Ambassadors
Our ambassadors and friends help raise awareness of the vital work that Women and Children First do to support vulnerable women, children and young people.
Anthony Costello
President Emeritus
A renowned international expert on maternal, newborn and child health, Professor Costello is the former Director of the Department of Maternal, Newborn, Child and Adolescent Health at the World Health Organisation.
Having studied at Cambridge University, Anthony trained in paediatrics and neonatology, where he focused on the improvement of women’s and children’s health through community-based, cost effective interventions.
Carol Bradford
Carol has worked in sexual and reproductive health and rights for over thirty years with both country and organisational experience. She specialises in programme design, evaluation, and policy.
Her work in maternal health includes programme and policy work with Options, the White Ribbon Alliance, the PMNCH, and DFID, among others. She has served as Chair of the UK Sexual and Reproductive Health and Rights Network.
Surina Narula
Surina Narula has devoted almost two decades to highlight the plight of street children globally.
An MBA and a Master’s in Social Anthropology at University College London, she has raised large funds for charitable causes through numerous high profile events, combining her commitment to street children with her passion for the arts. Surina was honoured with the Asian of the Year Award in 2005 and with an MBE in 2008.
Vix Leyton
Discovered by Mark Watson on Twitter, Welsh comic Vix Leyton is a natural storyteller with a keen eye for observation, combining warm, whimsical charm with biting wit. Vix is the MC for our Cracking Comedy series of fundraisers, taking part in each show since May 2022.
Her comedy career includes The Comedy Arcade and False Economy podcasts. By day she’s the Head of PR and Content at Pepper.com, AKA ‘hotukdeals’.
Friends
Baroness Amos
Currently Director of SOAS, University of London, Valerie Amos served as Undersecretary General for Humanitarian Affairs and Emergency Relief Coordinator at the UN from 2010-2015.
Baroness Amos went on to become the first black woman to sit in the British cabinet as Secretary of State for International Development. She became Leader of the House of Lords and Lord President of the Council in October 2003.
Professor Lesley Regan
Professor Regan became the 30th President of the Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists in September 2016. Her principal clinical and research interest is in recurrent miscarriage.
At Imperial she is Deputy Head of Surgery and Cancer, chair of the Equality and Diversity Committee, Director of Women’s Health Research Centre and co-director of the UK pregnancy Baby Bio Bank (BBB). She currently chairs the National Confidential Enquiry into Patient Outcome and Death.
Baroness Massey of Darwen
A former teacher and education advisor, Baroness Doreen Massey was the Director of the Family Planning Association from 1989 to 1994.
She was made a Life Peer of Darwen in the County of Lancashire in 1999 and has worked in the House of Lords as member of the All-Party Parliamentary Group for Integrated and Complementary Healthcare.
Juliet Stevenson
Juliet Stevenson is one of the most respected actors of her generation. Having studied at RADA, she started her stage career in the early 1980s with the Royal Shakespeare Company.
Juliet made her name in films in 1991 playing Nina opposite Alan Rickman in Truly, Madly, Deeply, a performance that won her the Evening Standard Film Award for Best Actress. A committed supporter of women’s issues and rights, Juliet became a Patron of Women and Children First in March 2011.
Kathy Lette
A supporter of the White Ribbon Alliance for Safe Motherhood, Kathy divides her time between being a full-time writer and mother.
After several years as a singer with the Salami Sisters and working as a newspaper columnist in Sydney and New York and a television sitcom writer for Columbia Pictures in Los Angeles, her ten novels became international best-sellers.
In memory of Baroness Afshar of Heslington (1944-2022), former Patron of Women and Children First
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Registered Charity No. 1085096
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