Our team

Centenary Action is a cross-party campaigning coalition of over 100 activists representing a diverse range of issues, campaigns and organisations. We work together to campaign for women’s right to take part in the decisions that affect their lives.

Our Steering Group oversees our budget, staff and strategy and our Campaign Coordinator co-ordinates the coalition and working groups, implements our campaigns and manages our communications.

Our Steering Group

Helen Pankhurst

Convener

Helen is an international development and women’s rights activist and writer. She is also the great-granddaughter of Emmeline Pankhurst and granddaughter of Sylvia Pankhurst, who were leaders in the British suffragette movement.

Helen is a senior advisor at CARE International UK, a Professor at Manchester Metropolitan University and the first Chancellor of the University of Suffolk. Helen was involved in the opening ceremony of the 2012 London Olympics and the 2015 film Suffragette. Her book, Deeds Not Words, was published in 2018.

Aanchal Mann

(Job share with Emma Holland-Lindsay)

Aanchal is a Research & Campaigns Officer and has been with The WI since 2018. Aanchal leads on The WI’s No More Violence against Women campaign, Stop Modern Slavery campaign and Thinking Differently: Autistic and ADHD Women and Girls Campaign. Aanchal has been representing the WI at the Centenary Action Group since 2019.

Alice Allan

Alice is a freelance advocacy and policy professional with 20 years’ experience.

Alice worked with CARE International UK from 2011 – 2018 leading on their policy and advocacy on women’s economic empowerment.

Alice spent nearly 20 years working both ‘inside’ government – as a Human Rights Advisor at the Foreign and Commonwealth Office and as a researcher in the UK parliament – and ‘outside’ at supporter-led organisations, Amnesty International UK and Saferworld where she helped push for the Arms Trade Treaty. Before that she was a journalist in Colombia and Mexico.

Dorothy Sang

Dorothy is the Head of Advocacy and Policy for CARE International UK and brings over 10 years’ experience working in the NGO sector across policy, advocacy and campaigns. She has worked in the UK and in multiple humanitarian settings across the world for the likes of Oxfam, Save the Children and UNHCR. She is a passionate advocate for protecting women and girls rights in crisis, and building coalitions to further the ambitions of civil society change-makers, and those in affected communities.

Emma Holland-Lindsay

(Job share with Aanchal Mann)

Emma Holland-Lindsay is Head of Public Affairs at the National Federation of Women’s Institutes, the largest voluntary women’s organisation in the UK. Emma oversees the WI’s campaigning and influencing activity on the issues that matter to women and their communities. Before joining the NFWI Emma held a range of campaigning roles in the charity sector, following a number of years working in politics.

Neelam Rose

Neelam is the National Advocacy Officer for Muslim Women’s Network UK and is an award-winning feminist campaigner and has worked in the human rights sector for over ten years, with a focus on issues impacting Muslim women. She has focused on the issues of gender-based violence and sexuality in the context of faith and women’s rights.

She has worked as a diversity consultant providing training and advice on intersectionality within the Muslim community, worked as a media commentator and advocate on gender and women’s issues in the Muslim community and worked internationally as a freelance human rights campaigner and consultant on these issues.

She has an MA in Understanding domestic and sexual violence, with her postgraduate research examining the intersecting lines of power, identity, religion, gender, sexuality and violence, focusing on the racialisation of victims and perpetrators of violence.

Rebecca Pilkington

Rebecca is the External Affairs Lead at Girlguiding UK, the UK’s largest youth organisation dedicated completely to girls. A large part of her role is to develop Girlguiding’s policy and advocacy work, influencing decision makers to create impactful change for girls and young women. Rebecca also works with the charity’s ‘advocates‘, who speak to MPs and other decision makers about the issues that matter to them most including online safety, appearance pressures and sexual harassment.

Rhiannon Evans

Rhiannon is the Head of Communications and Public Affairs for Mumsnet, the UK’s largest website for parents with eight million predominantly female users.  She leads Mumsnet’s campaigning work to raise women’s voices and ensure their experiences are taken into account by politicians and policy makers.  She was previously Head of Policy and Campaigns at Citizens Advice Cymru and prior to that worked in politics in various policy, communications and campaigning roles.

Dr Sarabajaya Kumar

Sarabajaya is a lived experience leader, a mother, a community worker, a disabled woman with heritage from the global south, and Women’s Equality Party candidate for the Greater London Assembly. She has founded several not-for-profit organisations, working with organisations and people facing disadvantage.

By profession, Sarabajaya is a social scientist and researcher, teaching international civil servants and civil society leaders at UCL, and previously at the LSE and the University of Oxford. An advisor on governance, Sarabajaya knows how critical diversity is to good decision-making and leadership.

Sarah Howard MBE

Sarah is Chair of the British Chambers of Commerce and is an experienced Chair and non-exec. She is highly effective leading her boards through change and growth. A skilled networker, she brings together the right people and organisations to achieve sustainable results. Sarah started her career at KPMG and JP Morgan before setting up her own business and Board positions. She has had roles in both the public and private sectors.

Tracy Stones

Tracy Stones has a 30-year background in education, and presently works as a Yorkshire Champion, proactively inspiring and supporting more students into STEM. She is a Counsellor and Clinical Hypnotherapist

She has a wealth of experience supporting women. She is a Director of Power for Women, a revolutionary all-encompassing approach to women’s safety and a Director for AI-Tech UK and YorkshireX, assisting more women to enter the tech industry.

She is an Angel Investor, with Lifted Ventures, supporting and helping Women Founders and Entrepreneurs with their businesses.

She is passionate about increasing women’s political representation, volunteering to support more women into Public Life. She has a longstanding background in political activism and campaigning on women’s issues through her continuing roles as an elected Councillor, and her Regional Chairman and Regional Deputy Chairman Political positions for Yorkshire and the Humber.

Victoria Rae

Victoria has over 25 years’ experience in the voluntary sector mainly in international development and human rights including as Director of Communications at UNICEF UK. She has a track record of strategy and campaigns, communications, partner engagement and fundraising.

Victoria is a Non-Executive Director at the Foreign Commonwealth and Development Office agency Wilton Park. She is also an executive coach and has worked with women leaders in the UK and US charity sectors.

Yasmin Waljee

Yasmin Waljee OBE, is responsible for shaping the International Pro bono Practice at Hogan Lovells. She is an expert in the field of human rights with a focus on victims and reparations work. She has practiced in this area at Hogan Lovells for 27 years, starting on Privy Council appeals against the death penalty and working on many ground breaking and law changing matters.  She has expertise in human trafficking and sexual violence, including formerly sitting on the Advisory Panel to the UK’s Independent Anti-Slavery Commissioner. She is also a Council of Europe member of the network of lawyers on anti-human trafficking (GRETA),  Trustee of the IBA Human Rights Institute, Director of the Global Board of Equality Now and Trustee of the Chancery Lane Project and Advisory Board member to the Patchwork Foundation

Zaimal Azad

Staff

Jo Gibbons

Campaign Manager

Jo is a communications specialist with experience across all sectors, including time at Downing Street, and on a wide range of issues. She’s helped organisations better get their message across and ensure campaigns have greater impact. She has spent many years working around women’s issues including as a trustee, volunteer and an adviser to the Minister for Women.

Liz Speight

Campaign Coordinator

Liz co-ordinates Centenary Action’s campaigning activity.  Liz is passionate about increasing women’s political representation and has a background in political activism and campaigning on women’s issues.