GMI is proud to announce new Ambassadors to help us continue the work we are doing in Gulu.
Andy & Louise Griffin (Footballer & WAG)
Andrew “Andy” Griffin is an English footballer, currently playing for Championship team, Reading. He began his career at Stoke City, where he established a reputation as a solid wing-back defender. His impressive performances for the Potters led to him being signed by Newcastle United.
He settled quickly into the Newcastle side, earning call-ups to the England Under-21 team. On 11 January 2008 he moved back to Stoke City and this saw him named as Stoke’s new captain which Andy describes as a proud moment in his career. In 2010 he moved to Reading where he currently plays.
Louise is a Professional Life Coach who is Delighted and proud to be involved in GMI and is proactive in helping us achieve our goals.
Nigel Owens (Professional Rugby Union Referee)
Nigel Owens is considered by some as the worlds top Rugby union referee and without doubt is the top Welsh rugby union referee. He is an international and Heineken Cup referee and was the only Welsh referee at the 2007 Rugby World Cup in France and has been picked for the 2011 Rugby World Cup in New Zealand. A former school technician at Ysgol Gyfun Maes Yr Yrfa Cefneithin and youth worker with Menter Cwm Gwendraeth, Owens was appointed as an international referee in 2005, and that year officiated his first international between Ireland and Japan in Osaka. Along with Wayne Barnes of England and Marius Jonker of South Africa, Owens made his World Cup debut in Lyon, France on 11 September 2007 for the Argentina vs. Georgia match. He is only one of two referees ever to be appointed to referee two consecutive Heineken Cup finals: Munster v Toulouse at the Millennium Stadium in 2008 and Leicester Tigers v Leinster at Murrayfield in 2009.
Barry Banks (Opera Singer)
Barry Banks’ outstanding facility in roles by Bellini, Donizetti and Rossini has brought him to the attention of the world’s leading opera houses. With The Metropolitan Opera he has partnered Renée Fleming in Rossini’s bel canto tour-de-force Armida, Natalie Dessay in La fille du regiment and La sonnambula, Olga Borodina in L’italiana in Algeri and Anna Netrebko in Don Pasquale and L’elisir d’amore. During his long association with English National Opera he has appeared most notably as Tamino in The Magic Flute; Tom Rakewell in The Rake’s Progress and with his highly-praised portrayal of Edgardo, sung with “fiery elegance and wonderful ease” (The Times, February 2008), in David Alden’s acclaimed production of Lucia di Lammermoor. Current season highlights include Ernesto in Don Pasquale at the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden together with Don Pasquale, Armida and Capriccio at The Metropolitan Opera. Further ahead Barry Banks will make his role debut in the title role in Mozart’s Mitridate at the Bayerische Staatsoper in Munich.
