Sue Sanders

Sue Sanders, speaking at The Brief Encounter (Croydon), 4 October 2011

Sue Sanders (born 1947) is an LGBT activist, founder of LGBT History Month (celebrated every year in February) and The Classroom, both of which are projects of Schools Out of which she is Chair.

Sue Sanders regularly appears on TV and radio, and has been a keynote speaker and workshop leader in conferences on diversity, homophobia, and LGBT issues.

Sue is a long time member of Schools OUT UK and co-founded LGBT HIstory Month in 2004 with Paul Patrick. She has been chair of Schools OUT UK for over 20 years. In 2006 she founded The Classroom (http://www.the-classroom.org.uk) which contains over 80 lesson plans for all ages across the curriculum in the UK, to "usualise" LGBT issues and experience. With Dr Jeff Evans she co-runs Outing the Past (http://www.outingthepast.org.uk) an international LGBT history festival annually since 2010.

Sue Sanders has been a member of the LGBT Advisory Group to the Metropolitan Police, an independent advisor to the London Criminal Justice Board, vice-chair of the Southwark Anti–homophobic Forum, and a consultant to the Crown Prosecution Service. She is also a member of the Cross-Government Independent Advisory Group on Hate Crime.

She has directed many plays in London's fringe theatres and has been involved in the production of radio programmes for ABC in Sydney; she’s also written poetry and short stories.

In 1998 she founded Chrysalis to provide training in diversity awareness, employment regulations, school bullying and legislative compliance.

Awards and recognition

In 2009 Sue Sanders won the first Derek Oyston Achievement Award, presented by CHE (the Campaign for Homosexual Equality).

She was rated number 53 in the Pink List 2010, 43 in the Pink List 2011, 55 in the Pink List 2012 (jointly with Tony Fenwick), 54 in the World Pride Power List 2013, and 51 in the World Pride Power List 2014.

In February 2015 she was appointed an Emeritus Professor of the Harvey Milk Institute, during the First National Festival of LGBT History in Manchester.