THE DIVERSITY TRUST - Key Persons

Ahmer has over 10 years of experience in working for multinational companies in Pakistan and the Asia-Pacific where he was involved with the roll out of internal culture initiatives including Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DEI)-focused programmes and a company-wide roll out of Unconscious Bias. He has worked on public health programmes designed to raise awareness about HIV, Hepatitis C, drug abuse and provide support to marginalised communities such as underprivileged women, people who inject drugs, male sex-workers, and trans and LGBT+ communities. In public affairs and corporate social responsibility initiatives, some of which have been philanthropic, he has interacted with several global public and private organisations to support wider public health and relief programmes. Ahmer also volunteered for a male health community-based organisation in Pakistan. Ahmer holds a BSc. International Relations from University of London, he has a keen interest in topics including the Critical Race Theory and inequalities based on Race and Ethnicity. At present, he is involved in setting up his own start-up related to food waste and the circular economy in Rotterdam. He is a former print and broadcast journalist and a strong advocate of DEI.

Job Titles:

• Board Member of the Good Faith Foundation

Job Titles:

• Senior Trainer and Consultant in Trans Awareness

Cheryl Morgan has a decades-long career in IT and as an economic consultant in the energy industry. In that time she has lived and worked in California and Australia as well as the UK. Much of her energy work has involved training on various subjects including IT packages, market rules and derivatives valuation. While Cheryl still maintains her involvement in the energy industry, she has recently joined the Diversity Trust as a trainer specialising in transgender issues. As an out trans woman herself, and being more than 20 years post-transition, Cheryl is able to bring a personal and nuanced view to trans issues. In addition to her training work, Cheryl has worked with various government and charity sector organisations in the Bath and Bristol areas. She is also a trained Stonewall Role Model. Cheryl takes a keen interest in transgender history and generally has a full programme of speaking events during LGBT History Month. She has also written for various history blogs, and has been an invited speaker at academic history conferences.

For The Diversity Trust, Howard is the Inclusive Leadership Lead Consultant Howard runs a boutique financial risk management consultancy in the UK and, for a number of years, has been a visiting senior research fellow at King's College London specialising in computational finance. His work in the field of sustainable development has enhanced awareness as to how sovereign contingent liabilities and financing for development can be better achieved. He has provided policy advice to sovereign states around the world covering subjects such as sovereign wealth funds, infrastructure development, debt and capital management and project financing. He has built an international reputation in the fields of mathematics, computer science and has held senior positions in large financial institutions. Howard's research extends to that of leadership, corporate governance and diversity and inclusion. In this respect he has developed a framework for achieving inclusive leadership, maintaining wellbeing, and empowering staff, as detailed in his book Woken Leader. Howard has published widely across a number of subject areas and holds a PhD in mathematical computer science from Wolverhampton university, Masters qualifications from the universities of York and Oxford and undergraduate from Teesside university.

Job Titles:

• Consultant in Disability Awareness

For the Diversity Trust, Elizabeth is a Consultant in Disability Awareness.

For The Diversity Trust, Errol is a Consultant in: Race Equality Stand Up, Speak Out Errol brings professional experience and lived experience, alongside his subject expertise, to his training. Whilst working as a community worker, Errol provided race relations training to the Derbyshire Constabulary. He has played an active role with the Society of Black Lawyers highlighting disparities in stop and search, sentencing, representation, employment and challenging racism in the community and criminal justice system. Errol's EDI roles in his work with HM Prisons included arranging and facilitating focus groups and being part of the resettlement team to ensure equality protocols were being adhered to whilst dealing with BAME prisoners. Racial bias, stereotypes, prejudice, discrimination and inequality are all areas Errol has had to contend with throughout his personal and working life and he has been active in fighting against them. Errol leverages his broad work experience, most of which has been in education: teaching Introduction to Business courses; PSHE; Employability; National Open College Network (NOCN) qualifications and CILEx Law. He has worked across a number of different settings too such as colleges, education trusts, drug treatment agencies and HM Prisons. Errol's background is also in a legal capacity. As a paralegal for two decades, he worked for solicitors firms representing and defending suspects in custody and preparing cases on behalf of various clients. His consultancy services are often engaged for legal investigations. He's a counselling mentor.

For the Diversity Trust, Jacob Gregg-Harris is a full time Youth & Community Worker.

Job Titles:

• Training Facilitator and Organisational Development Consultant

Jeanette Cross is an experienced training facilitator and organisational development consultant, specialising in unconscious bias and diversity, equity and inclusion. She holds a BA degree in African and Caribbean Studies and taught English and Pan-African Literature at the University of Namibia. An activist in the Anti-Apartheid movement in the UK during the 1980s, Jeanette moved to Namibia to assist in the country's reconstruction process after independence from South Africa in 1990. There, she was employed in the education sector as a textbook developer, lecturer and curriculum coordinator, before consulting on a freelance basis. She worked extensively with development partners, as well as with private and parastatal companies. After 27 years in southern Africa, Jeanette has a keen understanding of the ways in which individual bias and unreformed systems perpetuate inequality in all spheres of life. She has assisted a range of organisations to create diverse, equitable and inclusive cultures through targeted HR practices, leadership development and employee engagement. In Jeanette's experience, the key to sustainable change in organisations lies in a combination of individual growth through empathic sharing and reflection, and accountability for systemic transformation. She comments: "I believe we have a collective responsibility to create the kind of world we want to live in."

Katie likes people in all their magnificent difference. Thriving off of finding the solutions in the challenges these differences present, for both the individual and the system. A woman of Dual Heritage, she is continually navigating her Black & White world. She has dedicated her academic journey to Social Psychology and her career to Building Cohesive Communities. Katie delivers training, development, and consultation in DICE; a continual, interconnected process designed to provide the skills, tools and ‘know how' to embed DICE in personal and professional practice.

Job Titles:

• Director of Bristol Green Capital Partnership
• Fellow of the RSA

Manu Maunganidze works at the crossroads between education, environment, culture and diversity. He has been a lifelong vocal and passionate campaigner for equality in the civic and professional spheres. As an inclusion and diversity trainer Manu focuses on issues of cultural competence, institutional change in the context of unconscious bias and recruitment practice, and creating strategies towards better communication and partnership building. His work is always tailored to the client or group he is working with. Clients have favoured him for his effective facilitation skills as well being a responsive communicator of often difficult and complex ideas. He is adept at both one-off training sessions as he is at long-term strategic involvement. Manu's work has primarily been with non-profit and public sector organisations, green companies and charities, and cultural institutions. This has seen him advise and work in tandem with organisations as diverse as the National Trust, Voscur, City to Sea, The Crafts Council, Resource Futures, Future Economy Network, Bristol City Council and many smaller community organisations, and individuals seeking mentorship. His interest is in balancing the real practical pressures facing organisations with the need to pursue social justice and create sustainable solutions to meet these aims; provoking "out-of-the-box thinking". Manu is a fellow of the RSA and as a multi-disciplinary artist is also currently on a fellowship with Bristol and Bath R+D. His artistic practice is often brought to the fore in the creative and fun tools Manu often employs to engage groups in conversations that can often become too uncomfortable to inspire change. In addition to all this, Manu is a director of Bristol Green Capital Partnership, Chairperson of Eastside Community Trust, Education Lead at The Global Goals Centre, and founder of Nature Youth Connection and Education CIC. Outside of work Manu is a keen long-distance runner and cyclist, writer, dad, and amateur craft maker.

Job Titles:

• Chairman

Mark Greenburgh, Chair of The Diversity Trust, is a solicitor and Higher Rights Advocate. Having spent many years as an Employment Partner at an international law firm, founded his own legal practice in 2018, specialising in employment law, ethics and equalities. He has deep expertise in many equalities, diversity and inclusion issues and also an understanding of the legal framework surrounding them. Mark has spent much of his career working in and around the public and third sector. Including 8 years with a county council and 12 years as Head of Public Sector, where he managed the client relationships for Central and Local Government, Housing Associations, Universities and Social Care providers. Through his legal practice, Mark's services have been engaged to work on a number of whistle-blowing and corporate governance investigations, including a two-year review of employee culpability for the Rotherham Child Sexual Exploitation scandal. As a trusted advisor within the sector Mark is often called in when calamity strikes, this has included Grenfell Tower; Sheffield City Council (Hillsborough Stadium Inquest), research misconduct cases for a leading academic institution, whistle-blowing for a FTSE 250 listed company, discrimination allegations in the Police Service, paedophilia allegations against a chief fire officer, bullying and sexual harassment in the charitable sector. Mark is committed to diversity and inclusion; he has been a diversity partner and a diversity role model. As a Liveryman of the City of London Solicitors' Livery Company he supports their Education and Inclusion initiatives including their apprenticeship and social inclusion initiatives. He is involved in LGBTQ+ initiatives and networks, and represented the claimant in one of the first claims brought under the Sexual Orientation Regulations in 2002.

For The Diversity Trust, Pat is a Consultant in: Race Equality Equality, Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Unconscious Bias Stand Up, Speak Out Achieving Cultural Competency Pat Rose is part of the Windrush generation who came from the Caribbean to the UK as child in the sixties. The challenges of growing up in a predominantly white working class background inspired a lifelong commitment to Equality and Social Justice. Pat studied at the University of Bristol and has a background in Social Work and Criminal Justice. She has worked as a Trainer and as a Practice Teacher for Social Work students. Her current role is based in an NHS service working to make healthcare accessible to homeless people. Throughout her career in the Health and Social Care sector she has supported people with complex needs such as addiction, trauma and homelessness. She has a reputation of being able to connect and work with those who are seen as "hard to engage" In 2014 Pat was nominated for a BBC radio 4 "All in the mind" National Award. Out of hundreds of nominees she won the Mental Health Professional Award. Pat's interests include exploring our countryside and coasts, spending time with family and friends, listening to music and dancing (mainly in her kitchen).

For The Diversity Trust, Roger is a Consultant in: Race Equality Equality, Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Roger is a social entrepreneur, lecturer and engaged in several community and social action projects. He has been a diversity trainer and champion for over 30 years following 18 years of local authority experience including 8 years in a senior leadership and equalities roles. He was the Executive Chair for 11 years at Ujima Radio where he is also a broadcaster. He is also the Managing Director for his 2morrow 2day Community Consultancy connecting businesses and organisations with the many talented communities in Bristol. These initiatives include consultation, media, employment and diversity projects. He is a lecturer for UWE Bristol helping to diversify the curriculum across a range of faculties and a number of community engagement projects. A keen writer he published his first book ‘My American Odyssey-From the Windrush to the White House Volume One' in 2015 about the American Deep-South comparing America and Britain during the term of the first black president and his own family's journey from the Caribbean. He is an artistic producer, a contributor to the online cultural magazine Bristol 24/7 and Bristol Post and a film curator with the Come the Revolution collective at Bristol Watershed. Rogers sits on the Arts Council England board south-west. In March of 2018 Roger was awarded the Bristol Lord Mayor's Medal for his community and voluntary work on race equality. in 2019 he was awarded an MBE for his work in Diversity and Culture. He is currently preparing and researching his second book Reflections Across A New Black Atlantic featuring his personal insight and connections across the African Diaspora and a play based on the presidency of Barack Obama.

Samantha is an ambassador for Scope and a patron of Head2Head Theatre. She was named in the Shaw Trust's Power 100 list of one of the UK's most influential disabled people as well as being nominated as Campaigner of the Year in the Eu ropean Diversity Awards.

Job Titles:

• Specialist

Stella is a specialist in gender and inclusion, particularly with reference to the workplace. She has developed her expertise through holding a range of key positions, including: Employer Relationships Consultant at Mumsnet, Director of Partnerships at Timewise and Employer Relationship Manager at Working Families. She's the Founder of GoTitleFree™ and has made it her mission to achieve freedom of gender identity and marital status titles for all areas of society. GoTitleFree™ exists to challenge and facilitate all organisations to stop requesting, and using, name prefixes (i.e. ‘Mr', ‘Mrs', ‘Miss', ‘Ms', or ‘Mx') when onboarding and communicating with the public, their customers and their employees. Stella has multi-sector experience, having worked across education, charity, town planning and urban regeneration, engineering, banking and finance, local government and central government departments. She's undertaken research on the subject of marital status titles, interviewing 2000 individuals. She reports the following findings: 94% of non-binary individuals interviewed said that the request for marital status titles made them feel frustrated ‘every time'. 71% of divorced women said they did not know what title to select when separated from their husbands, and that they wished they could bypass the question. 71% of individuals said they would be put off buying a product or service if they were addressed incorrectly. Stella is active in several networks with a focus on gender and inclusion: Institute for Equality and Diversity Practitioner s, Equality, Diversity & Inclusion in STEMM and Diversity & Inclusion Leadership. In terms of core expertise, she specialises in: Gender Equality; Gender Inclusive Language; Unconscious Bias/Implicit Bias; Direct and Indirect Discrimination; Women Returner Programmes/Women's Networks; Flexible working best practice; Family Friendly Policy best practice.