In alphabetical order
This category celebrates influencers, activists, campaigners or trailblazers in the lgbt+ community, who have made an impact either on a grass roots level as part of a larger organisation, from youtubers, to social media influencers, artists, founder of lgbt+ focused initiatives, writers, bloggers, charity workers or campaigners.
This category will be judged on merit.
BARONESS ELIZABETH BARKER
Elizabeth Jean Barker, Baroness Barker (born 31 January 1961) is a Liberal Democrat member of the House of Lords. Educated at Dalziel High School and the University of Southampton, Barker worked for Age Concern between 1983 and 2007. She was created a life peer as Baroness Barker, of Anagach in Highland, on 31 July 1999 and is a Liberal Democrat spokesperson on the Voluntary Sector and Social Enterprise. Barker revealed in a speech to the House of Lords that she was in a same-sex relationship during the passage of the Marriage (Same Sex Couples) Act 2013. She has since become Patron of Opening Doors London, a charity providing support for older LGBT people, and an Ambassador for the Albert Kennedy Trust.
CLAIRE HARVEY MBE
Also known as a GB Paralympian, Claire developed her expertise in diversity and inclusion through roles in the Criminal Justice System, Financial Services Authority and Youth Sport Trust. She started her career in the prison service. After eight years as a fast-tracked prison governor she joined the Ministry of Justice to lead policy on young adult offenders. Most recently, she led KPMG’s two-year progression from 156th to 10th in Stonewall’s Workplace Equality Index. In June 2017, Claire was awarded the MBE for services to Diversity, Inclusion and Sport.
DINESH BHUGRA CBE
Professor Dinesh Bhugra CBE is the current President of the BMA Council. He is Emeritus Professor of Mental Health and Cultural Diversity at the Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology and Neuroscience at King’s College London and honorary consultant at South London and Maudsley NHS Foundation Trust. He was President of the World Psychiatric Association from 2014-2017 and in 2017 became President-Elect of the British Medical Association. Dinesh Bhugra’s research interests are in cultural psychiatry, sexual dysfunction and service development. He is the recipient of over 10 honorary degrees. He has authored/co-authored over 400 scientific papers and 32 books two of which have been translated into Chinese and Japanese. He is also the Editor of three journals (International Journal of Social Psychiatry, International Review of Psychiatry and International Journal of Culture and Mental Health).
JOANIE EVANS
Joanie Evans, Co-President of the Federation of Gay Games, was a gold medallist in football at Sydney 2002, but it was her trip to New York eight years prior to that with her Hackney Women FC team-mates for her first Gay Games that stands out in her memory.
“We took two teams, and it was the biggest fun ever. Coming from ‘lowly’ Hackney to an international event, not really knowing how big it was, and meeting so many people from around the world… it’s kept me hooked on the Games all this time.” The ethos of the event remains pivotal to its success and accessibility, says Joanie.
“The Gay Games is based on our principles of participation, inclusion and personal best. People don’t have to qualify to be part of the Gay Games, which makes it more open. Also, we’re not exclusively gay – we do accept everybody.”
KHAKAN QURESHI
Khakan came out to his family when he was aged 22, shortly after meeting his lifetime partner, who was then aged 43. Together for almost 26 years, in an interracial, intergenerational and interfaith relationship, they have overcome many prejudices and forms of discrimination, in particular Islamophobia and homophobia, both within South Asian communities and mainstream LGBTQI+ Communities. He was the first Muslim gay man to appear on Channel 4 reality TV show “Come Dine with Me” in 2010 and several other shows to highlight the existence of Gay, Muslim people. The reactions received galvanised him to start exploring how others managed to respond to media and community reactions when faced with the misconception that you can’t be Gay and have a faith. In 2014, Khakan founded “Birmingham South Asians LGBT – Finding A Voice”, Birmingham’s first independent, multi-faith, non-funded social and support group for South Asian LGBTQI+ men and women aged 18+. “Finding A Voice” was the first South Asian LGBTQI+ group to take part in Birmingham Pride 2015 and Gaysian Faces, a queer anthropology photography project showcasing South Asian LGBTQI+ all around the world. He has shared his personal experiences of being a gay, Muslim man by writing articles on homophobia and prejudices within South Asian communities, becoming a Stonewall LGBT school Role Model and Diversity Role Model. Khakan was ranked number 35 on the Independent Rainbow List 2015 and nominated for the European Diversity Award 2016 and National Diversity Award 2016.
Marc Thompson
An activist, mentor, ‘man-about-town’ and film buff, Marc Thompson has been involved in advocating for social justice for 25 years, with a focus on Black minority and ethnic communities, sexual health and HIV. He is particularly interested in the intersection of race, sexuality and HIV and the impact it has on individuals and society. Marc has worked with various community based organisations including, GMFA, Big Up, Living Well and THT, where he led on the national gay men’s HIV prevention programme. He is currently coordinator of the peer mentor programme at Positively UK, training and managing volunteers to provide a range of peer support interventions to people living with HIV. Marc is a freelance trainer and public speaker who speaks and provides training at conferences, corporate events, schools, colleges and universities on race and sexuality, sexual health and living with HIV.
Peter Tatchell
Peter Tatchell was born in Melbourne, Australia, in 1952 and has been campaigning since 1967 on issues of human rights, democracy, civil liberties, LGBT equality and global justice. His human rights inspirations include Mahatma Gandhi, Sylvia Pankhurst and Martin Luther King. In 2009, he co-proposed a UN Global Human Rights Index, to measure and rank the human rights record of every country – with the aim of creating a human rights league table to highlight the best and worst countries and thereby incentivise governments to clean up their record and improve their human rights ranking. He has proposed an internationally-binding UN Human Rights Convention enforceable through both national courts and the International Criminal Court; a permanent rapid-reaction UN peace-keeping force with the authority to intervene to stop genocide and war crimes; and a global agreement to cut military spending by 10 percent to fund the eradication of hunger, disease, illiteracy, unemployment and homelessness in the developing world.
REETA LOI
Reeta Loi is a writer, singer, producer, DJ and CEO of Gaysians, the umbrella brand for the UK South Asian LGBT+ community. She is a DIVA columnist, a Forbes 100 woman founder and Guardian Pride Power listed. She works to promote positive visibility and inclusion of LGBT+ South Asians at events including Pride and UK Black Pride and in the media including the BBC and BBC Asian Network, Media Diversified, Stylist and countless other outlets, including curating the first ever Gaysians cover issue of any publication for Gay Times in November 2018.
TIM SIGSWORTH MBE
Tim is CEO of the national LGBTQ+ youth homelessness charity AKT and an international adviser on mental health and homelessness issues. Since 1988 he has been campaigning for the rights of LGBT people across the UK and internationally, receiving fellowship of the Royal Society of Arts in 2018 in recognition. In 2019 Tim celebrates 21 years working in the sector. He has developed innovative, ground breaking national and international development work supporting some of the most vulnerable and disenfranchised LGBT people across the fields of mental health, homelessness, HIV, sexual health, substance misuse and in prisons and other secure environments.
TUVIA BOROK
Tuvia is co-founder & CEO of non-traditional families charity, The P3 Network. P3 supports employees at over 75 UK multinationals and government agencies with a focus on LGBT+ parenting and families. It has facilitated many first of its kind discussions and campaigns, including managing relationships with children when a parent transitions, parenting with HIV, and miscarriage and infertility. Theresa May recognised Tuvia’s contribution to the British community with a Points of Light Award in June 2018. Tuvia is a TEDx speaker and was granted a leadership fellowship at St George’s House, Windsor Castle in 2018.