Benjamin Stokes

The Pinnacle Foundation is Australia's LGBTQIA+ education charity. Our flagship program provides educational scholarships, mentoring and opportunities for young LGBTQIA+ Australians to realise their full potential. Our vision is for a more diverse and inclusive society with visible LGBTQIA+ role models. The Foundation awards multi-year scholarships nationally to students aged between 18 and 26 for fulltime study at public higher education institutions in Australia to achieve educational or vocational qualifications in any profession, trade or the arts. Every Pinnacle scholar is carefully matched with a mentor who will typically share the same academic and professional interests, gender identity and sexual orientation. The mentor acts as a role model. They will have walked the scholar’s path – and provide the encouragement, counsel and inspiration to support the scholar’s rounded development and the successful completion of their studies. Many of the young LGBTQIA+ people that Pinnacle supports have grown up in environments where they have been rejected because of who they are and how they identify. Many have experienced bullying, discrimination and abuse. We know that gaining an education can significantly change life for the better. Education increases our options, enriching and empowering us – it helps us to expand our life choices. Additionally, we ally with The University of Sydney Business School to deliver the LGBTQIA+ Executive Fellowship: https://www.sydney.edu.au/business/study/executive-education/lgbtqia-executive-fellowship.html. The Fellowship, the first of its kind in the Asia Pacific region, develops senior and executive leadership capabilities within the LGBTQIA+ community.