Title: Diversity Champion

Gender: Female

Age: 59

Sun Sign: Gemini

Chinese Sign: Metal Tiger

Location: Hull, East Yorkshire

In 2001 at the top of my field as Professional Speaker and technology guru to the financial services industry I decided I could no longer live a lie and so dramatically and publically came out as a transgender.  Thus began the slow process of changing gender to live the remainder of my life as a woman - the most difficult decision I have ever made and one I have not regretted for a single moment despite the challenges it has brought me.

As a result of that decision I have had to face inordinate change.  Few corporate organisations are comfortable about using a trans women as a speaker or to employ one in any form of client facing role.  My expertise is in sales and marketing communcations - and so ended my career as I knew it.

However I discovered that changing gender gave me an insight into gender differences not possible from living in one gender.  I also realised quickly that it is not possible to really understand discrimination until you are discriminated against. Both of those realisations have being the drivers for my new career and growing expertise in Social Enterprise and community regeneration.

At the time changed gender I also moved to Kingston up on Hull, a somewhat isolated city in East Yorkshire in the north of the UK and my mother's birthplace.  Once a prosperous fishing port and shipbuilding centre when Margaret Thatcher destroyed our culture and millions of jobs with it Hull suffered worse than most northern cities because in the “free market ecomomy” the capatilists saw no short term benefit from investing here. 

Now twenty years later Hull is finally managing to regerate itself and there is a growing spirit of community and self help from the people of Hull to make this happen.  I have become very active in helping to make sure that this regeneration process “Leaves No One behind”  as has happened in most of the of  cities in the north.

I love diversity, I love being different and no matter what I have to face I will make a difference and use my speaking, marketing and internet skills to assist the huge number of disadvantaged people here to make sure that the success I am sure Hull will soon experience is for the benefit of us all not just the few greedy multinationals who are sitting like vultures waiting for the rich pickings.

Rikki
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Member Since: Wednesday, December 20 2006

Last Visit: 165 days ago.

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