Katie Neeves
Katie Neeves is a woman on a mission – but not just any woman and not just any mission! She lived for 48 years as a man while struggling with her gender from the age of 3 and hiding her big secret to the World. She was thrown into turmoil when her gender dysphoria increased dramatically, causing her to go on a voyage of discovery before finally admitting to herself that she is a transgender woman and that she needed to live her truth.
She then came out very publicly via a coming-out video which she posted on her social media and sent to all the clients of her photography business, risking her livelihood and reputation in the process. This was a massive risk, as she had built up a great reputation over 31 years as one of the UK’s top photographers, photographing everything from royalty, to wars and riots. She needn’t have worried though, as she was inundated with hundreds of messages of support. This led to her vlogging about her transition journey in a very open, honest and humorous way, which makes the subject accessible to all. Her story was picked up in the media and it wasn’t long before she was a regular in the radio and TV studios, becoming a trans ambassador along the way.
Katie formed Cool2BTrans to support and inspire other trans people and to educate everyone else about trans people, by showing them that trans people are just ordinary people who want to be happy – just like everyone else. She is a presenter and event host and she helps organisations with diversity and inclusion by providing trans awareness training and inspirational speaking in an entertaining way, using humour to break down barriers.
Katie Neeves appears regularly in the media, being on ITV, the BBC and Channel 5’s lists of experts and being a BBC presenter too. She won the British Diversity Awards Hero of the Year 2023 award, she is on the Global Diversity List 2023, she is on the Top 100 Influential People in the UK 2024 list and she is a National Diversity Awards Positive Role Model for LGBT Award 2024 finalist too. Her other awards include the Trans in the City Trans Community Champion 2022 Award, the This is Us Training & Development Award 2023, the Women’s Awards East Midlands Outstanding Female LGBTQIA+ Champion 2023 Award and Fellowship of the Royal Society of Arts, Manufactures and Commerce for her work as a trans ambassador. She was also a DIVA Awards Unsung Hero of the Year 2023 award finalist and she was listed on the DIVA Power List 2023.
Participants and audience members will leave Katie’s uplifting talks and training feeling both entertained and educated. Her talks have been described as “engaging, hilarious and exciting”, ”inspirational storytelling at its best!” and “the most exciting training in years”. Katie Neeves said “Many people focus on the negative aspects of being trans, but I prefer to approach the subject from a much more positive angle. I am exactly the same person I was before my transition – but far happier!”
SPEAKING TOPICS
My Long Walk to Womanhood (approx 35 minutes)
This is the raw, emotional, educational and humorous story of Katies transgender transition, mixed with explanations of all things trans. It is the most powerful section upon which all other presentations are built. It can be performed either with or without slides to any size of audience.
My Long walk to Womanhood + Q&A
As above plus a Q&A session
What’s it like to be transgender? And how can I support those who are?
This speech gives the audience a very real appreciation for what life is like for trans people and practical tips for being an ally. It can be performed to any size of audience, large or small
Positively Managing Change: A Very Personal Journey
This presentation is themed around how Katie handled such a major change in her life and her business. This fits in very well with business conferences and groups as business owners regularly have to manage change, whether it is forced on them or something of their making. It can be performed to any size of audience.
How to make the workplace more trans-inclusive + My long walk to womanhood
This workshop is ideal for Leaders & HR professionals, as it gives a very real appreciation of what it’s like to be trans and the participants will leave with actionable ideas for how to make the workplace more trans-inclusive.
"Katie attended our International Women’s Day panel at Virgin Media yesterday and what an honour that was. An inspirational speaker with a fantastic sense of humour that really shone through. Katie has been incredibly engaged throughout all the planning and a real joy to partner with on our IWD plans. In a very short time I’ve already learnt a huge amount from Katie and I’d really encourage others to take the opportunity with Katie to learn and grow." -
— Danielle Peel, Project Delivery Lead, Virgin Media O2
· "I had the pleasure of working with Katie on an online Pride event. She's one of the most articulate and entertaining people I have seen in this format. Good humoured, well educated and a consummate professional. I would happily work with Katie again and sincerely hope we will. She's very talented and I could see her presenting a talk show on a major TV channel."
— Natalie Bowen, Vice Chairperson, Rhondda Pride
· "I just wanted to drop you a message to say how much I enjoyed your webinar on Friday , really insightful and also your sense of humour kept it so engaging. Will def check out your company to see if we can do any work together in the future. Thanks Katie for me it was the most interesting webinar so far and definitely the funniest"
— Emma Buckley
