Organisational Structure

It has primary responsibility for determining the policy, constitution, strategic directions and budgets of the World YWCA. The Council also elects 20 women to the World Board that is representative of all regions and serves as the governing board of the World YWCA.

World YWCA President

Susan Brennan, from Australia, is a barrister in administrative, town planning and

environmental law. Former co-president of the YWCA of Australia, Brennan, began her life in the YWCA as a young woman leader on the board of her local association in Melbourne, Australia.She was recruited to the National Executive Committee at age 24 and was active in the development of a national policy framework to guide the advocacy of the YWCA of Australia, attended the United Nations Fourth World Conference on Women in Beijing as a young woman delegate for the YWCA of Australia and represented the YWCA in the drafting of an Optional Protocol to the Women’s Convention at the United Nations Commission on the Status of Women in New York.

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World YWCA General Secretary

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.

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World YWCA Board

Officers

• Susan Brennan, President (Australia)
• Maureen Bell, Treasurer (Canada)
• Comfort Nwadi Ani, Vice President (Nigeria)
• Anna-Kaisa Ikonen, Vice President (Finland)
• Ping Lee, Vice President (Taiwan)
• Reem Najjar, Vice President (Jordan)
• Jessica Notwell, Vice President (Canada)
• Deborah Thomas, Vice President (Trinidad and Tobago)

World Board Members

• Arda Aghazarian (Jerusalem)
• Silvanna Ayaipoma (Peru)
• Carolyn Flowers (USA)
• Maria Morena Galvelo (Philippines)
• Icilda Humes (Belize)
• Alice Mirimo Kabetsi (DRC)
• Kirsty Kelly (Great Britain)
• Juliate Malakar (Bangladesh)
• Valeria Arriaga (Honduras)
• Constance Shumba (Zimbabwe)
• Sepora Tagaloa (Samoa)
• Geeske Zanen (Netherlands)