Our patrons and board of trustees

Board Of Trustees

Sarah Malcolm Shearer

Chair

Sarah is Change Management Specialist – Her experience has involved offering boards and organisations support to embark on significant transformation insight and best practices that encourage adoption of new ways of working.

Becki Wilkins

Deputy Chair

Becki is an experienced Nurse Practitioner with a demonstrated history of working in the hospital & health care industry. Skilled in Nursing Management, Case Management, NHS, HIV Prevention, and Teamwork.

Devina Paul

Treasurer

Devina is currently the CFO & Deputy CEO at Zumo and is the founding partner at GALVANISE CAPITAL.

Christine Ansell

Christine has years of experience directing both corporate and third-sector organisations, strengthening their deliverables and impact. She is currently the CEO of Cards for Good Causes.

David Blackburn

David has almost 30 years of experience in leading all aspects of human resources. He is the managing director of DRB Consulting, a firm that offers strategic and operational support to organisations undergoing business and cultural transformation.

Udey Chowdhury

Udey is currently a Finance Director with years of experience of strategy, systems design and implementation.

Kirsty Cornell

Kirsty has over 15 years experience in the voluntary sector and currently works as a freelance consultant and coach to the voluntary sector, providing support with organisational development, strategic management, leadership and people management.

Yasmin Dunkley

Yasmin is Public Health Epidemiologist and HIV/ HCV technical specialist consultant. She promotes access to affordable, high quality rapid diagnostics for infectious diseases - including self-testing for outbreak response over a decade in HIV, SRH & infectious disease sectors.

Ade Fakoya

Ade is an HIV consultant specialising in public health.

Selin Yurdakul

Selin is a consultant/scientific advisor with over 10 years of experience in global health issues including HIV, sexual health, antimicrobial resistance, and SARS-CoV-2, working with global research leaders such as WHO and MRC.

David Wood

David is a consultant physician and clinical toxicologist who looks after individuals who present with acute and chronic health issues related to the use of recreational drugs, including those living with, or at risk of acquiring HIV infection.

Lord Collins of Highbury was appointed Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State of the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, Deputy Leader of the House of Lords and Lord in Waiting (Government Whip) on 9 July 2024.

Lord Collins was an Assistant General Secretary of the Transport Union (1994 to 1999) and the General Workers Union, later Unite (1999 to 2008).

Lord Collins served as General Secretary of the Labour Party (2008 to 2011) before joining the House of Lords in 2011.

Before joining government, Lord Collins was Co-Chair All-Party Parliamentary Group (APPG) for Nutrition for Growth. He was also an officer of the APPG on Global LGBT Rights which advances LGBT rights around the world.

Singer-Songwriter Rina Sawayama was born in Japan but raised by her single mother in North London. She released her critically-acclaimed debut album, Sawayama in the height of the global pandemic to much applause. The alternative-pop album has amassed over 100 million worldwide streams since its release and has ranked in over 50 “album of the year” lists for 2020. A Cambridge graduate and former model, it is the singer’s daring attitude that has hailed her as the “future of pop.”

With over 20 years in the beauty business, Dominic Skinner has credited his ongoing search for makeup knowledge and strive for perfection as his reason for his unwavering passion for all things makeup. Having worked for some of the worlds greatest designers and photographers and alongside the most iconic Makeup Artists, he is full to the brim with tips, tricks, hacks and inspiration making him the go to artist for creative thinking.

Being labelled as ‘A must to follow’ by various online and printed publications, Dominic’s Instagram feed has been the go to destination for all his MAC and Backstage related work. You also may know Dominic as one of the co-hosts of the hit show Glow Up.

Musician, composer and writer Tom Rasmussen was born and raised in Lancaster. After moving to London in the early 2010s they fell into the drag scene. Since then they have authored two critically acclaimed books — Diary of a Drag Queen and First Comes Love — and they are now a sex and relationships columnist at American Vogue. Their first album Body Building was released in 2023 to much applause. Supporting Rina Sawayama, Self Esteem, the XX’s Romy on their tours, as well as headlining their own UK tour, Tom’s music has resonated with queer and trans audiences across the nation. Their first co-composed musical will debut at Bristol Old Vic in Spring 2024. They have worked closely with Positive East for almost ten years and have co hosted the RED RUN since 2017.

Winnie Ssanyu Sseruma currently works as an International Development consultant based in London, supporting community-based organisations responding to issues of social justice, women leadership and HIV and AIDS. Winnie’s current focuses on monitoring and assessing community health and social enterprise initiatives in 20 countries across Africa, for the Stephen Lewis Foundation in Toronto, Canada. In the UK, Winnie works with various community health organisations including Positive East, HIV I-Base, Partners in Evaluation and Christian Aid. Winnie has recently co-authored the book Our Stories Told by Us: Celebrating the African contribution to the UK HIV response.

In 2006, Winnie co-founded the Bridging A Gap Initiative (BAGCI), which provides breakfast to vulnerable children each morning during the school term in Uganda. In 2022, Winnie co-founded the Mentoring Omwana (Child) Project, which supports young people to access opportunities and develop skills.