Announcing our new trustees

The Cherie Blair Foundation for Women is delighted to announce the appointment of three new Trustees to its Board – Suzanne Ehlers, Francesca Nxedhlana and Winnie Wambugu.

These Trustees will play an instrumental role in the delivery of our new organisational strategy that will see us support one million women to start, sustain and grow businesses by 2030.

Suzanne Ehlers, Executive Director and CEO of USA for UNHCR

Suzanne Ehlers is an established non-profit executive leader with 25+ years of experience serving and connecting global populations including refugees, forcibly displaced people and the stateless. She is currently the Executive Director and CEO of USA for UNHCR where she leads a DC- and NYC-based organization of 80+ staff that amplifies refugee voices whilst engaging millions of Americans in support of the work of UNHCR, the UN Refugee Agency.

Prior to joining USA for UNHCR, Suzanne served as CEO of Malala Fund where she worked closely with co-founders Malala and Ziauddin Yousafzai to create a world where all girls can pursue twelve years of free, safe and high-quality education.

Before joining Malala Fund, Suzanne was President and CEO of PAI, a global advocacy organization that Suzanne transformed into a sector leader in the protection and promotion of the sexual and reproductive health and rights of women and girls.

Suzanne’s hallmark as a leader is the transformation, scaling and growth of mission-driven enterprises. She is a systems thinker with a background in grant-making, bringing a global and inclusive perspective to the most challenging policy issues of our times. She is energized by relentless and generous networking; connecting the dots between ideas, people and resources; and convening unlikely partners from across fields and sectors to discover new solutions to intractable problems.

Suzanne has held numerous board and advisory positions including with Ibis Reproductive Health, the Latin America Montessori Bilingual public charter school and US Global Leadership Coalition. Suzanne served as a Peace Corps volunteer in the Central African Republic. She holds a Bachelor’s degree in Government from Cornell University. Suzanne grew up in San Antonio, TX, where her immediate and extended family still reside, and currently lives in Washington, DC with her husband and two teenage daughters (and perfect pooch).

“I am delighted to join the Board of Trustees of the Cherie Blair Foundation for Women, powering the global movement of women entrepreneurs and business leaders. Throughout my life and career, I’ve been a champion for women—their human rights, their power, their visibility and influence. I’ve witnessed the transformative power women have in building more just communities and sustainable economies. As the Foundation builds on 15 years of mission-driven work, I can’t wait to contribute my passion and skills to their critical efforts to break down irrational barriers and create a gender-equal future for us all!”

Francesca Nxedhlana, CEO of Khusela Business Intelligence Technologies (KBIT)

Francesca Nxedhlana is a true trailblazer in the intersection of information technology and healthcare systems. With over 40 years of global experience, Francesca has achieved remarkable success as the CEO of KBIT, an award-winning technology enterprise and Systems Integrator in Africa.

Under Francesca’s leadership, KBIT was awarded SAP Africa Partner of the Year. KBIT is  a Value-Added Reseller of global brands such as SAP,  Cisco, Cartrack and Huawei. KBIT’s expansive footprint covers most of English-speaking Africa and is recognized for delivering mission-critical and resilient solutions to its diverse group of customers.

Beyond her impressive professional achievements, Francesca is also a passionate advocate for leveraging technology to create a positive and economic impact to advance sustainable development goals. In addition, she is a dedicated champion for women’s health and dignity, bringing a wealth of experience as an accomplished and seasoned board member.

Francesca’s impressive accomplishments have not gone unnoticed. She has been recognized as a LinkedIn Top Thought Leadership Voice.

Her passion and goal as a self-professed period-dignity-evangelist is to see period dignity enshrined as a human right, and every woman with the means to live with period dignity.

“The first feminist I ever met was my dad. He believed that empowering women was, without question, a force multiplier, so he inculcated the notion of self-sufficiency through education for all his daughters. Those principles have followed and motivated me to this day. I’m honoured to be on the board of an organisation whose mission is centred at my core: The empowerment of women.”

Winnie Wambugu, Partner at Axum

Winnie is a Partner at Axum based in Nairobi, Kenya. She co-leads the implementation team with a focus on rapidly deploying delivery units with top local talent to incubate and support initiatives that solve pressing social challenges and deliver meaningful, sustainable impact across the African continent.

Winnie has worked closely with leaders in the public sector, where she served as an advisor to two Cabinet Ministers in Kenya advising on youth empowerment projects and communication efforts. She has also held leadership positions in the private sector across the African continent and in North America.

Winnie is passionate about mentoring and developing the next generation of homegrown African women leaders.

“I am thrilled to be joining the Cherie Blair Foundation for Women as a Trustee on the Board, helping women worldwide grow successful businesses. As a woman in Africa with experience running a business, I know first-hand what challenges women encounter and the many obstacles they have to navigate. I look forward to leveraging my experience and networks to find creative solutions to help them not only succeed but thrive in their entrepreneurial journey!”

These Trustees’ appointments comes at an exciting time, following the 2023 launch of our pioneering new organisational strategy, ‘Ready for Business’, and the appointment of accomplished charity leader Dhivya O’Connor as our new CEO and of Tanya Joseph as our new Chair. This leadership and strategy will see the Foundation significantly scale up our work to revolutionise business opportunities for one million more women entrepreneurs in low and middle income countries by 2030—the end point of the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals—and rapidly accelerate progress for women across the world.