A group of women aged 34-55 playing football

Our Governance

Women in Sport believes sport transforms lives

It can give girls and women resilience, courage, self-belief and a sense of belonging.

so our vision is that:

No-one is excluded from the joy, fulfilment and lifelong benefits of sport.

Our Board of Trustees, who are responsible for ensuring that the charity fulfils its objectives, also support us to work towards this vision.

Meet them here:

Meet our Board

Our chair, Julia Newton

Julia Newton

Chair, Governance and Nominations Committee
Our chair, Julia Newton

Julia Newton

Chair, Governance and Nominations Committee

Julia is currently chair of GB Taekwondo, where she has been a champion of female athletes and she will continue her role there alongside her position at Women in Sport until the end of her term.

Julia started her career at Nike in the U.S before co-founding sports marketing agency, Shine Communications. Over 15 years she helped grow Shine from a team of two to more than eighty, and worked with global sports brands including: Dunlop, Slazenger, Puma, and Reebok. Julia also set up the charity, the Rural Refugee Network, which has worked both regionally and nationally to resettle refugees from Syria and other war-torn regions in rural parts of the UK.

Steven, a white man with dark brown hair and a beard, smiling

Dr Steven Mann

Finance and Audit Committee, Governance and Nominations Committee
Steven, a white man with dark brown hair and a beard, smiling

Dr Steven Mann

Finance and Audit Committee, Governance and Nominations Committee

Dr Steven Mann is a Director at international sports consultancy 4GLOBAL where he’s responsible for working with governments, cities, and NGOs. Previously Steven worked as the Healthy Communities Director at Places Leisure and was also Research Director at UK Active.

Steven has led on a number of large-scale evaluation and research studies, having developed and led the UK Active Research Institute that aims to generate knowledge, identify and promote best practice, and establish a reliable evidence base of what works in getting more people active.

He has been at Trustee at Women in Sport since February 2019.

Sophie, a white woman with short curly hair, smiling

Sophie Power

Finance and Audit Committee (Chair)
Sophie, a white woman with short curly hair, smiling

Sophie Power

Finance and Audit Committee (Chair)

British ultra-runner Sophie Power became a household name in 2019, after a photo of her breastfeeding her 3-month-old baby at an aid station of the 106-mile Ultra-Trail du Mont Blanc went viral. Power, who started running in 2009, finished the UTMB in just under 44 hours, and has also run several of the world’s most famous ultra-races including the Marathon des Sables across the Sahara and the 153-mile, non-stop Spartathlon in Greece. With a career in finance and as a tech entrepreneur, as well as being mother to two boys, Sophie is hugely passionate about ensuring women are able to set aside time for their own fitness and mental health.

“I’m excited and honoured to be joining Women in Sport,” says Sophie Power.  “Sport has such huge benefits not for not only our physical but also our mental health.  More than ever now we need to increase the support and opportunity for women to participate in sport – at every level, in every form and at every time of their lives.”

Sue Wicks

Vice Chair (and Senior Independent Director), Governance and Nominations Committee

Sue Wicks

Vice Chair (and Senior Independent Director), Governance and Nominations Committee

Sue Wicks is Director of Soccer Aid at UNICEF UK and sits on our Governance and Nominations Committee.

Sue, who joined the Women in Sport board in 2016, has been involved in grant making for over 15 years and has worked for V, the youth volunteering charity, the Big Lottery Fund, the Charity Commission and Comic Relief. Before taking on her current role at UNICEF UK, she was Director of Partnerships for the British Red Cross.

She is also on the Advisory Board for Beyond Sport.

Photo of Kuldeep, a south asian woman with long black hair

Kuldeep Kaur

Finance and Audit Committee
Photo of Kuldeep, a south asian woman with long black hair

Kuldeep Kaur

Finance and Audit Committee

Kuldeep Kaur is Finance and Operations Director at England and GB Hockey where she has is responsible for finance, people, legal, governance, data and technology alongside leading the momentum behind equality, diversity and inclusion across the sport.

Kuldeep has spent over 12 years working in team sports, taking on various leadership roles to introduce finance and strategy partnering to support decision making. Her work in the industry has spanned rugby and hockey, where she has also served to champion and coach both female and diverse leaders.

Polly Neate CBE

Polly Neate CBE

Trustee
Polly Neate CBE

Polly Neate CBE

Trustee

Polly is CEO of Shelter, the charity that defends the right to a safe home. She is a prominent media commentator and speaker on social justice, housing and homelessness, leadership, feminism and women’s issues, on platforms ranging from the Oxford Union to the first Women’s March London.

She was previously CEO of Women’s Aid and, before that, Executive Director at Action for Children, and has spent many years both campaigning publicly and influencing at the highest levels of government.

She is also a trustee of Women in Sport and the Young Women’s Trust, a member of Bayes Business School Global Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Council, and non-executive director of Wessex Local Medical Committees. She is part of the Founding Group of A Better Way Network and of the Charity Reform Group.

Brian Moore

Brian Moore

Trustee
Brian Moore

Brian Moore

Trustee

A renowned sports commentator and former England rugby union player, Brian Moore is passionate about furthering the development of sport for women and girls.

A trained solicitor, Brian provided expertise to many charitable causes as former chair of the Ready charity, giving disabled young people opportunities is sport and as an ambassador for the NSPCC.

He also sat on the committee that produced the Duty of Care Independent Report. Last year Brian was awarded an MSc in Psychology from Westminster University.

Yama Otung

Yama Otung

Trustee
Yama Otung

Yama Otung

Trustee

Yama Otung is a sports lawyer and Head of Dispute Resolution at Livida Sport, where she helps athletes and players across a range of sports navigate complex and time-critical disputes.

With a background in media law, Yama has many years’ experience in the sports industry championing the rights of athletes. Yama was previously a Trustee of Crystal Palace FC’s charitable foundation, and she has has a longstanding passion for serving and supporting marginalised communities and underrepresented voices, having volunteered for charities such as The Baytree Centre for Girls, Trussell Trust (Foodbank) and Age UK.

Our latest governance documents

Please click the drop down to see our Annual Report and Accounts for the last 6 years.

Diversity and Inclusion

We want all sport and exercise to reflect and recognise that women and girls have distinct physicality and needs. So we will champion and promote the diversity of women and girls and include their lived experiences at the forefront of our work, whether insights and research or campaigns and influencing to inspire change. Only then can we create a more equal society where everyone can enjoy the joy, fulfilment and lifelong benefits of sport and exercise.

Diversity and Inclusion at Women in Sport

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Our Beliefs

Find out how we are transforming sport for women and girls through our campaigns, partnerships and projects.

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Our Impact

Women in Sport’s vision is that no one is excluded from the joy, fulfilment and lifelong benefits of sport. Yet all too often, women and girls are still missing out.