World Class Care Experienced Speakers

Here are 18 world-class, British, care-experienced professional speakers at the top of their game. Each includes a short biography and email contact. Their fees range from £ 0 to £ 20,000 and beyond.

Dr Lisa Cherry OBE is an author, researcher, and leading international trainer and consultant specialising in systemic change for those living with the legacy of trauma.

With over 35 years' experience across Education, children's services, and the public sector, she combines academic research with professional expertise and personal experience, training over 35,000 people worldwide. Her DPhil at the University of Oxford asked how care-experienced adults excluded from school make sense of belonging, producing findings supporting belonging as an antidote to trauma.

Dr Lisa Cherry is the author of the award-winning 'Conversations that Make a Difference for Children and Young People' (2021), 'The Brightness of Stars' (2022), 'Weaving a Web of Belonging' (2025), and 'Conversations that Make a Difference for Practitioners' (2025). Contact: lisa@lisacherry.co.uk

Dr Abdul Malik Al Nasir is an author, performance poet, filmmaker, and award-winning academic from Liverpool whose remarkable life has drawn international media attention. Born in Toxteth in the mid-1960s, he entered the care system in the 1970s and, after release onto the streets of post-riot Toxteth in the 1980s, encountered legendary poet and civil rights activist Gil Scott-Heron. That chance meeting proved life-changing: Gil mentored the traumatised, semi-literate street kid all the way from semi-literacy to a master's degree through poetry. Today, Malik stands as a testament to transformation — a celebrated creative and scholar whose journey from adversity to academic excellence continues to inspire audiences worldwide. https://linktr.ee/malikalnasir

Fatima Whitbread MBE OLY is the first British thrower ever to break a world record, becoming World Champion, World Record Holder, and two-time Olympic medallist in javelin. Born to an abusive mother, she endured a childhood of abuse, poverty, and adversity. Introduced to athletics at school, she joined Thurrock Harriers, where coach Margaret Whitbread nurtured her talent and later adopted her. Despite numerous injuries, Fatima's immense grit and mental courage propelled her to the pinnacle of her sport. Now Director of Fatima's Campaign, she appeared on 'Celebrity SAS Who Dares Wins', openly sharing her mental health struggles. A powerful inspiration, she proves that inequality and disadvantage need not determine a young person's story. With the support of coaches and volunteers, she defied the odds to become one of Britain's most successful throwers. Contact: kate@rhtalent.com

Kriss Akabusi MBE OLY rose to fame on the athletics track, his greatest individual triumph winning gold at the 1990 European Championships, where he broke David Hemery's 400m hurdles British record — a mark that had stood for 22 years. With three Olympic medals plus World, European, and Commonwealth titles, he received an MBE in 1992 for services to athletics. His engaging personality and remarkable backstory created huge demand as a professional speaker. For over 20 years, he has delivered countless keynotes and workshops through The Akabusi Company. He completed an MBA at Ashridge Business School and qualified as a personal coach at the Hudson Institute of Santa Barbara, working with executives to identify and achieve their personal and business goals. Contact: info@akabusi.com

Ashley John-Baptiste is an award-winning writer and broadcaster, regularly reporting for BBC One's Morning Live, Sunday Morning Live, and The One Show. He has co-presented three series of For Love Or Money and presents Expert Witness for BBC One Daytime, alongside co-hosting Con or Cure with Dr Xand. He fronted the BBC Three documentary Care Home Kids: Looking For Love, with other films including My Life In Care and My Life Without Skin.

His journalism has covered Grenfell, interfaith foster care, the Queen's Platinum Jubilee, and racism on UK campuses, culminating in an RTS Young Talent of the Year shortlisting in 2018. A regular One Show reporter, his recent films explore social mobility, homelessness, and care. Contact: jo@talent4media.com

Steven Russell runs The Ripple Effect, and brings a powerful and unique voice to his memoir, *Drip by Drip, Day by Day: Finding Purpose Through the Pain*. Growing up in the care system in Birmingham, UK, his early life was marked by challenges that ignited a deep passion for championing children and young people. For over two decades, he has dedicated his career to empowering others, working across social care and education sectors to lift hundreds of lives. As Director of The Ripple Effect, Steven continues to transform his lived experience into meaningful action, creating ripples of positive change throughout the care community. Contact: steven@dual-perspective.co.uk

David Akinsanya is President at Basildon Girls and Boys Football Club, a father, and one of the founding fathers of the modern care-experienced movement. A freelance journalist and reporter across television and radio, he spent 20 years in broadcasting at the BBC, Sky News, and Channel 4, reporting internationally and building a reputation for social affairs programmes, including presenting Channel 4's Find me a Family. Growing up in Local Authority care in Essex, he spent time in youth custody before becoming a positive force from age 19. He ran a hostel for homeless young people for 15 years, provides respite care, and is a Trustee for The Big Issue and Who Cares? Magazine. Find him here at Linkedin

Chris Wild is a best-selling author, international care reform adviser, and campaigner driven by one purpose: creating a care system where a young person's past never determines their future.

Growing up in care himself, he brings lived experience from children's homes to national conversations. He served as adviser to the Independent Review of Children's Social Care and authored *Damaged* (2018) and *The State of It* (2021). As Director of Social Impact at Foster Greatness UK, he is helping develop a national ecosystem designed by people with lived experience to connect care-experienced people with support, services, communities, and opportunities. His work unites lived experience, technology, community, and social impact — real reform happens when we deliver solutions. Contact: chris@chriscwild.com.

“Care experience' means a person has spent time living in the care system at any point in their life. For the first time in my knowledge ‘care experienced’ adults speak as experts in their fields outside the care system as well as within it.”

Rebekah Pierre is a care-experienced author, award-winning campaigner, and consultant/trainer specialising in children's social care. A registered social worker with 16 years' experience supporting children and families in the UK and overseas, she draws on a unique duality of lived and professional experience to deliver training and consultancy with lasting impact. Her acclaimed book, *Free Loaves on Fridays*, is the largest known anthology of care-experienced voices, amplifying 100 stories. Her work has featured in The Guardian, BBC Radio 4, ITV News, and academic journals. She has delivered keynotes for the NHS, BASW, ADCS, Coram, CAFCASS, and more. She serves as Deputy Director of Article 39, a trustee of The Together Trust, and a board member of John Lewis' 'Building Happier Futures'. info@rebekahpierre.co.uk

The dial has shifted beyond exposé into knowledge, and from knowledge to solutions, not just for the care system but for wider society.

Terry Galloway is Director at Norman Galloway Homes and sits on Nottinghamshire County Council's strategic partnership board for children in care and care leavers. An active campaigner, he works with local authorities to develop their 'local offer', championing work readiness and employment opportunities. After facing the cliff-edge of care at 18, Terry's varied career included mystery shopping, rave promotion, leisure and tourism, and market research. While working in the motor industry, he began campaigning for care-experienced young people, realising his true passion. In 2016, he set up a Nottingham estate agency to fund his campaigning, later founding a not-for-profit providing supported accommodation for care leavers up to age 21. His motivation is simple: "I have the power to do it. This is about giving them a voice.” terry@ngalloway.co.uk

Richard McCann's keynote presentations are more than motivational talks — they are powerful, story-driven experiences that leave audiences inspired long after the event ends. As a resilience and leadership keynote speaker, Richard blends lived experience with behavioural science and emotional intelligence to show people how to turn adversity into advantage, fear into focus, and potential into performance.

His message resonates deeply with teams, organisations, educators, and leaders seeking meaningful, lasting change, delivering transformative insights that empower audiences to unlock their full potential. Contact Richard

Andy Smith and Matt smith directors of smash life are brothers placed into the UK care system after neglectful parenting, then subjected to unrelenting emotional and physical abuse over eight years by those charged with their care. Their trauma manifested as anger, low self-esteem, loneliness, and suicidal thoughts, culminating in brushes with the law, failed relationships, debt, violence, anxiety, depression, and OCD. Finding separate coping mechanisms in music and sport, both built careers supporting children and young people. In 2018, they united to found Smash Life, drawing on hard lessons and 38 combined years of professional experience. Offering inspirational talks and training, they provide unique insight into real life within the care system, hoping to prevent children experiencing what they endured. Contact andy@smashlifeuk.com,

Sam Gardner: is the passionate creator of Lessons from the Care System™ .

Sam has 4M+ views sharing insight on TiktokHe delivers transformative talks and training for those supporting care-experienced children..Sam shares lived experience through speaking, training, and consultancy that helps adults understand realise their impact, build belonging, and create better experiences for the young people they serve.

Sam is a care-experienced keynote speaker and teacher. Sam grew up in foster care for 20 years. Contact: Linkedin

Mark Ridell MBE is The National Implementation Advisor for Care Leavers within the Department for Education. He is a care-experienced campaigner, author, and social worker.

He has also written about his experiences of life before, during, and after leaving care in his autobiography, The Cornflake Kid.

Mark Riddell spent his adolescence in local authority care in Scotland. He has, through his caring, committed work, played a key role in ensuring hundreds of children have not only received the most positive experience during their formative years, but that many have ultimately found safety and security within new family environments. Contact Mark Riddell

Lucy Barnes is an award-winning speaker, charity co-founder, writer, systems change advocate and barrister.

Lucy grew up on council estates. She went into care at 13 and fell off the “care cliff” at 16. Aged 18, she studied law at Surrey. She was a practising barrister until August 2026, taking a career break to focus on her advocacy work.

Alongside her legal career, she founded the charity Lawyers Who Care and is an award-winning advocate and speaker, trusted to speak in Parliament, NAVSH, Foundling Museum, Coram, leading law firms, virtual schools and national conferences. She has also appeared in the Times, Counsel Magazine and on BBC4 Women's Hour. Contact hello@lucykatebarnes.co.uk

Benjamin Perks works for the UN in New York, Campaigning on human rights and child development. He is a leading global advocate on issues related to child poverty, education, mental health, early childhood development, and prevention of violence against children. He is a Senior Fellow at the Jubilee Centre at the University of Birmingham in the UK and an associate member of the department of Social Policy and innovation at the University of Oxford.

Described as ‘visionary’ by both Bessel van der Kolk (The Body Keeps the Score) and Bruce Perry (What Happened to You), Trauma Proof is a story-driven tour of everything we know about child trauma and its lasting and costly impact on individuals and society. With testimony of recovery and resilience from around the world, Trauma Proof’s ultimate destination is the idea that child trauma is not an insurmountable problem. We can prevent it at scale for a fraction of the costs of inaction and those affected by trauma can heal at any age.

Trauma Proof is fearless, optimistic and written with humour and tenderness. Its passion comes from the authors own journey of a childhood in care and 25 years spent working for the UN on child rights. Contact Benjamin

And finally:

This page is about public speaking because there is a difference between a person sharing their experience in care and a person in control of their subject in front of an audience. There is a difference between a speaker who has a style of delivery and one finding their style.

The people in this list are seasoned speakers who deliver with freshness, vitality, research and knowledge. They are specialists in their fields of interest, be it law, housing, politics, psychology, business…. They are fully in control of their presence, their specialism, and themselves. And they are brilliant. If you think I have missed someone, let me know in the comments below. And finally finally…..