More than half a dozen people from Brighton and Hove have been honoured for making a difference in sport, the arts, business and in caring for others.
Those honoured include Brighton Festival guest director Lemn Sissay, for services to literature and charity. He becomes an OBE, having previously been made an MBE.
The singer and songwriter Alison Moyet, 59, from Hove, becomes an MBE for services to music. She has also given her time, energy and talent to local good causes such as the domestic abuse and domestic violence charity Rise.
And the opera singer, “high performance coach” and mentor Nadine Benjamin, 47, from Hove, becomes an MBE for services to opera.
Brighton vet Marc Abraham, 48, widely known as Marc the Vet, becomes an OBE for services to animal welfare. He campaigned for a change in the law – known as Lucy’s Law – tightening up the rules around the sale of pets.
The architect Peter Barber, 60, from Brighton, has also become an OBE for services to architecture. His housing designs have won widespread admiration.
Someone who makes a different contribution to the way people live is Lizzie Batten, 61, who manages a volunteer team at Amaze, the charity for families with disabled children. She has been made an MBE for services to young people with disabilities and vulnerable families.
Her team helps people tackle the red tape that can prevent them receiving the help they need and to which they are entitled.
Another charity stalwart, Lisa King, from Hove, who works as the director of communications and external relations at Refuge, has been made an OBE for services to the victims of domestic violence.
A leading light in women’s football, Kelly Simmons, from Brighton, becomes an OBE, having previously been made an MBE. She is the FA’s director of the women’s professional game and has been honoured for her services to women’s football.
And Hannah Bernard, 47, from Brighton, the head of business banking at Barclays, becomes an OBE for service to financial services during the covid-19 pandemic.
Fionna Moore, the executive medical director at South East Coast Ambulance Service, which covers Brighton and Hove, has been awarded the Queen’s Ambulance Service Medal. Dr Moore has been an accident and emergency (A&E) consultant for more than 25 years and was previously the chief executive of London Ambulance Service.
And air ambulance boss Leigh Curtis has been made an MBE for his service, especially during the coronavirus pandemic. Mr Curtis is a long-serving member of the senior leadership team at Air Ambulance Kent Surrey Sussex, having joined KSS 14 years ago.
The woman taking charge of further education in Brighton and Hove becomes a CBE. Shelagh Legrave, 63, is chief executive of the Chichester College Group which is merging with the Greater Brighton Metropolitan College, also known as the Met or GB Met. She was already an OBE and has been recognised again for her services to education.
And the residential care manager at the Blind Veterans UK centre in Ovingdean, Blanche Back, has been awarded a British Empire Medal for services to visually impaired ex-servicemen and women during the pandemic.
