2026 Shortlisted Nominee
Positive Role Model Award: LGBT
Professor Catherine Lee MBE is one of the UK’s leading voices on LGBTQ+ inclusion in education, transforming her lived experience into national, structural change. Having begun her career teaching under Having taught for every year of Section 28, she has since reshaped understanding of LGBTQ+ lives in schools and universities through her research and her book Pretended: Schools and Section 28, which inspired the BAFTA‑nominated film Blue Jean. Catherine has designed national leadership programmes supporting over 120 LGBTQ+ educators into senior roles, built influential research LGBTQ+ networks, and shaped national teacher‑education policy on anti‑racism and trans inclusion. Awarded an MBE for Services to Equality in Education, she Catherine continues to drive system‑wide change that enables LGBTQ+ professionals to lead authentically.