Forty Years On Anniversary Weekend Speaker Biographies

Welcome

09:45 – 10:00 | The McCrum Lecture Theatre

Jenny Raine (2020) is a Fellow and the Bursar of Corpus. Jenny and her team manage all the financial and operational aspects of the College.  One of her main focusses is developing the College’s buildings and infrastructure to make sure they are fit for purpose, accessible to all and that the College will in time be able to move to sustainable sources of heating. 

Rachel Lawson (2021) is a Fellow and Director of Development & Alumni Relations at Corpus. Rachel and her team deliver events, publications, and communications to keep the Corpus community engaged with their College and connected to each other.
 
 

Who Said We Weren’t There? Women in Tech on Women in Tech

10:15 – 11:00 | The Harley Mason Room

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Caroline Bassett (2020, English) is a Fellow, Tutor Postgraduate Admissions (Arts/Humanities) and Director of Studies (English) at Corpus. Her current research interests include science fiction and technological futures, media archaeology and digital methods, automation and AI. Books she has written include the Arc and the Machine: Narrative and New Media and Furious, a co-authored monograph on feminism, gender, and digital worlds. Caroline is Professor of Digital Humanities and Director of Cambridge Digital Humanites at the University.

Speakers

Shazurawati Abd Karim (1993, Engineering) is Chief Executive Officer/Executive Vice President of TM One, a Malaysian company aiming to humanise technology and make it accessible to all Malaysians in a sustainable manner. Over the last 20 years, she has held various leadership roles across multiple domains within the TM Group, including Vice President, Technology, and Innovation.

Jessica Figueras (1991, English) is Chief Executive of cybersecurity consultancy Pionen, Vice Chair of Trustees of the UK Cyber Security Council, and a non-executive director at data services company Pivotl. In 2023 she co-founded the CxB (Cyber Governance for Boards) network to support non-executive directors in strengthening board oversight of cybersecurity. As a strategist specialising in digital trust, cybersecurity, and the role of tech in civil society, she has advised UK government on technology and policy issues relating to cyber crime and online safety. 

Veronica Rogers (1995, Economics) is a Fellow of Stanford University Distinguished Careers Institute. Most recently Veronica was SVP of Global Sales and Operations for PlayStation, Sony Interactive Entertainment, holding combined responsibility as Chief Revenue and Operations Officer, responsible for $25 Billion dollars of annual global revenue and teams in over 40 countries, including PlayStation’s digital subscription platform PlayStation Plus with over 45 million subscribers globally (top 10 subscriptions platforms globally). In addition, Veronica held a number of executive roles in tech at Microsoft, Dell Technologies and Trilogy Software. 
 
 

Shaping Conversations: Women’s Voices in Film, Television and the Media 

10:15 – 11:00 | The Corpus Playroom

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Sarah Fine (2009, Philosophy) is a Fellow and Director of Studies in Philosophy at Corpus. Her research interests are in social and political philosophy (including the history of social and political philosophy) and ethics, specialising in issues related to migration, borders, and citizenship, as well as methodology in political philosophy. Sarah is also a University Associate Professor of Philosophy in the Faculty of Philosophy.

Speakers

Kenza Bryan (2013, History) is a climate reporter for the Financial Times in London. Previously she reported on foreign and consumer news for The Times and The Sunday Times, before following the money behind tropical deforestation in the Congo Basin and Brazil for Global Witness.

Helen Veale (1989, History) is Co-Founder of Outline Productions, an independent TV production company creating factual entertainment series such as Sarah Beeney’s New Life in the Country and Remarkable Places to Eat. She has served on the Edinburgh TV Festival Advisory Committee, the Cultural Diversity Network Industry Steering Group, and Project Diamond Advisory Panel. Helen won the 2010 Last Laugh stand-up comedy contest at the TV Festival.

Claudia Yusef (2002, English) was most recently a Commissioning Executive at BBC Film, where she was previously Head of Development. Prior to the BBC, Claudia was Head of Development at Number 9 Films and a Talent Development Executive at Scottish Film Talent Network. She is known for her work on The End We Start From (2023), The Mauritanian (2021) and Supernova (2020).

Empowering Women to Make Informed Choices About Their Health

10:15 – 11:00 | The New Common Room (NCR)

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Nirupa Desai (2022, Natural Sciences and Medicine) is an Early-Career Research Fellow at Corpus, studying the molecular mechanisms of telomere maintenance with a particular interest in aberrations associated with malignancy. Nirupa is also an Honorary Consultant Haematologist at Addenbooke’s Hospital and a Wellcome Trust Clinical Research Career Development Fellow.

Speakers

Judith Mohring (1992, Medical Sciences) is a Consultant Psychiatrist. Her career in mental health spans over 20 years in settings including the NHS, prison services and primary care. She is an expert in the emerging field of lifestyle psychiatry and evidence-based wellbeing having pioneered this approach in her City and Harley Street practice.

Ravindhi Murphy (2002, Medicine) is a Consultant in Medical Oncology at Chelsea and Westminster Hospital NHS Foundation Trust, where she specialises in lower gastrointestinal medical oncology. She previously held a research fellowship at the Institute of Cancer Research and was a Scientific Advisor for Arterial Capital Management. Ravindhi is also a Medical Advisor to the Centre for Drug Development at Cancer Research UK.

Annabel Wood (1998, Medicine) has been a GP partner at Nuffield Road Medical Centre, Cambridge, for 14 years. She teaches primary care to medical students and is a GP trainer. Her special clinical interests include diabetes, care home medicine and prescribing. Her greatest achievements are her two children and completing the Great North Run!

Improving Equality for Women in Finance and Business

11:15 – 12:00 | The Harley Mason Room

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Jenny Raine (2020) is the Bursar and a Fellow of Corpus. She was previously Bursar of Newnham College and was Finance Director and CEO in several NHS Trusts. Jenny is a Trustee of Red Balloon Educational Trust.

Speakers

Nina Bhatia (1984, Law) is Executive Director, Strategy & Commercial Development at the John Lewis Partnership and Non-Executive Director at Domestic & General. She previously worked at Centrica, where she established Hive, the smart home device. 

Hazel Moore (1987, Natural Sciences) is Co-Founder and Chairman of FirstCapital, which is an investment bank specialising advising in technology companies. She began her career as a research engineer before moving into financial services as an equity analyst at WI Carr in Hong Kong, before setting up FirstCapital. She is also a Non-Executive Director of British Patent Capital.

Check Warner (2009, English) is Co-Founder and Partner of Ada Ventures, which funds UK technology companies across climate equity, healthy ageing, and economic empowerment. Her career began in marketing before she pivoted to venture capital. Check also writes for Forbes, covering venture capital and entrepreneurship as well as being a Co-Founder and CEO of non-profit, Diversity VC. 

Sophia Whitbread (2001, Classics) was most recently Portfolio Manager, Emerging Market Equities at Brook Asset Management. Aside from a brief period at Baillie Gifford, Sophia’s career prior Brook Asset Management was spent at Newton Investment Management. Sophia is currently Senior Analyst at Ninety One with responsibility for the financial sector on a global basis.

Celebrating the Rich Content of Women Authors

11:15 – 12:00 | The New Common Room (NCR)

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Marina Frasca-Spada (2007, Philosophy) is a Fellow, Senior Tutor, and Director of Studies in History and Philosophy of Science at Corpus. Her current research interests and teaching include issues in metaphysics, philosophy of science, modern aesthetic, ethical issues relating to AI, and eighteenth-century studies, as well as her specialty in the history of modern philosophy (from Descartes to Kant). Marina is also an Affiliated Lecturer in the Faculty of Philosophy and in the Department of History and Philosophy of Science.

Speakers

Katie Allen (1998, Modern and Medieval Languages) is an author and former journalist. Her debut novel, Everything Happens for a Reason will be followed next year by Happy is the One. Katie was previously a journalist for the Guardian and Observer newspapers covering business news, media and economics (including the Brexit referendum build-up and aftermath).

Gytha Lodge (2002, English) is the Sunday Times bestselling author of the Jonah Sheens series, the first of which was a Richard and a Judy Book Club Pick and has sold into fourteen languages so far. She is also a playwright, video game writer, and as a former global content marketer, runs workshops for authors on how to pitch and market their work.
Sarah Mitchell (1985, Law) is an author and former barrister. She practised as a barrister for 20 years in the field of human rights and European Law before writing her first novel, The Lost Letters. Three more novels have followed, most recently Letters to a Stranger in 2023. 

Emma Wilson (1995, Modern and Medieval Languages and Linguistics) is a Fellow, Director of Studies in Modern and Medieval Languages, Welfare Tutor, Tutor, and Harassment Officer at Corpus. Her research interests include contemporary film, the visual arts, modern French literature, and gender. Emma is also a Professor of French Literature and Visual Arts in the Faculty of Modern and Medieval Languages and Linguistics at the University.

 

Forty Years of Women Oral History Project 

11:15 – 12:00 | Room I4

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Genny Silvanus has been involved in archives for over 20 years, including working in local government, university, school, and college archives. The subject of her PhD, ‘Openness, Privacy and Archives in the Public Domain’, was particularly useful preparation for this oral history project. In her spare time, she is a Brownie Leader and enjoys growing vegetables at her allotment which her daughters refuse to eat.

Alex Bird (2022, English) is originally from South-East London. Her love of musicality often informs her academic writing: she is Vice-President of Steel Pans Society, a student representative for the Centre for Music Performance, and has started organising Soul music nights within College. Outside of literature and music, Alex is a first-dan black belt in Taekwondo and competes for the University's team. 

Serika Siriwardhana (2022, HSPS) is a current undergraduate student at Corpus Christi College.
 
Lottie Wells (2020, Anglo-Saxon, Norse and Celtic) is an MPhil Student in the Department of Anglo-Saxon, Norse and Celtic. Her research focuses on early medieval manuscripts coming from England before the Norman Conquest, analysing book culture and their practical usage, with a particular specialism in manuscripts containing early musical notation. Lottie has been a member of Corpus Christi since beginning her undergraduate degree in the department of A.S.N.C. in 2020 and is a soprano in the chapel choir.
 
 

Women Forging Change Across the World

13:00 – 13:45 | The McCrum Lecture Theatre

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Shruti Kapila (2007, History) is a Fellow, Director of Studies in History, Tutor, and Race & Equalities Champion at Corpus. Her primary areas of research are modern and contemporary India (1770 to the present), global political thought, the history of modern science and race, gender and political violence. Shruti is also Professor of History and Politics in the Faculty of History at the University. Beyond the university, she co-convenes a closed-door seminar at the House of Lords that puts Indian leaders and key voices in dialogue with their British counterparts on pressing issues of the day, and occasionally advises and consults with the Foreign and Commonwealth Office and Indian institutions.
Speakers

Cat Davison (2006, Philosophy) is the Founder of EduSpots, a non-profit which connects, trains, and equips 300 local changemakers to drive community-led change through 50 education spaces named ‘Spots’ in Ghana and Kenya. Cat was the founding Director of the Institute of Service and Partnerships at Sevenoaks School, developing replicable models for social entrepreneurship, community engagement, and partnerships development in education, leading to selection as a finalist for the 2021 Global Teacher Prize.

Nina Jeffs (2016, HSPS) is an Academy Associate in the Environment and Society Programme at Chatham House, where she contributes to research and public engagement relating to inclusive climate policy. Nina was Women4Climate Programme Manager at C40 Cities, working with cities across five continents on women's climate leadership and inclusive climate action. Nina has worked on the intersection of climate change and gender and social equality in grassroots organizations as well as at UN Women and the UN Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights. 

Despina Spanou (1995, Law) is Head of the Cabinet of the Vice-President of the European Commission (EC) in Brussels, overseeing the European Union’s policies on security, migration and asylum, health, skills, education, culture, and sports. She has worked at the EC for more than 20 years in several senior roles, including Director for Digital Society, Trust and Cybersecurity, and Director for Consumer Policy at the Directorate-General for Justice & Consumers.

Keynote Speech - Inspire Inclusion with Baroness Willis of Summertown

17:00 - 18:00 | The McCrum Lecture Theatre

Baroness Willis of Summertown CBE, FGS, FRSB, FLS (1986, Natural Sciences) is a British biologist, academic and life peer. Previous roles include Director of Science at the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew, and a member of the UK Government’s Natural Capital Committee. Her research falls into two categories. First, she aims to understand how plant biodiversity responds, over time and space, from years to millions of years and from local to global scales, to climate change and other environmental drivers. Second, she researches the flow and extent of critical ecosystem services that we obtain from plant biodiversity, such as the drawn-down of atmospheric CO₂, flood risk protection, clean water, soil erosion protection, and important spaces for enhancing physical and mental well-being. She is internationally recognised for her work on these topics and has led a number of initiatives to assimilate global knowledge on plant (and fungal) biodiversity change while in her role at Kew including State of the World’s Plants (2016, 2017), State of the World’s Fungi (2018) and more recently as a lead author on the 2019 Global Assessment of Biodiversity for the Intergovernmental Panel on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services. She is currently Professor of Biodiversity in the Department of Biology and the Principal of St Edmund Hall, University of Oxford.