50 LGBTQ+ LONDONERS
As part of our 50th birthday activities in 2022, we'll be showcasing 50 inspiring LGBTQ Londoners who’ve made a difference to LGBTQ life in the capital.
This will include role models, change-makers, and community heroes whose work has contributed to improving the mental health of LGBTQ+ people, and advanced our community’s agenda to address health inequalities, end stigma and discriminatory practices, which is also our mission at London Friend.
Follow #50LGBTQLondoners on social media to stay on top of our inspirational lineup.
Week 1: Dugan Cummings
Dugan Cummings (he/him/his) is our longest-standing volunteer (42 years and counting!) who has offered his invaluable support to London Friend and our LGBTQ+ community since 1980.
His immense contributions span over 4 decades from working on our helpline and being our chair, when he oversaw the moving to London Friend's current premises at 86 Caledonian Road, to supporting our finance team with day to day banking.
He is always on the lookout for innovative ways to help our city’s LGBTQ people and keep up to date with trends and news in the community.
We asked Dugan to talk to us about his role with London Friend and what is the change he’d love to see in our community?
Celebrate Dugan's wonderful work here
Week 2: Laura Willoughby MBE
The inspirational entrepreneur and campaigner at heart Laura Willoughby MBE (she/her/hers) gave up drinking 10 years ago and is now raising awareness and promoting mindful drinking.
Laura runs the mindful drinking movement Club Soda, a community of like-minded people on their drinking journey who want to cut down, take a break from alcohol, or stop drinking.
Laura's groundbreaking work is inspired by behavior change science, mindful approaches to life, and changing the narrative around the role of alcohol within our communities. She and her team passionately believe in a world where nobody feels out of place if they’re not drinking alcohol.
When one of their members suggested an alcohol-free LGBTQ+ meet-up under the fabulous Queers Without Beers name, Club Soda's queer offshoot was born. True to Club Soda's ethos for inclusion and equality, Queers Without Beers has quickly become the space to socialise for LGBTQI+ queers of all persuasions that don’t revolve around booze and everyone is welcome.
We asked Laura to talk to us about what inspires her to raise awareness and promote mindful drinking in our LGBTQ+ community and what is the change she’d love to see?
Celebrate Laura's contribution to LGBTQ life in London here
Week 3: Meg-John Barker
Meg-John (they/them/their) has been a volunteer counsellor at London Friend for 4 years between 2014 and 2018.
Meg-John Barker is a queer therapeutic writer and author of Rewriting the Rules and a number of other books about sex, gender, and mental health, as well as Queer: A Graphic History and many other comic books and zines.
Meg-John was an academic psychologist and UKCP accredited therapist for many years before focusing on writing full time. They are an internationally recognised expert on gender, sexual, and relationship diversity (GSRD) and therapy, with numerous academic books and papers on the topics of bisexuality, open non-monogamy, sadomasochism, non-binary gender, and Buddhist mindfulness. They co-founded the journal Psychology & Sexuality and the activist-research organisation BiUK, through which they published The Bisexuality Report.
We asked MJ to talk to us about their 4-year experience with London Friend as a volunteer counsellor and what is the change they’d love to see?
Celebrate Meg-John's contribution to LGBTQ+ life in London and beyond here
Week 4: Dan Vo
Dan Vo's achievements and contributions to the LGBTQ+ community, queer culture and heritage in London have been described by the Mayor of London Sadiq Khan praise of him as one of "our most inspiring LGBTQ+ Londoners".
Dan Vo (he/him/his) is a museum queerator, educator at Sotheby's Institute of Art, patron of LGBT+ History Month, project manager of the Queer Heritage and Collections Network, Marketing Manager at Queer Britain, a presenter, and media producer.
Dan founded the award-winning volunteer-led V&A LGBTQ+ Tours and has developed LGBTQ+ programmes for other museums in the UK including the National Gallery. The New York Times once called him "a leading figure in the world of alternative museum tours".
As an advisor, he has travelled to every corner of the UK lecturing about diversity, inclusion and equality at galleries, libraries, archives, and museums (GLAMs). He was the inaugural winner of the Museums Association 'Museums Change Lives: Radical Changemaker Award' and co-presenter of 'Museum From Home' and 'Museum Passion' for BBC Arts.
We asked Dan Vo to talk to us about his work to advance awareness of the queer heritage, culture and art in London and make it accessible and inclusive and what is the change he'd like to see in our community.
Celebrate Dan Vo's contribution to LGBTQ+ life in London and beyond here
Week 5: Matthew Hodson
To mark National HIV Testing Week, we're celebrating the outstanding contribution to the HIV sector of Matthew Hodson (he/him/his), Executive Director of the charity NAM.
NAM aidsmap provides independent, clear and accurate information in the fight against HIV and AIDS, advocates for better services and challenge stigma and discrimination for those affected by HIV.
Previously Matthew was Chief Executive at GMFA, the gay men’s health charity. London Friend has partnered with GMFA and its parent charity LGBT HERO since 2010 as members of the National LGBT Partnership and through our work on mental health.
In 2017, Matthew has been named overall winner of the Social CEO awards in recognition of his fearless commitment to challenge prejudice and bolster the case for his charity’s work.
In 2020 Matthew was on the Pride Power List of the most influential LGBTQI people in the UK and won Best Twitter at the WEGO Health Awards.
We asked Matthew to talk to us about his work on HIV, especially his work challenging stigma as a proud role model and what is the change he'd like to see in our community.
Celebrate Matthew's contribution to LGBTQ+ life in London and beyond here
Week 6: Kate Martin
Kate Martin (she/her/hers) was on the London Friend Board of Trustees between 2013 and 2021 and was our Chair for 5 years from 2016.
Throughout her career, Kate has pioneered ways of working alongside young people to promote lived experience, empowerment, and engagement in shared decision making and collaborative practice across education, social care, health, and mental health.
She is particularly interested in exploring the underlying issues and dynamics that enhance or undermine coproduction and decision-making, including power, epistemic injustice, and identity.
Kate Martin is also a stand-up comedian whose experience in mental health gives fuel to her confident, high-energy storytelling combined with razor sharp observations of life's quirks through queer eyes.
We asked Kate to talk to us about her history with London Friend as a Chair of Trustees, her work to support young people’s mental health and the LGBTQ+ community in London and what is the change she'd like to see in our community.
Celebrate Kate's contribution to LGBTQ+ life in London and beyond here
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