Vivienne Hayes MBE - CEO Expand Vivienne Hayes MBE is the Chief Executive of the Women’s Resource Centre (WRC). Vivienne studied sociology at Warwick University, Women’s History at Essex University and Management at Westminster University. Vivienne’s first inspiration comes from her mother, a working class woman who left school in her early teens to work in a factory, but who impressed upon her children the importance of education and an open mind. Vivienne has spent over 30 years working in the women’s sector, both delivering and managing services. Her passion is to support and improve the life experiences of women and their children, and most of her work has focused on this. Vivienne is often invited to speak at events on a wide range of issues and is not afraid to challenge myths and misconceptions regarding women’s equality. She is recognised as a leader and expert in the field. She has been key to the collaborative efforts of numerous women’s organisations in preparation of the UK government’s examination of CEDAW at the United Nations on their progress in achieving all women’s rights. Vivienne was a commissioner for Women’s National Commission, one of the first Trustees of Rosa – the UK Fund for Women, and has recently advised the Women’s Foundation. Vivienne was awarded the National Diversity Award 2013 for Gender Role Model. WRC won Third Sector 2014 award for Britain’s Most Admired Charity. More recently, Vivienne was a made an MBE. She has spent three decades working to improve the lives of women and it is well deserved that she should now receive national recognition at the highest level for her services to women. Most recently WRC was shortlisted for a 2016 charity award and highly commended in the category of Advice, Support and Campaigning. Vivienne launched WRC's Pay Back the Tampon Tax campaign that calls on the government to allocate the fund from VAT on period products to women's charities as promised. Vivienne continues to advocate for more women leaders across all disciplines and sectors and gives much of her free time to mentoring other women. She continues to work towards substantive equality for all women. Contact Vivienne Find out more about: CEDAW Pay Back the Tampon Tax Campaign
Dionne Nelson - Deputy CEO Expand Dionne Nelson is Deputy Chief Executive at the Women's Resource Centre. Dionne’s background is in organisational development and business development, prior to WRC, she worked as Head of Income Generation at Association of Chief Executives for Voluntary Organisations. There she covered diversification and sustainability issues, working with medium sized charities to build capacity and know-how as well as testing income generating concepts, including consortium development. Dionne also worked as an independent business advisor and social enterprise consultant for Park Royal Partnership, a London-based regeneration quango, helping employees of small-medium companies develop relationships with local charities and community groups. Dionne’s particular areas of interest are Black feminist theory and research, women in leadership and social enterprise. She is currently managing the Sisters Doing It For Themselves project. Contact Dionne Find out more about: Sisters Doing It For Themselves
Shani Lee - London VAWG Consortium Coordinator Expand Shani is the Co-ordinator of the London Violence Against Women and Girls Consortium. She has an MA in Digital Media and Society and holds the SFEDI award for Social Enterprise and Small Business Support. She is especially interested in co=production and new forms of organising and is fascinated by wealth creation potential of blockchain technology. Contact Shani Find out more on: The London VAWG Consortium
Evelina Svensson - Development Manager Expand Evelina has a life-long commitment to feminism, equality and human rights. Evelina joined WRC in 2016 after completing her BA in Human Rights and her MSc in Gender and International Relations. During her time at WRC, she has been managing various projects including a pan-London partnership project tackling violence against women and girls. She is currently the trainer and project manager of the Women’s Leadership for Social Change programme (also called Feminist Leadership). She is also working on CEDAW and the Tampon Tax Campaign. Contact Evelina Find out more on: Feminist Leadership CEDAW Tampon Tax
Nour Gazarin - Development Officer Expand Nour is the Development Officer at WRC, she manages the activities of the Ascent project’s support services strand which delivers over 30 different types of trainings to organisations working in the sexual and domestic violence sector. She holds an Msc in Urban Economic Development from UCL, and is currently working on a PhD exploring the relationship between transport accessibility and women’s empowerment. Nour is passionate about research, writing, women's empowerment and socio-economic equality. Contact Nour Find out more on: Ascent project
Hannah Coombes - Administration & Finance Officer Expand Hannah is the Administration and Finance Officer at WRC. She studied a BA in Linguistics at King's College London with a focus on language, culture and society and is particularly interested in language and framing as agents of social change. Hannah is responsible for communications, administration and finance and has developed WRC's new website and membership system. Contact Hannah Find out more on: Membership
Laura Morris - Development Team Assistant Expand Laura is the Development Team Assistant at WRC. She completed a BA in Philosophy and Theology at the University of Bristol and has a particular interest in feminist philosophy and women’s empowerment. Laura works on the Ascent project’s ‘support service’ strand, as well as supporting the work of the London VAWG Consortium, a pan-London partnership of organisations working to end violence against women and girls. Contact Laura Find out more on: Ascent project London VAWG Consortium