Andrea Knowles is a powerful, sought after public speaker, equity strategist, and lived experience leader who does not just talk about inclusion. She disrupts it.

A former NHS nurse turned Equality, Diversity and Inclusion Lead, Andrea brings over a decade of frontline and strategic experience across healthcare, public sector, housing, charities, and corporate environments. She is the Founder of Staff Equality Networks, where she supports organisations to move beyond performative EDI and into meaningful, measurable change.

Andrea is a Black, queer, disabled woman whose personal experiences of systemic inequality, including medical racism, mental health misdiagnosis, and institutional discrimination, inform her work with rare depth, credibility, and courage. She speaks candidly about power, race, disability, LGBTQIA+ inclusion, allyship, and governance, challenging audiences to sit with discomfort and turn awareness into action.

Known for her warmth, wit, and fearless honesty, Andrea combines evidence, storytelling, and practical frameworks that resonate with senior leaders, clinicians, HR professionals, trustees, and grassroots activists alike. Whether delivering keynote speeches, panel contributions, workshops, or lived experience talks, she leaves audiences informed, energised, and accountable.

Andrea is also a trustee for national inclusion charities, a judge for LGBTQIA+ awards, and a trusted advisor to organisations navigating change, crisis, or cultural reset.

If you are looking for a speaker who is engaging, challenging, and impossible to ignore, Andrea Knowles delivers.