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Michelle Morgan

Entrepreneur, Creative Leader & Mental Health Advocate

Michelle Morgan is an award-winning social entrepreneur and author (‘Own Your Own Awkward’), as well as a leading voice and trailblazer on mental health, including being an Ambassador for Mental Health First Aid (MHFA) England.

In 2016, 16 years into leading her first business Livity, she burnout out and what followed was a period of depression and extreme anxiety. A stigmatising comment stopped her talking about her mental health. Michelle believes that no one should ever feel awkward talking about their mental health, and when she finally felt able to get help and moved to a place of recovery, she embraced a new mission in life, to make mental health an everyday conversation and take that awkward moment, you know the one, the 3-7 awkward seconds when someone’s either going to ask you about your mental health, or tell you about theirs, the easier thing to do is avoid the conversation. But if you can just push on through that awkward moment, we are all better for it and Michelle will show you how to make awkward your greatest asset yet.

Whether talking about purpose-led businesses, entrepreneurship and leadership, her personal story or burnout and recovery or the benefits of owning your awkward order in to have courageous conversations, Michelle brings energy, emotion and thought-provoking insights to all formats, sectors and audiences.

Michelle is Founder of Pjoys: PJ’s with Purpose, a pyjama business using the emblem of the PJ day, both good and not so good, to deliver messages of hope, help and resource to make mental health an everyday conversation. Pjoys launched in Fenwick and most recently collaborated with the artist Lubaina Himid and the Tate gallery.

Michelle was the Co-Founder of purpose-led youth business Livity (acquired by MISSION Group in 2022), a youth-led marketing agency and network cocreating campaigns and solutions for business including Google, Barclays, Facebook, Nike, YouTube, Childline, Netflix and PlayStation. As the Co-Founder of Livity Africa, (now Digify Africa) a Social Enterprise training young people in digital skills in South Africa, Nigeria and Kenya, borne out of UK- and South Africa based youth cocreated magazine and platform Live Magazine, she took on the role of Chair.

She was an Executive Producer of Dubplate Drama one of the first interactive youth music TV shows on Channel 4, and MTV.

As a Director of somewhereto_ she played an executive role in the £7 million London 2012 Cultural Olympiad Project for young people across the UK.

Her numerous accolades include ‘Winner of the Queen’s Award for Enterprise’, ‘The Lloyds National Business Awards’, and twice winner of the ‘EY Entrepreneur of the Year’. She has also been recognised for her work by two Prime Ministers.

She was featured in the Meaningful 100 Global leaders (2020) and named by the UK’s Evening Standard as one of the London’s Top Ten Changemakers (2018), in the same year she was invited to join the Society of Leadership Fellows, St George’s House, Windsor Castle.

In February 2023, burgeoning indie prodco DARE Pictures announced the appointment of Michelle as the company’s Chair.

Her debut book: Own Your Awkward; How to have better and braver conversations about our mental health, was published by Welbeck Publishing Worldwide in January 2022. She is currently working on her second book.

Michelle is a popular speaker, panel guest and contributor for brands, media and conferences including: Cannes Lions Festival of Creativity, BBC News, BBC Radio, Vogue, House of Commons, Management Today, Facebook, Google, Red Bull and the Tate galleries.

Sharing her personal and professional story to help others, in the workplace, at conferences and events, up mountains and in pyjamas, Michelle opens up hearts, minds and conversations.

“Michelle was the speaker everyone wanted to meet. Mixing personal experiences and practical advice, with her serene stage presence, she totally killed it” Mark St Andrew, Director, Cannes Lions

Book Michelle for an event

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