Sophie Cook Speaker | PHSCE & Lifestyle & Assemblies and Celebrations Events & Well-being & Teacher CPD & Anti-Bullying

Sophie Cook

Passionate about Diversity & Inclusion and fighting to break the stigma around Mental Health and suicide.

Former Labour Party Parliamentary Candidate, RAF veteran, writer, speaker, broadcaster, photographer, self harm and suicide survivor… and transgender.

Dr Sophie Cook FRSA became the first transgender woman to work in football’s Premier League as club photographer for AFC Bournemouth following her transition from Steve to Sophie in the summer of 2015.

Europe’s first trans TV newscaster, Sophie has hosted her own TV and radio chat shows and is an experienced broadcaster.

In the 2017 General Election she contested the East Worthing & Shoreham seat, increasing the Labour vote by 114% and narrowly missing out on becoming the UK’s first trans MP.

Sophie is an in-demand public speaker, delivering keynote talks internationally including a TEDx Talk on change, fear, vulnerability, diversity, mental health and LGBT workshops for high profile organisations such as JP Morgan, Virgin Media, Asda and Stonewall.

With extensive experience of working with organisations of all sizes Sophie Cook provides out-sourced Mental Health and Diversity & Inclusion advice that helps businesses to work more effectively and be more cohesive through the power of shared experience and recognising the things that we have in common rather than those which divide us.

The Sophie Cook Foundation has been formed to advance the education of the general public in all areas relating to mental health, particularly challenging the stigma around self harm and suicide.

In 2019 as recognition of her work around mental health Sophie was awarded the title of Doctor of Letters honoris causa by Bournemouth University and invited to become a Fellow of the Royal Society of Arts (FRSA) in 2020.

Recently announced as the 13th Most Influential Person in Brighton according to the Brighton Power 100, Cook is also named in the Top 10 Outstanding Contribution to LGBT+ Life in the 2020 British LGBT Awards.

Sophie’s autobiography ‘Not Today: How I Chose Life’ which charts her personal journey from despair to redemption and acts as a self help book for anyone struggling with their mental health and identity is out now. Her second book ‘Not Today: Losing My Addictions’ is due for publication in 2020.

Testimonials from Teachers

"She was fantastic, definitely the best speaker I have received from you guys. She was honest, funny and open and the students were engaged from start to finish"

– Mrs A Edwards, Head of Psychology, Kingston Grammar School

"She was wonderful. Both students and staff remarked how much they enjoyed the talk."

– Kelly Lindsell, Millfield School

"She was brilliant thanks, very open and honest. The students really enjoyed it."

– Laura Molloy, Head of Year 8, Longhill High School

"Thank you so much for joining us at Chichester today, for sharing your journey and for helping us to raise awareness of gender identity issues at our University. I need to give you my deep and heart felt personal thanks too. Your story was so moving and powerful, I was so surprised at myself afterwards as I don't usually feel the need to ask guest speakers for a hug! I was so inspired by your fortitude and I feel a little bit lighter and a little bit stronger tonight. Thank you. It really was a privilege and an absolute pleasure to spend the day with you, you're an amazing woman. I hope you keep working to help make a difference in the world and continue to excel in all you do and I look forward to catching up soon! We'd definitely like you to come back to Chichester too."

– Suzanne Jones, Inclusivity Officer, University of Chichester

"It was lovely to meet you, we have had some fabulous feedback from our learners and staff. Hope we can keep in touch as you are worth your weight in gold. I came away from the talk with a different perspective on my own life and that rarely happens, so thank you so much."

– Julie Gillies, Head of Campus, The Manchester College

"Thank you for the heart warming, deeply personal speech that you gave to the students, inspirational. The response from them has been amazing."

– Ian Jones, Head of Regional Community Partnerships, Bournemouth University

Thank you for arranging for Sophie to come and talk to us today. What a lovely, honest and open lady and her talk was very much enjoyed.

– Fiona Stuart, Sixth Form, Ashford School

"The general feeling was the telling of her story was brave, and touching. Her openness and honesty was refreshing and she gave us a unique insight which will help us understand and support others in the future. As an initial way into understanding more about transgender issues, hearing her personal account was a very sensitive ‘way in’. I think it caused many people to self-reflect and we felt this was very positive."

– Caroline Phillips, Headteacher, Lewisham Head Teachers’ Conference