Board of Directors
Soroptimist International Great Britain and Ireland is run by a Board of 12 volunteer members elected by the membership. Some details are given below:
President: Maureen Maguire
Maureen joined SI Portadown, Northern Ireland in 1989, transferring to SI Lurgan in 2010. Maureen was installed as SIGBI President at Brighton in Octobe 2011, and is looking forward to hosting the SIGBI Conference in Belfast 25-27 October 2012.
President Elect: Pat Black
Pat is based in Scotland South, her current club being SI Edinburgh. She recently moved there from Cumbria where her club was SI Penrith & District. After holding posts at club, region and Federation level she was elected to her current role. She has responsibility for SIGBI’s Emergency Relief Fund and for responding on behalf of members to provide assistance when there is a disaster, especially in one of our own Federation’s countries.
Vice President: Margaret Oldoyd
Margaret originally joined SI Croydon, and the moved to SI Nottingham where she has been a member for 23 years. She was Director of Organisation Development (retitled from Director of Extension) for four years, and recent work involved initiating the creation of the “Easy Stages Guides” series, helping to facilitate the formation of the Southern African Network and working with Regions on the Membership Retention and Recruitment Plan for the UK.
Immediate Past President: Liz Batten
Liz has been a Soroptimist since 1981. Since then her career in communications has taken her through many different sectors and all around the UK so her Club membership record bears testimony to the fact that your membership of Soroptimist International can take you anywhere. She is now a member of SI Winchester, one of the fastest growing Clubs in the Southern England Region. Liz has served on the Federation Management Board since 2005 when she was elected Director of PR, Marketing and Development.Programme Director: Sue Biggs
Sue has been a Soroptimist for 11 years, firstly as a member of SI Pendleside and latterly as a member of SI Burnley, both Clubs in N W England and Isle of Man. For the last three years she chaired the UK Programme Action Committee and takes on the role of Federation Programme Director at an exciting time as we enter a new quadrennium with fresh Programme goals and objectives. The SI title ”Educate to Lead” with key words being the three Es -educate, empower, enable lends itself to so many possibilities for exciting programme work which can be linked closely with recruitment and retention of members.
Director of Communications: Jane Slatter
Jane joined SI St Albans and District in 1997. She works with the Communications Committee and other Board Members to raise the profile of SIGBI through its programme work. International Women’s Day in March is a great example of this. Communications covers public relations, publicity and marketing activity. It includes internal and external communications and all available forms of media to address communications, eg the SIGBI Website and the Soroptimist News magazine.
Director of Finance: Jenny Vince
Jenny was firstly a member of SI High Wycombe, and is now a member of SI Oxford and District. She has been Regional President, and then Federation Councillor for London Chilterns Region. She also spent 5 years on the Management Board of the Soroptimist Residential Club, chairing it for the last two years of her tenure. She says “I feel it is essential to bring in commercial business standards and policies on tendering for services and investments to SIGBI’s future advantage”.
Director of Membership: Denise Staplehurst
Denise StaplehurstDenise lives in the South East of England and is a member of SI Eastbourne. She joined in 1985 and has held many officer posts in Club including President and Programme Action Officer. She then went on to be the Regional President and Regional Membership Officer, before taking office at Federation level as Assistant Programme Director for the Environment and Federation Councillor. She is really enjoying the role of Director of Membership, and has taken the theme “Membership Makes a Difference” as a focus during her time in office.
Director of Organisation Development: Ann Hodgson
Ann joined SI Kenilworth and District in 1994, later transferring to SI Newport and District. She has been Regional President, and Federation Councillor for SI Wales South. Her main focus in this role is the formation of new Clubs and new types of Clubs in existing Federation Countries and new countries, chiefly through support for our Membership and Development Officers in each Region of the UK and each Country. The development of leadership materias as a membership benefit and for the support of the organisation is her other key responsibility.
DIRECTORS WITHOUT PORTFOLIO
Jean Campbell
Jean has been a Soroptimist since 1997, and is a member of SI Perth, SI Scotland North, having transferred from SI Falkirk, SI Scotland South late last year. She believes that an efficient and effective Board enables our members to concentrate on the work of Programme Action – making a difference for women and girls locally and internationally – which is a particular passion of Jean’s.
Angela Giwa-Osagie
Angela is a member of Soroptimist International of Eko in Lagos Nigeria since May 1993. As an active Soroptimist she has held various positions on the executive including Club President. She served as Federation Councillor for Nigeria for 3 years and is privileged to see the new structure of SIGBI transforming to SIGBI Ltd and now being a member of this Board as a Director Without Portfolio (DWP). As DWP, she has been allocated 13 Councillors with whom she will consult on specific points for discussion and action at Board level, eg consultation with Councillors on the Review of the Federation President Travel Expense Policy.
Connie Mutunhu
Connie is currently serving as a Director Without Portfolio on the FMB. She has been a Soroptimist for the past 14 years, and served as the founding President of her club, SI Vabatsiri. She was National President for SI Zimbabwe for 2 years, Program Action Chairman for 4 years and then Federation Councillor for 2 years. The first 5 months of her involvement with the Board as DWP have been an eye opener. She’s in touch with the 13 Councillors allocated to her for consultation and feedback. In addition to this, She’s mentoring a proposed Soroptimist Club in Uganda.