WomenEd Trustees

This year WomenEd turned ten years old; we have celebrated incredible grassroots connections, network growth and incalculable impact.

Now a registered charity, in this summer's Annual General Meeting of trustees, co-founder and legendary powerhouse Vivienne Porritt OBE chose to step away from the role of Chair, a position she has held for seven years; this follows a period of illness and although she is recovering well, it is essential she focuses on getting back to top form.

Vivienne has now taken on the role of President and will continue to advocate passionately for WomenEd, continuing also as a trustee. We cannot thank Vivienne enough for her incredible leadership.

For the year ahead, Keziah Featherstone will be Chair and Treasurer; Christalla Jamil will be Vice-Chair; Liz Free will be Secretary; with Natasha Hilton, Nancy Lhoest-Squicciarini and Olyvia Shaw continuing as Global Leaders, the main connection to the hundreds of Network Leaders and thousands of members around the globe.

New Operating Structure

Our model up until this point has been to create smaller regional or thematic teams who collaborate to support current and aspiring women leaders in their particular context. The rational for this has been that many hands make light work when we are nearly all also holding down day-jobs and juggling home responsibilities; and the support women leaders in Liverpool may need is very different to Berlin or Abu Dhabi.

Going forward, we will continue to support networks who prefer working collaboratively, and will be introducing the option for individuals to become active WomenEd Leaders without the need to find a team. More details for interested people can be found on our website, womened.com

Additionally, we are mindful that our ability to commit to being an active WomenEd Leader comes and goes. Starting a new role, having a child, being ill or a geographical move can all affect how much time there is left over to spend on organising events and supporting others. A nagging email from WomenEd is the last thing that you need after what may have been a stressful week.

However, now we have charitable status, that comes with the need to account for every penny and be able to document the impact we have. Therefore, we are slightly adapting the way that we will operate from January 2026.

Whether you are a current Network Leader or wish to become one, we will need you to (re)share your contact details and commit to organising at least one event for International Women's Day 2026, Sunday 8 March 2026, and one other event during the course of 2026.

This may be an in-person event, online, a book club, application support etc. and you may choose to organise by yourself or with others of your choosing.

We are not dissolving the current networks, we are just not limiting you to being a part of one if you don't want to be.

The most important thing is that we have a fully committed and active force of WomenEd Leaders around the world that are enabled, supported and empowered to get things done.

If you are unable to commit for 2026, there will be another chance each year.

SIGN UP FORM WomenEd Leaders 2026

The WomenEd Pledge – what you are signing up for

As a WomenEd Leader I promise to:

• Uphold the mission and values of WomenEd at all times;
• Make no financial gain whilst in pursuit of WomenEd's charitable aims;
• Re-commit yearly and attend an online (re)orientation as required;
• Fully adhere to all financial procedures with regards to WomenEd activities;
• Organise / co-organise at least ONE event for International Women's Day in March each year;
• Organise / co-organise at least ONE other event during the year;
• Attend any online meetings as required by your linked Global Strategic Leader;
• As a network, or as an individual, produce a short action plan in collaboration with your linked Global Strategic Leader;
• Complete and submit short impact reports following events and activity to enable WomenEd to report on our impact worldwide in meeting our charitable aims.

What the WomenEd trustees promise you:

• A fully committed team of trustees dedicated to supporting you and the women you work with;
• Financial support structures to make things easier to organise events;
• A dedicated linked trustee – your Global Strategic Leader;
• Access to tools and documents to make organising events easier;
• A really cool WomenEd badge.