Sharon Thompson Speaker | New Speakers & Assemblies and Celebrations Events & Citizenship & Conference

Sharon Thompson

From Homeless Teenager to Influencing National Housing Policymakers

Sharon is a multiple award-winning 'Change Maker'. Having become a homeless teenager, she has utilised her experiences and challenged her own personal development to help make a difference to society in her adult life.

In her professional life, Sharon has worked in Housing and Community Development whilst serving as a Magistrate. Despite her dyslexia she returned to education through the Open University whilst working full time.

In 2014, Sharon changed direction to enter local politics. She was elected a Councillor in 2014, became the Cities first Cabinet Advisor for Homelessness. In 2018, Sharon was appointed to Cabinet where she had leadership responsibility for the largest housing portfolio in Local Government. Sharon has sat on National Commissions to help influence national housing policy.

Sharon was involved in the Commonwealth Games and more recently apart of the Bidding Team who secured Birmingham's bid for the European Championships 2026. Sharon has a wealth of experience in leadership positions in the third and public sectors. She has led an international volunteering programme and delivered training on volunteer management across the UK.

Through her talks Sharon has had real open discussions with young people about homelessness, politics and the importance of civic engagement. She helps to explain to young people in a very practical and understandable way how 'politics works'. By interweaving her own personal life experiences, she makes the talks relatable, easy to engage and demonstrates how we can all overcome adversity with a commitment to our own development.

Sharon demonstrates that collectively we can make a difference to society when we understand personal power and influence. She is an Executive Coach who focuses on the development of women alongside Black, Asian and Ethnic Minorities in leadership.

In May 2023, Sharon was appointed Deputy Leader of Birmingham City Council, the very first ethnic minority to hold the position in our city. As Deputy Leader, Sharon also holds the cabinet portfolio for skills, jobs and apprenticeships, strategic partnerships and Cost of Living. She shares Major Sporting events with the Leader and is the West Midlands Combined Authority portfolio Holder for Levelling Up and Devolution.

Testimonials from Teachers

“Sharon Thompson came to speak to year 12 and 13 Politics A-Level students as part of a series of guest speakers in a ‘Meet your Representatives’ series. She was incredibly engaging and inspiring for both students and staff alike. She has a wealth of knowledge to share about how local politics works and how it feeds into national political debates. She was a passionate and authentic speaker, who explained complex policy around tackling homelessness clearly to students. She was so encouraging to students who are interested in entering politics and left them feeling empowered to take the first steps on their political journeys. I cannot recommend her highly enough.”

– Sinead Martin, Politics Tutor, Joseph Chamberlain College

"Sharon Thompson is a passionate and committed engager of people, communities and organisations. It has been my privilege to hear Sharon deliver several school and college motivational talks. Ie. CUL Academy Aston and most recently BMet College. The pitch was perfect; the young adults were engaged and the information within the speech that Sharon shared is compassionate and caring. I would highly recommend Sharon to deliver quality speeches and student presentations."

– Violet Williams, Work Experience Manager, BMet College

"Sharon is a fantastic speaker who inspires students through her engaging talks. I have booked Sharon to speak at schools I have worked in over the years due to her empowering delivery. She has delivered on a variety of topics from politics, civic engagement, personal development and female leadership. She always provides practical takeaways for students, shares her wisdom and knowledge in a very engaging manner. She can make the complexities of politics very relatable to students."

– Monica Cru - Hall, Behaviour lead & FE teacher, Cruckton Hall School