Our Trustees and Patrons

Board of Trustees

	Julia Shelley Chair of Trustees Julia has had a long career in voluntary sector leadership and was CEO of Age UK Lambeth. She has also been a trustee of other LGBT+ organisations.
	Annie Southerst Co Vice-Chair Trustee Annie is an Opening Doors Ambassador and had a career in mental health and physiotherapy. She has also been a trustee and worked for other LGBT+ organisations.
	Daniel Ricard Trustee Daniel is the Operations Leader in PwC's Sustainability and Climate Change business based in London and is also an Ambassador for the firm's LGBTQ+ network Shine. After mentoring the ODL corporate volunteering team for a number of years, Dan joined the board of Trustees in October 2020. He is also the founder and co-chair of NEXUS, a cross-organisation network which brings together the leaders of corporate LGBTQ+ networks to share best practice.
	Nick Mott Being a passionate supporter of Opening Doors as a volunteer befriender, and seeing first hand the difference the Charity can make to the lives of older LGBT+ people, led Nick to become a trustee. In his professional life, Nick was a partner for many years at an international law firm. Nick also has extensive experience in Inclusion and Diversity both at a UK and global level. An advocate for LGBT+ rights, he was named in the top 25 OutStanding LGBT+ Executives two years running.
	David Hart David is a Chartered Accountant and is a Director at PwC where he focuses on sustainability within the Financial Services industry. He is also a champion for inclusion and diversity and has held a number of leadership roles in this space. As Treasurer, he chairs the Finance and Funding Sub-Committee and supports the Senior Leadership Team with all matters relating to Finance and Reporting.
$A person smiling at the camera Description automatically generated$	Caroline Ellis Caroline is one of the two directors of Deeds and Words, a small consultancy working with organisations and communities to build inclusive and effective cultures. She has volunteered in our communities since moving to London in the 1980s, initially as a buddy for the Terrence Higgins Trust and she now has over 20 years’ experience as a senior leader. At Deeds and Words she works alongside her partner Ruth, across all sectors and industries, with organisations wanting to have a positive impact in the world.
Patrons
	Baroness Liz Barker Patron Liz is a working peer (Lib Dem), and used to work for Age Concern England where she pioneered national work around LGBT+ older people.
	Lord Chris Smith Patron Lord Smith began his political career as a Labour Councillor for Islington Borough, becoming MP for Islington South and Finsbury in 1983. The following year he came out as the first ever openly gay MP and when Labour came to power in 1997 he became Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, and Chairman of the Millennium Commission, the first openly gay Cabinet Minister anywhere.