The Human Dignity Trust is honoured to welcome two eminent new members to its Board of Trustees this autumn.
‘Our new colleagues bring with them a range of experiences, knowledge and skills that will be invaluable to the Trust as we consolidate our hard won successes over the last decade, and realise our ambition to expand our work in defence of the human rights of LGBT people globally,’ said Téa Braun, the Trust’s Director.
Michael K. Addo is Professor of Law at University of Notre Dame Law School, and Director of the Notre Dame London Law program, having previously worked at the Universities of Exeter and Staffordshire. Professor Addo was born in Ghana, where most of his family live, and is a member of the Ghana Bar Association.
His career in international human rights stretches for over 30 years, including as a member of the United Nations Working Group on Business and Human Rights from 2011-2018.
‘Working to realise the fundamental human right and universal value of equality is a pressing social imperative all over the world and joining the Human Dignity Trust will be an opportunity to work with some of the most committed practitioners and activists in this field,’ said Professor Addo.
‘I hope that my lifetime of exposure to diverse cultures in Africa, the United States and the UK will be of value to the Trust. Additionally, I anticipate drawing on my first-hand knowledge of the workings of the UN, as well as the networks that I have developed over the years, to support the Trust to increase its impact in the international context.’
Emma Cusdin has over 20 years’ experience in human resources in the global financial services sector and is a Fellow of the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development.
Emma is a trans woman, having transitioned in 2009, and is passionate about raising awareness of trans & non-binary issues, most notably at events organised by leading private sector companies. She was previously a Trustee for the Gender Identity Research & Education Society, chaired the National Trans Youth Conference for two years in succession and was a co-founder of Trans*formation. She was also a panellist at the 2019 launch of Injustice Exposed, the Trust’s landmark report on the criminalisation of trans and gender diverse people.
Emma was delighted to receive the Positive LGBT Role Model Award at the National Diversity Awards, the Prime Minister’s Office Points of Light recognition for her tireless work in support of trans & non-binary people and has appeared in the OUT at Work top 50 UK LGBT Executives.
She is currently a Director at Global Butterflies, a company that has been highly successful in bringing about trans & non-binary inclusion and acceptance within corporate organisations in the UK, US and Canada.
‘I am absolutely delighted to be joining the board of Trustees for the Human Dignity Trust. Unfortunately, in many countries around the world there is still much to fight for in order that LGBT people can live full and dignified lives.  I hope that I can add my personal passion and professional expertise to benefit this amazing charity in their global mission to use the law to defend human rights of LGBT people,’ she said.
Notes to editors
- The Human Dignity Trust works with LGBT activists around the world to defend human rights in countries where private consensual sexual activity between adults of the same sex is criminalised. With pro bono assistance from the international legal community, we support local organisations that are challenging laws that persecute people on the basis of their sexual orientation and/or gender identity.
- Visit the Trust’s interactive map to see which countries across the world still criminalise LGBT people.
For more information contact:
Emma Eastwood, Head of Strategic Communications, HDT
T: +44 (0)20 7419 3770 / E: emmaeastwood@humandignitytrust.org / Twitter: @HumanDignityT
