain tumour as a child and undergoing treatment into adulthood Chandy has tried to show that despite a diagnosis you can work towards anything & live beyond a medical condition. Chandy lives with OCD & anxiety and in 2018 appeared on the BBC podcast LifeHacks in the hope it would show the true impact of Obsessive Compulsive Disorder on day to day life. He works for Dorset Mind a mental health charity in his area where he helps to advocate, educate and challenge the stigma of mental health. info@speakerscollective.org BOOK A SPEAKER OR GET IN TOUCH FOR MORE INFORMATION Submit Thanks for your speaker request and we will be in touch soon.
- Zoe Austin- Speakers Collective
Zoë Austin is a freelance neurodivergent and trauma-informed speaker, trainer, educator and consultant living in Cambridgeshire and working across the UK. Zoë Austin is a freelance neurodivergent and trauma-informed speaker, trainer, educator and consultant living in Cambridgeshire and working across the UK. < Back Zoe Austin Specialisms: Neurodivergence, autism, ADHD, education, music education, schema theory, child development Zoë Austin is a freelance neurodivergent and trauma-informed speaker, trainer, educator and consultant living in Cambridgeshire and working across the UK. She divides her time between consulting on how mainstream schools (and other institutions) can better meet the needs of neurodivergent members, providing group and individual music sessions, 1:1 tutoring for autistic/ADHD school-age children, mentoring autsitic/ADHD university students, and writing/presenting on the subjects of neurodiversity, child development, and music-making. Part of the Pen Green Schema Group, she contributed to the book Schemas in the Early Years (Routledge, 2022), and presented on ‘Schema theory and children’s emerging musicality’ at EECERA, 2023. Zoë uses her past experiences as a (Pen Green-trained) classroom teacher, her MA in Music Therapy and past experience of working in children’s social services to inform her position as a holistic practitioner. info@speakerscollective.org BOOK A SPEAKER OR GET IN TOUCH FOR MORE INFORMATION Submit Thanks for your speaker request and we will be in touch soon.
- Sarah Jane O'Neill- Speakers Collective
Sarah Jane is a senior philanthropy consultant and writer who specialises in connecting high net worth individuals to social justice causes. Sarah Jane is a senior philanthropy consultant and writer who specialises in connecting high net worth individuals to social justice causes. < Back Sarah Jane O'Neill Specialisms: Domestic Abuse, Lived Experience, Intergenerational Trauma, Philanthropy for 'unpopular causes' Sarah Jane is a senior philanthropy consultant and writer who specialises in connecting high net worth individuals to social justice causes. Her entrepreneurial and emotionally intelligent approach has provided her with a track record of delivering tangible results for high profile charities and campaigns for over 15 years, in areas such as homelessness, early years education, mental health and LGBT rights. In addition to her experience as a practitioner, she has a Masters in Philanthropic Studies where she received a distinction for her dissertation - the UK’s first primary research study into why major donors are not making transformational gifts to female domestic abuse services and what might unlock these opportunities. As a child survivor of domestic abuse, she brings lived experience to this subject and is particularly interested in the roles of shame, othering, personal responsibility and patriarchal control. Sarah Jane trained as an actor at the Oxford School of Drama and her knowledge and interest in theatre and performance have been influential throughout her career. She regularly writes and speaks about philanthropy, and blogs at The Flâneuse Diaries, which is dedicated to her other passions of travel and memoir. info@speakerscollective.org BOOK A SPEAKER OR GET IN TOUCH FOR MORE INFORMATION Submit Thanks for your speaker request and we will be in touch soon.
- Karlie Thompson- Speakers Collective
Kindness, courage and connection with so many: Karlie is the kind of speaker who makes you laugh, cry, and rethink everything - sometimes all in the same sentence. Kindness, courage and connection with so many: Karlie is the kind of speaker who makes you laugh, cry, and rethink everything - sometimes all in the same sentence. < Back Karlie Thompson Specialisms: Disability Advocate, Speaker, and Founder of Suck It Up, Princess Kindness, courage and connection with so many: Karlie is the kind of speaker who makes you laugh, cry, and rethink everything - sometimes all in the same sentence. An NHS Director of Communications turned full-time disability advocate, she’s survived sepsis, stroke, multiple organ failure, and a double amputation below the knee. But don’t expect pity - Karlie’s platform, Suck It Up, Princess, is built on radical honesty, sass, and the refusal to be underestimated. She speaks with unapologetic wit about disability, visibility, trauma, parenting, and the power of choosing joy when life throws you the unthinkable. Her story has reached over a million people and counting, amplified by NHS England and a growing community of people who are tired of sugar-coating survival. Whether she’s on stage, online, or in a hospital bed with a ring light and a punchline, Karlie brings emotional intelligence, strategic comms, and a whole lot of heart. She’s here to challenge norms, build community, and make sure you want to question how and what you do because life is too short!“I don’t do ‘inspirational', I do positivity - it's a choice. A very hard choice sometimes but it takes us all to a better place." info@speakerscollective.org BOOK A SPEAKER OR GET IN TOUCH FOR MORE INFORMATION Submit Thanks for your speaker request and we will be in touch soon.
- Sophie Longley- Speakers Collective
Sophie is a careers mentor for late diagnosed autistic women, autism researcher and neurodiversity consultant. Sophie is a careers mentor for late diagnosed autistic women, autism researcher and neurodiversity consultant. < Back Sophie Longley Specialisms: Autism, Autistic in the workplace, Neurodivergent Mentoring, Autistic in academia, Late-diagnosed Autistic Women Sophie is a careers mentor for late diagnosed/identified autistic women, autism researcher and neurodiversity consultant. She was diagnosed as autistic at aged 28, which helped her to piece together her past and understand why she struggled with finding a career that plays to her neurodivergent strengths. At aged 32, she set up her on business to help autistic women find a career that works with, not against their neurotype. So far, she has mentored autistic adults through challenging career pivots, explore their workplace values and build up their confidence to advocate for their workplace needs. She is also an autism researcher and conducted her first piece of research at the University of Sussex on the post-diagnostic experiences of autistic women diagnosed in mid-late adulthood. She has also worked on research relating to autistic stereotypes, and the healthcare experiences of autistic adults. Sophie has delivered talks on neurodiversity in the workplace to the NHS, technology companies and Universities and provides consultancy to academics about centring autistic voices in autism research. info@speakerscollective.org BOOK A SPEAKER OR GET IN TOUCH FOR MORE INFORMATION Submit Thanks for your speaker request and we will be in touch soon.
- Mark Williams- Speakers Collective
Mark Williams BCAh FRSA is a Keynote Speaker, Author, and International campaigner. In 2004 he experienced depression and suffered in silence for years until he entered community mental health services.Mark Williams BCAh FRSA is a Keynote Speaker, Author, and International campaigner. In 2004 he experienced depression and suffered in silence for years until he entered community mental health services. < Back Mark Williams Specialisms: Peri-natal mental health, father's mental health, Keynote Speaker, Published Author, Trainer Mark Williams BCAh FRSA is a Keynote Speaker, Author, and International campaigner. In 2004 he experienced depression and suffered in silence for years until he entered community mental health services. He founded International Fathers Mental Health Day and HowAreYouDad campaign to make sure all parents have support for the whole family. Mark has spoken on television and radio stations around the world while working with Dr Jane Hanley who have both published articles on Fathers' ( Paternal) Mental Health together. Mark was awarded Inspirational Father of the Year and Local Hero at the Pride of Britain Awards in 2012 and even invited to meet The Royal Family on World Mental Health Day, also awarded the Point Of Light Award by the Prime Minister in 2019. In 2020 Mark published the report called "Fathers Reaching Out - Why Dads Matter" to explain the importance of paternal mental health which has far better outcomes for the whole family and the child's development when we include fathers. In 2021 the film Daddy Blues based on Mark's journey is now available on Amazon Prime. In 2023, Mark was awarded The British Citizens Award at Westminster for all his work in campaigning for fathers. He started the campaign to reopen the Mother and Baby Unit in Wales, which reopened seven years later in 2021. Ambassador for Mothers for Mothers and Mothers Matter Charities. Mark was diagnosed with ADHD at forty years of age and is also a research champion at the National Centre of Mental Health in Cardiff. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vIUWWPIVyTM info@speakerscollective.org BOOK A SPEAKER OR GET IN TOUCH FOR MORE INFORMATION Submit Thanks for your speaker request and we will be in touch soon.
- Kaz Matsune- Speakers Collective
Kaz Matsune is a storyteller and speaker who uses food as a medium to share life lessons.Kaz Matsune is a storyteller and speaker who uses food as a medium to share life lessons. < Back Kaz Matsune Specialisms: Culinary Storytelling & Mindfulness, Thinking Opposite in Cooking & Life, Breaking the Myth of Sushi & Life, Kaz Matsune is a storyteller and speaker who uses food as a medium to share life lessons. A Japanese chef who has spent over a decade observing American culture through the lens of sushi-making, he challenges assumptions, inspires curiosity, and helps people find meaning in simplicity—one bite at a time. His happiness stems from seeing the positive impact of his work on the world. As the founder of Breakthrough Sushi, the first and only sustainable team-building sushi company in the United States, Kaz has redefined sushi-making as an interactive, mindful experience. Since 2012, he has taught over 20,000 American participants, discovering that the precision required for sushi reveals profound truths about how differently cultures approach mastery, mistakes, and meaning. Blending storytelling with culinary artistry, he bridges Eastern and Western philosophies to spark learning, laughter, and discovery. A natural storyteller, Kaz is known for his humor, warmth, and ability to connect deeply with audiences. Whether leading sushi workshops, delivering keynote talks, or writing, he seamlessly weaves tradition, creativity, and personal growth into every experience. Beyond the kitchen, Kaz is an Amazon bestselling author with four books, and his work has been featured in The Huffington Post, Apple News, and Slate. He has appeared on Food Network’s Cutthroat Kitchen and in ad campaigns for Adobe, Eventbrite, SurveyMonkey, and Grammarly, amassing over 30 million views on YouTube. As a speaker, he has shared insights at Adobe, Autodesk, and UC Berkeley, and he previously served as a board member of the San Francisco Professional Food Society. Whether crafting sushi, sharing transformative stories, or rethinking the way we approach food and life, Kaz Matsune continues to inspire and delight audiences with his unique blend of culinary artistry, mindfulness, and storytelling. info@speakerscollective.org BOOK A SPEAKER OR GET IN TOUCH FOR MORE INFORMATION Submit Thanks for your speaker request and we will be in touch soon.












