World YWCA Staff

General Secretariat

General Secretary  - Nyaradzayi Gumbonzvanda

Nyaradzayi Gumbonzvanda, from Zimbabwe, joined the World YWCA in 2007. She has over 10 years of experience with the United Nations, where she served as Regional Director for the United Nations Development Fund for Women (UNIFEM) in Eastern and Horn Africa covering 13 countries. She had previously worked as a human rights officer with UNICEF in Liberia and Zimbabwe. For the last twenty years, Gumbonzvanda has been working on issues of women and children's human rights, with a special focus on crisis countries. Gumbonzvanda is a trained human rights lawyer with extensive experience in conflict resolution and mediation.

Deputy General Secretary; Focal point for Europe - Michelle Higelin

Michelle Higelin is the Deputy General Secretary of the World YWCA.  Prior to her appointment, Michelle was employed as the General Manager of the Cranlana Programme, a philanthropic organisation that promotes ethical and responsible leadership in Australian society. She also managed her own consultancy business focused on NGO strategy and communications. Michelle is a former Chief Executive Officer of the YWCA of Australia and has also previously worked at the World YWCA as the Director of Campaigns and Communications. Michelle has a Bachelor of Arts in Communications from the University of Canberra with majors in Sociology and Journalism, as well as postgraduate studies in the management of non-profit organisations.  Michelle is currently completing her Master of International Relations at Macquarie University.

Executive Coordinator - Ana Villanueva

Ana Villanueva,  from Argentina, has over 25 years of extensive work in ecumenism and education with children, youth and adults, especially women. An educator by profession and also a lay preacher, Ana studied Psychopedagogics at University of El Salvador (Buenos Aires) and Theology at ISEDET (Buenos Aires) and Bossey Ecumenical Institute (University of Geneva). Ana co-authored a book on "The Parables of the Kingdom" and has written several articles on secular and Christian education.

World Council/Systems Coordinator - Fiona Wilkie

Fiona Wilkie, from Edinburgh, Scotland has been appointed World Council Coordinator as of January 2011. Fiona joined the World YWCA in 2001 as Communications Assistant and has since worked as the Systems Coordinator. Fiona is very familiar with the organisation of World Council having already played an important role in organising the two previous Councils in Kenya and Brisbane. Fiona will be leading the preparations for the World Council to be held in Zurich, Switzerland, in July 2011 under the theme "Women Creating a Safe World".

Programmes

Programme Officer Grant Mangement ; Focal Point Middle East   - Mandy Nogarede

Mandy Nogarede, from Great Britain and Switzerland, holds a Bachelor in English and Philosophy from the University of Manchester. Fluent in English and French, Mandy is responsible for the administration of the World YWCA Power to Change fund, and assists in reporting to donor partners.

Global Programme Manager SRHR & HIV and AIDS; Focal Point Africa  Hendrica Okondo

Hendrica Okondo, from Kenya, has a Bachelor of Science from the University of Nairobi, Kenya and a Master of Science from the University of London. She has previously worked as Programme Manager for UNIFEM South Sudan and Country Programme Manager for UNIFEM Tanzania.

Global Programme Manager Violence Against Women; Focal Point North America and Caribbean - Marie-Claude Julsaint

Marie-Claude Julsaint, of dual Haitian-Swiss nationality, holds a Masters degree in International Relations from the Graduate Institute of International Relations in Geneva, Switzerland and a Masters degree in Development Studies in Burkina Faso, West Africa. Fluent in Creole, French and English, Marie-Claude has a passion for and knowledge in International Human Rights Law. She previously worked for Sentinelles, a Swiss NGO, as Programme Officer for the Noma Programme in Burkina Faso and Niger.

Global Programme Manager Women's Leadership & Movement Building; Focal Point Asia/Pacific - Juli Dugdale

Juli Dugdale from Australia, has  extensive experience at working at the grass root level and for both small and large NGO's. She has qualifications in Community Development, Child Protection from both the UK and Australia universities and is presently completing her Masters in International Development. Juli is passionate about young women's leadership, working in partnerships and connecting the local voice with the global voice.

Programme Officer Membership Support; Focal Point L. America - Caterina Lemp

Caterina Lemp, from Chile, graduated from the University of Playa Ancha, Valparaíso, Chile with a degree in Journalism. She has been involved with the YWCA for more than eight years. Before joining the World YWCA as a one-year intern for 2007, Caterina worked as the Communications Assistant for the YWCA of Chile and coordinator for the YWCA of Chile headquarters in Viña del Mar.

 Communications

Communications Director -  Sylvie Jacquat

Sylvie Jacquat, from Switzerland, holds a Masters Degree in History, Journalism and Social Communications from a Swiss University. After her studies, she worked as the Communication and Information Officer for South East Europe regional headquarters of Handicap International where she was in charge of the whole communication and information field, covering the countries of Serbia, Montenegro, Bosnia, Macedonia, Albania and Kosovo. In 2005, Sylvie worked in Sudan for a grassroots non-governmental organisation, Sudan Social Development Organisation (SUDO) and was collaborating with their Human Rights programme. In 2006, Sylvie worked in the country of Columbia as Communication Officer for Handicap International office in Medellin and was in charge of the corporate communications as well as the public relations of the organisation. Back to Switzerland in 2007, Sylvie started working at the World YWCA as Communications Assistant and in 2009 she completed a postgraduate studies in Public Relations at the Swiss Public Relations Institute. In 2010, she was promoted to Communications Director at the World YWCA.

Programme Officer Communications - Maja Gosovic Rekovic

Maja Gosovic Rekovic from Yugoslavia, holds a Bachelor’s degree in Political Science and a Masters’ degree in International Relations. Fluent in Serbo-Croatian, English, French and Spanish, Maja has experience in the humanitarian field. She has worked in Serbia, Cambodia and at the International Labour Organisation in Geneva, and she is passionate about the rights of women and children.

Finance and Operations Department

Director for Finance and Operations - Jane Bennett

Jane Bennett, a Swiss and British national, is a Chartered Certified Accountant with a specialisation in financial investment, financial management and fundraising for non-governmental organisations. Jane previously worked for the World Council of Churches and the Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies. Jane has extensive experience in the international, non-governmental sector, both in the finance sector and with project management, administration and systems management. She has a Bachelor of Arts in European Studies and languages, and is fluent in both English and French.

Personnel Officer- Marie-Antoinette Santschi

Marie-Antoinette Santschi, from Switzerland, has been working for over 20 years with the World YWCA. Fluent in English and French with good German knowledge, Antoinette has extensive experience in Human Resources and Finance.

Finance Officer - Aika-Ruwa Temu

Aika Temu, of Tanzania, is the World YWCA accountant. Aika has two masters’ degrees, an MBA and a Master in Labour Relations and Human Resource. Alongside her role as an accountant, she undertakes various tasks under the Human Resource department.

Interns:

The World YWCA offers two long-term internships and four short-term internships every year: meet the Interns