HOST: Raga D'silva (She/Her)
Raga is the CEO and Co-Founder of OUTspoken Speakers, the UK’s first speaker agency and CIC dedicated to amplifying the voices of queer women and non-binary individuals. An award-winning entrepreneur, author of Untold Lies, podcaster, writer, public speaker, and passionate LGBT+ activist, Raga has been a prominent advocate for the South Asian queer community in the UK and a key voice in the fight for marriage equality in India.
Recognised among the Top 100 Trailblazing LGBT+ Women, she has been featured across major media platforms including BBC, Sky News, ITV, Channel 4, NDTV, India Today, BBC Hindi, and several regional outlets, where she continues to champion global LGBTQ+ rights
PANEL
The Legendary DJ Ritu (she/her)
DJ Ritu MBE is a pioneering broadcaster, DJ, and producer with a career spanning nearly four decades. Host of the acclaimed global music show A World in London, she produced shows for the BBC for 22 years, co-founded Outcaste Records (signing artists like Nitin Sawhney), and toured over 35 countries with her bands Sister India and The Asian Equation. Known for her eclectic sets blending World Music with Soul, Disco, House, Pop, and more, Ritu has performed at top venues including Glastonbury, Boiler Room, and WOMAD. A driving force behind the 90s Asian Underground scene, she co-founded the UK’s longest-running South Asian club nights—Club Kali and Kuch Kuch.
Ritu also serves on the European World Music Charts Panel and the London Music Board.
Jan Gooding (She/Her)
Jan Gooding is known to be one of the UK’s most experienced marketing leaders and is outspoken on a range of subjects from building responsible brands to inclusive leadership.
She now works primarily as an executive coach, specialising in supporting leaders who want to make a difference in their roles without burning themselves out. During her marketing career she worked in senior roles at BT, British Gas and most recently as the Group Brand Director at Aviva. In her final executive role as the first Global Inclusion Director at Aviva, she was responsible for introducing the ground-breaking policy of equal parental leave.
She is a former Chair of Stonewall and President of the Market Research Society. She is a regular columnist for The Media Leader, a Fellow of The IPA and an Honorary Fellow of the Marketing Society and Market Research Society.
Jonathan Phang (he/Him)
Jonathan Phang is a British cook, writer, TV presenter, and photographer known for his storytelling and diverse career. Born in London to Guyanese-Chinese parents, he started in fashion, managing stars like Naomi Campbell. A survivor of the 1989 Marchioness tragedy, he later told his story in a BBC documentary. Phang rose to fame as a judge on Britain’s Next Top Model and host of shows like Gourmet Trains and Caribbean Cookbook. A regular on ITV, he’s also a vocal LGBTQ+ advocate, recognized on the World Pride Power List for his work in the queer Asian community.