ABOUT MANDY
Mandy Legg is a mental health impact speaker, author and community leader who talks about reclaiming her life and career after mental illness. She is passionate about helping others to find the strength to overcome their own challenges.
By the time she was 30 years old, Mandy had built a successful career in community arts. From working with children and young people to setting up a variety of festivals and leading arts organisations, her professional life was going from strength to strength.
But Mandy was terrified that she would lose the career that she had worked so hard for when she experienced a mental health crisis and was sectioned under the Mental Health Act.
This traumatic experience, which took place in the midst of her marriage breaking down, saw Mandy being taken to a psychiatric ward where she was forced to stay for two months. Although she felt terrified and alone, Mandy made a promise to herself that she would not forget who she was during her time in hospital.
This small act of resilience gave Mandy the courage to start forming life-enhancing connections with her fellow patients and members of staff. These new friends reminded Mandy, an artist and photographer, to use her camera to capture her day-to-day experience of hospital life. The camera gave Mandy her voice back when she thought that she had lost it, and her photography became a powerful tool of healing.
The photos that Mandy took went onto become her first solo exhibition called ‘Out to Lunch – a personal exploration of the psychiatric system’, which was initially shown in the hospital games room then, later, went on a national tour and featured in TV programmes on BBC2 and ITV.
After being discharged from hospital, Mandy had no idea how she could return to her career and build a life for herself. However, thanks to the strength and support she received from her friends and family, she was able to weather the storm and go back to her job.
Mandy’s career blossomed and she went on to become a director of a community arts development charity before taking on practitioner and leadership roles within her local authority and becoming a renowned mental health impact speaker. Mandy cemented her reputation as a beloved community leader when she served as the Mayoress of her city from 2023 to 2024.
From this prominent platform she was passionate about raising awareness around mental health by sharing her own story and bringing together other professionals and community leaders working with young people and mental health. As a result of the enormous impact of her awareness raising and advocacy, Mandy was nominated for a Women Leaders’ Award in 2024.
Mandy is committed to giving her audiences hope that there is life and a career after mental illness. She lets people know that by tapping into their resilience and by holding onto who they are, they can overcome whatever difficulties they are facing.
When Mandy isn’t sharing her story on stage, you can find her putting her own resilience into practice during regular open water swimming and paddleboarding sessions!
If you’re looking for an empowering and authentic speaker to inspire your organisation, get in touch today.
