Work Smart · Live Well

Understanding is a living thing.

Vanessa Aradia is an accountant, speaker, consultant and author helping people and organisations work smarter and live better. Thirty years across the accounting and tax industry, now exploring AI, leadership, sustainability and lifelong learning.

Book Vanessa to speak Read: The Age of the Human →

Accountant·TEDx Speaker·Head of L&D, ICB·30 Years in Accounting & Tax

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00Speaker · Author · Community Activist

Bridging the gap between AI capability and human flourishing.

Vanessa's work spans organisational learning, change management and future skills development, with a deep focus on ensuring AI deployment strengthens human judgement, ethical reasoning and wellbeing.

She works across education and professional services organisations, helping them rethink how they develop people, structure work and build cultures where both innovation and sustainability matter. Her background spans learning design, leadership development, payroll and accountancy.

Vanessa is Head of L&D at the Institute of Certified Bookkeepers, founder of TCW Accounting Solutions, and speaks regularly at UK and international conferences on AI, future skills and human-centred change.

30

Years of Accounting & Tax Industry Experience

ICB

Head of Global L&D

TEDx

Speaker

LinkedIn

Published Author

Vanessa Aradia
Vanessa Aradia · Doncaster, UK
Work Smart, Live Well
Work Smart, Live Well

01Speaking

Keynotes that give audiences the language for what AI is doing to how we know things.

From TEDx stages to Accountex London, Vanessa speaks on AI, future skills and human-centred change. Complex ideas, made human.

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The Future of Work: Automation, Augmentation and the Age of the Human

What automation and augmentation really mean for professional value, and why the age of the machine resolves into the age of the human.

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The Six Human Skills That Count

The capabilities that matter most in a world of AI and automation, and why every one of them is human. As heard at Accountex London.

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Community Capability: The Missing Layer Between AI and Humanity

How global advances in AI become meaningful in everyday life, and why community capability determines whether technology strengthens human agency. Her TEDx talk.

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Change That Sticks

A framework for leading change that actually lasts, combining leadership, learning and human-centred design.

On stage in 2026

Sep 23Panel Assessment in a Changing WorldTPAC Oct 17TEDx Talk · Confirmed Community Capability: The Missing Layer Between AI and HumanityTEDx Doncaster Women Nov 16Keynote Adding Value to BusinessThe Bookkeepers Summit ListenKeynote · May The Six Human Skills That CountAccountex London · Podcast

“I thought I was hiring an exceptional learning professional — what I actually hired was a force. Almost every conversation with her ends in a genuine mic-drop moment.”

Ami CopelandChief Executive Officer, ICB

“Vanessa has the ability to speak on issues in a way that not only informs but also inspires her audience. She is able to take difficult and complex ideas and express them in a way that people can easily understand.”

Tony NicholsonCo-Chair, Doncaster Green Party

“She doesn't just think about how to do things better—she thinks about entirely new ways to create value. Her work on the AI Academy is a perfect example of innovation that actually serves people.”

Ulgen CoskunHead of Global Partnership

“Her sessions brought together real practical value, plain English insight, and a genuine willingness to help people think differently about their work, their organisations, and the opportunities in front of them.”

02Projects

Building things that matter, from Doncaster to Geneva.

Community data, national movements, global policy. Everything grows from the same root: technology in service of human flourishing.

National Movement · Founded by Vanessa Aradia

Growing Britain

“You plant the seed, AI helps it grow.”

A national movement and digital platform helping communities grow food, restore nature and build resilience from the ground up. A Work Smart, Live Well CIC initiative.

Visit growingbritain.org →
Education

AI Academy for Finance Professionals

Hands-on AI capability programmes for accountants and bookkeepers. Ethical, practical, human-centred.

View course →
Interactive Tool

The Resilient Home

How resilient is your home? A free six-minute assessment across food, water, energy, money, climate and preparedness, with your Home Resilience Score and five priority actions.

Take the free assessment →
Capability Programme

The Future Skills Challenge

A six-month national challenge where participants build and evidence future-ready skills through real community action.

Visit futureskillschallenge.com →
Global

UN Working Group · People-Centred Smart Cities

Contributing to the UN Working Group on People-Centred Smart Cities in the AI Era, following the AI for Good Global Summit in Geneva.

Publishing

AI'm Only Human

A community-focused exploration of AI's role in human flourishing. Stories, frameworks and practical wisdom.

Discover →
Flagship

Community Data Working Groups

Co-founding data literacy and citizen science initiatives that put data power back in community hands.

Local

Parish Council & Green Initiatives

Grassroots environmental policy, sustainability planning and community-led change in Doncaster.

Policy

AI in Professional Qualifications

Shaping how AI literacy is embedded into professional learning and development frameworks across the sector.

Advocacy

Commonwealth Anti-Gender Violence Campaign

Working with communities and organisations to end gender-based violence and build safer, more equitable societies.

Get involved →

03The Change Model

Unlearn what no longer serves you. Grow what does.

Change has become the backdrop of our lives. LETGO™ is a practical five-step model that helps individuals and teams unlearn old patterns and grow new ones that stick.

LETGO

Leadership · Teams · Personal Development

Explore the model at letgomoves.com →

04Writing & Resources

A new paper each month on skills, work and the human side of AI.

Work Smart, Live Well by Vanessa Aradia

The Book

Work Smart, Live Well

A field guide for a future that is fast, complex, and extraordinary.

A practical guide to smarter working and sustainable living, bringing the professional and the personal together in one integrated framework for modern life.

Buy the book

White Paper Series

02Knowledge Isn't Enough. It Never WasSep 2026 01The Age of the HumanAug 2026

Weekly Inspiration

04The Work That Time Does12 Sep 2026 03The Intelligence of Edges5 Sep 2026 02The Human Reserve29 Aug 2026 01The Regenerative Rhythm of Good Work22 Aug 2026

Watch

Read & Listen

Even Monkeys Fall From Trees → FE News: Skills Are the New Currency → Qualifications Create Capability → XU Magazine → Listen: The Six Human Skills →

05Contact

Let's start a conversation.

Speaking enquiries, consulting projects, or a chat about change, AI and sustainability. Every message gets read.