2024 Host

16th October 2024
Middlesbrough Town Hall

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MEET BEN.
Our Incredible 2023 host is back this year!


Ben Pechey (they/them) is a non-binary writer, presenter, content creator, TEDx Speaker LGBTQIA advocate, diversity & inclusion consultant, and author. They have written and produced content for The Guardian, Cosmopolitan, Women's Health, Refinery 29 and Diva Magazine.

They have worked with major brands such as Manolo Blahnik, Condé Nast, Dr. Martens, The NSPCC, Virgin Atlantic and many more to educate and improve awareness of the LGBTQIA+ community. They are the author of The Book of Non-Binary Joy and Your Gender Book. Ben is a TEDx speaker, their talk focused on ensuring trans and non-binary people can find joy every day. 

Ben was a huge part of the success of our first TEDxTeesside event, we’re so delighted to be welcoming them back to Teesside in October as our host. They will be expertly guiding us through the day of TEDx talks, performances, and inspirational conversations. You can watch Ben’s TEDx talk at TEDxLondonWomen here.



2024 Speakers

Sharon Sinclair-Williams (SHE/HER)


Digital sustainability trainer & tech biz female founder at The Digital Gene Sharon is working to create awareness for a greener internet and a more sustainable future for us all. She is making a splash by training businesses and organisations how to ‘Decarbonise’ their Digital Assets and Processes and reduce their digital Scope 3 emissions using the Carbon Literacy framework.

Alongside this, Sharon is the OG blogger aka Best Before End Date writing midlife musings and opinions on Substack to a global audience, using her voice to advocate for positive ageing. She also writes the Shout Louder For Good newsletter as her CSR give back project. She created it to raise awareness on a breadth of social and wellness issues including the profile of loving where she lives - Teesside and the wider North East.

In Sharon's very own words, she is a serial life time procrastinator, side tracked by a challenging menopause & very late ADHD journey. Older & Bolder at 61. Her mantra is ‘Definitely Not Past My Expiry Date.’

A serial lifetime procrastinator, side tracked by menopause & very late ADHD journey, Sharon will share her insights on living boldly and embracing the idea that there is no such thing as an expiry date.

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SOPHIA UFY UKOR (she/her)


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Sophia Ufy Ukor is the founder of Violet Simon, a media company that amplifies women's voices through storytelling, fostering inclusion and representation, equitable equality and a safe space where women's voices are heard.

She has a 15-year entrepreneurial journey and a background in English, Law, Fashion and PR, and professionally qualified as a member of the Chartered Institute of Arbitrators. Through her work and collaborations recognised by global platforms like BBC, UN Women UK, Global Citizen, We Are The City, Forbes among others, Sophia pioneers safe and inclusive spaces for women.

Her collaborations bridge gaps, amplify women’s voices and drive positive change. Her impactful work has garnered awards and accolades for excellence in media and has seen her recognised in Powerlists as one of the influential changemakers and inclusion champions making a significant impact across the UK.

We can’t wait to hear Sophia's insights. Only 0.5% of recorded history features women’s stories. Sophia will explore her ideas on how we can close these narrative gaps in storytelling.


CHLOE LAWS (SHE/HER)


Chloe Laws is a writer, journalist and poet. Her work focuses on gender equality, beauty, politics, culture and art. She is also an expert in social media, and in 2022 won a BSME award for ‘best  use of social media in publishing’.

Chloe founded the feminist community FGRLS CLUB, launched in 2017, with over 116,000 followers on Instagram. Her writing has appeared in GLAMOUR, Grazia, Stylist, CN Traveller, Allure, National Geographic, Vogue, Vanity Fair, The Independent, The i, Cosmo, Vice, Dazed, Refinery29 and more. She has written cover stories for Stylist and GLAMOUR.

Chloe will delve into the myth of misandry, exploring how the word has been weaponised and is causing division on topics like misogyny and VAWG. 

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RUBY DHAL (she/her)


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Ruby Dhal is a self-love content creator, poet and author, with her most recent book, The Path to Self-Love published earlier in 2024 by Penguin Random House.

She had a tough start in life and turned to books as a form of escapism, gaining a Master’s in Philosophy from King’s College London and eventually using her pain to inspire her writing. With millions of impressions of her work each week, Ruby has access to readers all around the world.

In 2017 Ruby was only 1 of 7 South Asian Women in the world to be included in the Harper’s Bazaar Writer Hotlist and the following year she was included in Untwine.Me’s list of ‘100 Incredible Instapoets’.

Ruby currently creates content on mental health, love, heartbreak, grief, loss, moving on, self-love and healing journeys via various social media platforms, with her work garnering millions of impressions each week. Her work has been loved and appreciated all around the world, including by celebrities such as Rochelle and Marvin Humes, Paris Hilton, Grammy-nominated singer Candice Pillay, Khloe Kardashian, and influencers in the self-love space including Vex King.

She was nominated for the ‘Young Achiever’ category in the South Asian Women of Achievement Awards in 2021. She was also listed as one of ‘20 under 40 inspirational leaders to follow in 2021’.

In her TEDx talk, Ruby will dive into a re-discovery of self-love through the metaphor of decorating one's home.


Liz Atkin (SHE/HER)


Liz is co-director of brand strategy and copywriting agency Blonde Creative, a best-selling author and winner of the 2023 Redcar & Cleveland Inspiring Women in Business Awards. Born and bred in Teesside, Liz has spent her career using the power of words to positively influence people and inspire action.

Her background in business, culture change and communication has given her a rich, personal insight into the power of creating real human connections in every aspect of life. Liz believes that friendships are one of the most natural human connections we make as we go through life, and are increasingly essential for our wellbeing when we live in such a divided and complex world.

Sharing her thoughts and insight into the power of intergenerational friendships in particular, Liz will talk about why it’s not that common in society and why we’re missing valuable and much needed opportunities when we blindly stick to having friends in our own age group.

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TAMMA CAREL(she/her)


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Tamma Carel (PIEMA, FIIRSM, MSc, BSc) is a Senior Environmental Consultant specialising in Sustainability, Environmental Management & Legislation. She is the founder of Imvelo Ltd. and co-founder of iCOR Systems. She is also an Associate Lecturer at Northumbria University, delivering sessions on Sustainability, whilst simultaneously completing a part-time Executive MBA at Newcastle University.

She is an active advocate for addressing the gender gap and promoting the role of women in STEM through multiple partnerships. With most of her clients coming from the Manufacturing, Construction, Renewables, and Waste Industries, she is one woman on a mission to help the environment and use her position to demonstrate that women can be powerful agents of change. A passionate conservationist, Tamma volunteers with a local wildlife charity as a Hedeghog Fosterer, rehabilitating and releasing sick or injured hedgehogs back into the wild.

She has an unrelenting drive to protect the planet and deliver verifiable compliance and demonstrable progress for organisations to help meet the UN's Sustainable Development Goals; specifically in relation to Quality Education, Gender Equality and Climate Action.

Tamma will discuss the importance of elevating the voice of nature in decisions we all make towards sustainability; with specific consideration of the relationship between people and the environment.


Millie Gooch (SHE/HER)


Millie Gooch is the founder of the Sober Girl Society and is one of the voices leading the sobriety movement in the UK. As a journalist, she has written for a range of publications and has been featured everywhere from Elle and Stylist to the BBC and British Vogue.

Her debut book, The Sober Girl Society Handbook, was released in 2021, and in 2022 she received the Media Award from the Research Society on Alcoholism for her contributions in helping disseminate empirical research on alcohol and creating a safe space for people to explore alcohol-free living.

Millie is a proud ambassador for Alcohol Change UK and is currently completing her master’s degree in Addiction and Mental Health. Her second book Booze-Less will be released in November 2024.

Millie will explore in her talk why alcohol is missing from the mental health conversation - sharing her own experience and the science.

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DREW DALTON (HE/HIM)


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Drew Dalton brings twenty years' experience in the NGO and education sectors, working in human rights, international development, and being a former Senior Lecturer in Sociology at the University of Sunderland where he specialised in global queer human rights and geo-politics, activism and social movements, and global health.

He is the Founder and CEO of ReportOUT, a global human rights organisation for sexual and gender minorities, proudly based in the North East of England and working with over 80+ volunteers from over 40 nation states to report, inform, and defend against the human rights abuses of queer people globally.

He is also the current Chair of the UK Alliance for Global Equality (UKAGE), lobbying on behalf of 14 civil society organisations, all with an international LGBTQ+ remit, to work with MPs, Ministers and queer activists from across the globe, to attain equity for all. Drew is writing a book 'Broken Rainbow' about the reasons behind global homophobia and was named as one of the 100 most influential LGBTQ+ people in the United Kingdom on the Pride Power List.

Drew will explore in their talk, the global drivers and local issues of queer people seeking asylum' Drew will encourage all of us to explore how we can play a part in global change through local impact.