Wendy Davis
Director

Contact [email protected]

Wendy Davis became Director of Women's Design Service in October 2002. Wendy has qualifications in Architecture, Social Sciences and Management and hopes to use all these skills in taking the organisation forward.

Wendy has previously worked for private architects, housing associations and local authorities in various capacities. Wendy also has a lot of experience in the voluntary sector as a member and trustee of many organisations. Wendy was in fact a founder member of Women’s Design Service back in 1987. In recent years WDS has focused very much on the community development side, and Wendy hopes to bring in some more design oriented projects to complement this expertise.

Contact [email protected] 

Christine joined WDS in October 2003. She studied art and education at college and has worked as a graphic artist and teacher. She has many years experience as an administrator including working for charities, community groups and women's projects. During the last four years Christine has been teaching English as a foreign and second language in Chile and the UK.

Shahanara Begum
Volunteer Development Worker

Contact: [email protected]

Shahanara Begum is the Volunteer Development Worker on the Women's Neighbourhood Volunteering Project (WNVP). She joined WDS in October 2003. Shahanara graduated from the London School of Economics (LSE) in Sociology (BSc, 1998) and Gender Studies (MSc, 2000) and her work background is in community development, youth work and research. She has worked with a variety of organisations and community groups, particularly with women and young people and most of her reseach work is focused around the Bangladeshi community. Her research work includes: Bangladeshi Youths @ Risk (Elite Youth, 2002) and the Bangladeshi Community Involvement and Action Project needs assessment (Imperial College, 2002).

Harriet Wilkins
Policy Development Worker

Contact: [email protected]

Harriet Wilkins is the policy development worker for 'Making Safer Places' a project within the Women's Design Service. Making Safer Places is concerned with women's safety issues in the built environment and aims to use the opportunities of physical, social and economic regeneration plans to raise the volume of women's voices in the planning and execution of regeneration initiatives by through a two pronged approach:
- By enabling women living and working in neighbourhoods in priority regeneration areas to record and analyse their safety concerns and identify solutions
- By working with policy makers and planners to take these community issues on board and, in a wider context, to mainstream gender as part of the planning process.
Harriet has worked on issues of violence against women for a number of years, most recently as DV Officer for Nottinghamshire County Council and as Co-ordinator for the Nottingham Rape Crisis Centre. She has spent the last four years abroad, returning to Britain to take up the post with Women's Design Service in October 2002.

Hawah Bunduka
Training Development Worker

Contact: [email protected]

Hawah is the Training Development Worker on the Making Safer Places Project. She joined WDS in December 2002.
Her role involves training and supporting local groups of women to assess community safety in their neighbourhood and to put through recommendations for community safety improvements. Hawah has been involved in community development in the voluntary and community sector for 8 years. She has worked in a number of fields, including community radio, social housing, youth homelessness and persistent young offenders. Her work around gender has involved helping to build the capacity of a women’s refuge; children’s home and youth empowerment organisations in two South African townships, and co-ordinating a health and social welfare development programme with a strong emphasis on health promotion and HIV/AIDs prevention in Namibia.Hawah has spent the last three years abroad. She returned to Britain to take up the post with Women's Design Service in December 2002.

Alix Stredwick
Cycling for Women Project Worker

Contact: [email protected]

Alix is the project worker on our Cycling for Women project. She joined WDS in July 2003.

Associates