Our Chief Executive, Richard Angell, has received an OBE in recognition of his services to charity. He became Chief Executive of Terrence Higgins Trust in March 2023. He was previously our Campaigns Director and Head of Policy & Public Affairs.
During his time with Terrence Higgins Trust, Richard has played an integral role in securing £20 million Government funding for opt-out HIV testing in emergency departments and its further extension to 81 A&E departments. He led on the work to successfully overturn discriminatory exclusions in blood donation for gay and bisexual men, and those primarily from the UK’s black communities. He has also been vital to successful work to lift the ban on people living with HIV serving in the military, the ban on ‘driving with AIDS’, and worked to get HIV in each of the party’s manifestos.
Jonathan McShane, Chair of the Terrence Higgins Trust board of trustees said: “This is richly deserved recognition for Richard and all those he works with to win changes for people living with HIV. His ability to bring together partnerships and act as a catalyst for change has been a hallmark of his career to date and has had a profound impact on our work in recent years."
Richard Angell, Chief Executive at Terrence Higgins Trust said: “After working 22 years as a charity leader, it is a great privilege to receive this award. The work we are doing at Terrence Higgins Trust is quite special. Not only could we be the generation that ends the onward transmission of HIV, we can do it by 2030, be the first country in the world to do so, and do it without a vaccine or a cure.
“I am thankful to our founders, Terry Higgins' partner Rupert Whitaker OBE and friend Martyn Butler OBE, for setting up Terrence Higgins Trust in Terry's memory and altering the course of the HIV epidemic. The charity has changed lives for the last four decades and continues to do so. I am thankful to my predecessors Sir Nick Partridge and Ian Green OBE as well as the amazing team at Terrence Higgins Trust for their foresight, passion, skill and dedication. Considering the struggles of the charity sector, more than ever we can only do our crucial work because of our incredible supporters — the people who sell red ribbons, bake cakes, run marathons and donate their hard-earned cash. Thank you.
“I pay tribute to those lost from untreated HIV over the years, including those I've known and loved personally. Terrence Higgins Trust will do everything in its power to end this epidemic and ensure we are here until the last person living with HIV needs us.”
Richard firstly became a charity trustee at 18, was chair of trustees for a £5 million turnover charity, and most recently was a trustee at Kaleidoscope Trust. Richard has been involved in fighting injustice and campaigning on community issues for more than two decades, from helping to get VAT removed from condoms to playing an active role in organising votes for the 2007 sexual orientation regulations.
