Dame Ann Limb DBE CBE FRSA DL, has been made a dame in the 2022 Queen’s Birthday Honours list for services to young people and philanthropy.
A Mancunian by birth, and Milton Keynesian by adoption, Dame Ann describes herself as a ‘philanthropist, mover & Quaker’ – a spec of stardust trying to navigate life by doing the least harm possible to people, places, and planet.
Between 1976 and 2001, she enjoyed a successful career in Further Education becoming a College Principal in Milton Keynes and Cambridge, before moving into the civil service where she had responsibility for the UK government’s flagship digital initiatives, learndirect, UK online and gov.uk.
From 2015 to 2021, Dame Ann was Chair of The Scouts, the UK’s largest youth engagement charity, and is now Chair of the City & Guilds of London Institute - the first openly gay woman to hold both these roles. She is Chair of the Lloyds Bank Foundation for England and Wales, Deputy Chair of The Prince’s Foundation, and Vice President of the educational social justice charity, the Helena Kennedy Foundation, which she founded in 1998. Dame Ann is also the independent business Chair of the UK Innovation Corridor, the country’s leading sci-tech region from London to Cambridge, and Chair of IF: Milton Keynes International Festival.
A linguist by background, feminist through experience, and Quaker by convincement. Dame Ann’s passionate belief in the power of art, creativity, sport, education, imagination, nature, and faith to transform individuals and communities is based on her own life’s journey. In the 2011 Birthday Honours, she was awarded the OBE for public service and services to education, in 2015, made a CBE for political service, and in 2022, became DBE, Dame Commander of the Order of the British Empire for services to young people and philanthropy.
Commenting on this honour, Dame Ann said, “A butcher’s daughter born in 1950’s Moss Side does not grow up dreaming of damehood. Inspired by teachers who believed in me and nurtured by the further education system that is a powerhouse for social change, I eventually found the courage to become myself, to speak out against inequalities of all kinds in society, and to speak up for others from disadvantaged backgrounds.
I want people to look at me and say to themselves ‘This person is like me’. I’d like everyone pursuing their own career to support those who follow, by remembering to ‘lift as you climb’.
I accept this honour to encourage young people, regardless of their start in life, to step up to serve humanity with kindness, compassion and in a spirit of peace building.”