Our CEO, Jennifer, is an embodiment of our ethos. She’s a champion of equality, actively challenges discrimination, and is committed to ensuring every section of the community has access to support services that respond to their needs. She started at Step Forward in 1998 as a volunteer.
Jennifer has been involved in youth and community work in local youth centres and arts projects in Tower Hamlets since the early 1980s. She set up the 1st Lesbian Gay & Bisexual youth group in Tower Hamlets, & facilitated the first local support group for people affected by HIV in the early 90s.
She’s worked directly with 1,000s of young people, and is dedicated to ensuring that services are there to reach 10’s of 1000s more.
After Step Forward won the GSK IMPACT Award for innovation and excellence in the charity sector in 2011, Jennifer became a founding member of the IMPACT Network.
Jennifer has been included in the Independent’s Pink List as person who makes life better for LGBT+ people in the UK, and in 2015 was named an LGBT+ Hero by Tower Hamlets.
In 2017, Jennifer received a Civic Award for “improved quality of life for local people by providing services, beyond what they are paid to do”.
