The Vavengers New CEO; Sema Gornall

We are at an exciting moment in our organisational life. In the past two years, The Vavengers has taken monumental leaps and strides, namely running one of the 13 projects selected by the Home Office to address Domestic Abuse in the Covid-19 pandemic. In response to the increasing need and demand for our work, we are now looking at restructuring our charity to expand.

At the same time, our first CEO and Co-Founder, Mabel Evans, after a term of 8 years (2 as a registered charity) has decided to move to the board to guide the charity towards maturity. Mabel will continue to be involved with The Vavengers as Founding Chair of the Board, alongside Hoda Ali who has moved to the Founding Trustee position. Sema Gornall has been appointed CEO to take the charity forward during this next stage of development.

Sema, Mabel & Hoda will work together, alongside the board of trustees and team to act as key ambassadors for The Vavengers as well as influence and create a productive, supportive, and collaborative environment for the team to continue their work. 

“When women rise, we all rise”

Sema and Mabel immediately connected due to their shared desire to create systemic change for women, particularly those facing multiple forms of oppression. With Sema’s experience in strategic development and charity growth and Mabel & Hoda’s shared work spanning seven years within the campaign, this power trio will be unstoppable and uniquely positioned to continue to engage multiple sectors and participants in our events, community outreach projects and campaigns. 

What now?

Mabel, being a talented filmmaker and an activist, has decided to focus on continuing to create impact and awareness through her art by creating films. She is currently producing her first feature documentary about two young female activists in Sierra Leone, the young women are building an underground community to question and ultimately end FGM in a country where 90% of women go through the practice. 

Her most recent short film ‘5 Stars’ was selected as part of the BFI London Film Festival, the story follows a young south-east Asian woman across three London Uber journeys, she explains who she is to people who have already made their mind up. The film is a poignant exploration of cultural lines and the desire for connection. 

Looking forward, Mabel will continue to create films that seek to challenge mainstream narratives, create waves and ripples of social change and contribute to the platforming of underrepresented stories. 

Meet Sema

We are excited to announce our new CEO, Sema Gornall, a serial entrepreneur, the woman who often gets labelled as “the troublemaker” for her tireless efforts of leading change. Sema comes to The Vavengers with a wealth of knowledge and passion as she has exclusively worked at non-profits and businesses that had social impact missions throughout her career.

Sema said “My plans for The Vavengers is to design a non-profit model that includes and supports everyone. Violence against girls and women and FGM/C are the whole world’s concerns and shouldn’t be blamed on any culture or religion. The Vavengers has an incredible foundation with support lines we cannot afford not to make available globally. 

Through high impact campaigns of The Vavengers, my most important objective is to achieve a reality where having choices isn’t a luxury for girls and women. As a woman who grew up in a patriarchal society that presented not too many choices for women, I am proud to be working towards a reality where women are valued and everyone is empowered regardless of their gender."

We hope you will join us as we continue to fight for the rights and wellbeing of girls and women. Please follow us on social media, share our work and come to our events. 

It is only with the support of our partners, funders and all of you that we can carry out our work. If you would like to learn more about our projects/get involved or contribute to our organisation please email info@thevavengers.co.uk 

Thank you for reading and to continue supporting us on our journey, please visit our supporter page.