Jan Gooding was last night unanimously and formally confirmed as Stonewall’s new Chair of Trustees.
She succeeds Jacqueline Davies who retires after serving as a trustee for nine years and as Chair of Stonewall since 2012. Jan will work closely with Acting Chief Executive Ruth Hunt to continue expanding Stonewall’s work here in Britain and around the world challenging homophobia and prejudice in every walk of life.
Speaking about her appointment Jan said: ‘While modern Britain has made great progress to ensure equality in law there is still much to do to make the daily experience for gay people here, and in many other countries, free from abuse, rejection and at times violence. As the new Chair of Stonewall I want to use the fundamental legal underpinning, secured over 25 years of committed campaigning by this remarkable organisation and many others, to continue the campaign for true equality.’
Welcoming Jan as Stonewall Chair, Acting Chief Executive Ruth Hunt said: ‘Jacqueline Davies has had a fantastic nine years as a Stonewall Trustee and we’re incredibly grateful for all her hard work. I, and everyone at Stonewall, are really excited about working with Jan to continue expanding our work. We know that there is still so much work to do to secure full equality here in Britain and right around the globe.’
Jan has been a Stonewall trustee since April 2013 and is currently group brand director at Aviva which she joined in 2008. In her role she is responsible for the brand, marketing and social media strategy reaching 34 million customers in the 15 markets that make up the Aviva Group.
Stonewall was awarded charitable status in 2003 and since then has been at the forefront of securing significant legislative advances for lesbian, gay and bisexual people in Britain. In that time the charity has launched an Education for All programme to tackle homophobic bullying in schools and colleges and has grown membership of its Diversity Champions programme for major employers to 670 organisations, who employ six million people between them.
