Staff Pride Network

The Staff Pride Network is an inclusive network for the rich diversity of LGBT+ employees across the institution, including PhD students.

We strive to take an intersectional approach to providing a safe, supportive and welcoming environment for our LGBT+ communities, whether or not people are 'out' or not.

  1. To provide a way for LGBT+ staff and allies to get to know each other and feel part of a welcoming LGBT+ community at work
  2. To share information and offer support through formal and informal events,
  3. To work alongside the University to promote an inclusive environment and culture.
  4. To raise the profile of LGBT+ staff within and beyond the University.
  5. To enable the sharing of best practice, knowledge, ideas and thoughts on operational, research and academic work in relation to LGBT+ issues.

How to join:

If you would like to join the Staff Pride Network, please contact us here: staffpridenetwork@ed.ac.uk 

Who can join:

The Staff Pride Network is open to all LGBT+* staff members across the University, as well as allies who are committed to advocating for equality and inclusion. 

* Our definition of LGBT+ includes, among others, those who identify as lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer, gender fluid, intersex, non-binary, asexual, pansexual and polyamorous.


Committee Bios

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Gina Gwenffrewi, Co-chair (She/Her) - Gina is an interdisciplinary researcher, tutor and lecturer in Trans Studies, Queer Studies and English Literature at the University of Edinburgh. As well as being Co-Director at SUISS, she lectures and publishes on trans issues relating to trans cultural production, media studies, and anti-trans ideologies. Gina is also LGBT+ rep for UCU Edinburgh and a member of the UCU LGBT+ Members’ National Standing Committee, as well as a trustee of the Scottish Queer International Film Festival (SQIFF).

David Radford, Co-chair (He/Him) - University Teacher, School of Biological Sciences. I joined the University as a postdoc in Synthetic Biology in 2012, before joining the Student Support team in 2015, in a hybrid teaching and pastoral support role. I became a full-time University Teacher in late 2024 and now teach microbiology and dabble in research. I have been a member of the SBS EDI panel and a mental health first aider since 2020 and set up the first LGBTQ+ group on King’s Buildings campus in 2018. Outside of work I am a proud cat dad, PC and board gamer, hiker and an enthusiastic (if distinctly amateur) squash player. I am also the fundraising officer for Edinburgh Curveballs, the only local queer racquet sports club which doesn’t do badminton!

 
Treasurer - Vacant
Katie Nicoll BainesKatie Nicoll Baines, Deputy Co-chair (She/Her) - People, Culture & Environment Manager, Future Leaders Fellows Development, Edinburgh Research Office. Katie has been working at he University of Edinburgh since 2017 and has previously served as co-chair of the network (2019-2025). She has an academic background in human genetics and data analytics, and is a passionate advocate for LGBTQ+ visibility in STEM through her involvement with The STEM Village. She is also a proud feminist with experience in activism and campaigning for equal rights for all women and marginalised genders.
 
Kate Davison, Bi+ Rep. (she/her) - Bio and photo to follow
Megan Hammell, Social and Events Officer (She/Her) – Communications Officer for the APRIL AI Hub in the School of Engineering. I joined the University in 2023, starting off in Research Institute Services, gaining experience in admin and events planning. In 2024, I started working as an Engagement Officer, expanding my skills in event planning and communications. At University I studied Chinese and Film Studies, then went on to do an MA in Cinematography. In my free time I play Dungeons & Dragons, and various board & video games. I also enjoy photography, mostly of architecture, landscapes, and nature.
 Support and Mentoring Officer - Vacant
Merlin Seller
Merlyn Seller, Trans & Non-Binary Rep. (She/Her) -  I am a Lecturer in Design & Screen Cultures, teaching theory and historical/cultural context at Edinburgh College of Art, and Course Organiser for Introduction to Queer Studies. I'm a co-founder of the Game Worlds research cluster, part of the Centre of Data, Culture and Society, and occasionally poke at my arts practice of Sci-Fi comics and abstract painting/mixed-media. I obtained my Masters from Oxford and PhD from UEA in Visual Cultural Studies and Art History respectively, and I've since migrated to Game Studies and Film Studies with an interests in (Post-) Phenomenology, Horror, and queering the nonhuman in new media. I am a proudly pansexual and transfeminine academic, and hope to be a visible and supporting trans* presence for trans and non-binary students and staff. Outside of work I f(l)ial at gardening, walk/draw my dog and play all the videogames.
Mariya Levitanus
Mariya Levitanus, Research Officer (She/Her) - - Mariya is a Lecturer in Counselling and Psychotherapy at the School of Health in Social Sciences. She received her Doctorate from the University of Edinburgh in 2020. Her research focuses on everyday life of queer people in Kazakhstan, queer emigration and activism in Central Asia. Mariya's work foregrounds queer lived experiences, examining how the socio-political context shapes the everyday life in authoritarian regimes. In her work, professional practice and as a member of Staff Pride Network committee, Mariya aims to contribute meaningfully to the queer community.
Derek Williams
Derek Williams, Committee Meeting Secretary (He/Him/His) - I am a native New Zealander, with Scottish and Irish parentage. After a long career in Australia as a teacher, composer, conductor, arranger, record producer and outspoken LGBT+ activist in education, I immigrated to Scotland in 2006  to realise my dream of writing a full-scale opera about the life of Oscar Wilde, for which I was awarded a PhD in Music Composition in 2012. My other work crosses the genres of classical, jazz, and pop and has been performed at the Royal Albert Hall and Garrick Theatre (London), Sydney Opera House, as well as in New York and Rome. I have 27 IMDb film and television credits, and 33 Discogs album recording credits.  I joined Staff Pride Network upon its reformation in 2016 and I have been delighted by its sustained growth. My current interest lies in collaboration internationally with other university LGBT+ groups, particularly in countries where homosexuality is still criminalised.
 Union Rep - Vacant

 


Allies for LGBT+ colleagues & advocates for equality across the University.

Working together towards a workplace where everyone can be themselves

An Ally…

  • Shows support for LGBT+ colleagues & advocates for equality across the University
  • Educates themselves on LGBT+ issues & feels comfortable discussing these with colleagues
  • Challenges homophobia and transphobia & proactively works towards a fairer workplace

In 2018 , and since the Stonewall Allies training held 2017, the SPN delivered their own allies training in ISG at Argyle House and Literature Languages and Cultures.  A Personal Tutor training programme was also delivered in the Law School.

Allies poster (85.35 KB PDF)

Stonewall Allies Training

The University's Equality, Diversity & Inclusion (EDI) unit  recognise the importance  of  having Allies across the institution, and were delighted to be able to organise and fund an in-house Allies Training Programme which was  facilitated by Stonewall Scotland.  There was great deal of interest from staff across the University wishing to attend, and delegate places were filled very quickly.

The one-day programme empowered allies to be active change agents, creating a more inclusive workplace for our LGBT colleagues and for everyone else.

  • explore what it means to be themselves in the workplace and the business case for individuals to be able to be themselves
  • critically examine how they can be a more effective Ally for others
  • identify key ways that they can become active agents of change and help to create and strengthen inclusivity and equality in their workplaces and wider communities
  • develop a network of support through joining the Stonewall Scotland Allies Alumni network.

 Through reflecting on the relevance and impact of their identity in the workplace, participants were able to identify achievable ways to step up as an ally in their workplace and leave the programme with a concrete plan about what they are going to do, and how. Our now trained Allies :

  • Attend and are involved with Staff Pride Network meetings and events and participate in promoting LGBT+ across the institution through various methods
  • Allies can be contatced via the Staff Pride Network as an available resource and support for LGBT+ colleagues
  • Meet or correspond with the Equality, Diversity & Inclusion Unit for further networking opportunities, exchange of information and sharing good practice
  • Attend LGBT+ social functions. 

Contact

If required, staff can arrange to speak to an ally, in confidence, by emailing StaffPrideNetwork@ed.ac.uk

Feedback as a trained Ally

Some feedback from just a  few of our allies:

 

I certainly feel like I used my training skills learnt from the Allies training – and potentially more importantly, I felt like it was a real benefit being able to inform both colleagues and students that I had undertaken such training, and to put the training into practice

Ali McDonald, Acting Head of International Student Advisory Service

When wearing the lanyard in meetings around the campus, we’ve been asked why, giving opportunities to talk about the SPN, equality & diversity, and what an ally is. Wearing the lanyard outside the Uni, we've had similar conversations with other organisations thus sharing the equality message with partner organisations. We've also been more confident talking about LGBT+ equality to friends and family, who now also have a basic understanding on some of the issues LGBT+ people face in the workplace (and in life).

Andrew Arnott and Sarah Ford Hutcheson, Social Responsibility and Sustainability

Feedback from Stonewall Training

The Allies training event facilitated us to build our own toolkit to help support LGTB+ staff and promote inclusion – this approach helped me enormously as I feel ownership of the toolkit and will be able to apply it with a thorough understanding of what I am trying to achieve. Keeping in touch with the community of Stonewall trained allies and our Staff Pride network will give me the confidence to put the toolkit into action.

Peter Philips, Deputy Director of Planning, Governance and Strategic Planning

Every staff member at the university has the responsibility to generate and contribute to the dignity and respect in the workplace for all colleagues. The Stonewall Allies training has given me specific tools to explicitly support LGBT+ staff and students in my Centre and to step up where needed.

Professor Catherina Becker, Personal Chair of Neural Development and Regeneration, CDBS)

Further feedback

The following feedback was received from delegates who attended the Allies training programme:

  • “I have a far better understanding that I don’t have to be revolutionary – just here and visible.”
  • “Before, I didn’t see the importance of being a visible Ally. I felt that the LGBT+ community wouldn’t be interested in my support, but from today I see that I can do a lot of good.”
  • “I have learned proactive things I can do to be an Ally, and most importantly, that I don’t need to understand everything to be an Ally.
  • “I am more aware of simple ways to communicate my support to all.”
  • “Confident to take forward a couple of actions and responses to 'call out' inappropriate behaviour.”
  • “I have some ideas of how to do this in the workplace with colleagues, and I will see if/how this could relate more directly with my work.”
  • “It is important for me personally to be an Ally to all, not just the LGBT+ community.”

Related Links

Stonewall Scotland priorities

Key trans-related terminology


Coming soon...


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