2022 Shortlist: Volunteer of the Year Award

This is the list put forward in the initial nomination process for the WIBF Volunteer of the Year Award – a new award for the Awards for Achievement programme, which is now in its 24th year.

You can now vote for the volunteer/s you would like to win this award. You can vote for as many individuals and as often as you would like anonymously. Please click this link to place your votes.

ALICE GASKELL

Although Alice has stepped down from the board, she remains a key go-to individual when you need a solution to an issue and a well thought through approach. During her time on the management board at WIBF, Alice changed WIBF for the better, bringing in strategic thinking into our processes, ensuring we paid better attention to MI and ensured our decisions as a team were much more robust.

BEVERLEY BROWN

Has helped build a much more entrepreneurial and collaborative culture at WIBF. Tireless advocate, phenomenal advocate and hustler. Makes time for WIBF in a very busy life and continually pays it forward. Makes meetings funny with her continual flow of brilliant (and often mad) ideas.

CELIA PRICE

Celia has been a valuable volunteer through her involvement in the creation and continued evolution of the Next Generation Stewardship Hub as a new offering from WIBF. In particular, Celia has focused on organising speaker events, which is the first pillar of this initiative and has included a series of events around COP26 with contributions from leading individuals in the space. Celia has also been working on evolving the strategy to include an online hub of content to provide an on-demand source of information and learning tools for WIBF members. Celia regularly provides helpful feedback to the Future Leaders Shadow Board (FLSB) Co-Chairs and consistently demonstrates her commitment to improving the volunteer experience for FLSB members. She is a pleasure to work with.

CHLOE HICKEY-JONES

Initially, Chloe demonstrated her focus on volunteering by supporting the growth of the Accelerating Change Together (ACT) research programme, where she was responsible for maintaining and coordinating the Corporate Sponsors of the programme, working closely with the Head of Thought Leadership to pitch the ACT Research Programme, onboarding new sponsors and coordinating their research inputs and insights. Chloe recently switched roles to spearhead the development of the inaugural WIBF Future Leaders’ Network with an aim to build a high quality, active network that provides a space for young women to feel supported, learn and grow together and build connections. Chloe designed a balanced and fair interview process to recruit the Network Co-Head, and we will adopt these practises for future FLSB recruitment. Chloe has brought the new Co-Head into the fold and quickly up to speed and they are working collaboratively and thoughtfully to plan the launch of the Network in 2022.

CHRISTINA STAVROU

Despite being only a few months in the role, Christina has stepped up to take on a big volunteer role at WIBF and works tirelessly to ensure all our corporate members understand what WIBF has to offer, who to contact (not always an easy one given the nature of a volunteer network) and is building up a great group of relationship managers to ensure WIBF remains sufficiently funded for our sizeable ambitions.

DEBORAH VICKERS

Debs is hugely pivotal in the development of WIBF. As our COO, on top of her important day job and as a (relatively) new mother, she oversees signifcant projects despite the limited budgets WIBF has to work within. She is quick to work to overcome the constant snags that cause issues to WIBF and manages to juggle the strategic with the practical – no one else can update our current website like she can, while making sure the new wesbite project remains on track!

EILIDH ANDERSON

Eilidh has supported the Head of Mentoring & Development in organising a strong pipeline of events under WIBF’s flagship Personal Excellence Program. Eilidh is a valued and senior member of the FLSB and has supported the Co-Chairs in the recruitment of the next generation of talent onto the FLSB. Eilidh also led a project for the FLSB and developed an innovative ‘Best Practices’ document to guide new and existing FLSB members to maximise their relationships with their respective Management Board members. Eilidh went above and beyond by hosting interactive sessions to ensure the views of the FLSB were reflected in the document and presented the document in a well-prepared manner to the Management Board. Eilidh is a role model for the next generation of women in financial services.

ERIKA MACKIE

Erika joined the Memberships team as their data analyst in January 2021 having already been an active member of WIBF’s Edinburgh Committee since March 2020. Erika has been a much valued addition to the team, quickly getting to grips with our data to make it more meaningful. She has also impressed our CEO, Deborah Vickers, with her ability to pick things up quickly and deliver on projects.

GWEN FAURE

Gwen joined the WIBF volunteer team in 2021 and quickly established herself as a great person to talk to when sounding out ideas and ensuring that projects will resonate with members and corporate partners based on her PwC consulting experience. Gwen has not only actively supported the mentoring and development team, but is also instrumental in ensuring that WIBF’s Accelerating Change Together programme develops and maintains its delivery pipeline – research that is underpinning many of WIBF’s other activities.

ISABELLE JARMIN

Isabelle was nominated for her role in the Mentoring and Development team in her position as its Head of Communications. Isabelle is seen to have gone above and beyond to put together the Mentoring and Development communication plan, working with many individual members, corporates partners and the operations team to deliver on our social media strategy. She constantly brought fresh ideas of how we could improve, together with and energy and her passion that had such a positive impact on the team.

JANET LANE

Janet was put forward based on her work with the London Stock Exchange (LSEG) launch for WIBF’s Accelerating Change Together (ACT) research programme in June 2021. While she had already been involved in the initial 2020 ACT launch and brought her skills to bear organising the LSEG market open and following panel event, 2021 saw her step up that support. Janet is seen as a highly capable, highly adaptable professional who dealt with WIBF’s key external stakeholders at the FCA, HM Treasury, UK Finance and LSEG with ease, making sure they were fully briefed and that this event was set up for success. The LSEG market open event in particular was a complicated event to organise with many moving parts and stressful situations to work through.

JENNIE KOO

A recognised leader with regard to D&I. Jennie brings a level of professionalism to the team and juggles multiple roles for WIBF alongside her provision of sage advice for newer members of the management board. She is open to new ideas, has a brilliant ability to progress multiple projects at once and is constantly raising WIBF’s profile through her huge range of activities.

JULIA SMITH

Julia is passionate about diversity and has put in place a number of award winning initiatives focusing on the representation and engagement of women, particularly in the context of diverse talent pipelining. She provides practical advice, as well as invaluable background information on WIBF itself and its activities and endless encouragement. As a role model for the volunteers who are crucial to the organisation’s success, many of the management board are delighted to be able to work closely with Julia as we seek to position and promote the organisation.

KAREN BENNETT

Leadership, vision, goes consistently over and beyond to deliver. Cares passionately about the topics we need to promote. Has introduced a level of professionalism, more strategic content and voice than ever experienced before at WIBF. Offers help to everyone, is loyal and universally well liked. With a rocking good sense of humour, she has introduced creative and innovative ideas and approaches.

KATHERINE LEE

Katherine has been instrumental in ensuring a smooth transition when we had a change in leadership in the finance team at the start of 2021 and has continued to support our CFO and the evolution of the finance organisation. In between having a senior job in Credit Suisse and raising her two young kids, she always finds time to progress on the finance team’s initiatives and increase transparency on the information through appropriate build out of MI.

LYNSEY COCHRANE

Lynsey is a team player, she ensures the Scotland Board members are all held accountable for tracking their actions and deliverables and she’s happy to support the mentoring team when needed. She has taken on specific responsibility for membership engagement, organising the various surveys that our Scottish members receive. If you are a WIBF member in Scotland you might have also seen or joined the recently launched WIBF Scotland LinkedIn page, another one of Lynsey’s projects. She is currently leading on the Glasgow Networking (in person event) to be held in the summer.

NEETA MUNDRA

Single handedly built an active and impressive senior business leaders network which is growing in reputation and impact. Has successfully put in place a regular programme of networking events and effected many brilliant introductions for the members of her group. A very inspiring individual in her own right, with a huge job and remit, but is doing this on the side of her desk (like everyone else).

NICOLA HIGGINS

Nicola defines what it means to be a volunteer with WIBF. We are a friendly bunch of financial services professionals who are passionate about impacting change on gender diversity for the sector. Nicola certainly holds true to this. She is one of the founder members of our Manchester branch of WIBF and joined the board in May 2019. She is also the corporate liaison to our partners with a presence in the area and she has become a key part of our mentoring team. We are delighted to recognise and celebrate the valuable contribution that Nicola brings to WIBF.

RACHEL HARBERS

Rachel Harbers has been pivotal in progressing the launch of the Future Leader’s Network which aims to connect young professionals in the finance industry. Rachel has ensured a collaborative working environment for the FLSB and helped to equitize and diversify the FLSB recruitment process by formalising the job description and interview process. Rachel was instrumental in submitting a successful workshop application for the One Young World Summit in September (a global young leaders conference) and helping to secure tickets to attend as delegates. Rachel is always forward-thinking and looking to maximise other volunteers experience of WIBF. She helped to redesign the FLSB meeting format to invite guest speakers to provide a ‘value-add’ to other FLSB members. Rachel is extremely reliable and professional.

RACHEL JOE

Rachel volunteers as a corporate partner and strategic advisor. She was instrumental in the creation of the WIBF mission statement, cementing the idea that bringing a gender lens to UK financial services is how WIBF can be most impactful. Rachel recently conceptualised the WIBF Leadership Academy and is co-leading the pilot program between TD Securities, WIBF and Corndel to provide executive leadership training to senior women at TD and other financial firms. She also works closely with the WIBF corporates volunteer group and has always been a creative, enthusiastic, and insightful team member. She conceptualised the WIBF quarterly town halls and recommended incorporating ACT into PEP talks to ensure frequent communication and inclusion at all levels of participation.

RACHEL SEYMOUR

In her role as Secretary of the Future Leaders Shadow Board (FLSB), Rachel has been extremely reliable at writing up the meeting minutes in a timely manner, proactively circulating agendas ahead of time and keeping track of FLSB action points by creating a spreadsheet to record key metrics e.g., FLSB meeting attendance. Rachel is a dedicated member of the FLSB and has exemplary meeting attendance and can always be trusted to meet deadlines. Through her volunteer work, Rachel encourages the FLSB to work towards their goals whilst promoting an inclusive environment with equal access to information and supporting the Co-Chairs of the FLSB to create a cohesive working group. Rachel is also contributing to WIBF more widely by taking part in the ‘100 Diverse Voices’ research, being led by the LSE. Rachel is reliable and receptive to feedback which makes her a pleasure to work with.

RUTH ARMSTRONG

Ruth Armstrong has been a member of WIBF since April 2018 and a Volunteer since January 2019. She was nominated because of her work for the mentoring and development team, where she embraced the new way of working, and identified and delivered some fantastic events that link with its four pillars of Career Development, Conflict Management, Personal Brand & Networking and People Management. Her support, her energy and her passion has had such a positive impact on the team and helping them deliver a challenging 2021 programme.

PELAGIA NEOCLEOUS

Pelagia has provided a huge level of technical support to WIBF in the area of corporate governance and works closely with the other management board members to tackle complex issues that could derail plans. Her thoughtful response to many of the matters discussed at management board meetings are very valued.

PATRICIA GONDIM

Patricia is seen an ‘absolute superstar’ particularly in the lead up to and with the launch of the first year report for WIBF’s ACT research programme. Patricia spent hours drafting, reviewing and organising the communications and the ACT team was grateful to have her leading this aspect of the project. She quickly got up to speed and led with confidence. She is a self-starter committed to delivery, even though at the time of the launch she had also started a new job. She is also a safe pair of hands on which you can rely, and is always so proactive and helpful.

SAMANTHA CARNLEY

Sam is a key part of the Birmingham branch board and has influenced and supported all events since I joined. Alongside her branch activities Sam is also heavily involved in the WIBF mentoring programme and spends significant time matching mentoring relationships and ensuring things are running as they should. Sam has also used her network to bring forward ideas for new events that can support our members in the future. Nothing is too much for Sam. I think she deserves to be recognised for all the hard work she puts in. Thank you Sam!

SARAH WOODARD

Sarah’s recent recognition at the WeAreTheCity Rising Star Awards underlines the commitment she brings to delivering gender diversity in financial services and not just through her role as a Co-Chair of the Future Leaders Shadow Board. In addition to the leadership she brings to the team, she has introduced WIBF to some significant partners and is currently driving the development of a Future Leaders Network, to connect junior females across the industry. If that wasn’t enough, Sarah is also leading the Graduate Engagement Strategy, to widen the pool of female talent applying for finance jobs.

STEPH FISHBURN

Steph only joined WIBF in February this year, but using the skills from her day job as a Project Manager at Capital One, she has quickly made an impact on the functioning of her local WIBF chapter. She is the newest member of the Birmingham Regional Board and has immersed herself to lead the Birmingham operational role with immense ease. Steph has stepped into supporting regional events and has even recruited new volunteers to support our event organisation. In addition, Steph has taken it upon herself to connect with the central operations team to learn and understand how WIBF operates. In doing so, Steph has already managed the rescheduling of the board meetings, agenda and actions along with reorganising the regional files to enable the team to better locate files and documents swiftly.

STEPHANIE BETTS

After Stephanie joined WIBF’s Governance Committee, she quickly found a way to promote her passion for sustainability through governance, and become one of the founders of WIBF’s Next Gen Stewardship Community, which she continues to lead today. She also supports Pelagia Neoclous, Director of Governance, who recognises Stephanie’s drive and passion. In a short space of time, Stephanie has built a network of experienced professionals, organised events on cutting edge ESG topics and advanced knowledge-sharing amongst members. She also supported WIBF to advocate for better female representation in key decision making fora, including attending a panel event at COP26.

TARA ZUTSHI

Tara uses her unique set of skills as a coach and mindfulness specialist to bring a much needed balance to our Birmingham activities. Furthermore, Tara consistently goes above and beyond in doing what’s right for our members both individual and institutional. In recent months, Tara has battled through addressing the needs of the members, such as local networking, whilst in the midst of predominantly virtual events, to source outside venues and amazing speakers.

VICTORIA PRINGLE

Victoria enthusiastically organises events and drives forward the mentoring scheme. This has particularly been visible from within Tesco Bank where she works where she has recruited a significant number of mentors (31% of mentor volunteers) and has promoted many WIBF events. The enthusiasm that Victoria is generating is infectious. Victoria was particularly supportive to me when she invited me to join the mentoring scheme as a mentor, taking time to explain what was required in the role. I joined the scheme initially as a mentee and then also as a mentor, with Victoria’s support and encouragement. The mentoring scheme is hugely valuable to both mentors and mentees and is helping to shape women’s careers. It sometimes needs a little bit of encouragement to understand how it works – this is where Victoria’s efforts have been instrumental.

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