Dr Sophie Cook

Dr Sophie Cook has held an extraordinary life; although spending much of it in fear, she has learnt how to overcome these worries and become the woman she felt that she was born to be.

After suffering from gender dysphoria, depression and addiction from holding in a secret that almost tore her life apart and pushing her to the brink of suicide; Sophie (formerly Steve) made the extraordinary decision to transition in 2015.

Bounds of success followed Sophie’s transition; she became the first transgender woman to work in football’s Premier League as a club photographer for AFC Bournemouth, along with being Europe’s first transgender TV newscaster after hosting her own TV and radio chat shows.

She contested the East Worthing & Shoreham seat in the 2017 General Election, which resulted in the Labour vote increasing by 114% - narrowingly missing our on becoming the UK’s first transgender MP!

In 2019 Sophie was awarded the title of Doctor of Letters Honoris Causa by Bournemouth University, as recognition of her work around mental health; and in 2020, she was presented with the Outstanding Contribution to LGBTQ+ Life Award at the British LGBT Awards.

Sophie is honoured to hold the position of Speak Out Champion at the Crown Prosecution Service, where she is responsible for improving confidence amongst employees in being able to speak openly about their experiences as part of the CPS’ continued cultural drive to embed EDI within every tier of management across the organisation.

Discussing her previous fears of change, experiences with PTSD and mental health struggles, Sophie communicates how to overcome these fears by reframing them to enable us to reach our full potential. Sharing the lessons she’s learnt throughout her painful life, Sophie gives talks on change, fear, vulnerability, diversity, mental health and LGBTQ+ issues

She also provides organisations of all sizes with advice on mental health, diversity and inclusion to help them work more effectively, with greater cohesion through the power of shared experiences; recognising the things that we have in common, rather than those which divide us. She holds extensive experience in mentoring organisations create the psychological safety and open culture needed for every individual team member to thrive.