Help us make sure that women lead the way toward a better future. Together we CAN make a world of difference!
WEDO owes its successful global activism to its dynamic Board of Directors and Staff, a diverse group of experts and activists.
Irene Dankelman
Irene Dankelman (Netherlands), Acting Chair, is the director of IRDANA Advice on gender and sustainable development, and lecturer at the Radboud University of Nijmegen where her work includes integrating sustainable development issues into the curriculum. Previously she has worked as a Senior Advisor on the Environment and Sustainable Development for Oxfam-Novib, a co-financing agency. From 1990 to 1992 she was the Technical Advisor on Environment, Gender and Development for UNIFEM. Dankelman also served as Executive Secretary and Coordinator for the Netherlands IUCN Committee and World Conservation Strategy Steering Group from 1979 to 1985. Since the ’70s she has lectured and written extensively on gender, environment and development issues.
Lorena Aguilar
Lorena Aguilar (Costa Rica) was born in San Josè, Costa Rica, and is the Senior Gender Advisor of IUCN, (the International Union for the Conservation of Nature,) where she is the first Latin American woman ever to be appointed such an esteemed global position. She earned a Master’s degree in Anthropology with a major in Cultural Ecology, and her efforts towards sustainable and equitable human development include more than two decades of practical experience in projects and initiatives involving public policy development and design and the incorporation of social and gender issues into the use and conservation of natural resources. Ms. Aguilar has provided technical assistance to international organizations, governments and universities, in areas such as water, environmental health, gender and community participation. She has written 30 books and other publications on gender and environment, environmental health and public policies involving gender equality. Many of her books have been translated into English and French and are widely used in many projects around the world. Through her efforts and firm determination regarding the development of technical skills, more than 10,000 people have been trained using the methodologies developed by her team over the last 10 years. Thanks to her efforts, major environmental institutions have developed gender plans of action. Examples of this are UNEP and the Convention on Biological Diversity.
Roberto Bissio
Roberto Bissio (Uruguay) is a journalist who has written on development issues since 1975. Bissio is a co-director of the Instituto del Tercer Mundo (Third World Institute), a non-profit research and advocacy organization based in Uruguay. He is in charge of the secretariat of the Social Watch network and edits the yearly Social Watch report, which reflects the input of citizen coalitions in 60 countries monitoring the implementation of international social development commitments. Bissio is also a member of Third World Network’s international committee and of the civil society advisory group to the UNDP administrator.
Ayesha Imam
Ayesha Imam (Senegal) joined WEDO’s board in January 2006. An internationally known activist and scholar, Ayesha has been working for women’s human rights for over 20 years. Ayesha is the founding director and coordinator of the organization BAOBAB based in Nigeria that is dedicated to developing women’s rights in Nigeria, Africa, and the Middle East. As a driving force in the campaign that opposed the implementation of the Sharia Law, Ayesha and BAOBAB received the 2002 John Humphrey Human Rights Award. Since 1992, Imam has been the Coordinator of the International solidarity Network of Women Living Under Muslim Laws and was previously the Gender Policy Advisor for the United Nations Institute for Economic Development and Planning in Senegal. Ayesha has lectured and conducted workshops on gender issues all over the world and is widely published for her work on gender issues and development for women.
Shanthi Anusha Sachithanandam
An activist since the 1980s, Shanthi Sachithanandam (Sri Lanka), has straddled the two worlds of donor agencies and grass roots communities for almost two decades. She has been working for international agencies such as Australian OXFAM and Christian Aid (UK), in addition to functioning as a freelance consultant to bilateral and multilateral donor agencies and the UN organizations. Her work experiences range from conducting evaluations of projects and institutions, training, as well as designing guidelines and frameworks for integrated area development programs. Shanthi was also a working member for five years of the international steering group of the civil society at the UN formed with the purpose of intervening in the process towards the Johannesburg Earth Summit II held in 2002. Currently, she is the founding chairperson of “Viluthu”, an organization committed to work for Good Governance in Sri Lanka. Although her professional experience mainly focused on gender and development issues, she has contributed to peace building in her personal capacity and through her work within Viluthu.
Nafis Sadik
Nafis Sadik (Pakistan) is the Special Adviser to the UN Secretary General and UN Special Envoy for HIV/AIDS in Asia and the Pacific. As former head of the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) Dr. Sadik became one of the highest ranking women in the UN system and the first woman, in the history of the United Nations, to lead one of its major voluntarily funded programmes. Educated at Loreto College (Calcutta) she received her Doctor of Medicine degree from Dow Medical College (Karachi). She was Pakistan’s Director-General of the Central Family Planning Council responsible for developing, preparing and evaluating the country’s health and family planning programme as part of the nation’s development plan. Dr. Sadik is well-known for her dynamism and guiding force in the field of international maternal and child health, reproductive and sexual health, including family planning.
Sayida Vanenburg
Sayida Vanenburg (Netherlands) received her master’s degree in International Management from the Radboud University. During her studies she was the Dutch Youth Delegate to the UN Commission on Sustainable Development. She started her career in the field of corporate social responsibility/ sustainability namely at Dutch multinationals. She contributed to the development and implementation of sustainability strategies and programs on all three P’s (planet, people and profit). She consciously expanded her horizon to Operational Excellence as these fields of expertise can strengthen each other. Sayida is active on the grassroots and strategic level. She is passionate about continuous learning and developing and therefore actively involved in capacity building from youngsters in the Netherlands to (young) men and women in South Africa. She is a member of the Worldconnectors, an international think tank whose aim is working towards a just, sustainable, inclusive and peaceful world.
Soon-Young Yoon
Soon-Young Yoon (United States) received her A.B. in French literature and Ph.D. in anthropology from the University of Michigan. She was a Social Development officer for UNICEF in the Southeast Asia office as well as the Social Scientist at WHO/SEARO in New Delhi. A former columnist for the EarthTimes newspaper, she is a UN representative for the International Alliance of Women and Vice-chair of the NGO Committee on the Status of Women/NY. She serves as a board member of the Global Advisory Council at the Harvard AIDS Initiative and International Foundation for Ewha Womans University. She works as a consultant for the World Health Organization Tobacco Free Initiative and is co-editor with Dr Jonathan Samet of the WHO monograph, “Women and the Tobacco Epidemic.”
Staff
Monique Essed-Fernandes, Interim Executive Director
Monique Essed-Fernandes (Suriname) has been active in social development and politics for the past twenty years. She is the founder of the Women’s Parliament Forum, an organization focusing on women’s political participation, as well as an NGO focusing on women and development. Ms. Essed-Fernandes is also the founder of a political party in Suriname, and was recently the first woman to be nominated for the presidency of Suriname. In addition to her work with WEDO, she serves as a policy advisor on planning and development cooperation for the government of Suriname.
Ugoagha Awa, Accounting Assistant
Originally from Nigeria, Ugoagha holds an Undergraduate degree in Accounting from Madonna University, Nigeria. She is currently pursuing a Masters degree in Global Business Administration with a concentration in Finance at Kean University, New Jersey. Prior to coming to WEDO she worked for TD bank in New Jersey where she was responsible for performing various financial transactions and customer service.
Eleanor Blomstrom, Sustainable Development and Climate Change Coordinator
A graduate of Columbia University’s School of International and Public Affairs with a Master of International Affairs in Environmental and Urban Policy, Eleanor has previously worked with the Earth Institute, the Clinton Foundation and the World Bank on climate change issues ranging from green roofs to waste management to adaptation. She has also worked on women’s capacity building projects in Nicaragua and Nigeria.
Bridget K. Burns, Project Coordinator
Bridget has a Master’s Degree in Gender, Development, and Globalisation from the London School of Economics. Her concentrations included: HIV and other emerging health threats; youth engagement; and environmental issues. Her dissertation focused on gender and climate change, particularly the integration of gender into programs on climate change adaptation and mitigation. Most recently she worked at LEAD International in London, a global non-profit dedicated to advancing leadership for sustainable development. There she managed the global LEAD Fellow’s network and organised trainings in a number of different countries. In 2009 she became certified in training on gender and climate change from the IUCN/GGCA. She is also a certified youth trainer.
Sandra Frietas, Global Advocacy Associate
Based in Togo, West Africa, Sandra began her professional career in 1999 as a Research Assistant for a consultancy bureau in Togo before leaving to pursue an advanced degree in Economics in 2003 at the University of Lome. Upon completing her degree, Sandra joined the “Young Volunteers for the Environment, YVE”, a Togolese NGO which currently has 15 international representations worldwide. As Coordinator for the community and sustainable development programs, Sandra organized a number of national campaigns on climate change throughout Togo in addition to specific capacity building and environment. In January 2009, Sandra was appointed Executive Director of the “Actions en faveur de l’Homme et de la Nature, AFHON”, a new initiative with a deeper focus on the impacts of climate change and other environmental threats on vulnerable populations of both rural and urban areas of the country. Within one year, she had developed an action plan for capacity building on gender and climate change. In parallel, Sandra joined the advocacy team of the Global Gender and Climate Alliance (GGCA) to ensure a gender sensitive post 2012 climate change agreement.
Rachel Harris, Advocacy and Outreach Coordinator/ GEAR Lead
Rachel graduated from Columbia University with a Master’s degree in Climate and Society. In graduate school, she primarily focused on climate change and climate variability impacts on health locally, domestically and internationally. Prior to coming to WEDO, she worked with environmental organizations including the World Resources Institute, the International Research Institute for Climate and Society, and the Environmental Law Institute. Rachel was born and raised in New Orleans, Louisiana, and has lived in New York City for about eight years.
Susan Ifill, Interim Finance Director
Susan is a career-long financial services executive, experienced in and comfortable with all aspects of running a large, multifaceted organization. From early in her career, she has been recognized as a leader and chosen again and again to lead complex organization-wide programs, turnarounds, and entrepreneurial initiatives. Past employers include Bank of America, FleetBoston Financial, and, most recently, Carver Federal Savings Bank. A committed advocate for girls and young women, Susan has served as a mentor, volunteer, board member, and fund-raiser for over 15 community organizations in the Boston and New York metropolitan areas. Susan is the recipient of many professional and civic awards and has a Masters in Management from Cambridge College in Cambridge Massachusetts, with a specialization in Negotiation and Conflict Resolution. Susan is also a member of the Board of Trustees and Chair of the Finance Committee. Susan resides in West Orange, New Jersey. She has two adult daughters, Nicole and Monique.
Elizabeth Jones, Gender Equality Architecture Reform (GEAR) Intern
Elizabeth is a senior at Drew University, majoring in International Development through the Political Science and Women and Gender Studies Departments. At WEDO, she is working on the Gender Equality Architecture Reform (GEAR) campaign. In 2009, she interned in the development office at the International Indigenous Women’s Forum/Foro Internacional de Mujeres Indigenas (IIWF/FIMI) while participating in Drew University’s Semester on the United Nations. In addition, Elizabeth has worked in primary education with Refuge Egypt in Cairo and ProWorld in Cusco, Peru.
Zuleika Muñoz, Development Intern
Zuleika is a graduate from Connecticut College, with a degree in Gender Women’s Studies and Economics. In 2009, she worked with Vietnam Veterans of American Foundation (VVAF) in Hanoi Vietnam, while being a part of the Connecticut College Study Abroad Teach Abroad program where she participated in a research group conducting research, surveys, and papers on rural Vietnamese women and their economic roles. Her courses/ concentration included: Transnational Women’s Movement; Political Economy; Economic Development; Environmental Economics; Women and Work; Macroeconomics for Developing Countries; Sweatshop Warriors and Global Capitalism.
Cate Owren, Program Director
Cate has been at WEDO since 2007 when she joined the organization to develop the gender and climate change national mobilization project with governments and civil society partners. Since then, she has served as the Sustainable Development and Climate Change Coordinator and has convened an advocacy team at major climate change negotiating meetings. Prior to coming to WEDO, Cate worked for various NGOs – both grassroots and international – on gender equality issues such as reproductive health and AIDS education, microfinance in Dominican-Haitian communities, and fair trade. She has field experience in West Africa and the Caribbean. A lifelong activist on women’s rights and environmental issues, Cate has a Master’s degree in International Affairs from the New School, where she concentrated in socioeconomic development with a focus on gender and women’s empowerment. She has an undergraduate degree in English Literature and Theater, and she was a founding member of a NYC-based theater company, with whom she wrote, performed and produced for 10 years.
Mollie Van Gordon, Sustainable Development Intern
Mollie is a graduate of Barnard College, Columbia University with a degree in Women’s Studies and Astronomy/Physics. She has worked with the International Women’s Tribune Centre, WaterAid America, and the American Museum of Natural History in New York City, and a small local NGO in Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso. Her experience encompasses a wide array of initiatives, including: the use of media to implement UNSCR 1325 on a local level; funding and Information Communication Technologies; and amelioration of poverty through reforestation projects conducted by local NGOs and Community-Based Organizations.
Daniela Windsheimer, Climate Change Research Fellow
Daniela is a PhD-Student in Urban Studies at the Free University in Berlin, Germany with a primary focus on climate change and sustainable urban development. She holds an Undergraduate degree in Social Geography and a Graduate degree in Metropolitan Studies. Daniela has studied in Germany, the United States and Canada and has participated in several research projects, gathering field experience in Eastern Europe and the Middle East. At WEDO, Daniela is working for the Sustainable Development Program, conducting research on climate change, urban development and gender equality. Prior to working with WEDO, Daniela interned at the United Nations Headquarters, working for the Department of Economic and Social Affairs on gender equality and women’s empowerment and UN-Habitat on climate change adaptation and mitigation in urban environments.