Marie Gabriel, Chair of NHS North East London, has been made a Dame Commander of the Order of the British Empire (DBE) in the 2025 New Year Honours list.
The damehood recognises her service, throughout her 45-year career and voluntary endeavours, to health and equity.
Dame Marie is the founding Chair of NHS North East London Integrated Care System, and through this role she sits on the Mayor of London’s Health Board and is Co-chair of the London People Board. In 2020, she was appointed founding Chair of the NHS Race and Health Observatory, chairing a board of world-renowned experts and taking a leading role in work to tackle racial bias in health and care.
Prior to this she held senior roles in public and voluntary sector organisations, with expertise in delivering equity, regeneration and social justice.
She was born and still lives in north east London, and is a trustee of two local charities.
Dame Marie said: “I am thankful to receive this recognition and to all those involved in my nomination. I know that this is really a reflection of the achievements and contributions of the organisations, communities and people that I work with.
“I am most pleased that it is an illustration of the importance of the ongoing work we do to further equity and improve health outcomes.
“People in north east London deserve high quality health and care services wherever they live and I will continue to work tirelessly to raise the profile of our aspirational and diverse communities and work with them to ensure we deliver improved health outcomes.”
Zina Etheridge, Chief Executive of NHS North East London, said: “This is a much deserved recognition for Marie who has worked tirelessly across an extraordinary career to improve the lives of people across north east London and beyond.
“Her contributions at a local, regional and national level on issues of health inequity, anti-racism and wider health improvement are hugely impactful and this honour is testament to all of her achievements and dedication. We are thrilled to have Marie at the helm of our integrated care system as we continue to work in partnership to improve the health, wellbeing and equity of our local population.”
Dame Marie has more than 20 years’ NHS board-level experience and, alongside her current roles at NHS North East London and the NHS Race and Health Observatory, she is an associate non-executive director for the UK Health Security Agency and a commissioner on the Institute For Public Policy Research’s Commission on Health and Prosperity.
Dame Marie’s outstanding contribution to the NHS was recognised in the 2018 Queen’s Birthday Honours list when she was awarded a CBE, and her contribution to her local community saw her awarded the Freedom of the London Borough of Newham.
She was also recognised by the English Premier League through her inclusion in its 2020 Football Black List for her contribution to football and promoting good health with and among underserved communities.
Regionally, Dame Marie is Co-Chair of the London People Board and a member of the Greater London Authority’s London Health Board, where she is also the London Mayor’s Champion for Tackling Structural Racism. She contributes to her local community as a trustee on two charities: West Ham United Foundation and East London Business Alliance.
Before taking up her current role at NHS North East London, Dame Marie was Chair at East London NHS Foundation Trust where she took part in international events, delivering workshops on the role of its board in driving quality improvement. Prior to this, she chaired health commissioning organisations with budgets up to £3billion and her first NHS role was as vice-chair of an acute trust.
Her previous employment background is in local government and the not-for-profit sector, with senior executive experience in social justice, regeneration and equity.
In 2023, Dame Marie received the award of Honorary Doctor of Health Sciences from Anglia Ruskin University (ARU) and she has also been included in the Health Service Journal’s Top 50 list of the most influential people in health.The 50 most influential Black, Asian and minority ethnic people in health: Full list | News | Health Service Journal
