Chris Ashton-Hollis
Nominee Profile
Location: Bournemouth
I have been passionate about Equality, Diversity and Inclusion since I came out in 2000 and realised that in both my professional and personal life I didn't have many role models who were openly gay.
In 2003 I started my career and was outed rather publicly by my then manager, the fear of not being accepted was overwhelming and at the time I didn’t know if I could go back into the office. Luckily for me, some of the senior staff at work supported me, and I carried on in my role and 24 years later am a senior executive. Since that day in 2003 I made a commitment to myself that I would support diversity and be a champion and role model for EDI, if that be sex, sexuality, race or religion.
In 2005 I started volunteering for Bournemouth’s local pride Bourne Free and used a lot of my spare time to help out where I could. In 2007 I became a trustee on the charity and have covered many roles inc secretary, treasurer and have twice been the Chair. It was clear that the pride festival gave people a space to be who they felt comfortable being and was a tool to raise money locally. In those years we have supported other local groups and charities to raise awareness and support the local community, if that be sexual health, support lines or more recently food banks. In 2018 the Bourne Free Community fund was set up to support LGBTQ+ charities groups or individuals in Dorset with Grants, and since then have given away tens of thousands of pounds. This is one of the things I most proud of as I can see the positive impact of 17 years hard work.
In 2018 I also joined the Equality Focus Group at AFC Bournemouth and was a founding member of the proud cherries (AFCB LGBTQ+ supporters group). I am a firm believer that sport is a way to promote acceptance and educate the community. More recently I have become the Fan Advisory Board Chair for AFCB and am using this role to champion the EDI work at the club.
My aim is to make my little part of the world a little more accepting.
In 2003 I started my career and was outed rather publicly by my then manager, the fear of not being accepted was overwhelming and at the time I didn’t know if I could go back into the office. Luckily for me, some of the senior staff at work supported me, and I carried on in my role and 24 years later am a senior executive. Since that day in 2003 I made a commitment to myself that I would support diversity and be a champion and role model for EDI, if that be sex, sexuality, race or religion.
In 2005 I started volunteering for Bournemouth’s local pride Bourne Free and used a lot of my spare time to help out where I could. In 2007 I became a trustee on the charity and have covered many roles inc secretary, treasurer and have twice been the Chair. It was clear that the pride festival gave people a space to be who they felt comfortable being and was a tool to raise money locally. In those years we have supported other local groups and charities to raise awareness and support the local community, if that be sexual health, support lines or more recently food banks. In 2018 the Bourne Free Community fund was set up to support LGBTQ+ charities groups or individuals in Dorset with Grants, and since then have given away tens of thousands of pounds. This is one of the things I most proud of as I can see the positive impact of 17 years hard work.
In 2018 I also joined the Equality Focus Group at AFC Bournemouth and was a founding member of the proud cherries (AFCB LGBTQ+ supporters group). I am a firm believer that sport is a way to promote acceptance and educate the community. More recently I have become the Fan Advisory Board Chair for AFCB and am using this role to champion the EDI work at the club.
My aim is to make my little part of the world a little more accepting.