Our People

Eileen Gallagher OBE, Chair of Trustees

Our Chair of Trustees, Eileen is founder and former CEO of Shed Media Group – the drama company responsible for Bad Girls, Footballers’ Wives and Waterloo Road. As former chair of PACT, the trade association for independent film and TV producers, she successfully lobbied for changes to the 2003 Communications Act which created the media regulator, Ofcom.

Kate Harris, Co-founder and Trustee

Previously VP American Express Corporate Services. Track record in leading business critical global relationships; strategic business planning and budget management. Lifelong feminist/lesbian activist: worked at Brighton Women’s Aid. Former volunteer fundraiser for Stonewall.

Bev Jackson, Co-founder and Trustee

After a career as a teacher and university lecturer in English literature, Bev spent 17 years as a translator at the Dutch Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Now a freelance academic translator, largely in art history. A founding member of the UK Gay Liberation Front and former activist in many areas including refugee rights, she is the author of A Month with Starfish.

Lord Young, Trustee

Labour Party Life Peer; former General Secretary of National Communications Union; Joint General Secretary of the Communication Workers Union. Previous Parliamentary Under Secretary of State at Department for Innovation, Universities & Skills, later at Department for Business, Innovation & Skills. Ex-Governor of the BBC.

Dermot Kehoe, Trustee

Dermot Kehoe is an experienced Communications specialist. He has worked in strategic communications, public policy and journalism including in financial services, the NHS, Home Office, ITV, Channel 4 and the BBC. Dermot’s first involvement in LGB activism was fighting the introduction of Section 28 whilst studying in Manchester, which led to him becoming Vice President of the National Union of Students. Dermot is married to a Welshman and has 5 children and step children and six grandchildren.

Rhona Hotchkiss, Trustee

Rhona Hotchkiss was a Registered Nurse specialising in ITU before becoming an advisor to Scottish Government. After serving as an Executive Director at the Board responsible for setting & monitoring Health & Care Standards in Scotland she joined the Scottish Prison Service as Deputy Governor & then Governor in Charge of 3 Scottish Prisons including having overall responsibility for the entire Women’s Prison Estate. She retired in 2019 and is now Trustee of a health related charity, Chair of North Ayrshire Women’s Aid and a Director at Beira’s Place.

Dan James Smith, Trustee

Dan is a communications, employee engagement and branding expert, having led teams at some of the UK’s most well-known transport brands, including British Airways, Virgin Trains, and London North Eastern Railway.

His work has earned him multiple industry accolades at the Institute of Internal Communication and from the Chartered Institute of Public Relations.

He’s also served as an independent adviser on the Citizens Advice People Committee, helping steer people-focused strategy at a national level.

He’s a Fellow of the Chartered Management Institute and the Institute of Internal Communication, and holds degrees in communications, marketing, and business.

Kate Barker, Chief Executive Officer

Kate Barker is a copywriter, strategist, speech writer and columnist who founded and ran an award-winning London creative agency. A communications adviser to political parties, think tanks and campaign groups, Kate has recently published her first novel.

Dr Az Hakeem, Patron

Dr Az Hakeem is a Fellow of The Royal College of Psychiatrists and a renowned medical psychotherapist with a specialism in gender dysphoria. Az is an effective communicator who speaks eloquently at conferences, contributes to films and is sought after by the media for his expertise.

He is an absolute authority in his field and someone who is always unafraid to challenge the orthodoxy. We are extremely proud that he will be part of our team.

Richard Kirker, Patron

Richard Kirker’s 30 year professional life, from 1978, was spent challenging homophobia and campaigning for the rights of same-and-bi sex attracted people. Helping form alliances and coordinating broadly-based initiatives within charitable, faith, public, educational, and political sectors to promote the well-being of lgb people was his life’s work. But, he says “in view in particular of the onslaught on women’s and lesbian rights, spaces, and chances, as well as brazen aggression and threats to employment and free speech, by an emboldened class of intolerant enforcers and censors, the LGB Alliance is helping restore sanity, compassion, and common-sense where it is most needed. This is no more important than in legislation, universities and schools, medical care, safe-guarding, and public policy, as well as sports, art, culture, and academia.”

“The stakes are high. Our rights and freedoms are threatened. Supporting the Alliance is the best chance of protecting the progress we all took for granted for too long. It is focussed only on doing that.”

Robert Wintemute, Patron

Professor of Human Rights Law at King’s College London, lawyer and expert in successful LGB court cases in Europe and Latin America, signatory of the 2007 Yogyakarta Principles (now critical of Principles 3 & 31).

Alison Ellis, Young Ambassador

After being inspired by the YouTube channel of Magdalen Berns to speak out, Alison created TikToks about her experiences and the issues trans activism imposes on young lesbians. She also helped Tonje Gjevjon with creating the book Kindred in Chaos: 19 Lesbians in the Age of Gender Identity and she has set up an LGB Alliance Friends’ Group.

David Stickland, Young Ambassador

David is a student at King’s College London and president and co-founder of the King’s College London Free Speech Society. He is especially interested in the ways free speech issues affect LGB people, and has written an open letter to King’s College London regarding the PATHWAYS puberty blocker trial. He spoke at our 2026 Conference as part of the Gen Z Bites Back panel.

Daniel Pennington, Young Ambassador

Daniel is a young professional who, after many years of being passionately committed to the gender ideas and having pronouns and the pride flag in his bio, came to realise that gender ideology was fundamentally harmful to LGB people. He now speaks out against gay youth being medicalised and told the lie that they can and should try to change their bodies if they feel different.