At a glance
- Diversity
Biography
Matt Ellison is a highly sought-after, entertaining and thought-provoking transgender speaker. His life experience as a trans man has fascinated and inspired audiences of all kinds in both private and public sectors in the U.K. and internationally. His insights on change, as someone who has made such a huge and fundamental change himself, apply to everyone in all areas of professional and personal life. His is a story filled with courage and determination; after 39 years in a woman’s body, Matt began his transition in 2013, supported by his friends and family – after years of suppressing his true feelings – to physically become his true self. Contact Great British Speakers today to book LGTBQ+ transgender speaker Matt Ellison for your next event. After almost four decades of fear, Matt chose to make one of the most difficult, but in a way, also the easiest, decisions he had to make. His rewarding journey was filled with shame and triumph, humour, hurdles and joy. Matt spent most of his life worried that his friends and family wouldn’t understand or accept the “new” Matt, but he needn’t have: “It’s been an incredible journey; I don’t know why I was so scared.” Inspiring stories of how his loved ones and his students were quick to accept his transition is a common thread in his speeches. He speaks with such courage and passion on the changes that he has been through, educating audiences on how mankind deals with change. Since transitioning, Matt has been the co-chair of FTM London, the UK’s leading support group for trans men, has engaged with NHS England to help improve trans care, has educated businesses on the legislation and safe practices for those transitioning and is an avid support of trans rights charities. Matt Ellison - transgender speaker Tailored towards his audience, transgender speaker Matt’s talks have something to offer all audiences, including healthcare, business, education, emergency services, and political and religious groups. Depending on the client’s requirements, Matt delves deep in the mind of what it feels like to be a transgender person, with a story full of lows, highs and humour. . Matt educates the audience on things such as medical interventions, social aspects, safe practices for service providers and employers, as well as the legal implications of the Gender Recognition Act. Matt Ellison says: I learnt a lot during my journey and I’m proud that I successfully negotiated it without losing a single friend or family member, and moreover as a business owner I maintained every one of my clients too. I’m now able to share my insights into the many strategies I developed to do this. For example, making change can alienate those around you, but your language and tone will carry others with you, and having a strong and willing team around you is imperative to be successful, whether that’s within a business or undergoing gender transition. There are many other parallels with aspects of my journey and the business environment and I hope to be able to share and expand on these with you. Matt Ellison on TV Matt Ellison has been consulted and interviewed on many occasions. He was recently seen on TV in the high-profile Channel 4 documentary ‘Me and My Penis’ (below), which broke many taboos, covering sex, psychology and men’s mental health issues. . . Matt Ellison - transgender speaker topics - Change, Courage & Motivation - Adversity - Diversity & Inclusion - Equality & Rights - Ethics - Gender & Identity & Gender Bias - Social Norms - UK Gender Recognition Act - Mental Health & Wellbeing - Trans Awareness & Acceptance Matt Ellison is an entertaining, inspiring and thoughtful transgender speaker, powerfully exploring topics around diversity and inclusion, resilience, courage, change and the LGBTQ+ community. His insights into change – as someone who has made a fundamental change himself – applies to everything in someone’s personal and professional life. Tailored towards the audience, transgender speaker Matt has something to offer all audiences, including healthcare professionals, businesses, educational institutions, emergency services, political and religious groups, plus more. Depending upon requirements he can delve deep into the mind of what it feels like to be transgender with a story full of highs, lows and humour. He can educate the audience around such things as the medical interventions, social aspects, safe practices for service providers and employers, as well the legal implications of the Gender Recognition Act and the popular Q&A if requested gives the opportunity to answer all those burning questions. Matt Ellison - Transgender speaker clients Leading transgender speaker Matt has worked with clients of all sizes including, Boden, City of London Corporation, the College of Mental Health Pharmacy, eBay, Disney, Microsoft, Toyota, Fidelity International, HM Courts and Tribunals, KFC, Lacoste, Lloyd’s of London, Mars, NatWest, Nest, NHS, Rituals, the Royal Pharmaceutical Society, RNLI, South Wales Police, Urban Outfitters, Veracode and Westminster University. Matt Ellison’s public and private clients, small and large, have all learned how to improve diversity and inclusion in their workforces, and how this allows them to recruit from a greater talent pool, helps their employees feel happier in the workplace and in turn, feel more motivated and perform better. With an increasing number of trans folk having the courage to transition, yet with so many still facing discrimination and ignorance, transgender issues and diversity & inclusion, are currently more relevant than ever. A Chat with Matt Ellison As part of our 'Chat with...' podcast series at Great British Speakers, our director Jane Farnham sat down with Matt Ellison to talk about his personal and professional life as a transgender man, his experience of hate, the importance of being your true self, and how to implement successful change. [embed]https://vimeo.com/770194373[/embed] Call +44 1753 439 289 or email Great British Speakers now to book diversity & transgender speaker Matt Ellison for your corporate event. Contact us.
Key strengths
- Diversity
- Education
- Equality, Diversity & Inclusion
- Influencer
- LGBTQ+ (Pride)
- Mental Health
- Motivational
- Resilience
- Speaker
““Matt was fantastic. He brought great energy and delivered a personal, honest, inspirational story. We were very happy.“ Microsoft, June 2022 - London “A big thank you for a very authentic and thought provoking session today, as part of our harnessing the power of diversity week. In speaking to a number of our senior leaders after the session they all said it made them stop and think, and everyone I spoke to has taken something away from your story. It’s a really great way to get a discussion going and the little frog analogy was very powerful – simple yet effective.” Leonie Govan, Rolls Royce (Dreadnought Alliance), Organisational Effectiveness Lead - Virtual event, June 2021 Thank you, one of the most inspirational speakers I have heard for some time". Government Agency Virtual event, May 2021 Matt hosted a brilliant and eye-opening session on what it means to be a trans man. I never thought about how problematic it can be to have gender specific uniforms and force someone who identifies as a man to wear a skirt. But it makes so much sense! Thank you Matt for making me realiase what a difference the “little” things in life can make. Cathrine, Alpha FMC You are a fantastic and extremely uplifting speaker Matt, thank you for helping me increase my understanding. HM Courts & Tribunals The talk given by Matt Ellison as part of the 2021 Mars UK LGBTQ+ Pride Series was thought provoking and inspiring. Matt’s honest and personal style of storytelling took the audience on an insightful journey into the experiences of transgender people. Matt engaged the audience from start to finish and was open and supportive of questions. Mars Matt is an eloquent and engaging speaker whose candid style and refreshing quick humour won over our audience. He speaks from the heart in an entertaining yet insightful manner. Matt’s personal journey is so inspiring that we are already planning on bringing him back. If you get a chance to book Matt you will certainly not be disappointed.”