UK Board of Trustees

Kirstine szifris 

Linda baines
Kirstine is a Research Associate at the Policy Evaluation and Research Unit, Manchester Met with a focus
on developing research projects that are both academically meaningful and practitioner relevant.
Linda is Chair of our board. She an independent post-doctoral researcher, and a visiting researcher at Southampton Business School (SBS), University of Southampton. She completed her PhD at SBS in March 2016.   In a previous life, Linda worked as a senior manager in the public sector, most recently in the research councils (which fund postgraduate research in the UK and run science and technology facilities).  Linda is an experienced trustee and mentor, and loves books, reading, walking, serendipity and her family.

Catherine Sullivan

chloë Reeves
Catherine is a chartered accountant with over 10 years post qualified experience, entirely in the charity sector.  She spent 18 months working as Head of Finance for Farm Africa, who work in sub-Saharan Africa (principally in Ethiopia, Kenya and Tanzania) and from 2001 to 2003 was a VSO volunteer in rural Uganda, working in a girls' school.
Chloë is Director at London Road Policy and Projects, an organisation providing expert research and policy analysis with a particular focus on health and social care and a Winston Churchill Travelling Fellow 2018 with over 10 years of research & project management experience. She bring expertise in policy and advocacy to the board.

Joanne Nakakawa-Hampson

Sophie Rowson
Joanne grew-up in Kampala, Uganda. She now lives in Bristol, UK and has delivered projects supporting young people in the UK and Uganda. She has used her own experiences of menstruation and poverty to advise Irise International since the organisation was founded and recently joined the board as a trustee. You can read about her expereinces of menstruation, education and poverty here.
Sophie joined the board as Irise's first young trustee. She sucessfully completed Irise's Agent of Change program in 2018 and is currently working as an Interdisciplinary Research Support Assistant at the University of Sheffield. 
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falguni raja

Falguni is a highly experienced leader and clinician with over 20 years success of delivering positive outcomes, working in the public and private sector. She brings experience in programme management, complex operational and change management, transformation, performance improvement, business process redesign, commissioning and business intelligence. Falguni is enthusiastic about reducing inequalities and actively involved in working with diverse communities to improve services for the local population.

Executive Team

Emily Wilson-CEO

Calum Smith- Head of Operations
Emily is a Co-founder and CEO of Irise International. She is also an Honorary Research Fellow at the University of Sheffield and expert in menstrual health. Follow her @emswsmith

Calum has degrees in International Health and Medicine from the University of Bristol and has experience working in Nepal, Uganda and Kenya looking at issues related to global health inequalities.
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izela Barlow- irise uganda country manager

Izela previously worked as National Director of Agency for Cultural Change Management. A UK based Charitable Organisation addressing FGM, Domestic Violence and Community Health and Development Communication Programmes. She brings experience of community engagement and empowerment to the issue of menstrual health.
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Uganda Board

Jamila Nabafu

Jamila studied medicine at Makere University and graduated as the most outstanding student in her year. She is now a resident doctor at Aga Khan University Hopsital. Her experiences seeking medical advice as a young woman and of working in a male dominated profession have compelled her to work for a society where men and women enjoy equal opportunity.

Rose Nakame

Rose is a qualified nurse who has conducted research on how dysmenorrhoea affects the academic life of female students. Her own experiences, coming from a poor background, have inspired her to work to reduce the challenges girls’ face along the road to success. Read her blog about her first period here. She is also the CEO of AFRIwaste solutions and Founder and Executive Director of REMI East Africa. She completed a YALI Leadership fellowship in 2016 and is currently completing a Masters in public health with the University of Manchester. 
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Regina Ndagire

Regina is Deputy Head of the Health Department of the Buganda Kingdom. She has been volunteering with a local Women’s Initiative in her village since she was a teenager and her experiences have challenged her to do more to reach out to disadvantaged communities and adolescents.

Board of Advisors

Professor Steven Julious

Steven is a Professor of Medical Statistics at ScHARR, the School of Health and Related Research at The University of Sheffield. He works with us and advises us on our research in addition to the other work that we do.

Dr Lata Narayanaswamy

Lata is a Lecturer in International Development at The University of Leeds. Since 2001 she has worked as a research practitioner, consultant and lecturer in gender and development. She has published her work in international journals including Development and Change, Narrative Inquiry and Geography Compass and is currently writing a book entitled Gender, Power and Knowledge-for-Development, to be published by Routledge. She is is keen to build awareness of why feminism is still so important in addressing inequality.

Monica Norley

Founder & MD of the UK’s Leading Fairtrade Bath & Body Care Company. National Winner NatWest Venus Awards – Social Entrepreneur of the Year (2013), Winner NatWest Venus Awards – Entrepreneur of the Year (Brighton/Sussex 2013), Winner East Sussex Women in Business Awards – Green Business of the Year (2011), Winner 1066 Business Awards – Best Start Up (2007). 
We are lucky to have her on board as a business adviser.

Josie Reynolds

Josie is a medical doctor with an interest in global health. She is is an Honorary Research Fellow at the University of Sheffield and has first hand expereince of research and women's healthcare in Madagascar and Uganda. She was a founding board member of Irise International.

Kirsten Thompson

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Kirsten is a medical doctor in the UK with a further degree in medical research. She has an interest in global health with experience of health-care issues in Uganda and Malawi.
Irise is proud to be a partner of Menstrual Hygiene Day