The chair of Mermaids will step down after four years in the role, the transgender youth support charity has announced.
Belinda Bell, who became chair in 2019, said the charity was “a really tough, but rewarding place to work or volunteer” in a statement as part of a recruitment pack for her replacement.
She said it operated in “a uniquely hostile external environment, where our work is under ever increasing scrutiny”.
Bell said she expected the Charity Commission’s statutory inquiry into Mermaids’ governance and management, which opened in November 2022, to continue “for the next several months”.
Meanwhile, Mermaids confirmed that it has decided not to appeal the First-tier Tribunal’s judgment in July that dismissed its right to challenge the charitable status of the LGB Alliance.
‘Not always easy to undertake our work’
Bell, who plans to continue as a trustee, said the charity had “changed enormously” since she joined, supporting gender diverse young people and their families “in an ever-expanding myriad of ways”.
“It is not always easy to undertake our work, but it is really important that we are here and that we stand up for the community we support. This makes for very satisfying work,” she said.
She said she and her fellow trustees took their responsibilities to the charity seriously during its ongoing inquiry.
“After four years as chair, it’s time for us to recruit a new chair who can lead our trustees, and the Mermaids team, through the development and delivery of our 2024-2027 strategy, and into the future.
“We are proud of the team (and often in awe of them) and our job is to enable them to play their parts as fully as possible. We care about diversity – we want to have as many different voices as possible at Mermaids; I really hope you will consider joining us.”
The charity said it hoped to appoint a new chair in the coming months.
CEO recruitment
The charity is currently without a permanent chief executive.
It appointed Lauren Stoner on an interim basis in December after its last permanent CEO Susie Green left after six years in post.
Mermaids said its recruitment for a permanent CEO had not yet begun.
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