WAGGGS is governed by a World Board made up of active Girl Guiding and Girl Scouting members from around the world.
The World Board consists of 17 voting members: 12 are elected by Member Organisations at the World Conference for a term of six years, and the five Chairs of the Regional Committees are elected at their respective Regional Conferences and serve for three years. So far as practicable, the World Board should have a minimum of two women under the age of thirty at their time of election.
The WAGGGS World Board has overall responsibility for the direction, strategy, governance and control of the organisation and is collectively accountable for compliance with relevant UK legislative and regulatory requirements.
The World Board is supported in its work by a number of Committees and Working Groups to which it allocates specific duties.
Meet our World Board
Candela Gonzalez (Argentina)
Chair of the World Board, July 2023 - Present
Member of the World Board, July 2021 - Present
Candela is a member of Asociación Guías Argentinas (AGA). Since 2017, she has been serving as a member of the National Board and as Vice President & member of the WAGGGS Governance Committee since 2018. She completed her National Trainer training at AGA and has been a Leader for 8 years.
In a professional capacity, Candela works in the Programmes division at UNICEF Argentina. She holds a bachelor’s degree In International Relations is currently completing a master’s in International Cooperation.
“Guiding has an important role in breaking down social barriers, by telling the stories of girls, and empowering them.
More than ever, Guiding must remain as a relevant space for girls and young women to become fulfilled active citizens who contribute to positive changes in themselves, their communities and the world.”
Fiona Lejosne (France)
Vice Chair of the World Board, July 2023 - Present
Member of the World Board, July 2023 - Present
Fiona is a member of Scoutisme Francais.
Christiane Rouhana (Lebanon)
Vice-Chair of the World Board, July 2023 - Present
Member of the World Board, July 2021 - Present
Christiane never misses a chance to speak about Girl Guiding and Scouting and how much being in the Movement has brought to her life and to herself.
During her 25 years as a volunteer in her National MO, Association des Guides du Liban, Christiane has held a range of leadership roles, most recently as the International Commissioner for 8 years and served the National Board for more than 10. She has had the chance to work at different levels and with all age groups. Her favourite experiences are time spent with members in their groups and units: training, facilitating, playing, speaking and listening. Hence, Christiane’s personal motto is #HereForHer, where she expresses her eagerness to do her part for every girl and woman in the world.
Christiane earned her master’s degree in Clinical and Pathological Psychology in 2005. Since then, she has dedicated herself to providing every stakeholder in a child’s life - parents, educators and children themselves - the tools and knowledge necessary to keep children and families safe and well. She is also a Positive Discipline Instructor for parents and teachers.
In addition to her passion for the Movement, Christiane is an animal lover, avid reader and writer; she enjoys music and traveling, has a deep interest in languages and cultures and cherishes her international friends!
“Any woman, young woman or girl has the potential to be strong, independent and empowered; she can be whatever she wants to be and achieve big things for her and for the world. We need to make sure the world knows that.”
Stefanie Argus (USA)
Member of the World Board and Western Hemisphere Region Committee Chair, July 2022 - Present
Stefanie is a member of Girl Scouts of the USA.
Jess Bond (UK)
Member of the World Board, July 2021 - Present
Jess is a member of Girlguiding UK and was elected to the World Board in July 2021. She has held various roles in her association, including as Brownie and Ranger leader, Trainer, Marketing & Communications adviser, National Council member and National Lead volunteer for youth programmes.
Since attending a seminar at Our Cabana in 2010, Jess has been privileged to hold many roles in WAGGGS. In the Europe region, she was a member of the Core Group for Mentoring & Growth from 2013-16, a Facilitator at the 2016 Regional Conference and a member of several procedural teams for regional conferences and meetings. Most recently, she delivered virtual inductions throughout 2020 & 2021 to new global volunteers, as a member of the WAGGGS Core Mission Volunteer Engagement team.
In her professional life, Jess is a Senior Manager at the London School of Economics and Political Science, leading a team of staff to widen participation to the university for talented students from all backgrounds.
"I’ve seen first-hand the transformative impact of WAGGGS’ educational method - from girls in my local groups taking action in their local community to young women leaders advocating on a global stage. It is the chance to contribute to growing our membership and ensuring the long-term sustainability of WAGGGS which motivated me to stand for election, at a time when I believe our mission is more important than ever".
Fiona Bradley (New Zealand)
Member of the World Board, July 2021 – Present
Fiona is a member of GirlGuiding New Zealand. She has been involved in the Movement at many levels since the age of 5 and was a member of the National Board from 2011-2018.
Fiona has supported the WAGGGS Global Team in various ways: as Vice Chair of the WAGGGS Governance Committee 2018-2020, moving into the Chair role in December 2020, and as the Capacity Building Governance Team Lead since 2019. Previously, Fiona was a Stop the Violence (STV) Facilitator and Voices Against Violence Curriculum Lead.
Fiona has held a range of Board, Committee, and Trustee positions in her community and within her profession as a Pharmacist. She was co-opted as the first Early Career Pharmacist to the National Executive of the Pharmaceutical Society of New Zealand.
Currently a Ranger leader for girls aged 12-17 years in GirlGuiding New Zealand, Fiona is passionate about seeing them take on leadership opportunities. She enjoys taking them into the outdoors for camping, cooking, and hiking.
"I want to see all girls feel empowered and have access to opportunities to grow and develop their leadership skills and, through this, impact their communities."
Monika Dreik (Poland)
Member of the World Board, July 2023 – Present
Chamathya Fernando (Sri Lanka)
Member of the World Board, July 2021 – Present
Chamathya is a member of Sri Lanka Girl Guides Association (SLGGA) and began her Girl Guiding journey at the age of 8. At the age of just 25, Chamathya served on the World Board from September 2018 to July 2020. Once again, she is joining as the youngest member of the current World Board at 28 years old.
Previously, Chamathya was Coordinator of the Stop The Violence Campaign and Global Facilitator/Trainer for the Voices Against Violence non-formal educational curriculum. She was also the Volunteer Project Lead for Motion 32 - Young Women in Governance Research.
Chamathya is a passionate gender equality advocate with 9 years of experience in policy and advocacy work, a journey that started as a WAGGGS Youth Delegate in 2012/13. Recently, she was a member of The Core Group, the key decision-making body for the United Nations Generation Equality Forum which raised 40 billion USD to accelerate progress on gender equality.
In a professional capacity, Chamathya works on standardisation & digitalisation projects in the Marketing division of a global corporation. She is double degree holder in BSc. International Business Management and BA. Economics & Sociology. In 2017, Chamathya was recognised by the US State Department as one of the 10 Global Emerging Young Leaders for her work on empowering girls & young women and advancing gender equality.
Sarah Hammoud (Lebanon)
Member of the World Board and Arab Region Committee Chair, September 2022 - Present
Helga Mutasingwa (Tanzania)
Member of the World Board, July 2023 - Present
Josephine Mwangi (Kenya)
Member of the World Board, July 2023 - Present
Debra Nakatomi (USA)
Member of the World Board, July 2021 - Present
Debra Nakatomi is a lifelong Girl Scout and advocate for gender equity. She served on the Girl Scouts of the USA National Board for 12 years, Board Secretary and 6 years as International Commissioner and Chair of the GSUSA WAGGGS Task Force working to increase capacity and resources. She has served WAGGGS and the Western Hemisphere as a Delegate, on the Diversity Committee and Chair of a WAGGGS and GSUSA Global Roundtable.
Debra leads a firm she founded dedicated to promoting equity & inclusion and advancing social change. She consults with organizations on growth and building resilience toward a sustainable future and is an advisor to CEOs on issues and crisis management. She is dedicated to expanding philanthropy and promoting health and is Trustee and former Chair of The California Wellness Foundation and Advisory Council to Peace Over Violence, dedicated to building healthy relationships free from violence. She is former Chair of the Los Angeles Women’s Foundation and the Asian Pacific Women’s Leadership Institute.
“This is such a critical moment for our movement, and our world. The pandemic has reminded us of our interdependence — in our families, communities, and our global sisterhood.”
Paula Neher (Germany)
Member of the World Board and Europe Regional Committee Chair, July 2022 - Present
Signe Obel (Denmark)
Member of the World Board, July 2023 - Present
Chempaka Emalin Pahamin (Malaysia)
Member of the World Board and Asia-Pacific Region Committee Chair, August 2022 - Present
Faniry Rakotoarivony (Madagascar)
Member of the World Board and Africa Region Committee Chair, August 2022 - Present
Sharrada Segeran (Malaysia)
