Team Member of the Month
March was a busy month here at Gypsies & Travellers Wales, with a big change in leadership. This month’s staff blog is a little late then, but worth the wait as we can now properly introduce our new Director, Lu Thomas!
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First of all hello – my name is Lu Thomas and I am delighted to be taking up the role of Director of GT Wales. Secondly, I’d like to thank the board for entrusting me with the day-to-day running of this incredible charity. I am in awe of the work of our outgoing co-ordinator Jasmine Jones and pay tribute to her selfless and dedicated commitment to furthering the lives of Gypsies and Travellers in Wales. I’m sure you’ll all join me in wishing her well in her new post working for the Welsh children’s cancer charity LATCH.
As she passes the baton now to me, I commit to you, the Gypsies and Travellers of Wales, to do all I can to speed up progress in dismantling the attitudes and systems that perpetuate the levels of hostility, discrimination, inequality and exclusion faced by the travelling communities not only in Wales, but from across the UK. I look forward to working in tandem with you, raising your voices, speaking truth to power and holding the decision makers in Wales accountable for the lack of tangible progress.
For a little background I have for over two decades dedicated my career to fighting for equality and social justice in Wales. I became interested in the area as a young civil servant working for Welsh Government, later moving over into disability rights and advocacy concentrating on increasing empowerment through independence and self-employment, as an equality and human rights manager for the NHS concentrating on patient experience, the Home Office as an asylum assessor, as well as stints as a researcher and policy advisor to Welsh government and local authorities.
For the past 14 years I have been a public sector consultant specialising in engaging with the seldom heard communities of Wales. This has included, for example, Organ Donation, Curriculum reform (Relationship and Sexuality Education), the ‘smacking ban’, Additional Learning Needs reform, and the Children’s Rights Measure. I have also led research and evaluation projects to directly inform policy development and reviews, where I have drawn on my knowledge and understanding of the impacts on diverse and disadvantaged communities to make recommendations to inform and improve policy and delivery. This has included for example projects to review Welsh Government’s Adverse Childhood Experiences strategy, evaluate WEFO’s Structural Funds Cross Cutting Themes (equality and sustainability), and the When I am Ready scheme for care leavers.
I am probably most well known for leading Pride Cymru for seven years, building it from a local celebration event into the annual major event it is today attracting over 50,000 people whilst elevating the status of the organisation into a positive and effective political campaigning body. As Chair, I set the strategic direction for the organisation setting a clear mission to financially stabilise the charity and grow it into a major event, with a pan-Wales reach whilst also developing the status of the organisation into a positive and significant political campaigning body. Working as a cohesive and confident team I empowered the staff members to focus on setting and achieving clear goals and milestones to work towards. I am proud of our collective achievements – under my stewardship, Pride Cymru grew into an established annual event and became the Pride of Wales, attracting 50,000 attendees, and becoming the UK’s sixth-largest pride and a significant campaigning body in not only Wales but across the UK. I helped the formation of the UK pride organisers network of 150+ prides across the UK and Ireland and became an influential member of the European Pride Organisers Association.
I look forward to bringing my skills and experience to Gypsies and Travellers Wales. I intend to increase our influence within Government and the Senedd and build an effective movement for positive change by Gypsies and Travellers for Gypsies and Travellers in Wales. I look forward to meeting and working with you all over the coming years.
