Maternity rights charity appoints new leader

Birthrights, which advocates for human rights during pregnancy and maternity care, has appointed Hazel Williams, the director of Justice Together, as its new chief executive. 

She succeeds co-chief executives Shanthi Gunesekera and Janaki Mahadevan, who left the charity in July after just over two years to be with their families over the summer.

Mahadevan is continuing her work with Civil Society Consulting, where she is head of togetherness strategy and partnerships.

Williams will join the membership body on 3 November and will be bringing “passionate values-led” leadership to the top job, Birthrights said. 

She has been the director of Justice Together, a national programme that aims to improve anti-racist practice in the migration sector, since May 2020.

Previously she spent three years as the national director at NACCOM, a national network of organisations working to end destitution among migrants. 

Before this she was the director at the Asylum Support Appeals Project, a charity providing access to justice for people seeking asylum, from 2013 to 2017. 

Williams has worked and volunteered in the refugee and humanitarian sector for 17 years overall, in various roles in the UK, Europe and Sudan.

Williams is also currently the chair of the Metropolitan Migration Foundation and a consultant elder with Doulas Without Borders.

Birthrights said Williams will be building on the work set out in its new 10-year strategic framework designed to support long-term, systemic change in maternity care, centring on anti-oppression and the most marginalised communities.

Williams said: “I am delighted to be joining Birthrights, a vital organisation I have admired since its inception. Having the opportunity to work to improve women and birthing people’s access to rights during pregnancy and birth feels like an absolute privilege and a cause I am personally very passionate about. 

“I am looking forward to using my experience of working in the migration sector on campaigns and legal advice services and creating anti-oppressive workplaces in the work being undertaken at Birthrights.”

Birthrights chair Krystal Lashley-Scrivener said: “Hazel impressed us with her deep knowledge of the sector, her empathetic and collaborative leadership style, and her strong, unwavering commitment to anti-oppression. 

“We are confident that she brings the vision, energy and integrity needed to lead Birthrights into its next chapter and we look forward to working with her.”

Tracey Fletcher, interim chief executive at Birthrights, will continue to lead the charity until Williams assumes her permanent post.