Meet Our Trustees
Our trustees are dedicated individuals who guide Safe Haven Cornwall in our mission to support and empower the transgender community. Each brings unique expertise and passion to our organization.
Pixie Swarbrick
Chair / Co founder
Pixie (aka Jackie) became involved with the transgender community in 2013, when her then spouse came out. Previously she had been involved with the LGBT world through her brother who was gay. Through attending appointments at the GIC with her spouse, she became aware and incensed at the process, the 2 years lived experience stipulation and the fact partners and family members got no support whatsoever. Pixie met Paula in 2014 at a trans event in Plymouth, and move to Cornwall in 2015 after being made redundant from her role with Devon Social Services after 15 years. She has 2 daughters and a grandson, and a multitude of animals!
Paula Swarbrick
Co founder
Paula was born in Harold Hill, London and joined the Army at 16. She moved to Cornwall after leaving the Army in 2000. She bought the house now known as Wayne Manor as she wanted to construct a building for her collection of Batman memorabilia, and The Batcave came into being in 2009. She started to explore who she was after a lifetime of suppressing it in 2010, and Paula made her debut in public in 2013. Paula is a very keen speedway fan, and is a Batman encyclopaedia.
Isabella Jury
Secretary
Isabella is a trans woman living in East Sussex with her wife and daughter. She is a Senior Director for a Canada based software company and brings a wealth of professional experience in leadership, technology, and organisational development.
She first connected with Safe Haven in late 2020 through a client relationship, where she met Pixie. In 2023 she became more actively involved with the charity, and in 2025 led a full redesign and development of the Safe Haven website, including a refreshed brand and modernised look and feel.
Alongside her professional work, Isabella began her social transition in July 2022 and started her medical transition in May 2024. Her lived experience, combined with her career background, allows her to bring a thoughtful and forward looking perspective to her work within the charity.
In March 2026, she stepped into the role of Secretary, with a focus on modernising the charity’s administration and processes to better support its growth and impact.
She is passionate about supporting gender diverse people from all backgrounds and is also the founder of Gender Journey, a platform designed to help individuals manage and navigate their transition.
Louise Colam
Louise moved to Cornwall from Derby in 2012, as she wanted to raise her twin daughters here. She became a landscape gardener and was kept very busy. She had always known something just didn't sit right, but had no idea what it was until 2019 when she started exploring her gender. This was really difficult for her, she had a wife and 2 daughters and the last thing she wanted to do was disrupt their lives, so she tried to ignore it. Louise soon realised that was not an option, this feeling would not go away. She attended a support group in 2021 to work through everything and find a way to move forward. Louise became very much a part of Safe Haven - Cornwall, she became a Trustee in 2023 and took the Treasurer's role in 2024. Louise has transitioned and lives her life as her authentic self. She is an integral part of the support group, always happy and willing to share her empathy, experiences and knowledge with others.
Ruth Connolly
Ruth became involved with Safe Haven - Cornwall because she lives in the village where it is based. She met Paula whilst they were helping a local farmer to move some cattle (typical rural event!) Ruth was genuinely interested in what Safe Haven did, and she was invited to attend one of our events. Ruth became a regular, and started to help run the stand at public events, advocating for the community and the charity. Ruth's husband and friends started to attend, and our band of allies increased. Ruth became a Trustee in 2023, she has no personal connection to anyone gender diverse at all, which gives her a unique position amongst the Trustees, and brings valuable insight from that perspective.
Gail Lancaster
Gail moved to Looe from Wombourne in 2012, after retiring from a long career in systems management for large department stores. She started attending Safe Haven - Cornwall in 2016, and her ability with numbers, spreadsheets and amazing organisational skills were quickly recognised. Gail was on the original committee formed in 2018, when Paula and Pixie decided they could no longer run everything single handed. Gail became Pixie's 'wing woman', and together they successfully navigated getting registered charity status for Safe Haven - Cornwall in 2020. Gail became Vice Chair, and her pedantic attention to detail and process made her the perfect person to chair meetings, and co ordinate public events for the information and fundraising stand. Gail suffered a stroke during a Trustee meeting in October 2022, and then had a very serious fall in January 2023 which we were told at the time could prove fatal. After months of uncertainty, Gail started to recover and slowly regain her memory, strength and tenacity. Aunty Gail is a stalwart of Safe Haven - Cornwall, a friend and source of support to everyone who comes here.
Libby Martin
Libby lives in Falmouth, and is a bus driver. She started attending the support group in 2021, to explore who she was. Libby had known for a long time that she was not comfortable within herself, and was fairly certain it was gender incongruence. Libby became the resident DJ, and is responsible for most of the bad jokes. She is a grafter, always one of the first people to help when things need doing, or someone needs a hand. Kind, self depreciating and a really good friend to many. She became a Trustee in 2023, and is responsible for overseeing the property assets of the charity, and updating our website content.
Debs Gosling
Debs has known Pixie since they started secondary school together at 11 years old! They lost touch as adults, and reconnected again in 2013, at a trans event in Torquay. Debs has been involved with Safe Haven - Cornwall since its inception, she was at the first party and has been to virtually every one since! As the partner of a transwoman, she has a lot of insight and experience in supporting and understanding trans people as a cis woman. She is a valued member of the Family Matters support group, where her lived experience can help others trying to support their partner or loved one. Debs was one of the original committee members in 2018, and became a Trustee in 2020.
Christine Callington
Christine lives in North Cornwall and has been a member of Safe Haven - Cornwall since 2023. She became a Trustee in 2024.