Manuel Bravo Project is delighted to introduce its patron and supporter Alison Lowe, OBE.
Manuel Bravo Project is delighted to introduce its patron and supporter Alison Lowe, OBE.
Alison is deputy mayor of West Yorkshire for Policing and Crime. She was the first black woman Leeds City Councillor, serving from 1990 to 2019, and has served as the chief executive of Touchstone, a mental health charity based in Leeds, from 2004 to 2021. Alison was appointed Officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE) in the 2022 New Year Honours for services to mental health and wellbeing during Covid-19. In the same year Alison was awarded an Honorary Doctor of Laws (HonLLd) by the University of Leeds, on the basis of “Alison’s personal commitment to speaking up for the marginalised and to promoting the importance of frank and open discussion about mental health extends into her professional commitments”.
In 2020, Alison was made an honorary alderwoman of Leeds. One of her first roles in this capacity was to chair a review of statues in the city in response to criticisms of the city’s statuary in connection with the Black Lives Matter movement. She is known for championing the rights of underserved communities and has been the chair of Positive Action for Refugees and Asylum Seekers (Pafras) previously too.
Together, Alison’s commitment to Leeds and the wider region through her political work and executive roles makes her an ideal champion for the work of MBP. Her work with voluntary organisations for more than 30 years is a testament to her longstanding belief that Leeds and the Yorkshire region is a place that is strengthened by refugees and people seeking safety.
