Our TEAM
Meet our Patron​,Patrick Vernon
About Patrick
Patrick Vernon OBE is a nationally respected equalities campaigner, cultural historian and social commentator with over twenty years’ senior leadership experience across mental health, public health, heritage and race equality.
Born in the constituency once represented by Enoch Powell, Patrick remains proud of his Wolverhampton roots, where his family still lives today. The contribution of migrant communities — particularly the Windrush Generation — has profoundly shaped his values and life’s work, reflected in his long-standing campaign that Windrush Day Matters.
Patrick’s lifelong commitment to tackling health inequalities closely aligns with the mission of ACCI (African Caribbean Community Initiative). As Patron of ACCI (www.acci.org.uk), the long-established Wolverhampton charity providing culturally appropriate mental health and wellbeing services, he brings national leadership, advocacy and strategic insight to support its work in addressing mental health disparities and empowering African and Caribbean communities.
He is a Clore and Winston Churchill Fellow, Fellow of the Imperial War Museum and the Royal Historical Society, and former Associate Fellow at the University of Warwick. He currently serves as Associate Director for Connected Communities at the Centre for Ageing Better, Equality and Diversity Adviser to Lambeth Council, Chair of the Citizens Partnership for the Healthcare Safety Investigation Branch (HSIB), and Senior Associate at OLMEC. He was the Founding Director of Black Thrive in Lambeth and has held numerous senior leadership roles across national and regional health bodies.
A former councillor in Hackney, Patrick was appointed by Jeremy Corbyn as Race Equalities Adviser to the Shadow Equalities Ministerial Team. He also served on Ministerial Advisory Groups for Mental Health under both Labour and Coalition Governments.
Founder of Every Generation Media and 100 Great Black Britons, Patrick is a leading expert in African and Caribbean genealogy. He led the national campaign for Windrush Day and played a pivotal role in the 2018 Windrush amnesty campaign, contributing to a government policy reversal and the resignation of Amber Rudd.
Awarded an OBE in 2012 for services to tackling health inequalities, Patrick continues through his patronage of ACCI to champion culturally competent mental health services and community-led solutions.