Linda Bellos OBE, Chair

Linda served on the IEDP Steering Group from August 2008. She chaired the formal launch of the Institute in January 2009. Linda was elected as Chair of the Board at the Inaugural General Meeting held in July 2009.

Linda is a management consultant and trainer, specialising in the field of equality, diversity and human rights. In 2007, Linda was awarded an OBE for her services to diversity. She is a Director of EDHR Solutions, working with clients in the public, private and not-for-profit sectors (http://www.edhr.co.uk). She is a published author, skilled motivational speaker and a regular guest contributor on radio and television, speaking on equality, diversity and human rights topics.

Linda joined the Spare Rib feminist collective in 1981, the first Black woman to do so. From 1984 to 1986, Linda was employed by the Greater London Council as team leader in the Women’s Committee Support Unit. She was vice-chair of the campaign to select Black candidates within the Labour Party. She was elected Leader of Lambeth Council in 1986, one of the first Black women to gain such a position.

As chair of the London Strategic Policy Unit in the mid 1980s, Linda introduced Black History Month, an annual event that is now celebrated across the UK. She was a founder member and first female Co-Chair of the LGBT Advisory Group to the Metropolitan Police from 2000 to 2003. She maintains an active involvement in the voluntary and community sector, which ensures that her work remains relevant and valid to grassroots communities.


Juliette Brown, Board Member

Juliette has been a Board member since May 2009. Her biography will be published soon.


Paul Carswell, Board Member

Paul served on the IEDP Steering Group since its inception in May 2008. He was elected to the Board in July 2009. He serves on the Standards and Products and the IEDP Website working groups.

Paul has worked as an equality and diversity practitioner in both the public and private sector.  He currently holds a board level equality and diversity post in the civil service, and has previously worked in both the NHS and police service.  He was a founder member and General Secretary of the Gay Police Association, and member of the Metropolitan Police LGBT Advisory Group. He worked as a trainer and facilitator on the police service’s community and race relations training programme following the Stephen Lawrence Inquiry. He worked in senior equality and diversity posts in both ambulance and acute hospital trusts, as well as working in the private sector as a learning and development consultant specialising in equality, diversity and human rights.  Paul completed a master’s degree in 2005 with a dissertation on the benefits of establishing a professional body for equality and diversity practitioners.  His key area of interest is promoting equality, diversity and human rights through the development of individuals and organisational cultures and systems.


Terri Connor, Board Member

Terri has been a Board member since May 2009. Her biography will be published soon.


Kate Hinton, Treasurer

Kate has been a member of the IEDP board since July 2009. She is Chair of the Standards and Products working group, which is developing the Institute's framework for Membership, Standards and Assessment. The latest documents and results of consultation are available in other sections of the website. She is also the Treasurer and has a watching brief over the Institute’s finances.

Kate has a wide range of experience in education, mainly teaching in London schools and working as a Local Authority Adviser / Inspector, as well as an Ofsted Inspector.

Kate has a long standing commitment to all aspects of equality both within and beyond her working context. This led to full-time equality posts at senior levels in Strathclyde Regional Council and, most recently, in Durham County Council. In these posts she played a leading role in developing policy and promoting effective practice in schools and in Children and Young People’s Services.

Kate now works independently and continues to be a member of the Children and Young People’s Services Equality Network.  Work as a consultant for the Equality and Human Rights Commission on the implications of the Equality Bill, as it then was, gives her particular strengths in the implications of the latest legislation across the education sector.  Kate is also a UNICEF Partner, supporting the dissemination of the Rights Respecting School Award.



Julie Kaya, Board Member

Julie served on the IEDP Steering Group since its inception in May 2008. She was responsible for organising the formal launch of the Institute in January 2009. She was elected to the Board in July 2009. She is Chair of the IEDP Events working group.

Julie started her equalities career in community activism 18 years ago.  Widely travelled and commercially aware Julie has worked in intercultural learning and development in all sectors and specializes in process interventions.  She has a BA in Social Anthropology (SOAS) and a Masters in International Education (NYU).

For the past 6 years Julie has worked as a business consultant in equality and diversity, primarily in strategy, community engagement and implementation in the private sector. She has worked with over 50 companies, written two standards in equality and diversity and leads a popular peer learning group.  She is a school governor, a foster carer and volunteers in two other organizations.  Julie has recently run a series of popular events raising the profile of LGB issues in her home city, Birmingham.


Mary-Ann Nossent, Board Member

Mary-Ann has been a Board member since January 2011.  Her biography will be published soon.

Shelagh Prosser, Vice-Chair

Shelagh has been a Board Member since July 2009. She is the Vice-Chair and serves on several IEDP working groups.

Shelagh is an established equality and diversity practitioner with over 20 years experience. Prior to becoming an independent consultant, she held senior diversity posts in the Civil Service, the BBC and the transport industry. Her areas of expertise include strategy and policy development, equality reviews and impact assessments, designing and delivering innovative diversity projects, writing for publication, research and partnership working.

As an independent consultant she has worked with a range of public, private and third sector organisations. These have included Age Concern London, the Equality and Human Rights Commission, the Independent Living Fund and XpertHR. She also works as an associate for a number of equality and diversity consultancies.

Shelagh is a chartered member of the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development, Chair of ‘Women and Manual Trades’ (an organisation supporting women training for and working in the construction industry) and a trustee of ‘Border Crossings’, an intercultural theatre company. She is also Chair of the Westminster Equalities Partnership (a partnership between Westminster City Council, NHS Westminster, the Borough Police and the voluntary sector).

Shelagh was elected to the IEDP Board in July 2009.


Dianna Yach, Board Member

Dianna has been a Board member since January 2011.  Her biography will be published shortly.