Today is Ada Lovelace Day and all over the world, people are honoring and remembering women in science, technology, engineering and maths.
The three who are very much ‘front of mind’ for me this week are (clockwise from top left) Vivs Long-Ferguson, Roxanne Persaud and Charlotte Britton.
Vivs, Roxanne and Charlotte have been instrumental in building and sustaining the wonderful entity that is the RSA Digital Engagement Working Group (#RSAde for short). RSAde was set up as a working sub-group of the RSA Fellowship Council on 15 December 2009 (minutes). Intially, all groups were jointly-led. I convened the group on behalf of Fellows, Vivs on behalf of RSA staff.
The group’s original title was “Fellowship – supporting, connecting, mapping, developing specialist networks, new events”. This was a large and unwieldy brief, and we soon began to focus on digital engagement as the key way to enable connectivity and collaboration between fellows.
As staff co-covenor, Vivs was intrinsic in driving RSAde forward. Her deep experience of the RSA combined with her passion for digital, social technologies and high emotional intelligence earned her the title of “RSAde Midwife”.
As a lifelong fellow, Roxanne has been Queen Agitator, questioning everything, challenging preconceptions and, on a more practical level, providing technical expertise and knowhow where it matters.
Charlotte has brought invaluable consultancy experience to the table. Her no-nonsense approach is backed by a decade in online/ digital marketing. She has an uncommon ability to combine third sector understanding with a business-savvy mindset.
Without the three of you, there wouldn’t be a vibrant #RSAde. Thanks for making it happen!
