1. How did you begin your involvement with the LGBTIQ community?
I've been in banking now for 20 years and I don't want to finish my life just being a banker. My involvement began with me speaking to a few people to say, “what more can I contribute – to the world, to the community, even if it's a small little bit – how can I try to make the world a better place?” At Deutsche Bank, we do some incredible things when it comes to the LGBTIQ community. It's the employee group that does the best in terms of inclusivity; in terms of how we engage with that group and activate that group. I hope with my 19 years experience in banking, I can help ORAM to the next level.
2. What motivated you to become a board member at ORAM?
Thinking about the world today and in particular thinking about refugees and asylum seekers, they have life as difficult as you can possibly imagine it to be. Then, once you add the complication of someone with a different sexual orientation, it makes an already very difficult life extremely difficult. So, when I look at ORAM, the work that they're doing with the limited amount of budget that they have, it's really unbelievable. I genuinely think with my network and with my skill set, we can contribute a lot, particularly on the fundraising side. The end goal is to enable ORAM to do more.
3. What is your favorite part about being on ORAM’s Board of Directors?
I would say my favorite part is just getting to know the other board members. Each and every one of them is so interesting. I like meeting people from different backgrounds and from different countries who have done different things in their lives. At the moment, I would say, just getting to know the other board members has been a lot of fun.
4. What part of ORAM’s work do you feel most connected to?
I'm still getting to know the various aspects of what ORAM does. Right now, the situation in Ukraine is front and center and what ORAM is doing for LGBTIQ refugees from there is unbelievable.
5. What are some of your hopes for ORAM’s future?
ORAM does an incredible job with the very small budget that they have. I want to be in a position where, whenever I leave ORAM, they are in significantly better financial shape so that they can scale up their activities. My dream goal is to set up an endowment fund for ORAM so that the NGO lives off the earnings on that endowment fund. I want them to be significantly more financially stable and significantly more financially empowered, so that they can scale up their activities.
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