Leeds Pride 25

Professor Helen Finch

Helen is Professor of German Literature at Leeds, recognised by Leeds alumni for the impact she has had on students and fellow staff during her time at the University.    

Helen's main areas of research are in the representation of the Holocaust in German-language literature, queer identity and memory in German culture, and curriculum design. She is co-organiser of the LCS Queer Area Studies Network – a network which brings together the diverse range of research in the School of Languages, Cultures and Societies that engages queer topics and methodologies – and she’s a proudly transinclusive member of the LCS Equality and Inclusion committee and the University’s LGBT+ staff network. 

One member of the alumni community described the difference Helen made to them:  

“Helen was incredibly kind to all staff and students. Her office door was kept open so that anybody could go in and talk to her. She would give sound advice and compassion to all. I felt safe around her and saw her as an inspiration during my studies because I had just come out as a gay male at the beginning of my studies. She led classes on queer history, and was a key figure of the LGBTQ+ staff community during my time at Leeds.   

Sarah-Joy Ford (Fine Art 2015)

Sarah-Joy is an artist, and independent scholar. She works with textiles to explore the complexities and pleasures of lesbian, queer and feminist communities, histories and archives. 

She has exhibited around the world – including at One Archives Gallery in Los Angeles – written for a number of international journals, and runs community craft and banner making workshops around the UK. She was the recipient of a North West Consortium Doctoral Training Partnership award for her PhD research, which examined quilting as an affective methodology for re-visioning the British lesbian archive at Manchester School of Art. She has recently been awarded a curatorial research grant from The Paul Mellon Centre to establish the Rachael Field collection at Bishopsgate Institute. 

Her forthcoming solo show dykeland will be at The Whitaker in Rossendale 7 June to 21 September 2025. 

Leon Gray (English 2008)

Fashion stylist, consultant and Pride advocate Leon began his career at Vogue before spending over a decade with the Victoria Beckham fashion brand. His time there brought him to New York, where he now works as a stylist and creative consultant for public-facing clients in entertainment and media. Leon actively supports LGBTQ+ designers and remains committed to visibility and representation within the industry. 

Deb Hetherington (LLM 2010)

Deb Hetherington is a prominent innovation strategist and ecosystem builder based in Leeds, with over 15 years of experience in supporting startups and scaling businesses across the UK’s digital and tech sectors. 

As Executive Director at Leeds Digital, Deb champions the social and economic growth of the region’s digital community. She also supports research from the University of Leeds and Leeds Beckett University around Artificial Intelligence and innovation, and sits on various boards and steers within the North to shape regional growth.   

Deb has long been a champion of representation and diversity in the digital industry and co-founded WILD Digital, an initiative dedicated to empowering women and minority groups into digital roles. 

She is currently working on developing a new health innovation centre in Leeds in partnership with NEXUS, The Leeds Teaching Hospital Trust, and Leeds Beckett University, which will sit within the health innovation village, housing innovations that will improve patient outcomes regionally, nationally and internationally. 

Jamie Lambert (Spanish 2012)

Jamie is a performing artist and theatre producer. As a member of the Britain's Got Talent winning group Collabro, he sold 3 million albums worldwide. Last year, he released his debut album What I Was Made For. 

His Olivier-nominated theatre company, Lambert Jackson, produces and promotes musical theatre performances and takes an innovative approach to theatre. They recently produced the West End's much-celebrated White Rabbit Red Rabbit, which featured 48 celebrities and actors, each performing one show across the run, having never seen the script before. 

Shortly after winning Britain’s Got Talent, Jamie spoke about life in the public eye as a gay man, encouraging others to be open about their own sexuality: “The more that happens, the more normal it becomes. I think nowadays it’s about being comfortable in your own skin and comfortable with who you fall in love with.”  

Jamie has written for various publications about being an LGBTQ+ activist, and has worked as a columnist for Gay Times. 

Laura Mackay (Theatre 2007) 

Laura is Chief Executive Officer at Just Like Us, the UK's leading charity for LGBTQ+ youth. She is a former Assistant Headteacher with a passion for inclusive education. 

She taught English and led on equality, diversity and inclusion in schools for over a decade. Prior to moving into the charity sector, Laura was Strategic Lead at a local authority in London. She is a school governor and Teach First ambassador; a rugby player and a soprano. 

Just Like Us is the LGBT+ young people’s charity, as Laura explained: 

Alongside an Ambassador Programme for young volunteers, the charity equip and support schools to be more LGBT+ inclusive through talks on allyship, an annual School Diversity Week campaign, free educational resources and a student-led Pride Groups programme.

Dr Craig Poku (PhD Environmental Sciences 2019)

Data scientist Craig advocates for minorities working in STEM, acting as the role model he never had early in his career. A trustee for Pride in STEM, an organisation that supports LGBTQ+ scientists and engineers around the world, Craig helps to challenge the general public’s perceptions of what scientists should be like, embracing diversity in all its forms.  

Craig was also named in the 2024 Attitude Magazine 101 list, which celebrates LGBTQ+ trailblazers. 

Craig also has a dedicated social media following @Pokubakes, a thriving sidearm to his career. His baking recipes have featured in Tesco, and he’s appeared as a special guest on TV show The Great British Bake-Off Extra Slice. 

Benjamin Roberts (English 1997)

As CEO at The British Film Institute (BFI), Benjamin looks after the UK’s largest public film fund.

Ben has been outspoken about queer representation in the film industry and how BFI can help make changes in the industry. After being diagnosed with HIV in 2012, Ben became motivated to be open about his status and act as a positive, visible role model.

Maya Skelton

Recognised by alumni from the School of Psychology, Programme Support Officer Maya carries out a wealth of work both within and outside of their University role to promote LGBTQ+ rights.

Maya is dedicated to fostering student well-being and creating an inclusive, rewarding academic environment. They carry out talks with staff and students about pronouns, and Maya's office is an open-door safe space for all to use.

Charra Tea

Charra Tea is the stage name of James Martin (Design 2023) a drag performer who placed sixth in the sixth series of RuPaul’s Drag Race UK. Whilst studying at Leeds, Charra balanced University studies with a thriving drag career.

Tom Wong (Geography 2003)

Tom’s career in communications started at Leeds University Union, where he was the elected Communications Officer for two years. He has gone on to work in senior roles across a number of businesses, and is currently Chief Communications Officer at Mother, a London-based independent advertising agency looking after clients such as IKEA, Uber, KFC and Marks & Spencer.

Tom is an advocate for representation in the workplace and in leadership positions. He spoke to Campaign Magazine about being the only LGBTQ+ individual in the leadership room:

Peter Workman (French with Spanish 1983)

Peter is coming to the end of his career as a translator in Luxembourg, where he has worked for both the European Parliament and the European Commission. 

Peter speaks openly about his time at Leeds where he was “too shy to ‘come out’”, but since then “made up for lost time” by becoming active in ‘queer’ groups, in particular the EGALITE staff association that serves the needs of LGBTQ+ people working for EU institutions. 

He told Leeds magazine in 2024: “Sexuality of any stripe lies at the very heart of what it means to be a human being. Despite all attempts to categorise the various forms that sexuality appears to take (whether heterosexual, homosexual, bisexual, transsexual, intersexual or asexual), the ways in which sexuality is experienced and expressed in practice are as many and varied as the countless individuals who walk this Earth.  

“To invoke a purely culture-based precept as grounds for denying consenting adults the right to live their sexuality as they wish is to deny them an integral and fundamental part of their identity – yet such denial is still the everyday reality and experience of the LGBTQ+ community in well over half of our planet’s countries.