Meet our inclusion champions
At Family Fund we encourage and welcome staff views. Diversity brings variety of thought and we encourage this in all that we do. Our inclusion champions have an important role to play. They support the delivery and embedding of our inclusion statement. They are part of dialogues that shapes our approach to inclusion. They lead and support challenging conversations. Finally, they encourage all colleagues to be heard.
Abbey Follansbee (She/Her)
“Inspirational leaders before me have fought hard for the concept of diversity and inclusion. Such as those who argued against Clause 29, which had detrimental effects of LGBTQ youth. Others fought for disability rights, resulting in laws like the Disability Rights Act 1995, which made discrimination against disabled people illegal. Then there were leaders in racial equality, who campaigned to introduce laws which resulted in the Equality Act 2010. I aim to be like these people who have worked hard for equality, and now equity, for those marginalised by societal norms.
“My passion is to nurture an environment where all feel welcome and wanted, and as a Inclusion Champion I will strive to do so.”
Clare Bonetree (She/Her)
“I grew up highly aware of racism due to having ethnically diverse family members and living outside the UK. As a teenager I was active in the UK anti-apartheid movement.
“I came out as a member of what we now call the LGBTQ+ community during the time of campaigning against Clause 29. I’ve seen a lot of change over the years, and I have been proud to be part of the UK disability rights movement.
“I think diversity is beautiful, and I’m really excited to bring my enthusiasm, commitment, and experience to turn the tide towards greater inclusion and equality.”
Josh Gregson (He/Him/They/Them)
“Outside of work I am a scout leader and from that I learnt how important it is to treat others with the respect they deserve. The whole scouting organisation has always felt very inclusive to me personally. No matter who you are, you are welcome. From a young age this was taught to me by scouts and I try to take that empathy into my work.
“Seeing how compassionate everyone was helped me understand myself and be comfortable being part of the LGBT+ community, without fearing backlash. This makes me want to emulate those views and take them into my daily life and in, and outside of, work.”
Hayley Woodcock (She/Her)
“My role is in the Business Development Team for Family Fund Business Services, so it’s my job to bring on new clients to generate an income for Family Fund.
“I know first-hand that workplaces have a big role to play in promoting equity, as in the past I was a single parent (to my 13yearold son!) for eight years and experienced the challenges of balancing motherhood whilst building a career.
“I decided to become an Inclusion Champion because I believe that everyone from all walks of life should have access to the same opportunities. I’m particularly passionate about developing people, promoting mental wellbeing, and getting women into leadership roles. I’ve previously worked for global corporations where employees were treated unfairly and not listened to, so I am excited that here I will have the opportunity to elevate my coworkers’ ideas.
“As an Inclusion Champion, I hope to be able to advocate for my colleagues and work to make Family Fund as fair, diverse, and inclusive as possible.”
Portia O’Shaugnessy (She/Her)
“I’ve supervised some very diverse teams over my many years of being a team leader, not just at Family Fund but also in my previous role at the York Drug & Alcohol Treatment Service.
“I am a passionate person; I try to be as democratic as possible and give everyone the opportunity to be listened to and heard. Fairness and equality are in my bones and my mantra for life is simply: “treat others as you would wish to be treated yourself.” You can’t go far wrong with that.
“Alongside working I am raising three young people, one of which is neurodivergent. I am also fully HRT’d up and still learning to manage the home/work life balance so that my colleagues and family still get the best out of me (before my 8pm bedtime of course)!
“I’m proud to be joining the Champions to create an even more inclusive culture at Family Fund – it only takes one person to make a difference, but many people together can make a change.
“We are all in it together!”
Tasha Taylor (She/Her)
“Inclusion is always something I am mindful of, and even though I am queer myself, I am still learning! It matters a lot to me that there is equity across all marginalised groups; I am proud of the strides being made each day, and I owe a lot to those that paved the way for the LGBTQ+ community before I was even born.
“As a charity that helps those with disabled children, I believe that inclusion should always be a consideration and we can continuously strive to improve to this end. Representation matters so very much, and disabled children currently have very little representation in popular culture and media.
“As a safeguarding officer, I know that there are a lot of LGBTQ+ children who suffer from mental health difficulties as a result of discrimination, being invalidated or being bullied because of who they are. This is something quite personal for me, and so I am determined to do what I can to improve their quality of life. I believe being an inclusion champion can help me to that end.”
Phoenix Ruddock (They/Them)
“I am autistic, neurodivergent, and have a gender identity of agender, as well as identifying as both bisexual and asexual. I have experience of mental illness, I identify as being disabled. The difference made by treating someone as they are, including them, seeing them as a human and not just their illness or condition is so important.
“Outside work I volunteered as a York Ending Stigma (YES) champion – which is someone who has lived experience of mental illness. I felt so empowered by being involved in this work and being surrounded by like-minded people that don’t judge me for being me.
“Since coming to Family Fund, I have been treated like a human in the workplace for the first time in a long time and allowed to be my ’weird self’. My main reason for being an inclusion champion is to contribute to creating an environment where my colleagues feel able to be themselves.”