Katie Neeves

“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!”

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. This resulted in her going 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 formed Cool2BTrans to advocate for trans visibility through her public speaking, blogs, media appearances, and courses, drawing motivation from her own journey. Her mission is simple: to inspire other trans people, and to educate everyone about trans issues by harnessing the power of humour.

Katie Neeves is an in-demand public speaker, trainer and campaigner for the trans community.

To book LGBTQ speaker Katie Neeves contact Great British Speakers on 01753 439289 or email bookings@greatbritishtalent.com

Type Of Speaker

Diversity Equality, Diversity & Inclusion Female Speakers Influencer LGBTQ+ (Pride) Speaker

More About Katie Neeves

Katie Neeves came out in a very public way, by positing a coming-out video on her social media channels and sending it to all of her clients, risking her reputation and livelihood of a 38+ year-long photography career. This was a major risk, as she had built up a great reputation, photographing everything from riots to funerals to wars – she was even commissioned to photograph the late Queen inside Buckingham Palace…twice!

But she needn’t have worried, as she was quickly inundated with hundreds of messages of support. This led her to vlogging about her transition journey in a very honest, open, and humorous way, which made the subject accessible to all.

The video was soon picked up on by the media, and she became a familiar guest on radio and TV programmes, becoming a trans ambassador along the way.

Media

Katie Neeves appears regularly in the media, being on both ITV’s and the BBC’s lists of experts. She co-hosts the Time for Some LGBTea series for BBC Sounds along with Kevin Ncube and Helen McCarthy, in which they discuss all the funny, intriguing, loving, and moving stories from the LGBTQIA+ community.

She has also appeared on BBC Radio Leicester, being interviewed by Martin Ballard and Ady Dayman, was interviewed by Kirk Pickstone on Duggystone Radio, and appeared with Sarah Taylor on The Queerpreneur Podcast.

Katie Neeves - book Inspirational Trans LGBTQ trainer speaker at speaker agent Great British Speakers

Cool2BTrans

Katie Neeves formed Cool2BTrans to support and inspire other trans people and also 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 helps organisations with diversity and inclusion by providing trans awareness training and inspirational speaking in an entertaining way, using humour to break down barriers.

Awards

Kate has won many awards and accolades thanks to her work on trans awareness, including:

– British Diversity Awards Hero of the Year 2023

– Trans in the City Trans Community Champion 2022

– National Diversity Awards Positive Role Model for LGBT Award 2024

– This Is Us Training and Development Award 2023

– The Women’s Awards East Midlands Outstanding Female LGBTQIA+ Champion Award 2023

She also made it on the Global Diversity List 2023, the DIVA Power List 2023, was named one of the Top 100 Influential People in the UK 2024, and a LinkedIn Top Voice, was a Finalist in the DIVA Awards Unsung Hero of the Year 2023, and gained a Fellowship of the Royal Society of Arts, Manufactures, and Commerce.

Katie Neeves hire Inspirational Trans LGBTQ trainer speaker at speaker agent Great British Speakers

Corporate

Katie provides a number of corporate services, including keynote speaking, e-learning sessions, workshops, and training. Past attendees have described her talks as “engaging, hilarious, and exciting”, and “inspirational storytelling at its best!”

Katie has several workshops and keynote topics available, but they can be adapted to fit in with any theme or message the client requires.

My Long Walk to Womanhood (approx. 35-40 minutes): A raw, emotional, and humerous story of Katie’s transgender transition. She provides a frank account of her rollercoaster of a journey, her background as a photographer, the difficult decisions she has had to make, and how she ended up being a global speaker and trainer.

Katie also offers an additional Q&A session to the above talk, providing a safe space to answer any questions the audience may have. This will make the session approx. 1 hour long.

What’s It Like to Be Transgender? And How Can I Support Those Who Are? (approx. 1.5 hours): Katie’s most popular talk, it gives the audience a real appreciation for what life is like for trans people and provides them with practical tips for being an ally. This presentation also includes a Q&A.

Positively Managing Change: A Very Personal Journey (approx. 1.5 hours): Themed around how she handled such a major change in her life, this talk fits in very well with businesses as they regularly have to manage change. This session includes Katie’s “my long walk to womanhood” talk, the 13 emotional stages of change, and a Q&A.

As well as her keynote talks, Katie regularly hosts events and deliver presentations on-stage, and virtually. She is also provides specific workshops aimed at senior leaders, HR professionals, and medical professionals, as well as comprehensive trans awareness training sessions.

3 Hour Trans-Awareness Session: Ideal for everyone, this session provides in-depth information about all things trans, including learning appropriate vocabulary. This session assesses the level of prior knowledge, explains why trans-awareness training is needed, Katie’s “my long walk to womanhood” talk, an explanation of trans terminology, the typical stages of a transgender journey, tips on how to be a trans ally, and a Q&A.

Katie also provides a 1.5 hour trans awareness session which focusses on what it is like to be transgender and how we can suppose those who are. The session includes her “my long walk to womanhood” talk, tips for being a trans ally and a Q&A.

For people who have attended her 1.5 hours trans awareness session, Katie also offers a 1.5 hour follow up session, providing participants with the knowledge to really understand the transition process and the appropriate vocabulary to stop any unintentional offence.

For Leaders and HR Professionals

Katie offers a 1.5 hour workshop titled “How to Make the Workplace More Trans Inclusive + My Long Walk to Womanhood”. This is aimed particularly at leaders, HR managers, training managers, and diversity and inclusion managers, and gives delegates a real appreciation of what its like to be trans, especially in the workplace, and how the workplace can be made more trans inclusive. She also provides a 45-60 minute workshop where she provides actionable ideas for how to make the workplace more trans inclusive.

For Medical Professionals

Katie provides a 3.5 hour trans awareness session ideal for doctors, nurses, carers, and specialist clinicians, providing them with in-depth information on all things trans. Told from a patient’s perspective, she equips participants with the knowledge to understand trans people and the appropriate language within a medical setting.

She also provides a 1 hour masterclass on how to improve the patient experience for trans people. This outlines issues to be aware of when treating trans patients.

Katie Neeves book online Inspirational Trans LGBTQ trainer speaker at speaker agent Great British Speakers

Katie Neeves is one of our amazing team of Diversity & Inclusion, Pride Month, Trans and LGBTQ at Great British Speakers.

Call +44 1753 439 289 or email Great British Speakers now to book LGBTQ Trans Speaker Katie Neeves for your next event.

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Testimonials

Katie has been a joy to work with for our session at Aviva. Katie talked to us about her own transition along with tips on good allyship. The session was really well received and we had lots of good questions and feedback. Katie’s sessions are filled with lovely humour making the audience feel at ease. I would love Aviva to work with Katie again and I can’t recommend her sessions highly enough. Thanks again Katie.
Joanne, Aviva

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 at Virgin Media

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, Rhondda Pride

We booked Katie to run two Trans Day of Visibility workshops for Virgin Media belonging networks. She was engaging, hilarious and amazing. Every bit of feedback we received from those who attended was beyond positive. I personally have never laughed and learnt so much in one hour!
Chloe, Mobile Trading & Online Sales Graduate, Virgin Media

Overwhelming feedback highlighted how valuable it was to hear a first-hand experience of someone navigating gender and having Katie speak in a way that was so open, emotive, educational and also humorous helped everyone better understand the importance of trans awareness and the gender spectrum. In particular, many were grateful to learn more about what gender dysphoria is, and how both sex and gender go beyond the binary as a means of then better understanding the trans experience and the issues the community face. Overall, everyone found the talk very inspiring and incredibly educational – thank you Katie for your time!
Josh, Account Executive, WE Communications

The event was a success. Katie was a true inspiration to all who attended the event. I have had so many positive comments even from upper management! I hope to have Katie back again for other events. She truly is an inspiration!
Bob Eastman

I will be hoping to work with Katie again soon, I feel her level of candour gets away from the sensationalism we often see portrayed elsewhere and allows people to see the true experience of a Trans person.
Tim Riecken, Team Administrator & Lead of the Pride Steering Committee at National Grid

Katie is a phenomenal speaker and trainer. She creates a safe space for open dialogue and learning as she blends thought-provoking content with humour and warmth. Katie uses her personal story with such generosity and openness it’s impossible not to feel totally engaged – which creates such rich conversation and teases people out of their shells to ask questions. A three hour session flew by!
Jamie Scotto, People & Culture Advisor, HR at UnLtd

The trans awareness workshop with Katie made a lasting impact and impression on the team. Many have said that it was the most exciting training in years. They said that they had thought about it a lot afterwards and would like a follow-up for further discussion. I would 100% recommend Katie to others.
Katrin Terwiel, Vice President Diversity & Global Talent, Deutsche Telekom

Katie delivered an engaging, inspirational and educational Trans Awareness session for ENGIE on International Transgender Day of Visibility. She connected with the audience, telling her own personal story with humour and heart and provided a safe space for people to ask questions. There were so many wonderful comments received by employees after the event. I would highly recommend Katie as a speaker.
Jennie Pitt, Head of Diversity & Inclusion, Employee Engagement, Relations & Policy at ENGIE

Katie delivered a powerful, insightful and engaging session on her own personal journey and tips for being a trans ally. She is very open and honest about her own lived experience and has a unique way of telling her story and educating people in a humorous and uplifting way. Thank you Katie!
Kelly Godden, Senior Talent Professional, Ofcom