Biographies of our leaders

World YWCA President Susan Brennan

Susan Brennan, from Australia, is a barrister in administrative, town planning and environmental law. Former co-president of the YWCA of Australia, Susan Brennan, who succeeds Mónica Zetzsche as President, 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. Gumbonzvanda also served as interim coordinator for the Zimbabwe Women Lawyers Association during its formative stage and in the Ministry of Justice and Constitutional Affairs in Zimbabwe as a law officer. 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. Active in the women's movement, Gumbonzvanda has focused on issues of violence against women, peace with justice, property rights and HIV and AIDS. Gumbonzvanda is a trained human rights lawyer with extensive experience in conflict resolution and mediation.

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