The Board
Meet the wonderful women who make up our Board.
Dianne Jeans
President
Dianne is currently a senior executive in the UK civil service with responsibilities for corporate strategy and change management. Dianne has qualifications in law, commerce, policy, management and corporate governance and has had a broad public service career spanning 40 years in both Australia and the now the United Kingdom.
Dianne is also founder and was longtime chair and director (recently retired) of the Board for Challenge DV, a not-for-profit company whose vision is to create a world without violence against women and children. Formed in 2002, Challenge DV delivers workplace programs and training on domestic violence.
Dianne has been a Zontian for over 30 years both in Australia and now the UK and has undertaken a number of leadership roles and led interesting projects and fundraising activities. She is current President of the e-club of the UK and Area Director (3) for District 29.
Dianne lives with her husband Brian, daughter Sarah and longtime friend Lisa (andassociated dogs) in a leafy area near Chesham, Buckinghamshire.
Kate Spalding
Vice President
Kate has had a long career as a management consultant with KPMG, ATOS consulting and a number of small consultancies. As partner and head of public sector both in the UK and Northern Europe she has wide experience across all government departments in a range of disciplines from strategy to digital and has managed several major award winning transformation programmes. She served on the board of the management consultancies association and has recently changed career, joining The D Group as a Senior Advisor. This is a membership networking organisation which enables conversations on strategic enablers for the UK in areas including Energy, Defence, Space and Technologies.
She is on the Zonta e-club board and is looking forward to working with the club to make a real difference to the lives of the women and girls we support. Kate has 4 grown up children, 2 horses and 3 grand-dogs so when not at work is usually to be found in a muddy field somewhere.
Liz Buckle
Secretary
I'm Liz Buckle. In my professional life I started off as a public librarian, having studied history at university. In Manchester I managed library services for diverse communities across a big part of the city including some of the most deprived neighbourhoods. My career morphed to working in a large government environmental agency where I held a number of senior roles mostly in the asset / property management and business change areas. I ‘retired’ about 10 years ago but have worked on and off for about 4 years of it! I find the concept of retirement is quite dated! I'm lucky to have 2 grown up children and 2 fab granddaughters. I squeeze in time for them along with my passion for traveling and growing things in my garden and at my allotment. I'm very much an 'outdoor' person . So having a dog is another key part of my life
Christele Brouste
Treasurer
Born and raised in a restaurant in the South West of France, the Cash and Purchase books had no secret for her. It surely influenced her choice as she is a qualified accountant, graduated from a French Business school and holds a BA from the university of Portsmouth. She held several positions at Cisco and Apple before making a shift to the Health tech Start up world by joining Babylon, and be later on CFO of another one. She now has moved back to the Corporate world at IWG. She is an advocate for young girls to know that anything is possible if you believe in yourself and giving them access to Education. Outside work, she enjoys food and wine, cooking herself, paddle boarding and Pilates and beautiful cars in general as she used to be a car racer.
Previous Award and Scholarship Winners
We are privileged to have so many incredible women in our club that have previously been awarded Scholarships from Zonta. Meet them here.
Antonia Sudkaemper
Young Women in Public Affairs award recipient
Dr Antonia Sudkaemper is an organisational psychologist with experience in academic research and industry. A published social scientist, Antonia is an expert on workplace culture, gender equality and inclusion. Antonia currently holds a role as consultant at Gallup, where she supports global clients in creating engaging workplaces that allow all employees to thrive. In her free time, Antonia enjoys playing football and tennis on local Cambridge (UK) courts. She likes to cook new recipes and travel the world whenever there's an opportunity. Antonia first joined ZONTA in 2010 when she won the Young Women in Public Affairs awards at area level in her home country Germany.quote, or to talk about important news.
Emiko L’Estrange
Young Women in Public Affairs award recipient
Emiko first became involved with Zonta after winning their club and district Young Woman in International Afairs Award. She has campaigned for greater awareness of mental health engaging with CHAMS and regional charities influencing their approach with neuro-diverse and vulnerable patients. She has also spoken in the House of Commons on lowering the threshold to make free school meals more accessible, engaged with MPs, civil servants, Peers and advised the COP27 negotiators on youth attitudes. From September 2024, she will be studying at Harvard University as an undergraduate. Zonta has given Emiko a great network of women who have shown her that women can be powerful leaders and have inspired me to continue to facilitate change and dialogue.
Taiwo Shotunde
JM Klausman Business Award Recipient
Taiwo is a seasoned strategy consultant with an MBA from Oxford University and over five years of experience in developing and executing strategic plans for organizations. As a Chartered Accountant, she has worked across Europe and emerging markets, bringing her expertise in market research, growth strategy, and business development to various industries. In addition to her professional accomplishments, Taiwo is deeply committed to mentoring and volunteering, supporting students and professionals in their career growth. She was honored with the Jane M. Klausman Women in Business Scholarship in 2022 by Zonta International. Her dedication to continuous learning and excellence is evident through her numerous academic achievements, including being named to the MBA Dean’s List at Saïd Business School and receiving the Best Graduating Female Student award in her department during her undergraduate program. Taiwo has been actively involved in mentoring and volunteering activities, supporting students and professionals in their career growth and development and she is also actively involved in various organizations and networks including being Zonta Club UK member and a UN Women UK Delegate. In her free time, she enjoys Singing, dancing and reading.
Our Other Members
Meet the amazing women that make up the rest of our club.
Siobhan Brookman
Siobhan has been in the technology sector for over 35 years having done a variety of jobs in Sales, Business Development and Commercial Operations. After holding roles at IBM, AT&T, BT, and Vodafone, she founded Brookman & May, a consultancy specialising in Talent Management and Strategy Development. Siobhan now works for Sopra Steria as Executive Client Director. Siobhan is most proud of investing in people. She joined Zonta in 2022, and in 2024 led the Girls in Leadership Programme, a service project created to inspire and build confidence in young women from minority groups. She is married to Steve, and they have 4 children. In her spare time, she rides horses.
Deb Blackmore
Originally from Detroit, Michigan, Deb did dual BA degrees in English Literature and Communication Arts. Starting as a technical writer in the 1970s, she earned an MBA and moved into Organisational Development consultancy. In 1985, Deb joined Price Waterhouse Coopers in London. Married in 1987, Deb and husband Peter have two grown married sons and one grandson. Peter and Deb currently reside in London and Cornwall. Deb was, is and always will be a writer. She now volunteers her skills to advocate, inform and motivate for good causes. Deb has been a member of ZONTA since 2008.
Monelle Garber
Monelle Garber is an undergraduate studying International Relations and Development. As the Inclusion and Welfare Officer for the International Development Society, she is dedicated to promoting diversity and equality; a motivation for her becoming a mentor for students from underrepresented backgrounds. Passionate about global advocacy, she has participated in the Model United Nations in Geneva and serves as a delegate for UN Women UK. In her free time, she engages in dance showcases and competitions, and enjoys traveling, with her background spanning the US, UK, and West Africa.
Lisa Rosier
Lisa served on two gubernatorial appointments on the Governor's Committee for Disability Issues and Employment. An Executive Director for a non-profit senior/community Centre, some highlights include establishing an endowment fund and initiating a multicultural direction with 'Welcome' painted in over 30 languages in the lobby. In the USA, Lisa did a multitude of service projects including working to address threats to schools; working with City Councils on public safety initiatives; and empowering programs and support strategies for people with developmental disabilities. Lisa was a Sergeant with the Queensland Police Service, receiving recognition for her work on organizational change and community outreach. She worked with the LAPD Threat Management Unit and attended the FBI National Academy. Lisa worked with the Toronto Safe City Committee on public safety and planning. She coordinated a state-wide program that addressed violence against women/community safety. She has participated on many national and state committees on Media Stereotyping of Women and the Elderly, Female Genital Mutilation, Inter-agency Sexual Assault Protocols, Neighborhood Safety Audits and developed Australia's first Anti-Stalking Legislation. Lisa has received numerous community awards and recognition both in Australia and the USA and has been a keynote speaker and presenter at numerous international, state and local conferences. She has a passion for advocacy for people and animals.
Asa Wilen
Åsa Wilén works as a children’s librarian in the city library of Piteå, Sweden. She has a Degree of Master of Arts with a major in Library and Information Science from Umeå University, Sweden. Since graduation in 1998 Åsa has held positions in the public library of Tromsoe, Norway and at the music library in the School of Music, Luleå University of Technology. Åsa has been a member in Zonta international for almost 20 years and is also engaged in her local society through church and singing in the church choir. She lives in the countryside with her family.
Gita Singham-Willis
Gita is a strategic business and technology transformation and change leader and a DEI advocate, experienced in digital, technology and service transformation, who has an in depth understanding of balancing business strategy objectives with user-centred design, and how to align people when implementing change.As a Founding Partner at Cadence Innova – a public service transformation consultancy who discover, design, and deliver positive change - Gita is passionate about leading complex, multi-faceted programmes with a people-centred approach to leverage new digital technologies to enable sustainable change to businesses, communities, and people’s lives. As the Board representative for ESG and the Co-Chair of the Management Consultancy Association’s Diversity & Inclusion Working Group and Public Sector Working Group, Gita’s aim is to accelerate diversity of thinking and experiences across the sector and drive policy changes. Gita is also a Trustee of Coram Children’s Charity , and works as an advisor for multiple charities including those dedicated to vulnerable women and girls - so Zonta’s aims are particularly close to her heart. Gita spends any spare hours in the theatre – treading the boards and working backstage as a choreographer and director, and will do anything that involves singing, dancing and performing!
Sarah Pertzel
Sarah is a primary school teacher who is passionate about literacy and behaviour management. She is a Phase leader for KS1 and English Lead at her school, where she encourages a love for literacy and all things reading! She enjoys being a mentor for other early career teachers and inspiring the younger generation of teachers. Sarah has been around Zonta for many years by association and has participated in events and meetings her whole life. She loves reading, travelling and is passionate about dogs and animals.
Oluyemisi Morgan-Raiwe
A Chartered Engineer and a highly experienced certified PRINCE 2 Practitioner, Yemisi has a career portfolio across the public and private sectors. A competent, visionary individual with the ability to drive the agenda, based on experience spanning project values from £0.5m to £6bn. Programmes/ Projects include Oilfield Development, Housing Development & Renewal, Process re-engineering & Improvement, Change Management, Resource Planning, Strategic Planning, Systems Implementation and Performance Management. Excellent interpersonal and leadership skills, with sustained involvement and delivery and a natural flair for engaging stakeholders at all levels to deliver strategic and practical solutions which have a lasting benefit. An excellent communicator who has demonstrated the ability to lead and motivate successful and productive project teams that consistently achieve targets in challenging environments. Self-motivated, versatile and ambitious, with a commitment to succeed. A champion of Equality Diversity and Inclusion and an advocate for Women and girls.
Sue Bennett
Originally a teacher, Sue embraced the emerging world of technology in education in the early 1990s. Driven by a desire to enhance learning and teaching, she designed award-winning digital titles, published by Oxford University Press, BBC Worldwide and others. Sue became a freelance Lead Apple Professional Learning Specialist for EMEIA (Europe, Middle East, Africa + India), developing the quality of the support provided to Education leaders and teachers by the 600 Specialists across the region. She co-developed and led the shift from ‘training’ to on-going coaching, mentoring and facilitation. Sue also worked with her own client base including international governments and NGOs. She experienced the successes and challenges in the educational systems of many cultures, leading multiple initiatives to integrate technology to address unique needs. Priorities included students and educators telling their own stories to bring about change within, and beyond, their communities and enabling students to create and communicate their own learning experiences in ways that best suit them, whatever their circumstances. Sue has continued to mentor some previous clients informally following her early retirement in 2020.
Honorary Members
We offer honorary membership to our clubs award recipients, meet them here.
Ana Lucia Chavez
JM Klausman Scholarship Recipient
Ana is a Saïd and JMK Zonta Scholar, pursuing an MBA at Oxford from 2023-2024. She has a background in consulting and entrepreneurship, and is passionate about solving impactful problems. She loves turning ideas into reality, and is now looking for new challenges where she can use my experience to make a difference.
Jennifer Ohiri
Young Women in Public Affairs award recipient
Jennifer Ohiri is an international student from Nigeria in the UK. She studied Chemistry, physics and biology for A levels and will be going to university soon. She has been volunteering from a young age in Nigeria for the Red Cross but couldn't continue since moving to the UK in 2022. In the UK, she volunteers for the "Friends of Horsham community" and works as a female support worker. She applied for the Zonta scholarship because it stood out to her as she is keen on things that concern women; especially the younger generation.
Ruby Zheng
Ruby has worked as an Investment Banking Analyst on J.P. Morgan’s Diversified Industries team, where she conducted financial analyses and helped prepare detailed, strategic board presentations. Additionally, she has held roles within J.P. Morgan’s Commercial & Investment Banking division, including Public Finance Investment Banking, Tax-Oriented Investments Portfolio Management, and Business Op
Zonta E-Club of United Kingdom
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