Speaking & Training

“The session CN led with our team on trans rights was thought provoking, educational and stimulating. CN's breadth of experience and passionate commitment to equality - and their determination that we must all work to achieve it - were really valuable. Challenging us to really engage with the issues, CN shared their insights with a compelling mix of great intellect and good humour. More conscious-raising than just awareness raising, we were all given a great opportunity to think, reflect, change - and really learn.” - Good Law Project

“Everyone who attended the workshop came away feeling educated, inspired and empowered. CN structured the session so that the social, political and personal impact of being trans - past and present - was presented clearly and sensitively. Questions were actively encouraged at all stages and the session finished with an outline of practical tools and approaches. The workshop and handouts have given us a really valuable set of resources, which will continue to inform our approach to audiences across the spectrum, and set a high bar for communication strategies. I couldn’t recommend their work more highly.” - The Photographers’ Gallery

“an incredibly insightful and thought provoking talk” - Charles Russell Speechlys

A highly experienced educator, speaker, and consultant on equality and inclusion - with a focus on trans experiences - CN Lester works across a range of organisations and institutions, from community and charity groups to national and international arts organisations and corporations. All talks/training/consultation include a personalised research period, to ensure that content is tailored to the specific needs of the group, whether delivered in a one hour seminar or half day/day long training course. Content and delivery is drawn from both CN’s academic research background and broadcasting/public speaking work, blending a conversational approach with concrete data and tools for personal and institutional progress.

Previous clients include: Good Law Project, TFL, Google, Deloitte Digital, Guardian Digital, NASUWT, ICA, Kiln Theatre, Charles Russell Speechlys, Ministry of Justice digital team, The Photographers’ Gallery, Barbican, The Association of British Choral Directors, and Freelancers Make Theatre Work. Fees are charged on a sliding scale, depending on the size, purpose, and charitable/educational status of the organisation in question.

For more information and discussion, please get in touch via the contact form or through CN’s agent, Laura MacDougall.

“Myself and my team hugely value the rich knowledge shared by CN's teachings. The team have such positive feedback after each session and all agree we are lucky to have the chance to learn from CN. We have been benefiting from the ongoing education CN has been sharing with us in our institution for many years now, and hope to continue for many more.” - Institute of Contemporary Arts

Events, Broadcasts, Lecturing

CN Lester has broadcast extensively across UK, US, and Australian public and independent radio - see Press page to listen to examples. Public speaking engagements include events with Sydney Opera House, British Library, Cheltenham Festival, Edinburgh Literary Festival, Royal Society of Literature, and with bookshops, book groups, and arts events throughout the UK - and on tour in Canada and Australia. Please see below for examples.

As a freelance early-career academic, CN lectures on topics of gender and music, music performance, gendered history, and the histories and experiences of trans people, with a particular focus on cultural/media narratives, unlearning, and ‘the production of ignorance’. Invited keynote lectures include University of Oxford, Trinity College Dublin, Aberystwyth University, and the University of Leeds. Recent invited lectures and seminars at the Royal Academy of Music, University of Tübingen, University of Sheffield, and Leeds Conservatoire - previous lectures, panels, and conferences with University of Hull, University of Huddersfield, Bangor University, and UCL.

For more information/bookings please get in touch via the contact form.