WISE Team Members

Dr Mhairi Crawford

Development Director

Mhairi joined WISE in June 2016 to develop the services, training and consultancy offerings which help enable members to increase the participation and success of women into the UK STEM network.

Following a doctorate in Physics, Mhairi moved into industry and has been working commercially within science and technology industries for the past 12 years. With experience from applications through to marketing, sales and service across Europe, South Africa and the USA, she has first hand knowledge of some of the challenges experienced by women in STEM.

A strong supporter of the WISE mission, Mhairi is looking to focus on expanding our range of practical tools and initiatives which will make a real difference to women and employers in STEM.

Shagufta Sharif

Development Manager

Shagufta joined WISE in July 2014. Shagufta previously worked at Girlguiding and has a wealth of experience in creating opportunities for young people. She supports the Development Director in creating new and innovative projects to further the WISE Campaign aims and objectives. Alongside Mhairi Crawford, Shagufta is working on developing the People Like Me campaign. Shagufta also supports the Career Development and the returners programmes as well as all other training initiatives.

Penny Bradley

Membership Director

Penny joined WISE as Membership Director in April 2016 providing support to our existing members and recruiting new members to increase the participation, contribution and success of women in the UK’s scientific, technology and engineering (STEM) workforce.

Penny has been working in the Technology sector for more than 20 years, initially as a marketing and communications professional, creating, nurturing and developing relationships to deliver global and EMEA campaigns; and more recently in Program and Project Management.

Over the past five years Penny has worked to encourage inclusive and diverse cultures in the workplace and has extensive experience of gender initiatives to encourage girls and women in their career development.

Penny is job sharing the Membership Director role with Dimitra Christakou.

Dimitra Christakou

Membership Director

Dimitra joined WISE in April 2017 as a Membership Director to support WISE’s efforts to increase women’s participation contribution in STEM. She brings along a strong background in leading revenue and relationship management teams combined with lengthy experience in designing though leading services.

Dimitra is also the co-founder and director of Sustainable Blueprints, an intellectual property and strategic analysis consulting firm. In the past, she was the Head of Water Insight Services at Bloomberg New Energy Finance responsible for the product’s overall strategy and direction, and a global team of water analysts. Also, she has held positions at Accenture and the Corporate Finance Practice of the Corporate Executive Board.

She received her Bachelors degree in Physics from the University of Crete in Greece. Dimitra holds an MSc in Environmental Technology from Imperial College of London and an MBA from London Business School.

Dimitra is job sharing the Membership Director role with Penny Bradley.

Ruth Frost

Membership Communications Executive

Ruth joined WISE in March 2015, from a background in email and social media marketing, she works with the Memberships team to engage and communicate with the growing WISE membership primarily through online channels. As well as coordinating monthly WISE Knowledge Sharing Events and identifying role models for partnership opportunities.

Barbara Dischinger

Membership Manager

Barbara is responsible for liaising with existing members and extending our reach to new organisations. She has a background in senior recruitment in mining and previously construction & industrial. She sits on the steering committee of Women in Rail and founded two women in mining networking groups, one in the UK and one internationally which she still manages.

Katherine Howard

Membership Officer

Katherine works with the Membership team to create member communications and coordinate WISE knowledge sharing events. She liaises with the growing WISE membership base and regional hub leads. Katherine has previously worked as a features editor, media executive and events coordinator.

Evelyn Forsyth-Barnett

Awards & Promotions Officer

Evelyn joined WISE in June 2016. Her focus is supporting all aspects of the organisation and delivery of the WISE conference and awards including promoting sponsorship opportunities, ticket sales and on the day coordination. She has an extensive events background having worked for the Yorkshire Ambulance Service and The National Trust before joining WISE and has experience in both corporate events and weddings.

David Birtwhistle

Digital Marketing Officer

David joined WISE in October 2016. His role looks after all aspects of the organisations digital marketing needs, including the WISE website, newsletter, and social media channels. Since graduating Huddersfield University in 2012, David has worked in broadcast communications roles at the BBC, William Hill and most recently held a digital marketing role within the charity organisation DISC.

Karen Ditchfield

Operations Director

Karen leads the delivery of the WISE operations functions to ensure the commercial, technical and administrative infrastructure supports the growing membership and development activities of the WISE campaign. Karen ensures that WISE can efficiently and effectively respond to the changing needs of our members in a fast-paced and changing environment.

Karen Bleasby

Finance Officer

Karen joined WISE in April 2016 and deals with all invoicing and financial reporting. She previously worked at the charity PAC-UK (After Adoption Yorkshire) as Finance Manager and Statistical Analyst Officer and has extensive experience of all things related to finance. Karen also works part-time at KJBmindworks as a School Counsellor, Clinical Hypnotherapist and EMDR Practitioner.

Kirstie Whipp

Wise Executive Assistant

Kirstie joined WISE in April 2017. Her role is to provide top level support to the Chief Executive and other members of the WISE Team, managing diaries, external appointments and speaking engagements and other administrative tasks. She left the Royal Air Force in 2012 after 22 years’ service, afterwards working within the Recruitment Industry and then as Office Manager in a Multi Academy Trust Head Office prior to joining WISE.

Fay Best

Associate Consultant

Fay is a qualified lecturer, having graduated with a first class honors degree in Education, and has worked extensively in the field of equality and diversity, developing plans, policies and addressing E&D issues. She has acted as adviser and consultant on numerous local, national and government projects; as well as taking on project leadership roles, developing and managing training events, and designing and delivering training packages, awards, and mentoring programmes.

Sarah Bond

Associate Consultant

Sarah Bond is an Associate Consultant with WISE. She has her own independent consultancy practice, working with clients in the corporate and not-for-profit sectors to provide consulting advice and practical solutions on diversity, inclusion and organisational change. She was previously European Director and Head of Employee Engagement, Diversity and Inclusion for KPMG LLP, the global professional services firm, and before that, was National Campaign Manager for Opportunity Now, one of the UK’s leading employer membership organisations providing benchmarking, research and best practice services to corporates on recruiting, retaining and developing female talent. She is a Trustee on the Board of Relate, the relationship organisation, and an external adviser on diversity and inclusion at the Department for Business Innovation and Skills.

Suzy Firkin

Principal Associate

Former Membership Director at WISE, Suzy works with corporate members to deliver training, advice and support that can help organisations improve diversity in the sector. This includes taking the lead on expanding our Ten steps initiative to encompass practical tools and initiatives that make a real difference to women and their employers.

Suzy has worked as an independent Business Development Advisor and Business Coach via her own consultancy practice and is a chartered chemical engineer with 30 years experience in the engineering and technology sectors. She is a member of the Institute of Chemical Engineers and an Associate Member of the Association for Coaching.

An energetic believer in the WISE classroom to boardroom mission, Suzy works in schools via the IChemE’s “Whynotchemeng?” programme, as a mentor to support young female undergraduates at the University of Derby and in companies at board level to influence the promotion of female talent.