Andy is an internationally experienced HR Director and Organisational Development professional with years of experience in culture and behaviour change. A qualified therapist and executive coach, Andy is also a Fellow of the Learning and Performance Institute – specialising in leadership, wellbeing and team dynamics, and performance.

Andy has worked with the Boards of several organisations. In addition to his role as a trustee with Switchboard, he is also the Treasurer of Sussex Counselling and Psychotherapy. This is the second time Andy has volunteered with Switchboard. He was previously a volunteer counsellor with our counselling service when it was operational.

Andy moved to Brighton in 2012 with his partner and is currently studying for an MSc in Clinical Nutrition.

Charlotte is a communications professional with over 17 years of experience working within the charity sector and specialising in membership organisations and development. She is the current Head of Communications at Cobseo, the Confederation of Service Charities, and previously led the communications team at the National Federation of Women’s Institutes, most notably leading the promotion of the organisation’s year-long centenary celebrations.

She leads on all equality, diversity, and inclusion work in her current role through developing inclusive strategy to foster engagement and debate as well as providing advice and support to over 300 individual organisations. She previously led on the development of the WI’s inclusion policies.

Charlotte has worked with a variety of trustee boards throughout her career and is keen to use her communications and charity experience to support the LGBTQ+ community in Sussex.

Georgie is a psychology researcher, social entrepreneur, and mental health innovation specialist with a background in LGBTQ+ mental health, health inequalities, and community-based research. She completed her PhD in Psychology at King’s College London, focusing on LGBTQ+ mental health, and has worked across several universities in London, and on research projects in the UK, Germany, and Uganda.

Her work has spanned collaborations with the NHS, charities, policymakers, and people with lived experience, with a particular focus on participatory approaches, mental health support, and underserved communities. 

More recently, she transitioned from academia into social entrepreneurship and mental health technology, co-founding a startup focused on supporting informal carers. She is passionate about translating research and lived experience into practical, ethical, and scalable solutions that improve mental health and wellbeing. Georgie is excited to join Switchboard as a trustee and bring her experience in mental health research, creative and participatory methods, and approaches that bridge technology, community, and social impact.

Giancarlo has worked in the international development sector for over 20 years, working with small and large organisations focusing on children, girls, and young people. He has extensive expertise in learning and impact assessment, participatory data collection and analysis, and visualisation of digital data. He has worked with organisations such as Comic Relief and Plan International UK. 

Originally from Italy, after several years working with young people in deprived communities in Brazil, he moved on to complete a Master’s degree in Human Rights and International Development, which included an internship at the Argentinian Human Rights Secretariat in Buenos Aires. He has worked in the not-for-profit sector in the UK since 2010, and has been a proud trustee at Brighton & Hove LGBT Switchboard since 2020.

Helen is an international development and global health specialist with over 30 years’ experience in HIV, sexual and reproductive health and rights (SRHR), gender equality and community-led programming. She has worked with communities most affected by HIV, including LGBTQ+ people, young people, sex workers and people living with HIV, with a strong focus on rights-based and inclusive approaches.

Helen has held senior roles with international organisations including the International HIV/AIDS Alliance and has supported HIV and SRHR programmes, partnerships and fundraising across Africa, Asia and Latin America. Since 2014, she has worked as an independent consultant with NGOs, community networks and donors to strengthen inclusive programming and promote community leadership.

Helen is committed to advancing equality and defending LGBTQ+ rights amid growing global challenges to inclusion and human rights. She has lived in Brighton & Hove for over 20 years and volunteers with a local community food project.

Jeff has lived and worked in the UK, Canada, Switzerland, and the Netherlands for international businesses including Swarovski and The Body Shop. His career spans multiple sectors and he has a unique blend of senior level commercial, HR and consulting experience. Jeff has led major performance transformation projects at The Body Shop, L’Oreal and Swarovski. His work focuses on optimising performance through culture, leadership and organisational effectiveness.

Jeff’s approach is differentiated by his strong commercial instinct, founded in early career experience as a retailer with full P&L accountability. He is currently Senior Vice President of Operations for Swarovski, where he leads the operational support for Swarovski’s philanthropic endeavours, the Swarovski Foundation and Swarovski Waterschool. Previously he held roles including Senior Vice President Global Human Resources for Swarovski Consumer Goods Business, Global Head of the Leadership Development and EMEA Director of Retail for The Body Shop.

Jeff has a specific affinity for values-based organisations and a track record of volunteering for Brighton-based third sector organisations, advising on strategy, HR and organisational development.

Josh is a medical affairs professional and specialist pharmacist by training with an extensive background in clinical operations, research, and health inequalities.

He has worked within a variety of organisations such as the NHS, Public Health England, and the voluntary sector, with one of his earliest roles at the Terrence Higgins Trust, where he developed an interest in LGBTQ+ health and HIV. Josh was previously the senior clinical lead for a digital LGBTQ+ sexual health service while teaching and developing the LGBTQ+ health curriculum for Kingston University in his current academic post.

Josh has recently submitted his PhD in behavioural diagnostics and sits on several committees for LGBTQ+ advocacy, including the Pharmacist Defence Association and RxSHARE, an international 2SLGBTQ+ think tank that represents pharmacists for sexual and gender health advocacy, reform, and equity.

Josh is excited to join Switchboard as his first trustee role with a view to bringing his experience in clinical governance, safeguarding, and research to support the wider Sussex LGBTQ+ community.

Lizzie is a communications strategist with over 25 years’ experience across journalism, the charity sector, national government, and global healthcare corporations. She is currently a Director at Pfizer, where she is Editorial Lead for Health Answers by Pfizer, a Webby Award-winning global health platform, shaping content strategy to make trusted health information more accessible and inclusive.

She has operated at senior leadership and advisory level throughout her career, beginning as a journalist for UK national press before joining Comic Relief, then moving into national government as a speechwriter and communications lead at the UK Department of Health, advising ministers and shaping major health policy campaigns.

A committed advocate for equity and inclusion, Lizzie served on Pfizer’s Digital DEI Council and founded ThinkNation, a platform that connected thousands of young people with global leaders to champion youth voice and civic participation.

She is proud to support Switchboard’s work as a trustee.