Deirdre LaBassiere is a governance specialist, thought leader, and community advocate whose career spans over twenty years across health, housing, charity, arts, and corporate sectors. Her journey is one of resilience, conviction, and service, rooted in her family’s legacy and driven by a commitment to conscious and ethical leadership, accountability, and social justice. As one of Birmingham’s governance pioneers, Deirdre has shaped systems, strengthened organisations, and inspired communities to embrace governance not just as compliance, but as an act of stewardship and empowerment.
Deirdre’s vision for justice and leadership was profoundly shaped by her lineage. She is the granddaughter of Sir Archibald Nedd, one of the first Black scholars of law at the University of Oxford and later Chief Justice of Grenada. His knighthood and pioneering achievements in law seeded in her a deep respect for integrity, courage, and representation in leadership. That commitment to justice and fairness was also nurtured by her grandmother, Lady Annis Nedd and mother Aline LaBassiere, women of faith who instilled in her the values of truth, dignity, and perseverance.
Her father, Dennis LaBassiere’s, entrepreneurial ventures further influenced her outlook. A prolific businessman and political figure, he purchased and transformed historic plantations in Dominica into housing and later developed Newfoundland Estates, a 200-acre estate that became a major banana production hub. This vision of transforming land and legacy for future generations now inspires Deirdre’s own work with her siblings in developing the family estate into an eco-wellness resort that integrates affordable housing for employees. For Deirdre, legacy is never abstract; it is lived, cultivated, and passed on.
Deirdre read Law (LL.B Hons) before dedicating her career to the principles of governance, assurance, and risk management. She is a Fellow of the Lunar Society and has served in senior governance roles across NHS Trusts, housing associations, and national charities. Her expertise lies in strengthening internal controls, embedding compliance frameworks, and creating cultures of accountability.
Currently, Deirdre serves as Interim Head of Governance and Company Secretary at Parasol Homes Limited (soon to rebrand as IronOak Housing), where she is leading a rapid improvement journey with the Regulator of Social Housing. She has introduced governance reforms including the Governance Oversight Committee, a new Board Assurance Framework, and a comprehensive policy and risk management framework. Her approach is not simply to “tick the box” of regulatory standards, but to embed governance as the heartbeat of organisational resilience and sustainability.
Her consultancy, LaBassiere Consultants Ltd, extends this expertise to charities, faith organisations, and social enterprises. She has conducted governance and operational reviews for churches, cultural centres, and women’s organisations, blending technical rigour with cultural sensitivity. Her mantra, Governance with SOUL™, captures her distinctive approach: governance grounded in Stewardship, Orientation, Understanding, and Legacy.
Beyond her executive work, Deirdre is a civic and community leader in Birmingham and the wider West Midlands. She currently chairs two significant organisations:
Legacy Centre of Excellence, Europe’s largest Black-owned cultural centre, where she is steering the board through governance improvements, partnerships, and a bold vision for arts, business and community development.
WAITS (Women Acting in Today’s Society), a Birmingham-based charity supporting women affected by domestic abuse, poverty, and systemic barriers. Under her leadership, WAITS has strengthened its governance structures and is exploring innovative housing solutions for women, particularly from Black and global majority communities.
Deirdre also serves on the Board of Nehemiah United Churches Housing Association, one of the UK’s leading Black-led housing providers, where she contributes to strategy and governance oversight. Her past leadership includes serving as the first Black woman Chair of the historic Lunar Society, Birmingham’s living civic conscience, where she curates the prestigious Sir Adrian Cadbury Lecture series featuring global leaders in ethics and justice.
Her influence also extends to the arts. Deirdre has collaborated on cultural projects such as Future of the Commonwealth, a short film exploring belonging and identity, narrated by her daughter Annissa La Touche. She sees the arts as a powerful medium for governance conversations, community voice, and intergenerational legacy.
Deirdre’s voice is one of conviction and authenticity. She often weaves personal testimony into professional spaces, sharing her lived experiences of resilience, faith, and overcoming adversity, including homelessness, illness, and personal loss. These experiences have deepened her belief that governance is not just about structures, but about healing, accountability, and creating spaces of belonging.
Her frameworks extend beyond organisations into personal development. Through mentoring and public speaking, she encourages individuals to embrace “self-governance” the discipline of aligning vision, mission, and values in one’s own life. She has spoken at national conferences on governance, race, and belonging, championing the shift from inclusion to belonging as the true measure of equity in leadership and society.
Deirdre’s impact has been recognised in various forums. She has been shortlisted for awards such as the Woman of the Year: Woman of Edge by Freeths LLP, and her daughter Annissa has been named a Future Leader in the UK’s Powerlist, a testament to the intergenerational influence of her leadership.
Her long-term vision is bold: to publish works on governance and conscious leadership, complete a PhD by publication, and expand her Governance with SOUL™ framework globally. She is equally committed to family legacy, stewarding the Newfoundland Estate in Dominica into a model of sustainability and empowerment.
Deirdre LaBassiere stands as a Birmingham pioneer because she embodies the fusion of heritage, governance expertise, and community leadership. From housing associations and NHS Trusts to cultural centres and faith-based organisations, her fingerprints can be found on structures that are stronger, more accountable, and more inclusive.
Her life is a testament to her motto: Forward Ever, Backward Never. For Deirdre, governance is not a technical exercise, but a living practice of justice, resilience, and legacy-building for organisations, for communities, and for generations to come.
When asked about the meaning of anti-racism, Deirdre says:
“Anti-racism is love in action. It’s accountability in the personhood of who we are. It’s that courage in leadership, and it’s the ability for us, as one people, to thrive as one human race.”
