Since GiveOut was launched over six years ago, our Board of Trustees have been instrumental in driving our mission forward – to grow giving for the global LGBTQI movement. From strong governance and strategic input, to supporting the team and amplifying our mission, GiveOut’s Trustees have been there every step of the way.
That is why we are proud to be celebrating our incredible Board this Trustees Week. We hear from our Trustees about their most rewarding and memorable moments being a board member of GiveOut.
From the entire team of GiveOut, thank you to our incredible Board of Trustees.
Elliot Vaughn MBE, Chair of GiveOut’s Board of Trustees
Elliot Vaughn MBE (he/him) is GiveOut’s founder and the Chair of its Board of Trustees. He is a Senior Partner and Managing Director at BCG in the UK and also serves as Co-Chair of the international LGBTQI human rights organisation Outright International. In 2023 he was recognised with an MBE in the King’s Birthday Honours for his work in establishing GiveOut.
“One of the most rewarding aspects of my work with GiveOut is witnessing the tangible impact we’ve had in empowering LGBTQ activists globally. From helping rebuild safe spaces like Rainbow House in Jamaica, to providing legal support in Kenya, it’s incredible to see how our collective efforts have enabled activists to defend their communities and secure real change. I love to see how our trustees and staff team work together to bring our mission to life, engaging donors, supporting partners and ensuring great governance in our work to bring new donors into giving to the LGBTQI movement.”
Bruna Gil, Vice Chair of GiveOut’s Board of Trustees
Bruna Gil (she/her) joined LinkedIn in 2015, and currently leads the Partnerships business in EMEA. She is a passionate and vocal advocate for LGBTQI rights in the workplace, having served as Out@In Global Co-Chair (LinkedIn’s LGBTQI Network). She is a founding board member of Pride in Tennis, and serves in the EDI Advisory Board for both the Lawn Tennis Association (LTA) and Brentford Football Club. Bruna has featured in the OUTstanding list of Emerging Leaders for seven years running and has been recognised three times by the British LGBT Awards.
“One of my favourite memories as a trustee for GiveOut has to be our 5th-anniversary celebration, where we brought together many of our donors and grant partners. Hearing firsthand from our grant partners about the real impact GiveOut’s support has had in their communities was incredibly gratifying. Creating a space for them to connect with those whose funding makes their work possible was truly inspiring—a celebration of the collective commitment to our mission.”
Geffrye Parsons, Treasurer of GiveOut
Geffrye (he/him) is Treasurer of GiveOut and CEO of The Inclusion Imperative, a DEI consultancy he founded in 2022 following a 35-year financial services career across the UK, Hong Kong, Singapore, and the Netherlands. Previously a Managing Director at Macquarie Group, he chaired the LGBTQI ERG, Pride, for 8 years. Geff also co-founded the LGBTQI ERG at BNP Paribas. Geff has received multiple accolades for advancing workplace inclusion, including leading Macquarie to win the Business Equality award at the PinkNews Awards and achieving #1 in the Stonewall rankings for 2022, a success he replicated with Linklaters in 2024. He won Inspirational Leader of the Year at the British LGBT Awards, appeared three times on OUTstanding’s top 100 LGBTQI executives list, and twice ranked on The Guardian’s Pride Power List, most recently in 2024.
“What is perhaps my standout memory is City for LGBT+, which is GiveOut’s single biggest fundraiser event annually. I was one of the originating organisers of City for LGBT+ back when I was a Managing Director (and Chair of the Pride ERG) at Macquarie Group, which still hosts and sponsors the event under the guiding hand of my proteges and successors in its Pride ERG. The fact that the event survived through the pandemic, is still going strong after six years to date, and cumulatively has now raised over £420,000 for the benefit of multiple organisations, are all a source of great pride for me!”
Baroness Liz Barker
Baroness Liz Barker (she/her) is a Liberal Democrat Life Peer of the House of Lords. She came out in Parliament during the Second Reading of the Equal Marriage Bill in June 2013, and has since supported a wide range of LGBTQI charities and causes. She is the co-founder of the All-Party Parliamentary Group (APPG) on Global LGBT+ Rights, Vice Chair of the APPG on Sexual and Reproductive Health, and a member of the APPG on HIV/AIDS. In 2015 Baroness Barker was appointed Liberal Democrat Spokesperson for the Voluntary Sector and Social Enterprise. She is CEO of Third Sector Business, a consultancy which provides strategic business development to charities and social enterprises in the UK and internationally.
“I am enormously privileged to be a trustee of Give Out, an organisation in which trustees and staff work in harmony to complement each other’s strengths. That has enabled us to work strategically with partners in different ways. We actively supported colleagues in Sri Lanka over many years to win legal battles on the journey to equality. We also moved within a couple of days to raise money from our community in the UK to get LGBT people out of Kabul in 2021. At GiveOut we get to contribute our skills, and the reward in seeing how the community benefits is priceless.”
Radhika Piramal
Radhika Piramal (she/her) is a business leader, philanthropist, and LGBTQI advocate, serving on the boards of VIP Industries Ltd. and Chalet Hotels Ltd. in India, and as a trustee for UK charities GiveOut and Dasra. As CEO of VIP Industries from 2010 to 2017, she led the company’s growth, raising its market cap from $150M to over $1B through strategic brand revamps. Radhika has been recognised in Economic Times India’s 40 under 40 and Business Today’s Most Powerful Women. An openly lesbian leader, she advocates for LGBTQI inclusion and enjoys travel, yoga, and time with her wife and dogs.
“GiveOut shines a light on underserved areas for funding and supports charities doing some of the hardest work around the world. It’s a pleasure and privilege to work alongside GiveOut trustees and employees, all of whom are brilliant and professional at their work, and share a common bond of queer lived experiences. I have never before worked in an atmosphere which has such high professional standards yet where everyone can fully be themselves.”
Jon Huggett
Jon Huggett brings considerable experience offering support to non-profit organisations, from coaching leaders to advising on boards around the world. Jon has chaired the boards of All Out; the STOP AIDS Project; Organisation for Refuge, Asylum and Migration; among others. He currently serves on the board of Alwan Foundation. A professional coach and board advisor, Jon has run three companies; a health care operation on four continents, an economic development consultancy, and a web startup. He also wrote chapters for books about global non-profits and while working as a Partner at Bain & Company, Jon co-founded their LGBTQI employee group.
“The best memory of my work as a trustee supporting GiveOut was hearing the stories of the brave activists from around the world when they gathered together in London for Pride this year.”
Daniel Gerring
Daniel Gerring is a senior partner at the law firm Travers Smith and a member of the firm’s Diversity & Inclusion Board. He sits on a number of charity boards, including as Chair of Trustees of Just Like Us – the LGBT+ charity for young people – and as a Trustee of Refugees at Home and City YMCA, London. He is an expert in governance and organisational change in both the corporate and charity sectors and also acts as pro bono legal counsel to a range of international organisations. Daniel is a member of the Network Group for the All Party Parliamentary Group on Global LGBT+ Rights and a Leadership Fellow of St George’s House, Windsor Castle.
“I’ve had the privilege to meet several of GiveOut’s grant partners and have seen firsthand how the LGBTQI Legal Aid Fund empowers these groups to improve the lives of LGBTQI people in their communities, using the law and courts to drive progress toward equality”
Neville Gabriel
Neville Gabriel is the founding CEO of the Other Foundation, a Southern African LGBTQI community foundation. He also chairs community shareholding trusts for renewable energy plants in South Africa. Previously, Neville was the founding Executive Director of the Southern Africa Trust, fostering policy engagement between governments and non-state actors to address poverty. His leadership extends globally with roles on Global Citizen’s policy committee, Bono’s ONE campaign Africa board, and as a senior fellow at the Synergos Institute. He also chaired the Open Society Initiative for Southern Africa (OSISA) and has held positions with Oxfam and the Southern African Catholic Bishops’ Conference, focusing on advocacy and justice programs.
“The thing that struck me about GiveOut, which I have discovered is absolutely true since joining the Board of Trustees, is that we are a genuine community. Amongst the Trustees, the GiveOut staff team, supporters and grant partners, there is a spirit of community, it is empowering, and affirming, and it is powerful.”
Aisha Shaibu-Lenoir
Aisha Shaibu-Lenoir is a social entrepreneur and LGBTQI activist, recognised as one of the “Top 100 LGBTQI Trailblazers.” She is the founder of Moonlight Experiences, an award-winning LGBTQI travel company, and a Director at The Common Press, a queer intersectional bookshop in East London. Over the past decade, Aisha has been building communities and has been instrumental in developing impactful campaigns, DEI workshops, and collaborating with leading brands and institutions—all with an intersectional framework. Her activism also extends to her role as Head of Community Engagement for UK Black Pride.
“I feel so honoured to be part of GiveOut. It’s truly a unique opportunity to be part of an organisation that doesn’t only support our LGBTQI community globally, but one that truly makes a significant impact”