Professor Patrick Vernon OBE is a historian, travel writer, cultural genealogist, and award-winning filmmaker whose work explores Black diasporic history, memory, and identity through journeys across Africa, the Caribbean, Europe, and the United States. With more than thirty years of leadership experience across public health, heritage, and race equality, Patrick is widely recognised for his ability to connect historical insight with contemporary debates on identity, migration, and social justice.
He is a Fellow of the Royal Historical Society and the Imperial War Museum, reflecting his contribution to public history and the recovery of underrepresented narratives. Patrick is also a Winston Churchill Fellow and a Clore Cultural Leadership Fellow, which have supported his international research across the African diaspora. His work combines archival research, oral history, DNA evidence, and travel narrative to uncover hidden histories.
Patrick is the founder of Every Generation Media and co-founder of the 100 Great Black Britons campaign, which reshaped national conversations about Black contribution and belonging in Britain. He played a leading role in securing the establishment of National Windrush Day in 2018 and was among the earliest campaigners to expose the Windrush Scandal.
In recognition of his influence and leadership, Patrick was named in the Black Powerlist from 2020 to 2025 and was included in British Vogue’s Top 20 Campaigners in 2020. He was awarded an OBE in 2012 for services to health equity and has received numerous honours, including a Lifetime Achievement Award from the Sheila McKechnie Foundation.
Alongside his public history work, Patrick is an award-winning filmmaker. His documentaries A Charmed Life (2008) and Speak Out, and Stand Firm (2010) explore Black British history, identity, and resistance.
His public service includes serving as Chair of NHS Birmingham and Solihull Integrated Care Board (2023–2025) and he currently chairs the Walsall Together Partnership Board. In April 2025, he was appointed Pro-Chancellor for Health at the University of Wolverhampton.
Patrick is a compelling keynote speaker who combines powerful storytelling, historical insight, and lived experience to engage audiences across universities, conferences, cultural institutions, and leadership forums.
Patrick's official speaking topics are listed below:
- Journeying: Travel, Memory and the Black Diaspora
Exploring how travel can uncover hidden histories and reconnect diasporic communities with their past.
- Windrush, Belonging and the Struggle for Justice
A personal and historical perspective on the Windrush generation and lessons for Britain today.
- 100 Great Black Britons: Rewriting National History
How recovering overlooked histories transforms how we understand Britain.
- Leadership, Campaigning and Social Change
Building movements that reshape national conversations and policy.
- Health Inequalities and Race
Lessons from decades of work across public health and community leadership.
Feedback from virtual events and webinars
During the Covid-19 pandemic and the temporary halt of live events, Patrick was booked as the exciting guest speaker for virtual events and webinars. Read his latest feedback from webinars below.
"The session with Patrick last week was fantastic. The talk that he provided was really well received and we even had one colleague let us know he had brought Patrick's book. Please can you send our thanks to Patrick, as we really appreciated him giving up his time to attend our event." - Latanya, Risk & Compliance Assistant Manager, ISIO
"Yes, Patrick was brilliant. The session was really engaging/impactful. Thank you for all your help in arranging." - Guy, Corporate Responsibility Executive, HFW
"The session went great! Please express my thanks to Patrick and thank you for all your help in setting this up!" - Carissa, JP Morgan
"Please extend our thanks to Patrick- it was a really insightful and inspirational session. We look forward to collaborating with him again in the future!" - Nina, Associate Director, Regulatory & Public Policy, Ernst & Young
"The session with Patrick went very well indeed. He is a great speaker." - Shirley, Chaucer Group
“I have been stopped multiple times by attendees after the event, every single one of them wanted to let me know how much they enjoyed the Black History Month talk with Patrick. Everyone I spoke to found him fascinating with so many interesting topics to talk about. Thanks to Patrick for joining us and speaking on so many important issues, it was a privilege to listen to him. 100% of attendees rated the session as 8/10 or higher.” - Rosie, BMW Group UK
“The event went smoothly and Patrick was highly informative/ engaging. The presentation was great, thank you so much for helping to organise this event.” - Fiona, Partners Cap
Feedback from in-person events
Patrick is often booked as a speaker for corporate events, read his latest feedback below.
"The event went really well yesterday, and Patrick was fantastic." - JP Morgan
"Patrick Vernon is a social commentator and campaigner and has been at the forefront of several high-profile campaigns on cultural heritage and social justice in the UK over the last decade. He has used experience in senior management in the voluntary and public sector plus his passion for cultural history to develop new models of thinking around transformation changes in service development, equalities, innovative thinking for social change. He is a trained life coach and mediator where his experience and knowledge has been used for leadership development and public speaking from grassroots organisations to public and private bodies" - Anonymous
"I wanted to give a big thanks to Patrick for speaking at yesterday’s event. He was excellent and feedback has been positive. Patrick also hung around after and engaged a lot with attendees, sharing and listening to experiences and views. Patrick was knowledgeable, and able to communicate that knowledge and experience in an accessible way. Everyone liked Patrick and his humble approach to what he does." - Joseph, Arup
"Everything went really well with Patrick, people were really engaged and asked questions to learn more about BHM. Very enjoyable and educating at the same time." - Stef, Ancestry
"It was great to work with Patrick. He really brought a lot of information and history to the presentation which allowed people to better understand the origins of Black History Month and its relevance for today. The feedback received from my colleagues was overwhelmingly positive and people really valued Patrick’s experience and social commentary." - Narinder, Biogen
- 2020-2025 - Black Powerlist
- 2020 - British Vogue Top 20 Campaigners
- 2012 - Officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE)
- Lifetime Achievement Award – Sheila McKechnie Foundation
- Fellow of the Royal Historical Society
- Fellow of the Imperial War Museum
- Winston Churchill Fellow
- Clore Cultural Leadership Fellow
How to hire Patrick Vernon
Contact the Champions Speakers Agency to provisionally enquire about hiring Patrick Vernon for your next event, today. To get in touch, simply call an official booking agent on 0207 1010 553 or email us at [email protected] for more information.
** We do NOT accept requests for autographs, signed merchandise, fan mail, birthday messages or any other non-commercial contact with the speakers or acts. Each speaker on the website may not have necessarily worked with Champions in the past but are known to perform such engagements within the industry.
