Today, we’re pleased to announce that Emma France is our new Global Development and Strategic Engagement Director. In this newly-created role, Emma—currently our European Director—will lead m2m’s global donor and strategic partnerships strategy, and will also take responsibility for shaping public engagement and policy positions. Reporting to Frank Beadle de Palomo, our Cape Town–based President and CEO, Emma will hold day-to-day responsibility for m2m’s European and North American Resource Mobilisation operations. She will continue to be based in London and will manage a global team spanning three continents and 10 timezones.

“Emma’s passion, skills, and knowledge have underpinned the successful launch and rapid growth of mothers2mothers’ European operations,” said Frank Beadle de Palomo. “As we expand our work to empower women and their families throughout their lives—from preventing mother-to-child transmission of HIV to Early Childhood Development and Adolescent Health—a clear strategy that deepens and broadens existing relationships while forging new partnerships is essential. I look forward to working with Emma to achieve this.”

Emma began her career as a lawyer at international law firm Allen & Overy, before joining m2m in 2011 to establish the organisation’s European operations. Today, m2m Europe raises awareness and revenue in support of m2m’s work across seven African countries. Emma is also a Trustee of the Amnesty International Charitable Trust and has served as a Visiting Fellow at Cass Business School. She has held various board roles at national and local charities, including as Vice-Chair of Amnesty International U.K.

“mothers2mothers helps women thrive by harnessing the power of peer relationships to deliver health and hope for women and their families,“ added Emma France. “Our simple idea of training and employing women to educate and support other women and families on critical health issues is delivering remarkable impact – m2m and our partners reached 1.9m new women, children, adolescents, and men across seven countries in 2016 alone, helping to prevent HIV infection among more than 700,000 infants under two years of age. I’d urge anyone interested in enabling women and their families to thrive to explore how we can partner for even greater impact in the years ahead.”

You can read more about Emma in this short interview with her.

Congratulations Emma!