Community engagement
Building trust, creating meaningful conversations and helping residents influence the decisions that affect them.
Bedfordshire · United Kingdom
Community voice.
Patient advocate.
Women’s health champion.
Turning lived experience into community change through advocacy, collaboration and honest conversation.
Community Engagement
Patient Advocacy
Women’s Health
About Anita
Lived experience, transformed into action.
I am a Bedfordshire-based community engagement advocate, patient experience consultant and menopause activist. I help communities, healthcare professionals and organisations work together in ways that are honest, inclusive and practical.
My work is rooted in listening to people whose voices are too often overlooked—and making sure their experiences help shape services, research and decisions.
What I do
Patient advocacy
Bringing lived experience into healthcare, research and pharmaceutical projects so work is grounded in real lives.
Women’s health
Speaking, consulting and creating honest conversations about menopause, health inequalities and ageing well.
Speaking & media
Contributing an authentic, accessible voice to panels, podcasts, events, interviews and public campaigns.
Media & speaking
Conversations that reach beyond the room.
BBC BreakfastThe GuardianMagic RadioBBC Three Counties RadioITN / ITVXThe Washington Post
Featured work
Listen, read and join the conversation.
Explore my podcast and recent reflections on community, advocacy, women’s health and lived experience.
Podcast
Black Menopause & Beyond
Honest conversations about menopause, midlife, identity, health and the experiences of Black women—hosted by Anita Powell.
Listen on AcastLinkedIn
From my community and advocacy work
A recent update sharing my experiences, observations and commitment to creating meaningful community change.
Read on LinkedInLinkedIn
Ideas, lessons and lived experience
Reflections from my patient advocacy, women’s health and community engagement journey.
Read on LinkedInMedia appearances
Stories, interviews and public conversations
The Guardian
How three women got through menopause
Anita speaks about navigating perimenopause, health inequalities and why peer support and honest conversation matter.
Read the articleITV News
More than half of Black, Asian and minority ethnic women do not feel represented
Anita shares why menopause support must better reflect women from ethnic minority and lower socio-economic communities.
Read the ITV News featureThe Washington Post
Perimenopause is having a millennial moment
Featured as co-founder of Black Women in Menopause, highlighting why public conversations must include Black women’s experiences and why trusted menopause education matters.
Read The Washington Post articleThe Globe and Mail
Menopause podcasts worth listening to
Black Menopause & Beyond was featured in The Globe and Mail’s coverage of podcasts opening up honest and inclusive conversations about menopause.
Read The Globe and Mail articleStylist
Why aren’t Black and Asian women more included in the menopause discourse?
Anita speaks about representation, misinformation and the barriers Black women can face when seeking trusted menopause information and support.
Read the Stylist featureYouTube
Watch Anita’s media appearance
A video featuring Anita Powell and her work in community engagement, lived experience and women’s health.
Watch on YouTubeBlack All Year
Menopause: the Black experience
A video conversation exploring representation, culture and the menopause experiences of Black women.
Watch the discussionAlso featured on
Broadcast and radio
- BBC Breakfast
- ITV / ITN
- Magic Radio
- BBC Three Counties Radio
Speaking & panels
Bringing lived experience into the room
Patient Centricity & Engagement · London
Host, speaker and patient voice
I have been proud to host and speak at Patient Centricity & Engagement events, bringing lived experience into conversations with patient advocates, healthcare leaders, researchers and pharmaceutical organisations.
My contributions focus on what meaningful patient involvement looks like in practice: building trust, listening to communities, improving inclusion and retention, and involving patients early enough to influence research, services and decision-making.
These events create an important space to challenge tokenism, share practical learning and make sure the people affected by healthcare decisions are treated as genuine partners.
Invite Anita to host or speak
Age of Love · Northampton
Menopause, wellbeing and relationships
Speaking alongside Dr Audrey Tang at the Age of Love event, exploring what menopause is and how its physical and emotional changes can affect relationships.
Invite Anita to speak01
Patient engagement
Panel contributor and conference speaker on meaningful patient involvement, trust, retention and inclusive research.
Invite Anita02
Women’s health
Speaking about menopause, health inequalities, representation and the importance of designing services with women.
Invite Anita03
Community leadership
Sharing practical lessons about co-design, psychological safety and building lasting trust with communities.
Invite AnitaProjects & community work
Turning conversation into collective action
BEACON
Supporting Black African and Caribbean communities to influence local health priorities and improve engagement.
Find out moreMenopause Alliance
Peer support, education and community connection for women navigating perimenopause, menopause and midlife.
Find out moreBlack Women in Menopause
Creating space for Black women’s experiences, voices and perspectives within the wider menopause conversation.
Find out moreLet’s connect
Have a project, panel or conversation in mind?
I welcome opportunities in community engagement, patient advocacy, women’s health, speaking and media.