Feminist Voices Profiles

The South African writer and granddaughter of Nelson Mandela, Zoleka Mandela became a road safety activist following the death of her 13-year-old daughter Zenani in a car crash hours after her birthday in 2010. At the forefront of worldwide campaigns for road safety, she believes it is wholly unacceptable that…

As Undersecretary for Economic Affairs and Finance in the office of the Governor of Jakarta, Dr. Sri Haryati assists the city secretary in coordinating economic affairs and finance policies. The former Head of Economic Affairs Bureau (2016-2019), Dr. Haryati has held various managerial positions and played a key role in…

Dr. Sigrid Evelyn Nikutta graduated from Bielefeld University and holds a doctorate in Psychology. She began her career in the management of a medium-sized company in Bielefeld, and joined Deutsche Bahn in 1996. In 2010 she left Deutsche Bahn to become Chairperson and Chief Operating Officer at Germany’s largest public…

Founder of The Barefoot Facilitator, Rehana Moosajee is currently on the Board of ITDP. Her assignments include wellbeing economies, food systems, eco-mobility, place-making and staying connected to nature in rapidly urbanizing contexts. Prior to founding Barefoot, she served on the Mayoral Committee in the City of Johannesburg from 2006-2013.

A fervent Congolese entrepreneur for women’s empowerment, Patricia Nzolantima founded Bizzoly Holdings which has a diverse portfolio with several businesses spanning from taxicabs to Nzolantima’s most recent and revolutionary project, M’Kento bank, Africa’s first digital-only women’s bank. Patricia Nzolantima is carving a path forwomen entrepreneurs, building them custom tools to…

Paola Tapia Salas is the Director of the Metropolitan Public Transport Directorate (DTPM) of Santiago de Chile. As former Minister of Transport and Telecommunications of Chile, she was the first woman to lead this position. She is a university lecturer and member of the Council of Infrastructure Policies of Chile…

Director of the Centre for Democracy and Rule of Law (CEDEM) in Ukraine, Olesia Kholopik is a lawyer with a mission to campaign for safe roads to save lives and to enhance the role of the civil society of Ukraine. She left corporate law to work on such advocacy campaigns…

As Commissioner of Directorate of Urban Land Transport (DULT) and Ex-officio Additional Chief Secretary to Government, Government of Karnataka, Manjula Vinjamuri is one of the most prominent women in the transport sector. She has previously worked in numerous sectors including rural and urban development, energy, education, and training. She also…

Maimunah Mohd Sharif is the Executive Director of the United Nations Human Settlements Programme (UNHabitat). Under her leadership, UN-Habitat is promoting gender-sensitive planning, policies and investment for sustainable, safe and accessible cities for all. Prior to this appointment, Maimunah Mohd Sharif was the Mayor of the City Council of Penang…

Professor of urban and regional planning, Dr. Ma Sheilah Gaabucayan-Napalang was the Director of the National Center for Transportation Studies of the University of the Philippines and Former Assistant Secretary for Planning and Project Development of the Department of Transportation (DOT). She is a core member of Women in Transport…

A feminist urban scholar from Toronto, Canada, Leslie Kern is the author of Feminist City: Claiming Space in a Man-Made World and Gentrification is Inevitable and Other Lies. She holds a PhD in women’s studies from York University. An Associate Professor at Mount Allison University, she also acts as an…

Campaigns and Policy Manager for Wheels for Wellbeing, a disabled people’s cycling organization who campaign for and provide access to cycling through an ethos of mobility justice, Dr. Kay Inckle’s background is in social science, with research interests in intersectional and social justice approaches to mental health and disability. She…

Julie Anne Genter has been a Green Party Member of Parliament in Aotearoa (New Zealand) since 2011, as the Spokesperson for Finance, Transport, Infrastructure, Urban Development, Building & Construction, Energy & Resources, State Owned Enterprises. Former Minister for Women, Associate Minister of Transport & Health (2017-2020).

Architect and urbanist Dr. Eveline Prado Trevisan has worked on urban projects for Belo Horizonte City Council for three decades, coordinating their bicycle mobility program, Pedala BH since 2012. She created the GT Pedala BH in partnership with cyclists, an open, advisory, and leaderless working group that brings together representatives…

A gender-planning expert at the City of Vienna’s Competence Centre Overall Urban Planning, Smart City Strategy, Participation, Gender Planning, Eva Kail is the creator of several role-model initiatives and projects. These include the 1991 exhibition, “Who owns the public space? – Women´s Everyday Life in the City,” which led to…

An expert for sustainable transport, Danawiryya Silaksanti graduated from Trisakti Institute of Transportation and Logistics in Jakarta in 2021. During her studies, she co-authored and published an academic paper on the costs and benefits of the use of shore connections. As an Impact Control Officer at the Indonesian Ministry of…

Head of the Mobility Secretary of the State of Oaxaca, Mexico. Claudina de Gyves Mendoza is an architect focusing on urban planning and sustainable mobility. As co-founder and former general coordinator of Liga Peatonal, she advocated for pedestrians’ rights.

The Mayor of Bogotá and first female and openly lesbian mayor in the Colombian capital’s history, Claudia López Hernández has an emphatic focus on the environmental, social equity and anticorruption agendas. Mayor López was a Senator of the Republic of Colombia between 2014 and 2018 and the vice-presidential candidate in…

As Director of Movin’On LAB Africa (African Mobilities Observatory OMA), Charlène leads the development of initiatives in sustainable mobility and the participation of the Observatory in projects of general interest in Africa. In Côte d’Ivoire, where she is based, this includes close engagement with the local ecosystem, and the Michelin…

A mother of two young children and climate advocate, Anuela Ristani is the Deputy Mayor of Tirana Albania, for Sustainable Development and International Relations. Prior to joining local government, she established the National Youth Service and opened the first youth centers in Albania’s major cities.

A mother of three, chartered civil engineer, and Managing Director of Lagos Metropolitan Area Transport Authority (LAMATA), Enjr. Abimbola Akinajo has made it her mission to turn Lagos, the largest megacity in Africa, into an efficient and safe place to move around – a city where everyone can experience enjoyment…

Lebanese-born Yasmine Al Moghrabi is a Regional Youth Leader, PhD Student in Transportation Engineering (Integrated Intelligent Transportation Systems/Traffic Engineering), and global road safety and climate action activist named one of the top 10% of Changemakers from around the world who have acted in favor of Global Goals.

Co-Founder of Safetipin, Board member at SLOCAT and member of the Advisory Group on Gender Issues at UN Habitat, Dr. Kalpana Viswanath is Chairperson of Jagori and Board member of the International Centre for the Prevention of Crime.

Founder of The Urban Catalysts and Executive Director of C-SEC (Centre for Sustainable and Equitable Cities), Sonal Shah is a multi-sectoral professional with 18 years of experience in catalyzing urban change through action-oriented research, knowledge tools, technical advisory, capacity development, and implementation support. She is passionate about people-oriented cities with…

An environmental planner from Manila, The Philippines, and outspoken advocate for getting women and girls on bikes, Keisha Mayuga is the founder of Life Cycles Philippines, a group dedicated to providing bikes to frontline workers during the COVID-19 pandemic. She is an integral member of Move As One Coalition and…

Naomi Mwaura is the founder of the Flone Initiative, an organization at the forefront of creating a safe and professional public transport industry in Kenya, Naomi Mwaura was also one of the lead organizers of the #MyDressMyChoice campaign that saw thousands of women protest against gender-based violence in Kenyan public…

Co-founder and director of Agile City Partners, Andrea San Gil León was named one of Latin America’s most important female figures working in the transport sector by the Inter-American Development Bank in celebration of International Day of Women and Girls in Science 2021. Andrea is passionate about reducing social vulnerability…

A public policy and regulation expert. As a local congresswoman in the Local Congress of Mexico City, Laura Ballesteros Mancilla led the enactment of the Mobility Law along with civil society organizations and the former Head of Government, Miguel Angel Mancera. As Sub-Minister of Planning in the  Secretariat, Laura Ballesteros…

The co-founder and former CEO of Zipcar, co-founder and Executive Chairperson of Veniam, and current Board Member of  Tucows. Robin Chase is the author of Peers Inc: How People and Platforms are Inventing the Collaborative Economy and Reinventing Capitalism. She has served on the board for countless NGO and government…

A mother, urban planner, and avid cyclist from Nairobi, Kenya, Cyprine Odada is working to transform African cities to cycling cities as the Organizer of Critical Mass Nairobi, the largest gathering of non-competitive cyclists in Africa. We interviewed Cyprine for our book  “Remarkable Feminist Voices in Transport 2023“. Read her…