​Poorna Bell

Poorna Bell is an award-winning journalist, author, public speaker, and Founder of Fix My Life Workshops, a platform designed to empower individuals through practical guidance in personal development, mental health, and identity. As the former UK Executive Editor and Global Lifestyle Head at HuffPost, she has leveraged her platform to address critical societal issues, particularly those affecting the BAME community. Her lived experiences as a South Asian woman in the UK profoundly influence her commitment to racial equality. Poorna’s speaking engagements encompass topics such as women’s empowerment, mental health, modern masculinity, and the impact of social media on identity. ​

Beginning her journalism career in 2003 as an Editor for Asiana, the UK’s largest Asian magazine, Poorna transitioned to roles at The London Paper and Grazia India. In 2013, she joined HuffPost, eventually becoming the Executive Editor and Global Lifestyle Head. In this capacity, she managed teams across various sections, including Lifestyle, Tech, Style, and Parents, and spearheaded projects focusing on women’s issues and modern masculinity. Her leadership in these areas laid the groundwork for her subsequent work in diversity and inclusion.

Poorna’s literary contributions are both personal and impactful. Her debut book, Chase the Rainbow (2017), is a memoir exploring her late husband’s struggle with mental health. This was followed by In Search of Silence (2019), which won Red’s Big Book Award. In 2021, she published Stronger: Changing Everything I Knew About Women’s Strength, a part-memoir, part-manifesto inspired by her journey into powerlifting after her husband’s passing; the book was named Sports Performance Book of the Year by The Sunday Times. Her first novel, In Case of Emergency, was released in 2022 and hailed as Stylist’s book of the summer.

In her speaking engagements, Poorna delves into topics such as resilience, imposter syndrome, mental wellbeing, and the evolving digital landscape’s influence on identity. Her focus on racial equality is interwoven throughout, drawing from her personal experiences to shed light on systemic issues and advocate for inclusive solutions. Organisations seeking a speaker who combines lived experience with professional expertise will find Poorna’s insights invaluable in fostering meaningful conversations around diversity and inclusion.