Pride in Leadership Annual Conference – sponsored by Crowe

Pride in Leadership is going BIG, and pulling together a full day of brilliant talks, masterclasses and networking opportunities.

Book your place online now  – or contact claire@onthelevelconsultancy.com to arrange invoice or BACS payment for multiple bookings.

Designed to support LGBTQ+ leaders and aspiring leaders across sectors, our inaugural Annual Conference is not-to-be-missed.

Venue – Social Refuge, 27 Great Ancoats St, Manchester, M4 5AJ.

Agenda

08.30 – Registration and networking

09.05 – Introduction and opening

09.25 – Panel discussion – Overcoming barriers to career development, including the first preview of responses to our survey (with Matt Haworth, Dr Alex Baird and Chris Dunne)

10.30 – Break and networking

11.00 – Masterclasses

Masterclass A – Unleashing the full power of you (with Ed Moss)

Masterclass B – How to build a powerful and authentic personal brand (with Jodi Fox)

12.00 – Lunch and networking

13.00 – TED style talk – A comedian’s guide to humour at work (with Beth Sherman)

13.20 – Masterclasses

Masterclass C – Overcoming self-limiting beliefs, and imposter syndrome (with Yatin Mistry)

Masterclass D – How LGBTQ+ leaders can make an impact on global challenges, starting at the local level (with Drew Dalton)

 14.25 – Break – return to main room

14.45 – How to stay calm and influence – especially when you’re angry (with Professor Stephen Whittle OBE)

15.25 – Short break

15.40 – In conversation with Dame Jackie Daniel

16.45 – Closing remarks

Networking with drinks reception, and a smattering of live music.

10pm – Close

Book your place online now – or contact claire@onthelevelconsultancy.com to arrange invoice or BACS payment for multiple bookings.

 

Huge thanks to Crowe UK, Linten Technologies Ltd, Huddle Digital, Charity People and SAZ MEDIA for their support.

Speaker bios

Dame Jackie Daniel (she/her)

Dame Jackie began her NHS professional career as a nurse before moving into NHS management. She has been a Chief Executive Officer for 22 years, leading acute, mental health and specialist Trusts. Most recently at Newcastle Hospitals NHS Trust. During her career she built a reputation for turnaround of service quality, cultural and financial challenges.

She is consistently recognised in the top 10 NHS CEOs and more recently ranked by the HSJ in the top five most influential NHS CEOs of the last decade. In 2017 Dame Jackie was recognised in the Queens New Years Honours for her services to the NHS

She has a degree in nursing studies, a master’s degree in quality assurance in Health and Social Care and is a qualified business and personal coach. She is an Executive in Residence at Lancaster University Management School.

Dame Jackie is a Trustee of the NHS Confederation. She is a Co-founder of the Dame Commander Society and was previously the chair of the Shelford Group (representing the ten largest teaching and research hospitals in the UK).As an avid supporter of the NHS, more recently Dame Jackie has been working as strategic advisor to Accenture focusing on how AI and tech can support the changes needed in the NHS for the future.

As an openly gay woman Dame Jackie has championed diversity and inclusion in all her leadership roles. She has supported both individuals and staff groups on a range of LGBTQ issues and, for a time, was vice chair of the LGBT Foundation in Manchester.

Professor Stephen Whittle OBE (he/him)

Stephen is Professor of Equalities Law in the School of Law at MMU. A multi-award winner, he co-founded Press for

Change in 1992, and was president of the World Professional Association for Transgender Health (WPATH) between 2007 and 2009.

Stephen transitioned from female to male in 1975. Having lost numerous jobs because of being transgender, he was working in the property development and building trade when in 1985 he decided to obtain legal training on the part time LLB evening course at Manchester Metropolitan University. He primarily wanted to challenge the discrimination he and other trans people experienced. He went on to obtain a Masters, and a PhD.

Stephen has advised on transgender rights and law to the UK, Scottish, Irish, Italian, Japanese, Hong Kong, and South African governments, as well as the European Union & the Commission, and the Council of Europe. He regularly advises lawyers and writes briefs, or is an expert witness, for courts worldwide. He has authored many academic papers, non-academic articles, several books and writes a regular blog.

He is married to Sarah – they’ve been together since 1979, and have four children.

Drew Dalton (He/Him)

Drew is the founder and CEO of the award-winning ReportOUT, a global human rights organisation tackling human rights abuses against LGBTQ+ populations, which works from the grassroot level to campaigning at the United Nations level. He is also currently the Chair of UKAGE (UK Alliance for Global Equality), a network of 14 civil society organisations with an international remit for LGBTQ+ human rights, working to lobby governments, the FCDO, and the Home Office, for great equity for LGBTQ+ populations.

He has over 20 years experience working within the NGO sector at a local, national, and international level, in a range of varied roles from volunteer management, charity leadership and working on international development projects in Kenya and Nepal. Until recently, Drew also worked for ten years in academia as a Senior Lecturer in Sociology and Criminology at the University of Sunderland, specialising in research projects around global homophobia, global health challenges, activism, NGOs and social movements, and the Sustainable Development Goals.

Drew is currently writing a book called ‘Broken Rainbow?’ with Bloomsbury Publishers, which is tracking the polarisation of queer human rights around the globe, and now has his own consultancy business. He has won several awards and has featured on various media outlets, including the BBC, Channel 4 News, ITV, and the New Arab, and was voted 64th of 100 in the Pride Power List of the 100 most influential LGBTQ+ people in the U.K. He enjoys travel, photography, culture, politics, and social issues.

Beth Sherman (she/her)

Beth Sherman is a speaker, comedian, and seven-time Emmy Award-winning Hollywood comedy writer who’s written for the biggest shows in American television, including Late Show with David Letterman, The Tonight Show With Jay Leno, Ellen, and the Academy Awards.

As a speaker, she helps individuals and organisations harness the power of humour to create meaningful connection and genuine engagement with clients, colleagues and audiences. She’s performed at comedy clubs across the United States, as well as combat outposts and forward operating bases in Iraq.

Her comedy writing credits include Ellen, The Late Show with David Letterman, The Tonight Show With Jay Leno, and the Academy Awards. She is the winner of seven Emmy awards, and was nominated for a 2023 Writers Guild Award for the Netflix comedy special, Stand Out: An LGBTQ+ Celebration.

Yatin Mistry (he him)

Yatin Mistry is a dedicated mindset coach and NLP practitioner, specialising in empowering leaders to overcome self-limiting beliefs. With over 15 years of experience as a consultant and entrepreneur, Yatin brings a wealth of corporate skills to his coaching practice. He is passionate about helping individuals in the LGBTQIA+ community, particularly people of colour, navigate cultural challenges, shame, and negative thinking patterns through empathic self-communication and reframing techniques.

As an out, proud, married gay man of Indian heritage, Yatin deeply understands the unique challenges faced by our communities. He is accredited by the Association for Coaching and trained with The Academy of Modern Applied Psychology.

Jodi Fox (she/her)

Jodi is Founder/Creative Director of Studio Zenko. A brand consultant and creative director with over 20 years of agency, in-house and consultancy experience leading strategic branding projects and campaigns for some of the world’s biggest brands. Over the course of her career she’s branded places that have come to define cities, refocused and re-energised sleeping giants, directed superstar models in super-exotic settings, and helped inspiring start-ups make their dreams come true. Supported by a team of specialist collaborators, she now makes that wealth of experience and insight accessible to good people doing good things in a more personal and flexible consultancy offer at Studio Zenko.

As one of the few trans leaders in her industry, she’s also acutely aware of the importance of diversity, equity, the power of positive representation, and how an inclusive focus on people and planet benefits everyone. Alongside studio projects, she supports various good people and organisations in an operational and mentoring capacity – working with change-makers, advocates, and young people from LGBTQ+, disadvantaged and underrepresented backgrounds to help them bridge existing social barriers and realise glass ceilings are there to be broken.

Ed Moss (he/him)

Ed Moss is a seasoned Cultural Transformation Facilitator and former CEO with over 15 years of experience as an openly gay leader.

As the founder of The Space to Thrive, Ed has coached over 300 leaders, helping them harness their authenticity and courage. He is renowned for creating brave spaces that inspire profound personal and organisational change.

Dr Alex Baird (they/them)

At the University of Bedfordshire Alex is a Senior Lecturer in Sport and Physical Education, an EDI Lead, and the Vice Chair of the LGBTQ+ Alliance staff network. Alex’s EdD thesis research que(e)ried leadership in UK Higher Education (HE) by accessing a rare LGBTQ+ leadership development programme in UK HE and conducting an in-depth multi-layered study. During the panel, Alex will explain how the programme’s temporary queer space, the attendees who came together in it, and the influence of mentorship, served to challenge and shift perceptions and enactments of leadership. Alex will also elaborate on how all stages of leadership development are affected by being LGBTQ+, from both their participants’ experiences and their wider reading. Outside of work, Alex lives in Hertfordshire with their wife Jen and their five old miniature dachshund Coco.

 

Chris Dunne (he/him)

Chris is join CEO of Outvertising, the marketing and advertising industry’s not-for-profit, volunteer-run LGBTQIA+ advocacy organisation. It exists to make the UK marketing and advertising industry completely LGBTQIA+ inclusive, both in the work it produces and the working environments it creates.

Alongside the ‘gay job’, his day job is Head of Marketing at Thinkbox, the marketing trade body for TV advertising, which exists to help advertisers and agencies get the most out of today’s TV and represents 99% of commercial TV in the UK. Chris’s two decade career marketing media brands has spanned radio, print, news, and now TV.

He was named in The Media Leader’s inaugural Future 100 list, is a member of the Chartered Institute of Marketing, the UK Accessible Advertising Taskforce, and the IPA’s Effectiveness Leadership Group. He is a Mental Health First Aider and a passionate advocate for improved mental health awareness and training in the workplace.

Masterclass details

Masterclass A – Unleashing the full power of you (with Ed Moss)

Join Ed Moss in this transformative workshop, Unleashing the Full Power of You for LGBT+ leaders. This session focuses on moving from fear to trust, inviting you move toward leading from who you really are not how the world shaped you, build and model inclusive teams, and drive meaningful change. Learn practical tools to fully embrace your queer super powers as a differentiating leadership potential.

You will leave having:

• Cultivated Trust: You will come away with a practical strategy to transition from fear to trust, enhancing your confidence and authenticity as a leader.
• Identified how to drive change: Using this strategy you will identify where it could be best applied and how to build your team in the process.

Masterclass B – How to build a powerful and authentic personal brand (with Jodi Fox)

Do you struggle to find the balance between the personal and the professional? Do you want to make your presence felt more in your arena? Does posting on Linkedin feel like a chore? Does the whole idea of ‘personal brand’ in general give you the ick?

Everybody has a voice that deserves to be heard – the key to authenticity comes from feeling comfortable and confident in yours.

Jodi will debunk some of the common myths surrounding personal brand and help you put the foundations in place to start building yours – providing practical steps on how you can use your voice to create more impact, without losing your soul.

Topics will include:

• Finding your niche
• Maintaining a professional presence without it feeling stuffy
• Setting effective boundaries between the personal and professional
• Utilising your lived experience in a way that feels comfortable to you
• Showing up online easily and consistently
• Establishing your goals
• Creating an impact

Masterclass C – Overcoming self-limiting beliefs, and imposter syndrome (with Yatin Mistry)

Ready to unlock your potential and kick those self-limiting beliefs to the curb? Join us for an awesome workshop with mindset coach and NLP practitioner Yatin Mistry. This session is all about breaking down barriers and empowering you to thrive!

The topics we will cover include:
● Understand Self-Limiting Beliefs: Gain a clear understanding of what self-limiting beliefs are and how they can negatively impact your life.
● Spot the Negativity: Learn how to identify those pesky negative thoughts and beliefs that keep creeping in.
● Tap into Your Strengths: Dive into the unique challenges and strengths of being LGBTQ+ and see how you can use these to your advantage.
● Boost Your Mindset: Walk away with cool tips and tricks to shift your perspective and build resilience.

Yatin brings loads of experience and a friendly vibe, making this session interactive, engaging, and totally fun. You’ll leave with practical tools and a fresh outlook to help you live that awesome life.

Masterclass D – How LGBTQ+ leaders can make an impact on global challenges, starting at the local level

This masterclass explores how to drive meaningful change from within your business, community, and leadership roles, with a focus on practical actions that tackle issues like inequality, sustainability, and inclusion.

While the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) offer a helpful framework, this session goes beyond simply introducing the SDGs. Instead, it focuses on how LGBTQ+ leaders can engage with sustainable development in a way that reflects our unique experiences and challenges, bringing local actions to bear on global issues. You’ll learn how to embed socially conscious practices in your work and lead with purpose, creating positive change both locally and globally.

You will leave this session:

• Understanding how to align your leadership with the global challenge of sustainable development, starting from a local perspective.
• Learning practical ways to address sustainability, equality, and inclusion through an LGBTQ+ lens, and implement these strategies in your organisation.
• Discovering how to “queer” global frameworks like the SDGs, making them relevant and impactful in your work, community, and leadership.
• Feeling inspired and equipped to lead with purpose, creating a more socially conscious organisation that supports sustainable development at every level.

Drew Dalton brings energy, expertise, and a passion for making real-world change. You’ll leave this interactive session ready to tackle the global challenges of sustainable development, starting within your organisation and community, and make a lasting impact both locally and globally.

Headline partner:

 

The Pride in Leadership Annual Conference is proudly sponsored by: