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Anastasia Vinnikova has enjoyed a successful and rewarding career as a mental health expert, speaker, writer and advocate, who is currently working as the Head of Workplace Wellbeing for the MindForward Alliance. Having formerly worked for the Bank of England, Anastasia has committed her interests to making an impact on the world of mental health and wellbeing, by ensuring that some of the biggest corporations pay attention to the importance of mental wellbeing. Now booked as a mental health speaker for a range of corporate events, Anastasia covers the topics of mental health in the workplace, mental health in sports, mental health in young people, digital interventions in mental health, and mental health inequalities.
As she worked towards her First Class Honours BA in Human Resource Management at the University of Westminster, Anastasia had a range of industry experiences, including in Risk Arbitrage and Dividend Outlook EMEA at DealReporter. She later worked as an Administration Intern for the Egyptian Embassy Medical Office and a Team Member of The Peer Awards, as well as a number of voluntary, charity roles in her pursuit to support the third sector. Anastasia then went on to complete her MSc in Management and Human Resources at the London School of Economics, where she was also qualified by the Chartered Institute for Personnel and Development (CIPD). She is now a Chartered HR professional with them. With a sporting career of nearly two decades, the former competitive figure skater has also worked as a Level 2 Figure Skating Coach at the famous Alexandra Palace, working with children of all ages. A qualified chaperone, Anastasia has also spent much time working backstage in figure skating performances, supporting grassroots sports. She uses her own experiences as a competitive ice skater, representing Great Britain internationally, building her unique insight into sports and the mental health challenges that come alongside it.
After a year of working in the legal sector as a Graduate Recruitment and Development Assistant for Berwin Leighton Paisner (now known as Bryan Cave Leighton Paisner), Anastasia moved into her mental health work as a Member of the Commission for Equality in Mental Health for the Centre for Mental Health. She then joined the Bank of England, where she became the Co-Chair of the Mental Health Network for the Bank of England, before stepping down at the end of her term and remaining on their Steering Committee. Anastasia moved on to lead the Wellbeing programme at the Bank for a number of years, including during the height of the pandemic before joining the non-profit organisation, the MindForward Alliance, where she leads on the UK programme. Understanding the experiences of those in businesses large and small, in 2024 Anastasia was invited to join the Lord Mayor’s Appeal This is Me Campaign Steering Group. A passionate advocate with no desire for spare time, Anastasia has also acted as a Co-Chair and Steering Committee Member of the young people’s mental health community Thriving From The Start, as a Lived Experience Advisor for Samaritans, as a Charity Board Trustee for InspireUK and is also the Founder of Winning Minds.
Anastasia is a recognised voice in the mental health community with speaking and writing engagements including the Financial Times, the Royal Society for Public Health, and even having a published academic paper on the role of digital interventions in severe mental illness. Anastasia has worked on projects and consultancy with a number of organisations such as MQ Mental Health, the Wellcome Trust, Wellence and others. Named on the InsideOut Emerging Leader list, it is without a doubt that Anastasia is one of the UK’s leading mental health advocates. Having experienced Anxiety and intermittent Depression herself, Anastasia’s accounts of mental health are both authentic and emotive. Sharing her personal stories with others, Anastasia is on a mission to increase awareness of mental health and improve support for those struggling with mental health illnesses. Anastasia has been awarded for her passions with a nomination for the Women of the Future Community Spirit award and winning the Breaking The Silence Award by Not A Red Card. Focusing on the topics of workplace wellbeing, mental health in sports, mental health in young people and mental health equality, don’t miss out on a speech from passionate mental health advocate Anastasia Vinnikova.
“Working with Anastasia in May of this year was an absolute pleasure. Anastasia chaired
our Chartered Banker Institute webcast on ‘Mental Health Awareness’, in support of
Mental Health Awareness week. Anastasia led the discussion in a very professional
manner, and brought her wealth of professional experience and personal experience on the webcast topic to the table which led to a very engaging online event. Feedback from the audience shows that they found Anastasia to be a great Chair, delivering key information on this topic in a clear way, and she had taken the time to research statistics and shared them with our audience of banking professionals. Her ability to draw the panellists into the conversation was seamless and the Chartered Banker Institute would
be delighted to work with her again on future projects.”
“Anastasia joined us during a virtual Westminster Working Cultures programme in April 2022, speaking to undergraduate students on the topic of mental health in the workplace. Anastasia prepared a thoughtful presentation which was tailored to the student audience and covered a variety of topics, while highlighting the importance of key messages that will help to guide the listeners for many years to come. During the session, Anastasia shared her experiences from her time at the University of Westminster until the present day, showing a talent for connecting to the audience with key insights, vulnerability, and honesty. Her session was incredibly reassuring, and participants reported feeling inspired to have a role model that is so open about their mental health struggles and empowered to share their own concerns.”
“Anastasia has spoken on mental health a number of times for Richmond Events and has brought her extensive insight, experience and expertise to our audiences who have benefitted from her thoughtful and practical advice, helping them to enhance their own strategies and practices in this area. She brings her lived experience and extensive knowledge to a critical issue for all organisations every time. Many thanks, Anastasia!”
The Mental Health Speakers Agency has been one of the UK’s leading bureaus for emotional wellbeing experts since 2020. We supply speakers for corporate and public events across the world, and cater to both in-person occasions and online webinars. Our roster includes athletes, psychologists, celebrities and more, to ensure that audiences of all demographics receive tailored, impactful mental health guidance.
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