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TRUSTEES

Carole Johnson

Chair

Shruthi Venkatachalam

Trustee

Alice Clermont

Trustee

Bonny Chung

Vice Chair

Head and shoulders shot of Clare

Clare Meraz

Trustee

Liz Potter

Trustee

Hannah Stapley-Parker

Trustee

Elahe Karimnia

Trustee

Sophie Peart

Trustee

Emily Johnstone

Trustee

Libby Watson

Trustee

Shoba Ram

Trustee

STAFF

Katy Taylor

Director

Dahlia Von Carolath

Community organiser, Women Together for Change

Troy Tanska

Volunteer and training coordinator

Claire Charras

Communications Coordinator

Eilidh Tannett

Community Hub Co-ordinator

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  • St Paul's Learning Centre
    94 Grosvenor Rd
    Bristol
    BS2 8XJ
  • 07796 433663
  • info@bristolwomensvoice.org.uk
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© 2023 Bristol Women’s Voice, all rights reserved

Carole Johnson

Co-chair

Please check back soon for a full bio.

Shruthi Venkatachalam

Trustee

Shruthi joined the board in August 2023. She recently completed her doctoral studies at the Centre for Gender and Violence Research, School for Policy Studies, University of Bristol.

Her research primarily revolves around feminist disability studies, violence against women, human rights, and theories of power and justice.

She is a professional social worker with experience in various adult and child social care roles in India.

Additionally, she serves as a practitioner coach for value-based leadership training and conducts legal awareness sessions on disability rights and sexuality education for girls with disabilities.

She has also collaborated in creating a training module on disability and disaster risk reduction, with a specific focus on children and adults with disabilities.

Alice Clermont

Trustee

Alice joined Bristol Women’s Voice as a Trustee in 2021, having previously worked with the charity for her Masters dissertation about engaging marginalised women in the policy-making process.

She is passionate about empowering women to speak and be heard, especially those who are least represented when decisions are made.

She works in policy at Sustrans, focusing on equity and inclusion to improve walking, wheeling and cycling for everyone. She is also part of Bristol Women’s Commission Health Task Group, collaborating to influence gendered health priorities across the city.

Bonny Chung

Vice Chair

Bonny joined Bristol Women’s Voice in September 2021 and became vice-Chair in February 2022.

Prior to this, she was Secretary and Deputy Chair of the Driver Vehicle Standards Agency’s (DVSA) Women’s Network where her portfolio focused on period poverty, raising awareness of domestic abuse and launching the menopause charter.

Since taking up the Vice Chair role, she have published an article to raise awareness of Menstrual Hygiene Day, focused on developing BWV’s board culture, and produced a central repository of key diversity dates and board meetings to ensure the Board operates more efficiently.

Outside of BWV, Bonny is a Civil Service delivering much needed funds to North West towns for regeneration and local growth projects. She is involved in a number of Civil Service Diversity and Inclusion networks, which strives to improve outcomes for under-represented groups and promote development opportunities for all.

Head and shoulders shot of Clare

Clare Meraz

Co-chair

Claire first joined Bristol Women’s Voice in 2017 and became co-Chair in 2021. She has previously been a Trustee for Oxfordshire Rape Crisis Centre and Survivors UK, and is passionate about many social and environmental issues, but particularly ending violence against women and girls.

Since taking up the Chair role, she has focused on developing our board culture, building on the legacy of our previous Chair and developing open and honest feedback and debate amongst Trustees.

The board consists of a diverse group of women who have a range of different backgrounds, views and opinions, and do not always agree – diversity of thought usually leads to better decisions and is welcome, as long as conversations are respectful of others.

Outside of BWV, Claire is a HR professional and have worked in several HR roles in the public sector. She has a PhD in American History that looked at gender and community organising in the African American freedom struggle, as well as a Masters in Human Resource Management and an MBA. 

Liz Potter

Trustee

Liz joined the board of trustees for Bristol Women’s Voice in 2021.

Liz is a change management professional and works on large transformation programmes. She is committed to belonging and inclusion and being a voice for positive change in this space.

Hannah Stapley-Parker

Trustee

Hannah joined the team in 2022, driven by a surplus of “feminist energy” and a desire to contribute more of her time to feminist causes.

Born and raised in Bristol, she’s become an active member of the city’s women’s sector, beginning as a trustee with Bristol Women’s Voice.

As a brand and communications leader, she also brings us expertise in that area. She’s an active voice for equality in corporate spaces and additionally, she leads a volunteer team specialising in inclusive communications, supporting other women’s charities in Bristol.

Elahe Karimnia

Trustee

Bio coming soon

Sophie Peart

Trustee

Sophie joined the board in August 2023 and works for Southmead Hospital Charity as the individual giving officer.

She’s also worked in the civil service and for the Harbour Project, a small charity in Swindon which supports refugees and those seeking asylum. It was there that she gained an interest and experience in shaping an inclusive, safe and thriving space for women.

In addition, she studied German and Spanish at the University of Nottingham and completed her Master’s in Identity and Integration at the University of Amsterdam.

Emily Johnstone

Trustee

Emily joined BWV in October 2022. She is a specialist medical negligence solicitor, with a particular focus on women’s health, birth injuries and gynaecological cancers.

She is passionate about improving diversity in the legal profession and has mentored for several university accessibility schemes.

Emily is interested in improving healthcare inequalities faced by women, especially those from marginalised groups.

Libby Watson

Trustee

Joining Bristol Women’s Voice is Libby’s first experience of being a Trustee or in a non-executive role, but it is one that she is hugely excited about. She’s previously volunteered with many charities, including at Horseworld Trust, Marmalade Trust and Avon and Somerset Police as a Special Constable, and continues to volunteer with Re-Engage as a Tea Party Coordinator and driver.

Libby has been a Civil Servant for the past six years, and while in her role founded, and for four years chaired, the Gender Equality Network in her organisation. Libby has also worked in healthcare research in the NHS, and at a corporate dental company. She is really passionate about inclusion and diversity, Gender Equality, and improving the lives of women and girls in Bristol. 

Shoba RAM

Trustee

Bio coming soon

Katy Taylor

Director

Katy joined BWV in November 2020. She has worked in the violence against women & girls sector for 15+ years in practitioner, leadership and consultancy roles. She continues to provide independent consultancy in the specialist women’s sector. 

Dahlia Von Carolath

Community organiser, Women Together for Change

Dahlia joined BWV in January 2022. She has background in grassroot movement building and community organising, immigration law, refugee support and protection. She is a mother of two boys, is passionate about women’s rights, system change and earth protection.

Troy Tanska

Volunteer and training coordinator

Troy has worked in the third sector with many people and communities; for her it’s about connecting people and building change, especially with people experiencing disadvantage.
Being at BWV completes a circle for her – from being at Greenham Common with women in the 80s to stop bombs, to joining women across Bristol to push back against misogyny and rise up – it’s the same movement.

Claire Charras

Communications Coordinator

Claire joined Bristol Women’s Voice in July 2023.  She has been working in communications for the charity sector since 2012 and has been living in Bristol since 2013. 

Eilidh Tannett

Community Hub Co-ordinator

Alongside her role at Bristol Women’s Voice, Eilidh is a care worker for those with complex needs. She delivered legal advice for Citizens Advice Bureau during the pandemic, and has a history of charity and public sector work spanning a range of social issues.