My Career Story

In the 100th episode of the My Career Story podcast I open the episode with an important career update of my own, before diving into answering the questions previous guests on the show have submitted including Katherine Jennick, Polly McGee, Michael Stephens, Kathy Caprino, Asifa Lahore, Rebecca Bayuk and Carolyn Parry. 

Christopher Kenna is CEO and Founder of Brand Advance (BA), a startup 100  2020 company which connects brands with diverse audiences globally, through Insights, Media and Creative that more authentically engages these communities.  Chris is also the Director of Diversity and Inclusion at OUTvertising, the Advertising industry Lobbying Group and as a mixed race, out gay father - is a strong advocate for diversity and representation within the Media and Advertising industry as a member of the WFA Diversity Advisory Board and is also on the advisory board for the V&A Museums. An award winning entrepreneur having received the Innovator of the Year Award at the second annual Ex-Forces in Business Awards and was recently named on EMPower’s 100 Ethnic Minority Executives 2020.

Bobbi was the first openly transgender person in bp and as co-chair of bp Pride’s Transgender Group has transformed trans awareness within the company. She is the founder of “Trans in the City” - a corporate collaboration of over 250 organisations to further transgender awareness globally. Bobbi is a Diversity Role Model and a very proud champion of Stonewall Housing. She was voted #1 in the 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 and was a business nominee in the 2021 Diva Awards. She plays guitar and bass and sings, has two grown up children and lives in Brighton, UK.

Patrick is a Website Operations Specialist in the Online Fashion Retail sector. He gas been in this field for 12 years, falling into it randomly after giving up as an actor and briefly working in recruitment (which he was dreadful at). In his current role at Levi's he is also the Membership Secretary and Culture Lead of the European LGBTQ+ ERG. 

In this episode we share the career advice gifted to us from some of the LGBTQ+ guests who shared their career stories in the first 3 seasons of the podcast. Featuring - Chloe Davies, Aaron Carty, Lorna Reeves, Michael Newton, Neil Thornton, Divina De Campo, Debbie Cannon, Davide Pagnotta, Paul Russell, Chris Allan, Jamala Osman, Katrina Kibben and Eman Carballo. 

John spent over twenty years working in the worlds of advertising, TV and content production, launching and running his own firm along the way. He now helps founders to grow their businesses.

DOM&INK, is a freelance illustrator and merman based in London, from Bolton, via Narnia. He loves to create work that makes you feel empowered, confident and all warm and fuzzy inside. Recurring themes in his work are LGBTQ+ rights, mental health awareness, body positivity, drag and girl bands (he can’t resist drawing a Little Mix video lewk).  Throughout his years illustrating, Dom has created art for Little Mix, Cheryl, iWeigh, The X-Factor, Selfridges, Skinny Dip, Emma Watson’s ‘Our Shared Shelf’ and more. He was also the official illustrator Ru Paul’s Drag Race UK Season 1 and for Little Mix : The Search. Something he still pinches himself about daily.  'Free To Be Me' an LGBTQ+ journal of Love, Pride and Finding Your Inner Rainbow is his third book and is published by Penguin Random House UK . Illustrated and written by Dom, it’s a love letter to the LGBTQ+ community and to the reader, to let you know, wherever you are on your rainbow journey, this book will be there for you and be your safe space.  Dom's also lucky enough to be feature in Cosmopolitan, Gay Times, Glamour, Buzzfeed and Time Out.

Aamir Hassan has worked in Education for over six years. He has been an English Teacher and moved into several leadership roles from this. Aamir has now decided to move in a different direction and is now an English Tutor and also helps schools with their intervention plans. Furthermore, Aamir is also an examiner for AQA and he delivers on LGBTQ+ and BAME education to various different companies. Aamir has a successful podcast with his husband and runs the account ‘You Don’t Love Me Boys’ in which he and his husband promote visibility for the Queer South Asian community. This year will also see Aamir become a published poet.

A father of two teenagers, who started off his career in retail management, then as a graduate trainee for Sainsbury’s, then donned a different uniform as a police officer, working in criminal investigation, internal investigations, human resources and operational policing, and climbing the ranks to become a Chief Inspector before, after nearly 13 years in the police service leaving, pivoting and then re-inventing himself as a senior HR professional, coming out as gay at 40, moving to London and now works for the transport giant FirstGroup plc as their Senior HR Business Partner and part of the Group HR leadership team at their corporate centre.

Matthew is the Executive Director of NAM, a community-based charity which supports people living with HIV, and those who care for them, by providing accurate and up to date information about HIV/AIDS. Prior to joining NAM Matthew was CEO of GMFA, the gay men’s health charity.

A Chartered Accountant with a passion for SMEs. Having worked for Louis Vuitton, RSM UK LLP, and BT Group Plc, James founded Audeo Fortis to advise start and scale-ups on overcoming barriers to growth (awarded Best SME Business Advisory Firm 2019 - CV Magazine). James’s substantial skills across the breadth of business stem from a purposeful portfolio career covering roles from accounting, corporate finance, and project & programme management, to HR and business process improvement.

James co-founded Join myNexus is 2019, a new digital platform created specifically to remove bias in the investment process for early stage business so that underfunded groups can get better access to funding. As an LGBT+ person James is a passionate advocate for challenging systemic biases and has a keen interest in diversity intersectionality across minority groups. James was recently awarded Institute of Director’s North West Director of the Year Award 2020 (non-executive).

Pam has been teaching for ten years - four spent deep in the closet, and six years out and proud. Her job title doesn't include any reference to LGBTQ, but she says it's one of the most important parts of what she does. She's head of MFL (modern foreign languages) at Longhill High School, and also co-ordinates the trainee teachers, but since coming out to the entire school in a series of assemblies in 2018, unofficially holds the title of LGBTQ co-ordinator, head gay, and general go-to person for anything LGBTQ. She has appeared on Good Morning Britain and in the Guardian talking about this role, and most recently contributed a chapter to the #LGBTed book "Big Gay Adventures in Education"

Professional hockey players and partners Leah Wilkinson and Sarah Jones share their career stories side-by-side this week! 

Leah first represented Wales in hockey aged 17. She is now the most capped player for Wales, in any sport, with 169 appearances. Leah has represented Wales in 3 Commonwealth Games and 8 Europeans throughout her career. Away from the pitch, Leah sits on the Team Wales Athlete Commission, representing the views of Welsh athletes throughout a number of sports. Leah gained her first cap for Great Britain in 2019 and is now a full time hockey player, training towards the Tokyo Olympics. She is currently on a sabbatical from her job as a teacher, teaching both History and Politics at Ewell Castle School in Surrey. In her spare time Leah enjoys spending time in the garden, reading and has a new found love for jigsaw puzzles!

Sarah is a Great Britain and Wales international hockey player with over 125 caps training towards the Tokyo Olympics. She has been to two Commonwealth Games; 2014 in Glasgow and 2018 in Gold Coast and was the first Welsh outfield athlete to represent Great Britain since 2012. She previously worked in capital investment for the Lawn Tennis Association and balanced this part-time role whilst training with GB Hockey for two years before establishing herself as a full-time member. Her career highlights include beating India at the 2018 Commonwealth Games and playing against New Zealand at The Stoop, Twickenham in front of 10,000 fans, the biggest crowd at a hockey match in the UK since 2012. She proudly represents hockey off the field and is passionate about improving the sporting landscape in Wales.

Born and raised on the island of Trinidad and Tobago and state school-educated, Charles, 32, moved to London over 10 years ago fleeing persecution of sexuality.   

In the last 5 years, Nick has been working in media, film and broadcasting; holding positions at Gay Times magazine, Celeb Mix and This Radio before recently landing his dream job as a presenter on Manchester’s famous Gaydio. Nick is currently studying Media & Communication with film & Visual Culture at Liverpool Hope University to further his career in the Media Industry.  

Nick has a passion for equality after his start in life, and so decided to use his platform to highlight issues within the BAME and LGBTQ+ community. This came to fruition in the form of an up and coming podcast, called “The 802”, with one his closest friends Dan. “The 802” touches on the common issues of equality, race and acceptance with an ecstatic and positive spin and features quests from all over the world and various walks of life.

Vangelis Polydorou first came to our attention when he auditioned for The Voice UK in 2016. His unique voice pushed him through to the finals and made him one of the clear stand outs of the season. His mentor on the show was legendary pop icon ‘Boy George’ who saw something in Vangelis and has continued to work with him ever since. George hand picked Vangelis to sing in his band ‘Culture Club’ for their 2018 world tour and most recently Vangelis supported them with his own set at Wembley Arena. With George on board as his Creative Manager and ex Cocteau Twins drummer Benny D on production, Vangelis began working on songs for his debut album ‘The Drama’ and has just released his first single ‘Throw Me’.

Charl Summers is a Content Creator, Podcast Host/Producer, Illustrator, and LGBTQ+ Advocate. Her work can be found via Unite UK and Lestalk Podcast, where she aims to improve views around LGBTQ+ topics.

Rico provided live updates at the London Black Lives Matter protests along with revealing some of the white-washed black history.  Also for Rainbow Films, he volunteered to create documentaries on racism and queer rights, as a spokesperson and part of the film crew.  The last documentary, ‘Pride & Protest’ won ‘Official Selection 2020’ at the BFI Flare film festival.  He has also spoken on NHS King Cross Hospital panels and North-East A&E doctors on LGBTQI+ healthcare and on a similar subject at the Mayor of London’s round table think tanks.  As a newly appointed board member of TransActual UK, he continues to strive to change UK legislation for non-binary equality, Hate Crime and raises the Black Queer intersectionality question in all forums with speeches at Cumbria Pride, London Trans Pride, quoted in Forbes and Department of Transport conferences.  As a columnist at Wedzera, he continues to speak out about the complexities of sexuality, gender and racial perceptions.  He has recently launched ‘Against Racism’ a nine-part show exploring the various forms of racism and how we collectively can make a difference.  Rico is a very vocal activist, fighting avidly for the rights of LGBTQIA+ people and Black people.

Asifa Lahore is Britain’s first out Muslim drag queen, pushing the boundaries of what it means to be LGBT, South Asian and Muslim.   

Asifa came into the national spotlight in 2014 when she was censored by the Birmingham Central Mosque from discussing Islam and Homosexuality on BBC Free Speech.   

This caused uproar in the British press and allowed Lahore the rare opportunity to speak openly about the topic.    

Asifa featured in Channel 4’s groundbreaking documentary Muslim Drag Queens in 2015. Narrated by Sir Ian McKellen, it drew an audience of 1.1 million viewers. That same year, she received the Attitude Magazine Pride Award for activism and increasing visibility of the ‘Gaysian’ community and also judged the Independent's Rainbow List.    

Asifa's impassioned activism on intersectionality, race, sexual orientation, gender, disability and religion has led her to speak at prestigious institutions such as the Lost Lectures, Channel 4 Diversity Festival, Women of the World Festival, the British Library and the Oxford Union.   

She has also been the face of Channel 4's 2016 diversity campaign, 'True Colour TV' as well as one of the ambassadors for 'Open Letters to Queer Britain', a project aiming to create the UK's first LGBT+ museum in collaboration with Levi's UK, the Post office and Queer Britain.    

Asifa continues to promote and DJ at London's top Gaysian club nights, Club Kali and Disco Rani.   

Her musings on world events have been featured in Winq, Attitude, Gay Times, The Independent and IB Times as well as being featured and interviewed for countless publications worldwide.    

In 2019, Asifa walked the first LGBT catwalk at Pakistan Fashion Week London. This was a proud moment for her as a British Pakistani person.    Asifa is also passionate about disability rights. She is severely sighted and suffers from Retinitis Pigmentosa, a rare genetic eye disease which causes progressive sight loss.    

Asifa's journey into the spotlight has been a deeply personal one through which she discovered her transgender identity and continues being a voice for intersectional Britain.

Jamie has experience as a Human Resources Advisor and currently works as a Learning & Talent Development Facilitator with a demonstrated history of working in Digital Business Transformation, culture change and Inclusion & Diversity. Jamie currently leads Égalité which is Publicis Group's BRG for its LGBTQ+ employees and their allies. Jamie was shortlisted in the Top 10 for the 'Future Leader' category at The British LGBT Awards 2020.

Ben is multi-hyphenate digital creator, they educate and advocate within the LGBTQIA community. Embracing their Trans Non-Binary Identity Ben has worked with global brands, advice on diversity and has even earned themselves a book deal, coming very soon!   

“Growing up I never saw or knew anybody like myself. Now at 26, I am incredibly comfortable with who I am and am visibly present in society. I am existing and thriving as a member of the LGBTQ+ community. I hope that I can be the representation for people just like me, giving them the chance to feel accepted that I so often struggled to feel growing up.”

Rohan is an expat Australian currently living in London. Moving to the UK in 2012 to pursue a career in the art world he has since worked in a variety roles for Christie’s, Art Dubai and now manages the British Council’s international touring and loans programme. As well as this, Rohan has recently published his first book, The Passion of Bright Young Things, which is a fictional recount of growing up queer in Australia.

Liane is co-author of Creative Career Coaching, a book for career professionals. She works internationally, delivering workshops and key-notes at conferences and is a Learning and Development consultant for a variety of organisations. She also loves good wine, watching birds and anything to do with nature.

Michael Gunning is an international competitive swimmer having attended two World Swimming Championships. He holds dual Jamaican and British citizenship and is the current national record holder for the 200 metre butterfly, and the 200 and 400 metre freestyle events.

Michael is a mental health and well-being advocate, and founder of CREATE SPACE Retreats and Workshops. He organises bespoke well-being and leadership development programmes for brands, businesses and groups of individuals. These unique experiences help promote the importance of prioritising self-care and personal-growth alongside career ambition and professional development. On the side, Michael runs his own not-for-profit organisation, WE CREATE SPACE, providing free monthly online well-being workshops within the LGBTQ+ communities.

In the season 4 premiere, podcast host Steve shares more about some of the chapters of his own career story focused on his identity as a white cisgender gay man.