Bristol is home to many influential and powerful women. That is why here, at BristolLive, we wanted to celebrate International Women's Day by recognising some of the women who have contributed to life in the city in the past 12 months.
The list was mainly put together thanks to nominations made online, as well as suggestions from the women featured. We also approached key organisations in the city such as the council, the universities or the health boards.
Our aim has been to celebrate a wide range of women involved in a variety of sectors, showcasing the city's diversity. Listed in no particular order, here are some of the city's most influential women right now:
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Kathreena Kurian
The professor in neuropathology wanted to be a consultant at medical school, but caught the investigative bug during her Experimental Pathology intercalated BSc.
She kept doing research while being an NHS consultant and then got the opportunity to join the University of Bristol as an associate professor. She also runs the Brain Tumour Research Centre at Bristol Medical School at the University of Bristol.
Prof Kurian’s work on finding new ways to treat brain tumours has been taking place here in Bristol both at the University and Southmead Hospital, where she is based.
Angie Belcher
The comedian and comedy educator attracted media attention this year when her pioneering Comedy On Referral program launched. The project uses stand-up comedy workshops to help people in recovery from trauma.
Not shy of delivering quirky arts and health projects, she also has a daytime comedy company called AFTERMIRTH which provides entertainment to new parents, and people in care homes. As Comedian in Residence at University of Bristol, she writes theatre projects to aid mental health and resilience.
Carla Denyer
Carla is the co-leader of the Green Party of England and Wales and has been a Councillor in Bristol since 2015.
She is also the Green Party’s MP candidate for Bristol West, where she came second in 2019 after doubling the Greens’ previous vote share. The 36-year-old proposed the first climate emergency declaration in Europe in 2018, which committed Bristol to go carbon neutral by 2030.
Before entering politics, Carla worked as an engineer in the renewable energy industry, specialising in offshore and onshore wind power.
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Karin Smyth
Karin was elected as Labour MP for Bristol South in May 2015, and currently serves as Labour’s Shadow Health and Social Care Minister.
Born in London to Irish parents who came to Britain in the 1950s, Karin moved to Bristol in the 1990s.Before becoming an MP, Karin worked in the NHS.
As MP for Bristol South, she has campaigned for better bus routes, improving access to local NHS services, working tirelessly for access to abortion services for women in Northern Ireland, safer communities and nation-wide safeguards on trailer safety.
Anne Gachango
Anne is the service lead at The Haven, a specialist asylum and refugee health service within Sirona Care & Health. She is passionate about ensuring access to health care for this very vulnerable population group, most of whom have fled war and persecution.
Anne has a special interest in improving the lives of women and girls through tackling period poverty and girl education, and also supports organisations in Africa that tackle gender-based violence.
Annie McGann
Annie is a nightlife campaigner and community activist who has worked in the events industry for 47 years. It has taken up until recently to get nightlife seriously considered in policy making.
Save Bristol Nightlife is her main platform for lobbying and supporting nightlife, in combination with being co-chair of Nightwatch and part of Bristol Association of Restaurants, Bars and Independents. Her work is behind the scenes, trouble shooting for campaign groups and venues.
Sign up to Grace, our weekly newsletter, launched on International Women's Day, that presents the news through a female lens and tells the stories of inspirational women. Read last week's edition here and sign up here
Zoe Banks Gross
Zoe is passionate about social justice, sustainability and public health. She’s the head of partnerships and public affairs for the south of England at Sustrans.
She’s involved at the grass roots level addressing health inequalities and making her community more sustainable. In 2014, she founded East Bristol Kidical Mass and began teaching women and kids to cycle. Zoe wants to see more women and girls walk, run, cycle and take up space in the outdoors.
Val Jeal
Val Jeal founded a number of initiatives in Bristol, most notably the charity One25 which supports some of the city’s most marginalised women. Last year Val became the first woman to be awarded Bristol’s Freedom of The City. One25 began in 1995 after Val realised that street sex-working women could not access the support they needed because of stigmatisation and the threat of violence.
The 80-year-old's lifelong passion to get alongside women, to learn, share and to laugh together has more recently seen her co-lead a Stay and Play toddlers group over the last 11 years. This brings together families from different countries and cultures to support one another.
Amber Probyn and Hazel McShane
PEEQUAL co-founders Amber Probyn, 24, and Hazel McShane, 25, came together to solve the age-old problem of female toilet queues with their funky female urinals. The pair met five years ago at the University of Bristol’s Innovation department having studied Anthropology with Innovation and Physics with Innovation respectively.
Their new Bristol-based start-up PEEQUAL is on a mission to pioneer pee-equality for women that is quick, safe and sustainable. They have secured large scale investment and are heading to big-name festivals - look out for a PEEQUAL this summer.
Thangam Debbonaire
Thangam has lived in Bristol for more than 30 years. Originally trained as a classical musician, she spent 26 years in work tackling domestic violence before being elected Member of Parliament for Bristol West in 2015. She is now the Shadow Leader of the House of Commons, a role she has held since May 2021.
As part of this role she led for the Opposition in the successful challenges of the cash for access scandal in November 2021 and is leading on the campaign for tougher standards for MPs.
She leads for the Opposition in scrutinising the way Parliament is run and the government’s use of the parliamentary timetable. She was previously Shadow Housing Secretary and, since Thangam was elected, she has championed a wide range of causes on behalf of the people she represents, particularly refugee rights, action to halt climate change and support for the creative industries.
Vicky Lee
Vicky is head of Bristol City Centre BID and is responsible for the day-to-day management of the business overseeing the delivery of projects. Across the pandemic, the work and support from Vicky and her team was vital to business continuity and recovery after the challenging last two years.
She is the lead for Bristol Light Festival which first took place in 2020 and has just made a welcome return to the city this year. Vicky and team have also delivered several key safety projects within the city. Vicky is passionate about making Bristol an even better place for those who work, study, live and spend leisure time in the city.
Sarah Crew
Sarah is Avon and Somerset Police’s first female Chief Constable and heads the seventh largest police force in England and Wales.
She joined Avon and Somerset Police in 1994 and, after spending two decades working in uniform and Criminal Investigations Department (CID) roles, rose through the ranks before being elected to the force's most senior role last year.
Sarah is The National Police Chief Council’s (NPCC’s) lead for adult sexual offences, representing policing at a national level. One her proudest achievements has been the founding of Operation Bluestone, a nationally-recognised approach to the detection, investigation and prevention of rape and serious sexual assault.
Working with partners, she has also delivered The Bridge Sexual Assault Referral Centre in Bristol and helped develop what has become the SafeLink service, providing specialist support for victims of rape and sexual abuse.
Philippa Jackson
Philippa is a full-time consultant plastic surgeon at North Bristol NHS Trust. She said that, when she was a junior doctor, the visibility of female role models was limited and that, when she worked for a female consultant surgeon, possibilities seemed to open up.
Dr Jackson hopes to be a role model to doctors and young people considering their career path, aiming to show surgery is more than technical ability. She recently spoke about her own experience of sexual assault while working as a surgeon and said changing the narrative to make sexual harassment, assault, and gender bias exceptional behaviour in the NHS is incredibly important to her.
Read more: Should strip clubs be banned in Bristol?
Sara Venn
The horticulturalist and food justice activist founded Incredible Edible Bristol in 2014 after seeing a gap in the food movement for more community growing, and growing on the streets.
She said they have gone from a guerilla gardening organisation to one that supports community gardens and skills, as well as ringing several city centre gardens. The food in all the public spaces is available for anyone, and anything that isn’t picked goes to food aid organisations like food clubs and community kitchens.
Sara is also chair of Bristol Food Producers - who support access to land, skills, markets and a network for Bristol’s urban and per urban food growers - and a trustee of Feeding Bristol.
Melissa Chemam
Melissa is a freelance journalist, audio producer, art/music writer, researcher and lecturer at UWE in Media & Journalism. For years, the 42-year-old worked as a foreign correspondent for the BBC World Service and other broadcasters including Al Jazeera.
She came to Bristol to write about the story of its music scene and its link with activism. Since then, she has been invited to teach journalism in Bristol at BIMM, to be the writer in residence at Arnolfini and joined UWE. Melissa also works on podcast and documentary projects.
Melissa now mostly works on multiculturalism, migration and refugee issues, postcoloniality, and North / South relations.
Dani Johns
Dani Johns is a comedian and advocate of female comics.. She co-runs and co-hosts gigs at Smoke & Mirrors, alongside fellow comedian Jessie Nixon, where they actively seek out and support female, BAME and LGBTQ+ acts.
Dani supports the charity One25 and has organised an IWD comedy special at Smoke & Mirrors on Tuesday 8th March. It features an all female line up and all profits go to One25.
Maya Jama
The TV and radio presenter has landed Radio 1 slots and TV presenting gigs aplenty in recent years.
She has to inspire the students there and you can read more about in London.
Kerry McCarthy
Kerry has been the Labour MP for Bristol East since 2005. Since she was first elected the number of women in parliament has significantly increased; in fact, on the Labour side, women are now a majority.
The MP has five sisters, so grew up in a household full of women. They’ve all taken different paths in life, but their experiences have done a lot to inform Kerry’s politics and root her in ‘the real world’, along with, of course, the experiences of her constituents.
Above all, Kerry feels particularly strongly about supporting young women and girls who have not had an easy start in life.
Cathy Mager
Cathy Mager is the artistic director of Spectroscope, an international collective of artists. She transforms public spaces and buildings with uplifting and monumental artworks.
She is the creative mind behind the Bristol Beacon’s New Song for Bristol project and Sign Night: Hand Ships Sail for the 2022 Bristol Light Festival. Cathy is the seventh generation in her family to become deaf and is a passionate advocate for British Sign Language and disability rights.
Heather Mack
Heather is the leader of the Green group, and councillor for Lockleaze. She is a passionate campaigner for environmental and social justice, having previously worked for Oxfam and coordinated food projects on refugee camps in Greece.
In 2019 Heather was arrested, along with over 1000 others, for campaigning with Extinction Rebellion in London.
Sophia Brown
Sophia came to Bristol in 1993 to study forensic psychology and health and social welfare. The 54-year-old had a career change in 2003 and now works full-time as a support worker in the public sector.
Sophia also runs a walking group for women in Bristol over the age of 18 and also volunteers as an event planner in the community.
Juliet Gellatley
In 1994 Juliet Gellatley founded Viva! – the biggest vegan charity in Europe with its HQ near Cabots Circus.
Juliet helped lead the vegan revolution in Bristol and UK, bringing major food related issues to the mainstream. She has filmed many factory farms in the South West, leading to news stories. Juliet is producer of the edgy documentary, Hogwood, airing on Netflix in April 2022, filmed partly in Bristol.
Anisa Patel
Anisa is leading on engagement and wellbeing at North Bristol NHS Trust, looking after the people that take care of us.
A first generation British Asian Muslim woman, she grew up on a council estate with five siblings. She said women going to university was still a no go and that women of her background - including herself - were married by the end of their teens.
At one point, she ran her own Indian cookery school and she ended up enrolling on a postgraduate diploma in HR, which she described as a steep learning curve.
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Cleo Lake
Cleo Lake is the former Lord Mayor of Bristol (2018-2019) and was the Green Party candidate for Police & Crime Commissioner for Avon & Somerset, securing almost 65,000 votes to finish third.
Involved within the arts and culture sector for almost two decades, Cleo’s experience includes being Chair of St Pauls Carnival, Radio producer and presenter on Ujima, ADAD Trailblazer, writer in residence at the Arnolfini and Bristol + Bath Creative R&D Inclusion fellow.
She is currently an actress with Sheba Soul Ensemble, director of international arts organisation Black*Artists On The Move. Cleo is also a dance therapist leading a weekly elders creative dance exercise class ‘Moving Words,’ and is a research associate at Bristol University on the UKRI funded ‘Decolonising Memory : Digital Bodies In Movement’ project.
Professor Caroline Relton
Professor Relton is a professor of epigenetic epidemiology at the University of Bristol, conducting research into how our genes and the environment work together to impact health and disease. Her work is very data driven, althogh she does generate data in the labs from biological samples.
She has a number of other roles and responsibilities in the University including being Director of Bristol Population Health Science Institute - a community of around 800 researchers doing all sorts of research into the health of populations. Over the last two years, Prof Relton has led the University's COVID-19 Scientific Advisory Group.
Nicola Grahamslaw
Nicola is a Chartered Mechanical Engineer, developing a sustainable conservation strategy for Brunel’s SS Great Britain. By pioneering technological upgrades to the innovative dehumidification systems preserving the fragile hull, her work is reducing the carbon footprint of this Bristol icon.
Nicola is passionate about inspiring the next generation of engineers and has won awards from the Women’s Engineering Society and the Institution of Mechanical Engineers for her career achievements and volunteer mentoring and outreach work.
Reverend Dr Dawnecia Palmer AFP OBA
Dawnecia is the founder and commissioner of PEACEMAKERS Prayer and City Safety Patrols which started in Bristol 2002 in response to street violence and gang crime in St Paul’s and Easton. The project was adopted in other areas of the UK, as well as abroad.
She is a writer and has also been described as a serial entrepreneur and philanthropist. Her projects offer young people opportunity to expand their potential, and elders a second chance to learn new skills, redesign, and craft the future they desire.
She is currently part of Bristol Cathedral Consultation with Afrikans Heritage Church leaders and Christians addressing racism in the Church. The 62-year-old is Lead Pastor and vicar of LU LIFE CHURCH Global Spiritual Community Portal, an unconventional Ministry open to all and no faith, easily accessible on YouTube.
Catherine Withers
Catherine Withers described herself as the "last farmer in my beloved city". The Yew Tree farmer is passionate about ecological recovery, soil health and chemical free local food production.
She is farming traditionally with nature, rare breed pigs, cattle, hens alongside vegetables and fruit.
Catherine is also chair of Bedminster Down and Uplands society and trustee of CPRE Avon and Bristol, working to save greenbelt and green spaces whilst promoting brownfield low rise solutions to Bristol’s housing crisis.
Earlier this year, Yew Tree Farm was featured on Countryfile.
Elena Marco
Professor Marco is the newly appointed Pro Vice-Chancellor and Head of College at UWE Bristol and for over six years has led the third largest Department of Architecture and the Built Environment in the UK.
The 47-year-old is a Spanglish-at-heart, almost-married to a Yorkshire mathematician and mother of a determined computer-mad 12-year-old.
She has championed equality, diversity, inclusion and sustainability throughout her professional career and has a personal research interest in relation to ‘stuff and space’ in the home. She is a trustee with Design West and the Royal Western Academy.
Rebecca Scott MBE
Rebecca works as an employability and opportunity manager at the University of Bristol and was awarded an MBE for her work in supporting disadvantaged communities in Bristol in the New Year Honours.
For more than 15 years, Rebecca has worked with individuals and their families to support them in accessing a range of education and employment opportunities with a particular focus on the many disparities in the areas of disability and race.
Rebecca has held multiple voluntary positions across the city in organisations such as Autism Independence and Changing Your Mindset that provide support to those experiencing barriers in accessing education and employment.
Rachel Bell
Rachel Bell is an Architect and Director at Stride Treglown. Beyond her day job, Rachel supports numerous initiatives encouraging a more diverse and inclusive construction industry for the future.
She is currently on the SW Regional Board for LandAid (youth homelessness) and National Chair for Women in Property through to March 2022. Rachel’s mantra is ‘Stand Tall’ something she encourages everyone to do, to push themselves out of their comfort zone.
Lily Fitzgibbon
Lily is a Green councillor for Bishopston and Ashley Down and the youngest councillor in Bristol. Alongside this role she is also a student at the University of Bristol and former co-chair of the Young Greens.
The 19-year-old grew up in Bristol and, when she was 16, became a founding member of Bristol Youth Strike 4 Climate. In 2020, she helped to organise the protest attended by Greta Thunberg. More recently she has been active in the campaign against Bristol Airport’s proposed expansion.
Nicola Beech
Councillor Nicola Beech is councillor for St George Central and in 2021 was appointed to lead as Cabinet Member for Climate, Ecology, Waste and Energy. This sees her play a key role in Bristol’s ongoing response to the Climate and Ecological Emergencies, the £1 billion public-private City Leap clean energy programme, progress towards Net Zero/Carbon Neutrality by 2030, among others.
Nicola has long advocated for a vibrant and inclusive night life and leads on Bristol’s support for the night-time economy, after setting up the Bristol @ Night advisory panel in 2018.
Sandra Meadows
Sandra is currently the CEO of VOSCUR, but her career in the city spans nearly 30 years. As the Chief Executive of Bristol’s Council for Voluntary Service and a member of the City and County Leaders Groups, she was awarded an MBE in 2020 for her service to the community of Bristol.
Sandra works closely with colleagues from the public, private and civic sectors on strategic and community issues affecting the city and region. On top this, she is a Fellow of the Royal Society of Arts, an advisor to many and has worked extensively as a voluntary Trustee/Director for organisations including St. Paul’s Carnival, Bristol Music Trust (Bristol Beacon), and the Mayoral Commissions for both Race Equality and Women.
Throughout her career, Sandra has been a dedicated champion for the city and the voluntary, community and social enterprise organisations serving our communities. She also continues her work as a mentor and professional development Coach at The Centre for Mentoring and Coaching.
Lucy Hunt
Lucy has been the engagement director at Bristol Old Vic since 2013. She has a wealth of experience specialising in producing education projects, creative workshops, conferences and large-scale performance events.
Lucy has worked for a wide range of arts organisations, festivals and educational establishments and has played an integral role in launching, coordinating and developing arts programmes locally, nationally and internationally.
Jo Sparks
Jo was elected ACORN Bristol branch secretary last year and has been a driving force behind ACORN's recent campaigns to sort out Bristol's bus network and reopen the public toilet facilities around the city.
Most recently she's been busy terrifying landlords by taking the first steps to win rent controls for thecity.
Samira Musse
Samira is the managing director of Barton Hill Activity Club. She is an activist and campaigner for children's right to play in a happy and safe environment.
Lucy Yardley OBE
Professor Yardley is an internationally renowned health psychologist whose significant contribution to the coronavirus response led to her being appointed an Officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE).
Lucy, 61, is a Professor of Health Psychology at the University of Bristol and sits on the Scientific Advisory Group for Emergencies (SAGE) – the group tasked with providing scientific advice to aid government decision makers during the coronavirus pandemic.
As co-chair of SPI-B, the sub-group that provide behavioural input to SAGE, Professor Yardley has provided evidence-based advice and expertise throughout the pandemic, particularly in relation to supporting people to implement measures designed to reduce the spread of the virus.
Professor Yardley’s main research focus is on empowering people to self-manage their health.
Sign up to Grace, our weekly newsletter, launched on International Women's Day, that presents the news through a female lens and tells the stories of inspirational women. Read last week's edition here and sign up here
Nikki Watson
Nikki is the deputy chief constable at Avon and Somerset Police. Since joining Avon and Somerset Police in 1987, Nikki has worked in uniform, as a CID detective and commanded the East Somerset police area.
In the New Year Honours List, Nikki was recognised with the Queen’s Police Medal for her work in leading the Avon and Somerset policing response to the COVID-19 health crisis.
As deputy chief constable, she is responsible for delivering an effective and efficient police service. As strategic lead for gender, Nikki also oversees work around issues impacting women at work, with the aim of creating an environment where women can develop and thrive.
Maria Viner
Maria, 52, is CEO of Mothers for Mothers, a perinatal mental health support charity based in Bristol.
She came to work in the voluntary sector following the death of her son and her experience of maternal mental illness during her next two pregnancies and after her babies were born.
Georgina Perry
Georgina is the executive director of Heart of BS13 in Hartcliffe and Withywood. Brought up in South Bristol and the West Country, Georgina returned to Bristol in 2019 and joined Heart of BS13 in the same year.
In just under three years, she has steered the development of Heart of BS13 to include programmes and enterprises that intersect climate/biodiversity action, food insecurity and horticulture. During the pandemic, they distributed over 40,000 meals while developing a project that focused on improving health and providing volunteering, training, and employment opportunities.
Abiir Shirdoon
Abiir is the lead engagement worker for Eastside Community Trust’s Community Climate Action co-production process. A long-time resident of Easton and mother of four daughters, she is committed to making the neighbourhood greener and more child friendly and ensuring a better future for generations to come.
Abiir is a trained cycle instructor and passionate advocate for making cycling more accessible to people, especially in the Somali community. She has helped develop Eastside Community Trust’s family cycle loan scheme, and is involved in a range of campaigns and programmes around cycling and active travel at a local and national level.
Jacky Eddy
Jacky has lived in Hartcliffe for 46 years and has been a youth worker for 42 years. The mum-of-two had to leave full time work a few years ago due to health issues, but is still involved in a voluntary capacity with Hartcliffe Club for Young People with youth work and fundraising, as well as being part of Grassroots Communities.
Anusha Edwards
Nine years ago, Anusha became the first consultant kidney transplant surgeon of Asian origin in the UK and now leads her department at North Bristol NHS Trust.
Amélie
Amélie is a professional circus performer and a stripper. The 25-year-old is a member of the Bristol Sex Workers Collective and has been a vocal opponent of the proposed ban on strip clubs in the city.
She is also heavily involved in trade unionism and is an active member of United Sex Workers. As a sex worker, she describes her feminism as intersectional and stands in solidarity with the most marginalised in society: the LGBTQ+ community, people of colour, the GRT community, migrants and the working class.
Barbara Dettering
Born in Guyana, Barbara came to the UK in 1961. The 82-year-old became involved in the Bristol Bus Boycott. She was a founder of St Paul's Carnival and also worked as a teacher, helping children to overcome prejudice and achieve their potential.
She is one of the Seven Saints of St Pauls painted by Michele Curtis as well and is part of the Bristol West Indian Parents and Friends Association, the Malcolm X Elderly Forum and Bristol Black Carers.
Morwenna Maddock
Morwenna is the lead nurse for wellbeing in ICU at North Bristol NHS Trust. Mo is a passionate leader and is continuously seeking new initiatives to improve and sustain well-being across the ICU team.
She works incredibly hard to motivate and inspire others, going above and beyond to help and support her colleagues. She works incredibly hard work to ensure the team here in ICU continue to feel cared for, listened to and appreciated.
Tessa Lidstone
Tessa runs Box-E at Wapping Wharf alongside her husband Elliott, with the restaurant being awarded a Bib Gourmand at this year's Michelin Guide. It was also crowned best restaurant outside London last month.
During the pandemic, Tessa got around 2,500 boxes of essential food and items such as nappies to vulnerable young care leavers.
She said: "We always knew when we opened it that we wanted it to have a positive social impact and not be ‘just a business’ so we take apprentices and have supported FareShare for a long time, and work with SquareFood Foundation."
Lady Nade
Award-winning artist Lady Nade spreads a message of self-love and acceptance through music and lyrics. Nade champions mental health awareness, shares her experiences to empower all; regardless of race, gender or sexual orientation - hosting a local night to give diversity the stage.
Lady Nade uses her platform to speak out about equality within the music industry with the hope that others who follow in her path will have less barriers to push down.
Aga Kowalska
Aga is a lecturer in policing at the University of the West of England and is fast building her reputation as a noted academic in the areas of Education, Special Educational Needs (SEND) Psychology and Sociology.
Arriving in the UK twenty years ago from Poland as a young woman full of hopes and aspirations, Aga is also a parent to a child with autism who actively challenges oppression and inequality.
She supports the educational trusts in our region to withdraw the policies enabling children exclusions from schools. Her current academic research explores the ethical, moral and consequential impact of school exclusions.
Jess Walters
Jess is one of ACORN's South West regional directors. She was elected in October of last year and represents the South West region.
Jess has been a solidly committed ACORN member for years - when ACORN resisted an eviction just before Christmas and stopped a family of four being kicked out their home, Jess was on the front line and was the first to volunteer to confront the bailiffs.
Sado Jirde
As Director of Black South West Network (BSWN) since 2013, Sado Jirde campaigns for systemic racial justice to change lives and create opportunities. Under her leadership, BSWN aims to build dynamic, independent, and strong Black and Minoritised communities, businesses, and organisations, which flourish, challenge and overcome systemic barriers.
Sado is active on several relevant boards including Bristol’s One City Economy board, the Housing and Communities board, and Bristol University Court. She is also the Vice-Chair of Bristol Old Vic Board. She was awarded The African Achievers Award in 2015, as well as the Most Inspirational Role Model Award by the West Women of the Year Awards in 2019.
Steph Pike
Solicitor Steph Pike, 30, is fighting for justice after personally being affected by the cladding scandal. She bought a one bedroom flat in a converted office block in the city in 2017, just months after the Grenfell Tower tragedy.
With 109 residents facing a £7.6 million bill - Steph's personal bill being upwards of £70,000 - after combustible cladding, flammable insulation and other defects were found, Steph has been campaigning and raising awareness of the building safety crisis.
As well as ensuring the issue remains in the public eye through media interviews, Twitter and attending public rallies, she is active in getting other affected residents to engage and share information, as well as inviting them to write to their MP.
Amy Thomas
Dr Thomas, a research associate at the University of Bristol, identified very early into the pandemic that collecting samples from children was challenging. She proceeded to design and validate a simple saliva spit test to roll out to schools across Bristol.
The antibody test is still contributing to national decision-making for outbreak control and has already been used in more than twenty outbreaks in Bristol.
As a result of her efforts, Amy was awarded an ‘Unsung COVID Heroes’ award from WISE, an organisation that promotes women in science, maths and engineering (STEM) by Princess Anne at a Windsor Castle ceremony in February 2022.
Trudy
Trudy works as an ordained minister in central Bristol. Part of her work involves working with people addicted to drugs, the homeless, those in recovery and vulnerable women.
The 49-year-old is a trustee for the woman’s sex work charity Beloved and formerly ran a rehabilitation centre in Wales for recovering addicts. She is also involved currently with Homes not Houses in Bristol.
She has recently appeared in the Times, telling her life story and just written her first book. Abused Addicted Free which is a story of hope and transformation, written to help those in prison and who face similar struggles.
Sethina Watson
Sethina is a NHS anaesthetist who has been on the covid frontline balancing home life as a mum-of-four. The 51-year-old came to medicine late in life, graduating medical school aged 40.
She champions the voices of other women in medicine, challenging race, gender inequalities and discrimination. Sethina launched a network for women in medicine, MomMD, and also set up online support groups for NHS workers who were themselves clinically vulnerable during the pandemic.
Laura Kidd
Laura Kidd is a music producer, podcaster and YouTuber making music as Penfriend. "Exotic Monsters" reached #24 in the Official UK Album Chart in May 2021, making her the first independent Bristol artist ever to go top 25.
How? People power: Laura runs her record label out of her home studio and walks her merch orders to Shirehampton Post Office. Laura's mission is to encourage creativity in others by sharing her artistic process via her YouTube channel and Letterbox blog.
Claire Menzies
Claire founded Bristol-based Istoria Group in 2007, combining exhibition specialists Ignition, retail and hospitality designers Phoenix Wharf and digital innovators Tiny Spark.
A passionate entrepreneur and sustainability advocate, Claire is a Non-Executive Director of circular economy leaders International Synergies and joined the London 2012 Olympics Steering Committee, helping create new models of sustainable accreditation at the world’s first-ever fully-sustainable event.
Claire is an RSA Fellow and Ambassador for Design Insider, part of the BCFA.
Amy Harrison
For over twenty years, Amy has worked for Bristol not-for-profits, championing children, young people and communities in the placemaking, sustainability, culture, education and heritage sectors.
She is currently Community Manager at Bristol Green Capital Partnership CIC, Vice Chair of Eastside Community Trust and former Governor of Redfield Educate Together Primary School.
As a mother (and recently step Grandmother at 44), Amy believes in the power women have when they come together to make positive change happen for their local community.
Emily Fifield
Emily is community project manager at Eastside Community Trust. For the last six months, she has been part of the Community Climate Action team helping to draw up a climate action plan for Easton and Lawrence Hill.
Prior to moving to Bristol in 2017, Emily ran a sustainable fashion business working alongside women artisans in Arequipa, Peru, and completed an MBA in Global Social Sustainable Enterprise. Emily is a resident of Easton and passionate about finding ways of doing things that create connections between people and ideas, and build local ownership and strong, healthy communities.
Mel Rodrigues
Mel is a media tech entrepreneur who has spent over a decade in Bristol championing grass-roots talent via TEDxBristol and various other creative industries projects.
She's currently Creative Diversity Lead at Channel 4 in their new Bristol hub. Her work centres in particular on driving better ethnic diversity and equity across the channel's operations.
Mel is also founder and CEO of Gritty Talent. Named a Creative Industry Council "One to Watch 2021", Gritty Talent is leading the charge in diversity and talent technology, embedded in Bristol's fast growing tech cluster.
Ellie Freeman
Ellie is the volunteer chair of Action Greater Bedminster and founder of Storytale Festival. She is also one of the core group of the BS3 Covid Response Team.
Ellie has an unwavering passion for supporting her local community, ensuring that residents have the opportunity to share their thoughts on important issues and that the local community have their voices heard.
Samantha Rowe
Sam is CEO of Bristol-based exhibition design agency Ignition. She was a 2021 Business Leader of theYear Finalist and named one of the ‘UK’s Top Ten Women in Business’ by Business Game Changer.
Sam drives the business’s ‘people, planet and profit’ agenda and recently met HRH Prince Charles at Windsor Castle, congratulating Ignition on winning ‘The Queen’s Award for Enterprise in Sustainable Development’ - the only event/exhibition company ever to receive this award.
Emma Edwards
A lifelong Bristolian, Emma is a Green Party councillor for Bishopston and Ashley Down, elected in 2021, and also runs her own business, which focuses on wellbeing for LGBTQ+ folk and works training other wellbeing practitioners in this area. She is also a trained yoga teacher and runs an LGBTQ+ yoga class.
A keen environmental activist, Emma has been involved with the Campaign to stop the expansion of Bristol Airport and to Save the Ashley Down Oak tree.
Annabel Harford
Annabel has worked for Avon Fire & Rescue Service for six years and is now the environmental manager with responsibility for developing and implementing the service’s 10-year environmental strategy.
She has played a key role in reducing the Service’s carbon emissions, now reduced by 64 per cent since 2009, and recently secured a government grant of over £830k to further progress the service’s Net Zero by 2030 goal.
Her work has established Avon Fire & Rescue Service as a climate leader, being selected by the Cabinet Office to highlight the service’s work in the run up to the COP26 climate conference in 2021.
Amber Young
Dr Young is a paediatric burns anaesthetist at Bristol Royal Hospital for Children, completing her PhD six months early in July 2021.
Amber was just two weeks into her Fellowship with the University of Bristol when she was diagnosed with secondary cancer in her liver and bones. The diagnosis made her more determined to complete her PhD, motivating her to create a legacy which would improve international burns research and care for burns patients for generations to come.
An instrumental part of the South West Children’s Burns Centre, she has also been part of a team who have spent the past 10 years developing technology which uses colour-changing dye to diagnose bacterial infections, called SmartWound.
Joanna Booth
Joanna Booth, 44, is a journalist who had to go freelance after having children and, in her own words, finding that inequalities based on sex are still not resolved.
She moderated a conference on gender inequality in STEM in 2018. In 2021, she edited and published the book Covid-19: A Timeline of The Plague Year, written by Ian J Sinclair and Rupert Read.
Joanna writes about local politics, tries to save libraries, and advocates for clean air and education. After years of researching widening participation in higher education, she is undertaking independent doctoral research on social media and local political participation. You can follow her here.
Ellen Brooks Pollock OBE
Dr Pollock, 41, is a senior lecturer in Infectious Disease Mathematical Modelling at the University of Bristol, and has been supporting the COVID-19 response in the UK and worldwide.
Dr Brooks Pollock, who has worked in infectious disease modelling for 15 years, is a regular contributor to SPI-M, a subgroup of SAGE that provides modelling evidence to the UK government.
During the pandemic, she developed a methodology for condensing multiple policy options into a single figure that was used by the highest levels of government to manage and plan the easing of lockdown, including for the partial re-opening of schools in June 2020, the full re-opening of schools in September 2020 and vaccination rollout.
Danica Priest
Danica is the Bristol regional rep for the Community Planning Alliance, a group that supports grassroots environmental campaigns and lobbys for a better planning system.
She is also a committee member of Friends of the Western Slopes, who saved a beloved wildlife haven in Knowle West.
Danica strives to empower residents to get involved in planning so they can fight for their green spaces and protect biodiversity from unnecessary development. In future, she hopes to establish a community nature conservation group that would provide better scrutiny of ecology reports in planning applications.
Dr Rebecca Hoskins
The consultant nurse at University Hospitals Bristol and Weston NHS Foundation Trust was awarded an MBE in 2020 for her services to emergency nursing.
Alongside her work in the emergency departments at the Bristol Royal Infirmary, Bristol Royal Hospital for Children and Weston General Hospital, she is also a senior lecturer in emergency care at the University of West of England; the non-medical prescribing lead for the Trust; the Division of Medicine’s advanced practice lead and the professional lead for the emergency nurse practitioner and advanced clinical practitioner services at the BRI and children’s hospital.
Cllr Asher Craig
Bristol's deputy mayor Asher Craig was elected the labour councillor for St George West in May 2016. She is currently responsible for children's services, education and equalities.
Among others, she has led the council’s work on addressing inequality and discrimination.
Emily Hill
Emily is the co-founder and CEO of Ghyston, a bespoke software house in Bristol, working with businesses across the South West and beyond on complex technical projects.
Opening up opportunities to women, especially mothers, is important to Emily. She signed Ghyston up to the Bristol Women in Business Charter last year and is a member of Bristol University’s Computer Science External Advisory Board, to encourage women to get into tech.
She is an advocate of flexible working and 80 per cent of the management team at Ghyston work part time and 40 per cent of leadership roles are held by women. Last year Ghyston won several awards including the Business Leader Family Business Award and the South West Equality Trailblazer Award.
Brenda Dowie
Brenda has been a healthcare chaplain for 27 years and will celebrate 30 years of ordination in July. Before being ordained, she was a teacher which she expected to be all her life.
She taught for 11 years - including in Scotland and then in Tanzania - before coming to Bristol to read theology.
Sharon Scott
Sharon is a Conservative Party councillor for Westbury on Trym and Henleaze Ward. Elected in May 2021, Sharon also sits on the People Scrutiny Committee.
The 50-year-old works in primary education where she has recently been involved in working with children to help bridge their learning gaps due to the impact of covid 19.
Before entering politics, Sharon worked in the finance sector for over 20 years specialising in Learning & Development as a qualified trainer.
Sharon Baker
The Chief Inspector helped to bring domestic abuse into the spotlight last year when she made a video sharing her own experience of living in a controlling and abusive relationship. Sharon highlighted why it can be hard for women to speak out and how anyone can become a victim.
She spoke out in the hope that she could empower someone else to talk and break the cycle of abuse. Once the video was shared, Sharon was inundated with letters and emails from her colleagues, many expressing support and some sharing their own life experiences.
In June, Chief Inspector Sharon Baker received the Outstanding Contribution to Women in Policing Award 2021 at the Police Federation of England and Wales’ (PFEW) annual conference.
Maggie Telfer
Maggie has been the CEO of Bristol Drugs Project (BDP) since it opened on 1986. Every year, BDP helps 3,500 people who are experiencing problems with their drug or alcohol use.
She is a passionate advocate of reducing the stigma which stops people seeking support, with judgement being often harsher for women and mothers. She worked with The Omari Project in Kenya for 10 years, establishing the first residential rehabilitation project, free at the point of delivery, in sub-Saharan Africa.
Maggie also picked up the organisation of the famous egg rolling competition at Easter in Totterdown when its founders moved away.
Marti Burgess
Marti is a partner and leads the Bristol-focussed corporate team at national law firm Bevan Brittan with a focus on providing legal advice and support to SMEs.
The 51-year-old sits on a number of boards and steering groups including the Black South West Network, the Black Professional Network, the board of Bristol Cultural Development Partnership, the Bristol City Council’s Economy Board and 91 Ways which is a social enterprise looking to connect disadvantaged communities in Bristol using the uniting power of food.
Given her connections with the city, including Lakota nightclub which she helped her brother launch in 1994 and remains on the board today, Marti was recently appointed as an international ambassador for the city of Bristol to play a key role in increasing the city’s cultural and economic presence on the world stage.
Mya-Rose Craig
Dr Mya-Rose Craig - also known as Birdgirl - is a prominent British Bangladeshi young birder, conservationist, environmentalist and race activist.
She is committed to conservation such as stopping biodiversity loss and saving our planet through halting climate change, focusing her attention on change from governmental and huge global corporations.
Mya-Rose writes the blog Birdgirl, give talks and has spoken on a shared stage with Greta Thunberg. For her work as founder and president of Black2Nature, which she set up age 13, she became the youngest British person to be awarded an honorary Doctorate of Science for her work fighting for equal access to nature and for ethnic diversity in the environmental sector.
Emma Geen
Emma works for the Bristol Disability Equality Forum and has co-produced the world's first Community Climate Action plan by and for Disabled people.
The 34-year-old also is a researcher at the University of Bristol and writes eco-fiction, often set in Bristol. She is part of several groups across the city including POD, which is working to set up a Climate Emergency Centre in Bristol, and the Our Air, Our City campaign, which takes action on the city’s air pollution crisis.
As a Disabled woman, Emma said she feels passionately about climate activism because the crisis is likely to worsen inequalities.
Kat Mann
Kat Mann is a senior support worker for Women's Aid. She supports survivors of domestic abuse through a variety of means, including an online Live Chat service. She is often involved with media work, trying to get the message out there and to amplify the voices of survivors.
She also supports the fundraising team. In her free time she has ran two marathons to raise money for Women's Aid, and is planning on running another two this year.
Amber Reed
Amber Reed is co-captain of Bristol Bears Women and has 58 Caps for England (World cup winner in 2014 and double 6 Nations grand slam winner 2017 & 2020).
The 30-year-old Bristolian is an ambassador of the Bear In Mind Project, which delivers rugby sessions to girls in Bristol schools, and Looseheadz, raising mental health awareness.
Peaches Golding OBE CStJ
Peaches is HM Lord-Lieutenant for Bristol, the Queen’s personal representative in the county.
The 68-year-old also has other roles including independent chair of Bristol Water challenge panel, non-executive consultant of Moon Exec Search and Honorary Captain Royal Naval Reserve.
She is also involved with the Quartet Community Foundation, Great Western Air Ambulance Charity and Jessie May, among others.
Baroness Barbara Janke
Barbara is a former Liberal Democrat council leader and was was the first chair of the city’s Health and Wellbeing Board, having campaigned strongly for better care standards and funding nationally.
She was born in Liverpool in 1947 and trained as a teacher in Bristol, where she met her husband John. Barbara subsequently gained a degree in economics and politics from the Open University in 1981 and has worked as a teacher of modern languages and economics in London, Paris and the Bristol area. She is also a teacher of English as a Foreign Language.
Clare Reddington
Clare is the CEO of Watershed. She joined the organisation in 2004 in a temporary project role, set up its creative technology programmes and took over as CEO in 2018.
She is also chair of Emma Rice's Wise Children and a trustee of RSC and British Council, as well as holding advisory positions such as being an international ambassador for Bristol.
Clare grew up in Nailsea and is passionate about creating inclusive opportunities in the culture sector of Bristol.
Christina Gray
Christina is the director of public health for Bristol and has led the local Covid -19 pandemic response.
Her focus has been to support everyone to contribute and to create a team of teams approach which positions us to ‘build back better’ being mindful of the huge toll the pandemic has taken on lives and on livelihoods.
Nasra Ayub
Nasra has been campaigning for the end of violence against women and girls since she was 15. She has advised former Prime Ministers, MPs and frontline professionals on issues such as FGM, radicalisation and racism and was a recipient of the Diana Award for her work tackling FGM.
Nasra also has featured on BBC 1, BBC Three, The Guardian and ITV speaking on women and children’s rights issues.
Amy Hamilton
Amy is the owner of Rhubarb Jumble vintage shop, an independent shop on North Street that has been established since 2014.
The store has a strong local customer base, curating clothing and homewares offering access to unique, sustainable products that promote individuality. Their aim is to give women confidence to feel brilliant by what they wear.
Jen Reid
When the Colston Statue fell, one of the seminal moments in that period as it lay on the ground was when Bristol woman Jen Reid got up onto the plinth and raised her fist in the air.
It was captured on camera, and then immortalised in a statue. That statue was controversially put in place - against the Mayor's wishes - back on the plinth, and over a 24 hour period, brought the world's attention back to Bristol once more.
The statue - A Surge of Power - was Bristol's first ever statue of a Black woman.
Ella Lambert
Ella Lambert runs The Pachamama Project, a community interest company that makes reusable sanitary pads for refugees.
The University of Bristol student started sewing during lockdown so she could help women who suffered period pains as badly as her. She now runs a global network of 1,000 volunteers who have made 50,000 Pacha Pads for refugees the world over.
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Ari Cantwell
Ari is part of Coexist Community Kitchen, a non-profit cookery school in Easton. Their big, over-arching vision is that they want to live in a world where everyone is nourished and healthy. Their core work is running cookery classes with young people and adults that are accessing support services. This could be mental health support, drug & alcohol recovery, working with young people out of education, cooking with people who are part of the asylum system and many more community groups.
Coexist Community Kitchen see food as a vehicle to work with people who are experiencing isolation, social marginalisation or are in need of greater connection and joy in their life. Their cookery classes are very relaxed and informal and are a space for people to come together and have a bit of respite from the world around them.
Stef Brammar
Stef is the secretary of Way Out West, Action Greater Bedminster and Bedminster Winter Lanterns. She is also the director of Bedminster Business Improvement District and trustee of Acta Community Theatre Company.
At 75, Stef is a mother and grandmother, and having worked since the age of 19 is a passionate advocate for working mothers. Since retiring 13 years ago from a career in arts and media, Stef has become a champion of her local Bedminster Community.
Charlotte Geeves
Charlotte joined Bristol Old Vic in 2019 as Executive Director. She came with a clear vision to expand the commercial opportunities within the business, whilst also looking at representation and diversity across all areas of the business.
Charlotte has spent the last two years steering the organisation through this incredibly challenging time. She has had to make difficult decisions in order to sustain the legacy of the business and rebuild the loss of 75% of the theatre’s income - lost overnight during the pandemic.
Kath Kaboutian
Kath is the assistant director for digital transformation and IT project management at North Bristol NHS Trust.
Overseeing a large team of around 36, she is accountable for the trust's digital portfolio including digital transformation, digital communication and engagement and all project management office functions.
Kerry Bailes
Kerry is the Labour councillor for Hartcliffe and Withywood and is immensely proud of where she lives .
She has worked at the crèche at Bluebell Care for more than five years, a support service for families experiencing anxiety and depression related to pregnancy and birth.
Born and bred in Hartcliffe and Withywood, Kerry is also a detached youth worker for Grassroot Communities.
Allie Dunnington
Allie was the first woman to qualify as a balloon examiner in the UK and holds the women’s world record for most countries flown in by balloon – currently 105.
In 2010, she started the annual Women’s Balloon Event and has received an International Olympic Committee award for her work in promoting the development and participation of women and girls in the sport. During lockdown, Allie started an innovative online project tutoring students around the world with interactive aviation theory lessons.
Briony May Williams
The proud Bristolian was a semi-finalist in the 2018 Great British Bake Off and winner of the 2019 Great Christmas Bake Off. She is now a presenter on Channel 4's Food Unwrapped.
Briony is a disability advocate, supporting charities such as Paul’s Place and Reach, and an ambassador for Bristol Mind. Since her time on GBBO, she has raised thousands for charity and won Positive Role Model for Disability in the 2019 Bristol Diversity Awards.
LaToyah McAllister-Jones
LaToyah is the Executive Director of St Pauls Carnival, taking on the role in April 2019 after working as the head of operations at Ujima Radio for two years.
The 46-year-old has a background in working with complex needs individuals, having spent over 20 years working with street homeless people as well as working with Hope not Hate as a community organiser.
She sits on a number of community, health and culture focused boards including as an Associate NED at North Bristol Trust NHS, Bristol Festivals, Brighter Places and the One City Culture Board.
Lis Anderson
Lis is the co-founder of AMBITIOUS PR, vice-chair of Bristol Creative Industries and governor of City of Bristol College. Both through her own firm and non-executive positions, Lis has a particular interest in championing non-traditional routes into the creative industries.
Working in a sector that has much to do in addressing better representation not only of women but wider society, the 51-year-old is passionate about using her platform to challenge, create connections and enable change.
Sarah Jenkins
Sarah has been with the ambulance service for 25 years and is now county commander, being responsible for more than 550 frontline operations staff.
She is immensely proud of SWASFT and its diversity and inclusion to ‘all’; not just between males and females. She says SWASFT’s culture has allowed her to grow as a female leader and ensure no one is excluded or unsupported. Sarah said she feel privileged that she can help drive a culture of inclusivity and challenge discrimination at any level.
Christine Townsend
A born and bred Bristolian, Christine is a teacher by profession and returned to the city in 2003 after teaching in London and Coventry, joining the City Academy in Easton, the first secondary school in the city to become an academy.
She is an experienced school governor and until her recent election as a Green Councillor was the Chair of the statutory School Forum for Bristol. In 2016, Christine ran as an independent candidate for Mayor to draw attention to issues around state education.
More recently, she was one of the founders of Countering Colston.
Esther Wride
Esther is the inclusion and diversity lead at Avon and Somerset Police and works across all areas of diversity, breaking down barriers.
She leads a team of outreach workers whose roles include attracting and recruiting a talented workforce that is both representative and understanding of Avon and Somerset’s communities. In April 2020, Avon and Somerset Police became the first police force in the UK to achieve accreditation for the National Equality Standard (NES).
Marina Dolman
Marina is the Bristol City club president.
She is the widow of the inventor turned Mr Bristol City, Harry Dolman OBE, with the former chairman's name still adorning one of the stands at Ashton Gate.
Marina has been involved with the club for more than 55 years and has received an MBE for services to football.
Ruth Hendy BEM
Ruth is a lead cancer nurse at University Hospitals Bristol and Weston NHS Foundation Trust (UHBW). She received a British Empire Medal (BEM) in the Queen's Birthday Honours List in 2021 in recognition of her service to people living with and affected by cancer.
Nura Aabe
Nura has spent most of her adulthood campaigning for the rights of people with autism and her work involves contributing to local and national policies, with her drive to address SEND’s inequality rooted from personal experience.
She is currently in her second year studying a PhD on autism at Bristol University. Her TEDx talk provides an insight to her journey with autism- ‘No more Us and Them’.
Shani Woodbridge
Shani is a midwife and joint union secretary at North Bristol NHS Trust. She worked at the Ministry of Defence for ten years but, realising it was not her passion, in 2008 she enrolled on a three-year midwifery degree.
She is currently in the process of completing an employment law diploma and enjoys the new challenges around negotiating terms and conditions to get staff a better deal.
Emma Howard Boyd
With a background in finance, Emma has been the chair of the UK’s Environment Agency - which is headquartered in College Green - since 2016.
As UK commissioner on the Global Commission on Adaptation - chaired by Ban Ki-moon, Kristalina Georgieva and Bill Gates - she helped put preparing for climate shocks (floods, droughts) on the agenda ahead of COP26 in Glasgow this year.
A founding member of @30percentclub, she is a strong supporter of women and all types of equality.
Paula O'Rourke
Paula moved to Bristol in 2013 and was first elected as a Green councillor for Clifton in 2016 at the age of 58. Following last year’s local elections, she stepped up to lead the group of green councillors for six months..
In Clifton, Paula has worked hard to bring the community together through the arts and was the first chair of the Friends of Clifton Centre and Library and ran the Friday Film Club. She worked on the first ever LitFest in November 2019 and set up and ran the annual Shakesbeer Promenade (an on-street Shakespeare festival).
Paula is an advocate of participatory democracy, and pioneered the motion that led to the Council launching Bristol’s first ever Citizen’s Assembly.
Augusta Nnajiofor
Augusta has held multiple positions at the University of the West of England as the previous President of The Students’ Union at UWE, former member of the Board of Governors and past Chair of the Board of Trustees. In 2020, Augusta instigated conversations on Equality, Diversity, and Inclusion with senior leaders across the UK in her campaign ‘A year in conversation in Augusta’.
In her current role as a student advice team leader and faculty coordinator for engineering and technology within student and academic services, Augusta supports the planning and management of the Student Advice service to ensure over 30,000 students are supported throughout their time at UWE Bristol.
Briony Stevens
Briony - who has rheumatoid arthritis - is mum to children on the autism spectrum so last year decided to set up 'Shine Bright for Disabled Children', which provides half-term sensory friendly parties for children with special education needs and their siblings in Bristol and the surrounding areas.
The 35-year-old said: "I know what it feels like to not be able to take out your children."
Sarah Robertson
Sarah Robertson is communications and special projects director at the Bristol Beacon.
She spearheaded the concert hall's name change away from the slave trader Edward Colston and leads strategic communications at the venue. Sarah was a prestigious Clore Leadership Fellow in 2021.
Sarah supports culture networks throughout the city and in the UK and passes on her knowledge and experience through mentoring relationships and through the boards of Shakespeare at the Tobacco Factory and Turner Sims.
Dr Zara Nanu
Dr. Zara Nanu is the CEO of Gapsquare™, from XpertHR offering diversity and equality data intelligence through innovative technology.
Zara sits on the Global Future Council on New Agenda for Equity and Social Justice at World Economic Forum, has spoken and written for various global equity strategy organisations and is part of the Women's Leadership Board, WAPPP at Harvard Kennedy School.
She has long been a powerful advocate for workplace equality and wider fair pay. Starting her career combating human trafficking and campaigning on women’s rights issues, Zara is now at the forefront of the push for technology to build more inclusive workplaces.
Sarah Jones-Morris
Multi-award winning Sarah Jones-Morris is the director of landscape architecture practice, Landsmith Associates. She’s part of the Design Council’s Leading Women in Design, is a Design Council Expert, and a Fellow of the Landscape Institute.
The 44-year old co-founded Bristol Soundwalks, the Association of Collaborative Design CIC and BS5’s Greening Eastside community group, which aims for a greener and more children-focused city.
She is passionate about cocreating climate-resilient, biodiverse and healthier cities and towns from initial ideas, to built and in use.
Karen Black
Karen is the CEO of Off the Record Bristol (OTR), a mental health social movement by and for young people which reaches more than 21,000 young people a year.
The 43-year-old joined OTR in 2015 and has over fifteen years experience working in the third sector delivering and managing services for young people and families with complex needs, including those in the criminal justice system and with problem substance use. She became CEO of OTR in 2018.
Karen, who lives in Keynsham, is also a trustee at One25, a Bristol women’s charity which reaches out to some of the city’s most marginalised women.
Anna James
Anna has been with Avon Fire & Rescue Service for 18 years and has served at Bedminster, Temple, Avonmouth and Brislington fire stations. She is currently a watch manager at Weston-super-Mare, but has recently passed her station manager interview.
She plays an important role in the service as chair of the staff engagement network and has completed a secondment with Her Majesty’s Inspectorate of Constabulary and Fire & Rescue Services, being due to start her next secondment in June.
Anna is currently on the 2021/22 Bristol City Stepping Up programme. Aside from her professional work, following her grandson’s cancer diagnosis, she has raised over £3,000 for Young Lives V Cancer through upcycling and selling donated furniture.
Sophie Shah
The 22-year-old is a newly qualified paramedic for the South Western Ambulance Service. She moved to Bristol three and a half years ago to purse a career in pre-hospital emergency medicine.
Whilst completing her degree, she also started a career in commercial modelling and acting. Sophie also volunteers a day each week to provide animal care at the Bristol Animal Rescue Centre.
Katherine Nash
Ex location manager Kat Nash has worked at Bristol's biggest film and TV facility, The Bottle Yard Studios, since it opened a decade ago.
Today, as well as managing the expanding Studios' Business & Operations, she is also its official Carbon Literacy representative, leading a Green Team that is putting in place decarbonisation measures for the Studio’s buildings and helping productions reduce carbon emissions generated by filming at the Studios and on location around the city.
Kellie Hasbury
Kellie is the director of communications agency, Plaster, and has helped build some of the city's best brands from the Bristol Harbour Festival to Upfest and Bristol Beacon. As an advocate for the city, she's helped put the city on the map as a cultural and culinary destination over the last decade.
She's behind the scenes on the city's important projects including 2020's Hearts in Parks with Bristol City Centre BID, the Bristol International Balloon Fiesta's 'Fiesta Fortnight' and this year the brand-new Forwards festival.
Caroline Crentsil
After completing her medical training in London, Caroline returned home to Bristol and now works as the Lead GP at the Haven, a primary care service for asylum seekers and refugees in Montpelier. The 39-year-old is passionate about providing the highest standard of healthcare for everyone, regardless of background, and is just completing a population health fellowship, working to reduce health inequalities in the city.
Over the past year Caroline has been part of city-wide efforts to ensure that the COVID-19 vaccines are equally accessible to all, including those who are clinically vulnerable and socially isolated.
Angie Feeney
Angie is the director of corporate services for Avon Fire & Rescue Service, being at the forefront of culture and transformative change within the service.
As well as driving forward the service’s environmental change programme to become Net Zero Carbon by 2030, the 47-year-old has been instrumental in a range of business developments including improvements in their IT infrastructure.
Angie is passionate about ensuring better outcomes and career progression for women and has also spoken out about menopause to help raise understanding and break the stigma.
Kathryn Davis
Kathryn, 49, is director of tourism at Visit West, representing hundreds of businesses in the region, as well as being a board member of Gloucestershire County Cricket Club and UKInbound. She is also a member of the Tourism Industry Council and a Fellow of the Tourism Management Institute.
Having worked in destination management for nearly 22 years and part of strategic development of tourism in the region, Kathryn received the outstanding contribution to tourism award at the Bristol, Bath and Somerset Tourism Awards in 2018.
Laura Aviles
After heading up production at Mustang Films and BBC Earth, Laura Aviles joined Bristol Council as Senior Film Manager in 2020, tasked with promoting Bristol as an outstanding filming destination. Her brief includes overseeing The Bottle Yard Studios - which completes its £12million expansion this Summer - and Bristol Film Office, which has assisted record levels of location filming in the past year.
Vocal about ensuring the filming boom benefits local crew and untapped talent, Aviles is developing a Skills Agenda to get more young Bristolians - particularly those from South Bristol - into production careers.
Dr Rajeka Lazarus
Rajeka is a consultant in infectious diseases and microbiology at University Hospitals Bristol and Weston NHS Foundation Trust, and has been a leading light in COVID vaccine research in Bristol.
This past year Rajeka has been the principal investigator for COVID vaccine studies in West of England, including for the Oxford/AstraZeneca trial in Bristol.
Since the approval of COVID-19 vaccines, Rajeka has helped to answer the public’s questions about them, both through regular media interviews and taking part in Bristol City Council’s myth-busting webinar.
Donna Speed
Donna is CEO of educational charity We The Curious (previously called At-Bristol), where she has worked at the organisation since its launch in 2000. She wants everyone, and particularly young women, to know that science is for everybody.
Donna sits on a number of advisory and non-exec boards including the One City Children and Young People’s Board.
Lisa Stone
Lisa, a lesbian and trained electrician, is one of two newly elected Green Councillors in Windmill Hill, and current deputy leader of the councillor group. She teaches her trade at Bristol City College to train future electricians and has spent a significant amount of time working overseas, including in Southeast Asia and East Africa.
Lisa has campaigned locally on quality of life issues for her residents, such as against high-rise flats and intrusive digital billboards, and proposed a council motion passed last Autumn, which once adopted will require all new developments in Bristol to meet zero carbon emissions standards.
Louise Mitchell
Louise has been Bristol Beacon’s Chief Executive for eleven years and has most recently been involved in bringing to fruition Bristol’s most extensive ever building redevelopment programme in the arts sector.
On opening in 2023, the transformed Bristol Beacon will provide the South West with one of the best performance and music learning spaces in Europe
Bristol Beacon is a registered charity responsible for music education across Bristol. Under Louise’s leadership, Bristol Beacon has created educational schemes citywide, working with 91 per cent of Bristol schools and delivering 7,000 hours of music tuition per week.
Beth Richards
Beth is a disabled campaigner and climate change activist. As part of The Misfits theatre company for people with learning disabilities, she creates films and plays educating people on how important accessible communication and user involvement are.
Beth narrated the Bristol Disability Equality Forum’s jargon free film inviting Bristol’s disabled community to be active on climate change. She’s a member of the city’s Disability Equality Commission that’s working to build a more inclusive city.
Ema Swingwood OBE
Ema Swingwood OBE has worked as a respiratory physiotherapist at the Bristol Royal Infirmary for ten years and was recognised in the Queen’s New Year Honours 2021 list for her services to physiotherapy.
Ema made the decision at the beginning of the pandemic to delay the start of her NIHR Clinical Doctoral Research Fellowship PhD in order to carry on working in a clinical support role.
Her expertise has been recognised at a national level as she helped develop Public Health England’s guidelines and recommendations for physiotherapist interventions during COVID-19.
Pooja Poddar
A nurse at Southmead Hospital, Pooja has been recognised for her work to support the vulnerable and elderly through the pandemic.
Pooja is an active member of Avon Indian Community Association and helped to set up Bristol Durga Puja to celebrate one of the main Hindu festivals. She has taken part in Bristol Fashion Show and appeared in BBC documentary The Truth About Looking Good.
She is also a local campaigner and, for instance, represents local HMO issues in her area.
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Becky Crabb
Becky is a paramedic for the South Western Ambulance Service.
She is also a placement mentor to a third-year Bristol UWE student paramedic, where she graduated in 2018 and is now working towards a masters' degree.
While the majority of her shifts are on ambulances, she has recently been based in the Bristol Ambulance Control centre, speaking to patients remotely over the phone.
Natalie Moore
Bristol is one of 18 UNESCO Cities of Film worldwide, and Natalie Moore is Bristol’s linchpin to the other 17. Moore has managed the City of Film status since it was awarded in 2017, working closely with city partners.
Her latest 5-year action plan focuses on building Bristol’s skills base for production, developing more Bristol stories for screen, championing sustainable filming practices and forging new international relationships.
Dr Lisa Johnson MBE
Manager of Women's Aid Direct Services, Lisa received an MBE in October 2020 for her work supporting survivors of domestic abuse.
Lisa started as a Women's Aid volunteer 26 years ago. She helped to build the national helpline into the National Domestic Violence Helpline and established its live chat service and other digital resources, which enables survivors to seek support on line, rather make a call that could be overheard by the abuser.
Lisa was awarded an honorary degree from Bristol University for her contribution to society and research in 2019.
Shonette Laffy
Shonette looks after the website and social media for Visit Bristol and also provides freelance social media and writing support to several of the city’s food & drink businesses and festivals.
She has been an ambassador for Social Media Week Bristol since 2019 and has also been a judge for the Crumbs Awards, Good Food Awards and Best of Organic Market (BOOM) Awards.
The 36-year-old's main passion is supporting and championing Bristol’s food and drink scene. She has more than 6,900 followers on Twitter.
Jill Maidment
Jill is the founder of Natural Talent Bristol, and an executive and Career Coach/Mentor, helping women to smash the glass ceiling to become leaders, and then supporting them to achieve success.
She has assisted working women and front-line workers throughout the pandemic to build their resilience to cope with all the key challenges. Many of Jill’s Blogs on key leadership and management issues are amongst the most-downloaded globally, and have become expert audio books.
Amy Formstone
Amy is the Severn Base Lead Nurse for Retrieve, the South West’s Adult Critical Care Transfer Service. Retrieve is responsible for moving critically ill and injured patients who are already in hospital to specialist centres for treatment and specialist intensive care. They also repatriate patients to a hospital closer to home, when they no longer need specialist care.
As part of this specialist team of clinicians, Amy was one of the recipients of the Critical Care Team of the Year award at the British Medical Journal (BMJ) Awards 2021. It is one of the first services of its kind in England and has led to similar services being developed in regions across the country.
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