Rukmal Abeysekera

I came to York as a postdoctoral researcher in Biology over 30 years ago, and I now lead the Knowledge Transfer Partnerships programme at the University. With my background and experiences of living and working in several different countries, all with their own ethnicity
challenges, I have always been passionate about equality, especially regarding race. I re-initiated the Staff Race Equality Forum (SREF) in 2016 and chaired the Steering Group for two years. I was also the Equality Champion for Research Innovation and Knowledge Exchange Directorate for nine years. As a volunteer, I recently became the Lead Governor at the York & Scarborough Teaching Hospitals NHS
Foundation Trust, where I also sit on the Trust’s Inclusion Forum. So championing equality is part of my everyday life.