By profession, Char Bailey (she/her) is a qualified NLP (Neuro-Linguistic Practitioner) and Peak Performance Coach. Mental health and Autism advocacy play a huge role in what she does, facilitating workshops focusing on self-awareness, stress-management, confidence and resilience. She loves showing people how powerful they are.

Char is also Education and Inclusion officer for the biggest global movement for queer people of colour UK Black Pride and Director of people for Birmingham Pride. She sits as Co chair of the board for Neurodiversity in business and is head of features for DIVA magazine. Her apple award winning podcast is called Qmmunity.

Alice Beverton-Palmer is immersed in UK queer culture - she DJs its parties, interviews its leading lights, and in her day job at PinkNews shapes its culture.  As Head of Brand at PinkNews she is responsible for shaping and communicating the brand narrative and identity of the world’s biggest LGBTQ+ media publisher.

She is also the creator of podcast THE DOROTHY PROJECT, sharing the stories of women who’ve changed the queer world. The podcast has featured on lists of top LGBTQ podcasts on Apple Podcasts and Spotify, and was commissioned by the latter for an exclusive Pride episode.

Alice DJs at beloved Vauxhall clubnight Push The Button, and is a Director of the RVT Future campaign to protect the Royal Vauxhall Tavern.

Alice has been interviewed on contemporary British queer and internet culture for books and magazines from Alim Kheraj’s QUEER LONDON to Marie Le Conte’s ESCAPE. She is also an experienced speaker and compère who has shared stages at LGBTQ+ events with the likes of Rylan, Sadiq Khan, and Michelle Visage.

Michael started his career as a marketing graduate at American Express. After receiving his vocation to work in market research, he worked at 2 of the sector’s most innovative businesses, Research Now and MESH Experience. For the last 9 years, he has been working in media research for global media agency, UM.

Michael has extensive consumer research experience and has led studies for many brands including Fitbit, Johnson & Johnson, ITV, Spotify and The Economist. He prides himself on delivering a deep level of human insight, always with a focus on actionable recommendations.

Michael has recently taken on the leadership of UM’s Data Solutions division, harnessing the agency’s best-in-class audience data stack, and client data, to deliver effective campaigns.

Michael has a particular passion for using traditional research methods to give a platform to marginalised voices in society and for understanding the role and responsibility of ads in creating and tackling stereotypes. He was named in the IPA’s inaugural iList of industry equality advocates.

Michael sits on the IPA’s Talent Leadership Group and is founder and chair of #MRSpride, the market research sector’s LGBTQ+ network.

In 2023, Michael was made a Fellow of the Institute of Practitioners in Advertising and the Market Research Society in recognition of his contribution to the advertising and market research sectors.

Named one of Campaign Magazine’s Future Leaders 2022 and Pitch Super Person 2023. Marty is founder of Smarty Pants Consultancy – a flexible, strategy-first creative consultancy model specialising in creative strategy, customer activation and retention marketing. A model where resources are embedded within marketing teams to develop powerful creative output that delivers results. With Just Eat, Smarty Pants won Best Use of Customer Insight at Engage Awards 2019 and a Silver for Best Use of AI at the DMA Awards 2020.

Marty is also Joint CEO of Outvertising – the marketing and advertising industry’s LGBTQIA+ advocacy group. And Co-Founder of Trans+ Adland, a grassroots community group of trans, non-binary, gender non-conforming and intersex people across the world of marketing and advertising.

In June 2023, Outvertising called on brands to stand their ground with their Pride month campaigns after a coordinated backlash against the inclusion of trans+ talent. 120+ organisations backed Outvertising’s industry intervention including the World Federation of Advertisers, ISBA, WPP Unite, Ogilvy, GLAAD, Stonewall, Galop, Gendered Intelligence, Mermaids, Not A Phase and the top 10 media agencies in the UK.

Marty is Campaign Magazine’s first Transgender columnist. With Campaign they write on LGBTQIA+ representation and inclusion with pieces like ‘Is adspend funding an increase in LGBTQIA+ hate crime?’ and ‘Being non-binary in adland.’

Robbie leads Stonewall's Communications, Campaigns, Policy and Research teams. This means ensuring that their supporters, partners and stakeholders are inspired by their campaigns and join them in fighting for the freedom, equity and potential of every LGBTQ+ person. Robbie also makes sure that Stonewall is using every tool it has to bring social, legal and policy change for LGBTQ+ communities in the UK and across the world.

Finally, it’s Robbie's role to ensure Stonewall is telling a wide range of LGBTQ+ people’s stories and addressing inequities that hit some of our communities hardest. Before joining Stonewall, he spent 14 years leading successful campaigns on housing, debt, welfare, disability rights and education.

Robbie played a key role in changing the policy landscape on private renting as a Policy Officer at Shelter, leading to real changes in private renters’ rights and protections. He also led a policy programme at StepChange Debt Charity that helped re-frame problem debt as a political issue and built cross-party support around better protections for people in financial difficulty. These measures helped millions of people struggling with debt to stabilise their finances.

When not in a global pandemic, Robbie runs a free ‘supper club’ with one of his best friends. Every couple of months they have six strangers over to their homes for dinner. They’ve met dozens of amazing people over the years and have learned so much from getting to know people over food and wine.

Neil Hudson-Basing has worked in the events industry for almost 20 years across a broad range of sectors including charity, voluntary, political, education & media. He's currently the Senior Events and Community Manager at PinkNews where he oversees the PinkNews Business Community amongst a variety of other events including the PinkNews Awards. He's also a freelance emcee, events consultant, public speaker & trainer.

A dynamic Event & Project Manager and Emcee, Neil prides himself on being just that - himself. Energetic and down to earth with a warm confidence and authenticity that lets attendees know that they're in extremely capable hands! A talented communicator with a passion for bringing audiences together and always with inclusion & equality at the forefront. He is a big believer in the power of storytelling in creating engaging content and valuable, shared experiences for audiences and speakers.

Socially aware & compassionate, Neil isn’t afraid to address today’s important issues, through organising and hosting events, including hard-hitting & sensitive topics such as violence against women & girls, racism, LGTBQ+ equality & menopause. He is committed to active allyship and using his skills as a way to influence and support positive change. Professionally & personally, he embraces debate and discomfort in a calm, objective manner when it comes to challenging areas; and believes that creating safe spaces to do so is often the way to change hearts & minds. He's an active, proud part of the LGBTQ+ community and strives to show up for all who fall under the big, colourful ummbrella.

Dr Ronx is an award winning trans non binary emergency medicine doctor by profession. On screen they are best known for their role as a presenter on CBBC's Operation Ouch. They describe themself as a queer, black, intersectional feminist. Driven and determined, they self-funded their way through Medical School after leaving home in their teenage years, graduating from Kings College Medical School in 2011.

Dr Ronx faced a challenging upbringing and realises their unique story can help motivate and inspire young people from all walks of life. Dr Ronx is passionate about community, volunteering and giving back as demonstrated by them mentoring Hackney young people, giving presentations in local schools, raising money for various charities and championing young people to feel empowered to achieve.

Dr Ronx has hosted landmark documentaries answering questions facing the nation, such as Are Women The Fitter Sex? and The Truth About Boosting Your Immune System for BBC One, the highly acclaimed Channel 4 investigative documentary Is Covid Racist? and taking their medical expertise onto the streets in The Unshockable Dr Ronx for BBC 3. In 2023 Ronx presentedThe Bias Diagnosis: Gender Injustice in Healthcare, a podcast series for Audible in which Ronx investigates one of the biggest injustices in modern medicine. They also had their first book published by Harper Collins entitled Amazing Bodies, one of the Little Experts series.

Their motto is “You cannot be, what you do not see”.

Lee Mabey is Managing Partner, dentsu X. With 17 years’ experience in the media industry, he has held roles at LadBible, JCDecaux and Clear Channel. Lee is a vocal advocate for change within the media and advertising industry and supports clients in making the necessary changes to be more representative of the UK population. He regularly contributes to thought pieces on LGBTQ+ visibility and social mobility. Last year Lee won the IPA Speakers’ Cup for his speech on classism in the advertising industry, and was named by The Media Leader’s as one of their 2022 Future Leaders. During his tenure as co-chair of LGBTQ+ Employee Relations Group &Proud, dentsu UK was named in the Stonewall Workplace Equality Index Top 100.

Bobbi Pickard is a Diversity Equity and Inclusion professional with many years senior operational and programme management experience in the banking, trading, technology and energy sectors. As the first openly transgender person in bp she transformed transgender awareness globally within the company. She is CEO of Trans in the City an organisation she founded in response to seeing a lack of co-operative working between global corporates to help the trans and non-binary community and has transformed it into a global organisation with over 350 major organisations collaborating on furthering trans awareness across the world.

Extremely active in all areas of diversity Bobbi speaks at many events around the world on LGBTQIA+ inclusion in business, trans issues and diversity and inclusion in industry. She is in demand on radio, TV and other online mediums. Bobbi is a Patron of FFLAG, a Diversity Role Model, a very proud golden champion of Stonewall Housing, a council member of OUTvertising, an ambassador for MindOUT and a Fellow of the Royal Society of Arts.

She is the first trans person ever to close the London Stock Exchange, was voted #1 in the Yahoo Finance OUTstanding 50 LGBT+ Future Leaders’ List 2019, #4 in 2020, included in the PWC Stonewall 50 Inspirational Role Models 2019, was winner of the Rainbow Honours LGBTQ Champion Award 2019, the Nestle Diversity Champion Award at the 2020 British LGBT awards, placed #14 in the Pride Power List 2020, 12 in 2021, was a business nominee in the 2021 Diva Awards, winner of the Diversity Hero Award at the European Diversity Awards 2021 and was awarded Changemaker of the Year 2022 by Stonewall. She has raised over £450K for LGBTIQA charities in the last 5 years.