Meet the Team

Senior Management Team

Bridget Symonds

CEO

Bridget (she/her) is currently overseeing the operational and strategic management of the organisation as well as supporting with the implementation of the fundraising strategy.

"I am so thrilled to be joining Opening Doors as your CEO. I have over five years of senior management experience working with survivors of domestic and sexual violence, homeless people, older women fleeing domestic abuse and women in prison.

I began volunteering with rape survivors in 2006 and then worked as a frontline support worker with people in recovery, men convicted of domestic abuse, women selling sex and women in prison before moving into management. My most recent role has been as Head of Women's Centres and Safeguarding at Women in Prison.

As an LGBTQ+ person myself I feel passionately about the work Opening Doors does for our community and having run a service for older people I am acutely aware of the needs of this group and how, so often, 'older' people are forgotten in service delivery.  Not to mention the additional intersectionality of older people and LGBTQ+ identities and how older people’s identities get removed and their queerness erased: it is this that drives my passion for the work and I can't wait to get started at Opening Doors".

Adrian Beaumont

Head of Services

Adrian (he/they) has responsibility for the operational wellbeing of Opening Doors. Responsibilities include oversight of HR, D & I, IT, policy development and the delivery of client services and volunteering.

Their background is in LGBTQ+ campaigning, as director of national and regional operational service delivery programmes within sexual health and HIV and wellbeing services and MSM research projects. They are a qualified counsellor, have run their own businesses and have worked extensively in the public and third sector.

Jonathan Buckerfield

Deputy CEO, Head of Income Generation

Jonathan (he/him) leads all fundraising, earned income and communication activities for the organisation, overseeing income from a wide range of sources including trusts and foundations, individual supporters, corporate partnerships, community, events, Pride in Care and training.  Jonathan will develop increased and sustainable income to meet the growing ambitions of Opening Doors.

Jonathan has worked and volunteered in the charity sector for over ten years at both large and small organisations, including Big Lottery Fund, Crisis, Mosaic LGBT Youth Centre, King’s College London and Spitalfields Crypt Trust. 

Operations Team

Bernadette Latour

Operations Manager

info@openingdoors.lgbt

Bernadette ensures our members, volunteers and staff are kept informed and supported and is responsible for data reporting, liaising with various stakeholders and supporting the operational delivery of services across member engagement and volunteer services. Bernadette is also implementing a new CRM system for ODL.

Dr Chryssy Hunter

Volunteer Manager

Chryssy manages our busy and multi-faceted volunteer service – everything from recruiting and inducting new volunteers for the team,  identifying new opportunities and developing new strategies and practices to improve the service and make it a more genuinely inclusive space.

She is a published author in the LGBTQ+ field and has managed teacher training programs in Libya and North Korea.  Now she prefers to stay closer to home, focussing on social justice, wellbeing and where possible, joy.

Sadia Ahmad

Ambassador Development Officer 

[email protected]

Sadia (she/her) brings a wealth of experience from across the voluntary and private sectors, working in mental health, volunteer engagement, training, and communications.

She is motivated to work with under-served demographics and has volunteered with vulnerable people across London.

Sadia will be heading up and developing our Ambassador Programme, helping shape it to the ongoing demands of organisational development.

Community Engagement Team

Ian McGeough

Community Engagement Manager

[email protected]

Ian (he/him) leads the coordination and delivery of all our community engagement activities and events - providing regular social opportunities to help develop networks, communities and create friendships, including a range of specialist services for under-represented groups.

Ian’s background is stakeholder engagement and is passionate about improving social inequality, social mobility and sustainability. He’s also a huge music and film fan and enjoys dog walks and gardening.

Stephen Quashie 

[email protected]

Stephen (he/him) has previously worked for many voluntary and community organisations.

He has also volunteered and participated with a range of LGBTQ+ groups and is looking forward to working with the diverse range of people in Opening Doors and beyond. 

Maggie Martin

[email protected]

Maggie's (she/her) background is in healthcare, specifically in care homes, where she worked as an activity coordinator, social worker and memory care director. She recently completed a master's in social policy at the University of York and wrote a dissertation on trans elders in care homes and looked at policies that need to be in place to both protect and support our trans community if and when they enter care. She is passionate about equitable access to care and the development of new dementia treatments and supportive therapies. 

In her free time, she likes to get outside as much as possible. Originally from Colorado, she enjoys hiking, kayaking and snow sports! She also also enjoys playing video games and relaxing with her partner at home.

Sara Lyon

[email protected]

Sara (they/them or she/her) organises activities, events and opportunities for our Trans and Non-Binary members to share space, develop friendships and build community.  

They have a varied background in the charity and voluntary sector, including support work with adults experiencing homelessness and advocacy for survivors of domestic abuse. Before joining Opening Doors they were a community engagement officer and researcher focusing on people's experiences of health and social care services. 

Sara is also a writer, artist and gardener. 

Befriending Team

Fabricio Catroppa

Befriending Support Officer

[email protected]

Fabricio is a Befriending Support Officer supporting the LGBTQ+ communities. He has more than 10 years' experience working on a variety of community projects recruiting, supervising, training and managing volunteers working on befriending, mentoring and advice & guidance projects.

Fabricio loves gardening and walking his dog in the countryside.

Mike Goldberg

Befriending Support Officer 

[email protected]

Training, Research and Policy Team

Professor Ben Thomas

Research and Policy Manager

info@openingdoors.lgbt

Ben Thomas is a researcher and policy expert with an employment history of advising governments, managing, and developing health services and working in academia.

He is the research and policy coordinator and leads a programme of research aimed at improving the lives of older LGBTQ+ people, including improving health and wellbeing and reducing loneliness and isolation.

Ben also supports colleagues by training and carrying out policy reviews as part of the Pride in Care quality standard process.

Martha Margetson 

Training & Policy Administrator 

training@openingdoors.lgbt

From a background in events administration and film exhibition, Martha retrained during the pandemic to join our team as the Training Administrator. They will be supporting the Training and Policy team and the delivery of the Pride in Care standard, as well as promoting our national and citywide activity.

When not working at Opening Doors they are part of the programming and festival team for Fringe! Queer Film & Arts Festival.

Mark Sladen

Research & Policy Officer

info@openingdoors.lgbt

Mark is a researcher and writer with experience in the arts as well as the voluntary sector. For over twenty years his principal activity was as a curator in the museum and gallery world, after which he took a career break to write a PhD — which explored queer art and activism in the shadow of the AIDS crisis of the 1980s and 1990s.

Since then, Mark has been working with LGBTQ+ organisations in the voluntary sector, and his main role at Opening Doors is to research poverty among LGBTQ+ over-50s, a three-year project funded by Trust for London.

Fundraising and Communications Team

Aroona Shaukat
Corporate and Community Fundraising Officer

[email protected]  

Since graduating from university in 2017, Aroona has worked for a range of charities within the youth and voluntary sector such as Pro-Action Hertfordshire, OnSide Youth Zones, and the Cystic Fibrosis Trust to name just a few. She is passionate about working with different groups, businesses, and individuals to make a difference within communities and she looks forward to working with Opening Doors to deliver exciting fundraising initiatives that will continue to support our members across the UK.

When Aroona is not working, she enjoys going to the theatre, listening to music and kickboxing.

Rob Hamilton

Business Strategy and Fundraising Consultant

Rob is a Business Strategy and Fundraising consultant with over twenty five years executive experience in the third sector. A fully qualified Body Psychotherapist and Executive Coach and with post-graduate studies in Education, Finance and Management he has a wealth of knowledge of the issues affecting third sector organisations and the behavioural science of organisational development.

Having raised in excess of £40m from charitable trusts, foundations and statutory bodies he has an in-depth understanding of voluntary sector funding, supporting ODL to maximise our potential to secure the funding required to deliver our objectives.