Maria Eitel, Chair of the Board of Trustees, said:

“We are delighted to be welcoming Jess to lead the next exciting chapter of Girl Effect – she is an inspiring leader with a unique track record of leading a grassroots organisation to scale. She truly understands the reality of what it means to tackle the social norms that surround girls in challenging situations around the world. At Girl Effect we’re accelerating our focus on digital, media and technology to create measurable change in girls’ lives – with new partners such as Vodafone Foundation. The Board of Trustees and I couldn’t be more excited to entrust this transformative organisation in Jess’s hands.”

Jess co-founded Shining Hope for Communities (SHOFCO) and is an internationally recognised social entrepreneur. Based in Kenya, SHOFCO catalyses large-scale transformation in urban slums by providing critical services, community advocacy platforms, education and leadership development for girls and women. In August this year, SHOFCO received the Conrad N. Hilton Humanitarian Prize – the world’s largest annual humanitarian award presented to non-profit organisations judged to have made extraordinary contributions toward alleviating human suffering. Jess is also a New York Times best-selling author and winner of the David Rockefeller Bridging Leadership Award (2016).

On her appointment, Jess Posner Odede said:

“I am thrilled to be joining the passionate and dedicated team at Girl Effect, an organisation that truly understands girls and their power to change the world. Girl Effect leverages the power of insights and innovation to empower and enable girls and their communities to change their own lives. I look forward to combining my own experience of this approach with the great talent and important partners already existing at Girl Effect.”

Jess will be starting at Girl Effect in February 2019.

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