Jan Gooding

Jan Gooding (Girton, 1978) is a veritable doyenne of the LGBT+ community in the UK and internationally, and one of the most visible Cambridge University alumnae speaking up for human rights and social justice.

The photograph shows Jan celebrating Pride with Lord Michael Cashman.

Chair of Stonewall between 2014 and 2020, Jan steered the organisation, long a champion of lesbian, gay and bisexual people, to become explicitly trans inclusive in 2016. The principal aim of the charity is to advance the education of the public on the discrimination experienced by lesbians, gay men, bisexuals and trans people (LGBT), and to work to achieve full equality for LGBT people in Britain and worldwide.

Having been married for 16 years to Hugh Burkitt, and with two teenage sons Charlie and Daniel, Jan fell in love with the artist Lucy Ash in 2008. Whilst the romantic relationship was sadly short-lived it, marked a profound turning point in her life, and the start of a lifelong commitment to workplace activism.

Jan’s successful business career has included her role as Global Brand Director at Aviva and the first lesbian Co-Chair of their LGBT+ employee network Aviva Pride. She now works as an executive and group coach and board advisor.

In 2022 Kaleidoscope International Trust awarded Jan a Lifetime Achievement Award for services to human rights and social justice.