Meet the Board Members
David McGovern has been a volunteer with the LGF since 2003 working on the Helpline.
In 2006 David became a Trustee and briefly served as the Company Secretary before being elected as Chair of the Board in January 2007. He is currently also a member of the Finance, Remuneration and Governance sub committees.
David has worked in the public sector for over 20 years and is currently a senior manager in the Passenger Transport Executive. He is also a Magistrate in his beloved home City of Salford.
Sarah Holden is the current Vice Chair of the LGF and has been a trustee since 2006. She first got involved with the LGF "to give something back to her community" and uses her experience as a trade union official for Unite the union to bring human resource, diversity and employment law knowledge and campaign skills to the organisation.
Sarah is currently the chair of the Human Resources Working Group as well as a member of the Remuneration, Governance and Fundraising Sub Committees.
Gary Hardman has been a Trustee since 2004 and became involved when his skills were needed by the LGF as we began our preparations to move into Princess House. He has been a volunteer since 1994 mostly being involved with Icebreakers.
Gary is currently the Chairman of the Governance Sub-Committee and a member of the Remuneration Sub-Committee and Human Resources Working Group.
John Finn joined the board in 2004 and was elected Company Secretary of the LGF in 2006. He has been a volunteer since 2000.
He also volunteers for the Icebreakers group that works with the LGF.
John is the Chair of the Fundraising Sub-Committee and a member of the Governance Sub-Committee and can be found shaking a bucket up and down Canal Street on all occasions.
Tamsin Deasey is a new Trustee with the LGF and began working with the charity in December 2007 as she felt that her background in strategic Marketing and Public Relations could help push the organisation forward.
Tamsin became involved with the LGF as she feels that it plays a very important role in the lives of many men and women across the North West and beyond and wanted to support that work in the best way that she could.
James Barnard began volunteering for the LGF Helpline in 2005 and became a Trustee in 2006. His experience of business and indirect taxation led him to join the Finance Sub-Committee and he maintains a watching, and helpful, brief on the indirect tax consequences of the LGF’s business and charitable operations.
Although retired James continues to serve on the LGF Helpline and Steering Committee whilst holding a non-executive directorship post with the Simplyhealth Group of companies which includes the Manchester based Healthsure health cash plan scheme. He also acts as local representative for Christian Aid and its fundraising activities for overseas development aid.
Glyn Jenkins has been a Trustee since 1997 following his retirement from the bank where he was the Bank Manager for Healthy Gay Manchester.
He is at present the Treasurer of the Board of Trustees and also chairs the Finance Sub Committee where his financial background has been of great help to us over the years.
Glyn is also the Treasurer of a number of other charities and has been involved with his local committee of Cancer Research UK for over 40 years.
Gwyn Starkey first became a trustee in 2000 to help facilitate the smooth unification of HGM and Manchester L&G Switchboard Services to form the LGF. He currently sits on the Human Resources Working Group where his keen interest in volunteer welfare keeps him busy.
Gwyn has volunteered on other Board groups as well as with the building, clinic and Rampton teams; he continues to volunteer with Icebreakers and has done so since 1994.
David Rogerson has been a Trustee since 2007, joining the Board when his skills were need to help the LGF expand and develop. He has been a volunteer for over five years, mainly with the Icebreaker group and on the Helpline. He currently sits on the Fundraising Sub Committee.
David joined the LGF because “The LGF is unique, providing valuable services to our community which simply wouldn’t exist without it”.
Ben Amponsah has been involved with the LGF since 2002 when he joined as a Student Counsellor. Before that he had taken part in various poster campaigns for the organisation, mindful of his position as one of only a few out black men in the Manchester LGB community.
In 2004 Ben became a Trustee and in 2005 was elected Chair. Ben held this post for 2 years before having to resign due to work commitments. He is currently a member of the Human Resources Working Group as well as the Remuneration Sub-Committee.
At the beginning of 2008 Ben returned to volunteering with the face to face counselling group and continues to find his work with the LGF hugely rewarding.
Ed Cox joined the LGF as a trustee in 2007 and is currently Chair of the Service Improvement Sub Committee and a volunteer. He helped launched the new LGF website for Pride 2007 and continues to work with staff and volunteers to make improvements.
Ed has previously volunteered for gay men's and mental health charities in North Wales and now volunteers for the LGF to offer his skills and experience to the community which supported him when he struggled to deal with his own sexuality.
John is currently finding his way around the different boards and is a member of the Governance Sub Committee and the Finance Sub Committee. He currently works at the Manchester Metropolitan University and is an active researcher into Gay Men's Health issues.
