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.
Conrad Roeber, Trustee
As a strategy consultant, Conrad was the primary author of IPSO’s recent report into the treatment of transgender-related issues by the UK press. During the research for this, he became concerned about the potential for harm to women and LGB and transgender people in the confused debate about trans-related rights.
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.
Robert Wintemute, Trustee
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).
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.
Joanna Cherry KC, Trustee
Joanna was the Member of Parliament for Edinburgh South West from 2015-2024. She served as the Chair of Parliament’s Joint Committee on Human Rights from 2022-2024. Prior to that she was the SNP’s Spokesperson on Justice and Home Affairs from 2015-2021. In 2019 she led the successful ‘Cherry Case’ against Boris Johnson’s unlawful prorogation of the UK Parliament.
In 2019 she won the Herald newspaper award for the Best Scot at Westminster. In 2021 she won the same award from Holyrood magazine.
She currently practices as an Advocate at the Scottish bar as a member of Ampersand Advocates where she specialises in human rights, public law and medical negligence.
Joanna is an alumnus of Edinburgh University where she graduated with First Class Honours in law in 1988. She went on to do an LLM before qualifying as a solicitor in 1992. In 1995 she was called to the Scottish bar, and took silk in 2009. From 2003-2008 she served as Standing Junior Counsel to the Scottish Government and from 2008-2011 she served as Crown Counsel and was one of the first specialist sex crimes prosecutors in Scotland’s pioneering National Sex Crimes Unit. She is an Honorary Bencher of the Middle Temple.
In 2014 she co-authored the textbook Mental Health and Scots Law in Practice, and in 2024 she contributed a chapter to the Sunday Times bestselling anthology, The Women Who Wouldn’t Wheesht (Constable, 2024). Until recently she had a regular column in the National newspaper and she is a regular contributor to the New Statesman And The Spectator.
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.”