Hi I’m Lisa Baker-Vine and my pronouns are she/her/hers.
I’m an LGBTQ+ Advocate, Consultant and Trainer with nine years’ experience working directly with LGBTQ+ children, young people and adults.
Where it all began – LGBTQ+ inclusion in Loughborough
With a BSC in Sociology and MA in Parliamentary Politics, I began my career working for a Member of European Parliament and a Member of UK Parliament.
However, it was my time as Chair of Loughborough University’s LGBT Association which ignited my desire for a career which made a difference. Something you may have heard before perhaps, but for me it’s true. Knowing that policy and public affairs in the third sector was where my heart truly lay, I went on to work for three years for several national charities.
My (award winning) transgender inclusion service in Leicestershire
In 2015, I took the Young Transgender Centre of Excellence (YTCE), a BBC Children in Need supported project based at the Leicester LGB&T Centre, from concept to a regional, award winning service. Set up to support transgender and non-binary young people, their families and professionals who may also be working with them; advocacy, consultancy and training were integral to the service.
Winning Leicester Pride’s Unsung Hero Award in August 2016, I worked with over 70 transgender and non-binary children, young people and adults and also supported around 40 of their families. I wrote and delivered assemblies and workshops to over 1500 secondary school students. Additionally, I wrote and delivered training to over 750 professionals working across the public, private and third sectors. Professions included:
- Primary and secondary school staff.
- Nurses and health visitors.
- GPs.
- Police officers.
- Foster carers.
- Educational psychologists.
- Social care and early help staff.
- Child and Adolescent Mental Health Service (CAMHS) staff.
The YTCE gained national recognition from the then Minister for Women and Equalities and Minister for Education, Nicky Morgan MP. I was asked to be a stakeholder for the Women and Equalities Department, meeting the then Prime Minister, David Cameron MP. Furthermore, I have delivered workshops and spoken at numerous national and regional events. Notably, for the national LGBTQ+ charity, Stonewall and for the then, Gender Identity Development Service (GIDS), the only NHS provision which supported transgender and non-binary children and young people in England and Wales.
Across Leicestershire I worked with many organisations including Leicester City Council and Leicestershire County Council to deliver training. Furthermore, I co-authored national guidance along with 10 other local authorities. I also guest lectured at both the University of Leicester and De Montfort University.
When I set up the YTCE, I didn’t know how successful it would be. I could not be prouder and am almost speechless at what the project managed to achieve.
Beyond the YTCE – LGBTQ+ inclusion services in Leicestershire, 2018 to present
As the YTCE project was coming to an end, I knew I wanted to keep working in the field of LGBTQ+ inclusion. It really is where my heart lies. So I set up my own business in 2018 and I haven’t looked back.
I continue to train professionals looking to improve and/or assess their LGBTQ+ inclusivity. I have trained over 2500 professionals to date, from the nuclear industry, to the housing sector, to foster carers.
I also continue to work with LGBTQ+ individuals who are seeking advice and support with their identity. I offer adhoc 1-1 sessions for private clients and those in educational settings alongside, running 1-1 Support and Advice Services throughout the academic year for both Loughborough University and Loughborough College.
I also offer a greater variety of consultancy than I did throughout the YTCE project for BBC Children In Need. I offer support with LGBTQ+ inclusion policies and procedures, alongside LGBTQ+ inclusivity assessments and supporting HR investigations to ensure they are LGBTQ+ inclusive, to name only a few examples of my consultancy offer.
“I was supported by Lisa for a number of months after I first started to socially transition. I have never met someone with as much knowledge and experience as Lisa. Her personality and approach immediately put me at ease and made it very easy for me to talk to her. Any issues I had, Lisa had previous first-hand experience in or had the expertise to tackle it or support me through it in the best possible way. Whether that be knowing where I stood legally regarding my rights as a trans person, tackling and challenging discrimination, providing one-to-one support for my mental health and pointing me in the direction of other organisations and groups to further support this. Lisa also provided information on the process I would go through to medically transition and assisted me every step of the way, whilst also helping me with copious amounts of form filling after legally changing my name!”.
– Daniel (Young person)
Why I do what I do – supporting those striving for LGBTQ+ inclusion in the East Midlands
Many of the young people and adults I have worked with have told me that they wouldn’t be here today if it wasn’t for the support that I and other professionals have offered them.
Making a real difference to some of the most vulnerable people in our society is why I work in this field. I want to support others who are striving for LGBTQ+ inclusion in their organisation, to make that real difference too. I was once referred to as a ‘one woman power house’ on BBC Radio Leicester and also by the young people as their ‘fairy trans mother’. In fact when someone referred to me as an ‘SME’, I responded ‘small and medium sized enterprise?’, they laughed and said ‘no, subject matter expert’.
I am passionate, knowledgeable and experienced and I’m humbled every day to have the opportunity to continue to make a positive difference to not only LGBTQ+ people, but those who are striving for LGBTQ+ inclusion.
Get in touch
If you are striving for LGBTQ+ inclusion in your organisation or would like support as an individual, I’d welcome the opportunity to have a chat and find a suitable bespoke and tailored service, to meet your needs. Click below and we can get started.