In her legal practice, Helen specialises in public/private joint ventures, procurement and governance. Her voluntary work includes: Chair of Stonewall Housing (from August 20180), mentoring with the Girls Network, Visiting Professor of the University of Law and former Chair of the New Local Government Network policy think tank.

Mark spent most of his career working in the commercial sector (mainly travel), and has held senior roles in the UK and overseas. He has lived and worked in Hong Kong, Indonesia and Spain. In 2012 Mark moved to the Third Sector and spent 4 years in Finance at the London School of Economics.

He is currently Director of Finance and Business Development at a palliative care hospice in Surrey. He is Independent Examiner for the accounts of two other charities. In his spare time Mark enjoys cycling, skiing and scuba diving (in warm water!).

Prior to this role, David has undertaken a number of HR leadership roles across the Retail and Commercial Banking sectors. In addition to his day job, he is the senior sponsor for LGBTQ+ colleague capability within Lloyds, working closely with LGBTQ+ colleagues and their allies to ensure there are strong and visible LGBTQ+ leaders and role models across the organisation.

David has lived across the UK and Asia and has a keen interest in LGBTQ+ rights across the globe, with a personal belief that irrespective of where in the world we live, LGBTQ+ people deserve to be able to life a safe and authentic life without exception. There is still plenty of work to do in this space!

He tells us, “My rural home wasn’t a safe space for me after I was outed but I was lucky to have the support of friends and a place at university to escape to. I see so many people in our communities that don’t have the same sort of safety net. I would like to be part of helping Stonewall Housing to reach more LGBTQ+ people right across the country.”

Dipti says, “decent housing gave me the ability to focus on other areas of my life like securing employment and going back to education. I want to be able to use my experiences and skills to support and champion the work of Stonewall Housing.”

Previously James has worked as a regulator of registered providers at the Housing Corporation and has a career background working in housing associations and at Strutton Housing, providing support for people with HIV/AIDS.

Josh is a popular speaker at conferences and forums on a range of diversity and inclusion issues such as unconscious bias, inclusive leadership, intersectional identities and inclusive recruitment practice.

As a mixed race gay man of Caribbean heritage, Josh believes in celebrating multiple identities. He fed into Stonewall’s strategy on engaging Black, Asian, Minority Ethnic LGBT communities. Josh also designed and delivered Stonewall’s flagship Role Model empowerment programmes for BAME LGBTQ+ people.

Mark says, “I hope I can use my experience to make a positive difference for people who need Stonewall Housing. I believe passionately that having a stable place to call home can transform lives and help people reach their potential.”

Committed to supporting vulnerable communities, and making cities more equitable, they are currently leading a programme to deliver vitally needed affordable housing to a major UK city, after a period of working in social housing in the global south.

Nat says, “I identify as queer and feel that as I’ve benefitted from the work of the community over the years, I wanted to become a Trustee at Stonewall Housing to give back and support those most vulnerable.”