After Dinner SpeakersLucy Cooke is an author, National Geographic explorer and award-winning broadcaster.
Lucy has a Masters in zoology from New College Oxford, where she studied under Richard Dawkins.
As an author, her books include the recent best-seller and feminist paradigm shaker, Bitch: What does it Mean to be Female?, the New York Times best-seller A Little Book of Sloth and its follow-up Life in the Sloth Lane: Slow Down and Smell the Hibiscus, and The Truth About Animals a Royal Society prize winner.
She is also a columnist for BBC Wildlife Magazine, where she has written her popular ‘Female of the Species’ column since 2021.
As a broadcaster, Lucy Cooke has written, produced, and presented high-profile prime-time documentaries for BBC, Channel 4, National Geographic, PBS, Animal Planet, and Discovery, as well as live programmes such as Springwatch and The Beach Live for BBC.
She is also a regular panellist on shows such as Sue Perkins Nature Table, Infinite Monkey Cage, Women’s Hour and The Museum of Curiosity.
Furthermore, Lucy’s Power of… series has been released as an audiobook, The Evolutionary Edge, on Audible.
Lucy Cooke – Keynote Speaker
Using her vast knowledge and experience as a zoologist and naturalist, Lucy focuses on what we can learn and understand from animals’ unique biology and behaviour and the animal kingdom. These include lessons surrounding female and male behavioural patterns, leadership and dominance, pack mentalities and sustainability.
“Lucy is a rare combination of smarts, savvy, and good humour. She presents scientific knowledge in a way that engages, informs, and even entertains.”
Pat Mitchell, Curator of TED Women
Lucy’s keynotes include:
- Leadership & Dominance: Lessons in leadership through the eyes and ears of the animal kingdom.
- The Power of the Pack: The key tools for effective teamwork.
- Reinventing the narrative: Why understanding sexual characteristics and evolutionary biology can accelerate action for gender equality.
A sought-after speaker, Lucy is comfortable performing to various audiences, from Harvard to Birmingham ICC to the Glastonbury Music Festival.
Furthermore, she has worked with various corporate clients, including J. P. Morgan, Gartner, Deloitte, and Disney.
In 2018, Lucy was invited to speak about sloths and sustainability at TED Women.
She has also spoken at numerous festivals, including Hay-on-Wye, Cheltenham Science and Book Festival, Bath Book Festival, Edinburgh Science Festival, New Scientist Live, The Electric Picnic in Ireland, the G10 in Amsterdam, and the Heidelberg Science Festival.
Lucy’s paradigm-busting research has earned her a fellowship at Durham University. Her book ‘Bitch’ has been placed on the syllabus of countless international universities, many of whom have invited Lucy to lecture.
