Paula Manley – Project Manager

Paula has managed the Women Making a Difference project since its inception in 2005. She designed and developed the WMAD programme for women, which is now recognised as being a model of best practice in Wales for educating and empowering women to become more active leaders in their local communities and decision makers in public and political life. Paula has previously been responsible for developing and growing a number of equalities projects in both the statutory and voluntary sectors in Wales. The highlight of her career was being sponsored by the Welsh Government to represent Welsh Women's NGOs at the 2010 United Nations Convention on the Status of Women. In 2013 Paula was shortlisted for the Women in Leadership Award in the Leading Wales Awards in recognition for the 800+ women she has empowered through the WMAD project.

Sarah Rees – Strategic Development Officer

Sarah joined the WMAD team in 2012 to work on the strategic direction of the project. She first learned about Women Making a Difference in 2010 whilst working for the British Council and has participated in the full programme. She says that participating in the courses helped her to become Brach Organiser for the PCS British Council branch and achieve a place as an International Rotary Scholar where she spent 6 weeks in the Philippines. Sarah has worked in training organisations during her career including The Thomson Foundation, training young people from across the globe in media and development. The highlight of working at WMAD for Sarah is seeing the journey that the women go on during the training and making friends with some of these inspirational women.

Amy Preece – Project Co-ordinator

Amy joined Women Making a Difference in 2012 as a temp for a week and has never left! She now manages the office and co-ordinates the project, making sure that everything runs smoothly. She is originally from Wales but travelled extensively after graduating University, working as a tour guide across Europe. Travel is still very much her passion and she's always planning another trip to see more of the world. Amy uses her background in Auditing to manage all the finances for the WMAD project and also takes great care of all of the wonderful volunteers who help with our work. Amy's highlight is that she has met some amazing people since settling back in Wales – all through Women Making a Difference.

Rachel Griffiths – Administration Assistant

Rachel recently joined the Women Making a Difference team in April this year, assisting with the administration side of the project. After graduating from Cardiff Metropolitan University in 2012 with a Psychology degree, Rachel was volunteering for Women's Aid in a women's refuge. She says this is what inspired her to find a full time job helping women. Since graduating she enjoys catching up with old friends and keeping fit and is currently looking into Universities and courses to study a Master's degree.