LSE Power

A staff network for women in professional services at LSE

I’m feeling positive about the future for talented women at LSE.

Liz Griffith

LSE Power committee
LSE Power committee

LSE Power is a staff network for women in professional services at LSE, founded in 2015 with the purpose of advancing gender equality at the School. The LSE Power steering committee is: Liz Griffith, Francesca Ruscoe, Stephanie Cloots, Adelaide Lee-Warner, Charlie Fiddy, Sarah Flew, Isabella Chan, Chris Watt, Veronique Mizgailo and Athina Chatzigavriil.

Meet some of the committee:

Tell us about your background and how you arrived at LSE?

Stephanie Cloots, Corporate Relations Manager, Department of Management: After finishing my Masters in Organisational Psychology from Columbia University, I  worked in Academic Advising at Rice University (my undergraduate alma mater) where I advised undergraduate students on postgraduate opportunities and led initiatives for a more holistic student experience. After meeting my British now-husband, I moved to London in 2013. From my start in the Department of Management, I’ve worked in various fields including events, faculty affairs and now corporate relations.

Dr Sarah Flew, Head of Foundation & Business Partnerships, LSE Advancement: I spent eight years at the Bank of England in the Registrar’s Department and have three children aged 19-24.  My middle daughter (now 22) is registered disabled. I was limited to work that allowed me mainly to work from home and I found that fundraising for state schools suited this. I also amused myself during this child rearing period by doing three degrees with the Open University – BA, MA and a PhD in economic history. I came to LSE immediately after my PhD – my research area is philanthropy and the financing of Anglican home-mission in the 19th century. I still maintain some academic involvement and am Honorary Treasurer of the Social History Society and Honorary Treasurer of the Church of England Record Society.

Liz Griffith, Head of Market Insights and Strategy for the TRIUM Global Executive MBA, and LSE Power Co-Chair: My background is in communications, graphic design and marketing. I first began working in Higher Education at Oxford University, managing their PPE (Philosophy, Politics and Economics) undergraduate programme, which has many famous politicians and prime ministers among its alumni. I lead on initiatives to attract more socio-economically diverse applicants to the programme, and build an alumni community. I moved to LSE around 6 and a half years ago, and have worked in the Department of Management ever since.

Adelaide Lee-Warner, Graduate Selector in Graduate Admissions: I come from a regional area in New South Wales, Australia. I have a Bachelor of Arts in Philosophy with Economics and History from the University of Sydney and a Masters of Teaching from the University of Sydney. I have taught, in both Australia and London, a range of subjects at secondary school level, including economics, business, history, sociology and geography. I have been a teacher for the Refugee Action Support Programme and a mentor for the Australian Indigenous Mentoring Experience in Sydney. I joined LSE in September 2016, taking advantage of the transferable skills teaching gave me.  

Tell us about your time at LSE?

Stephanie: In my current role, I work to connect corporate and social partners to the Department through involvement in our curriculum, collaboration on research and recruitment of our students and alumni.  I also am fortunate to serve as the CEMS Corporate Relations Manager, managing relationships with over 70+ multinational companies and NGOs and representing LSE in a network of 31 Business Schools around the world.

Sarah: I returned to full-time office-based work, my job at LSE, a few weeks before my daughter’s 18th birthday – a time when I felt that she would be more able to manage without me being on hand. I have found LSE to be very supportive of my home conditions and my daughter’s hospital appointments.

Liz: I recently completed an MSc in Behavioural Science at LSE alongside my job, and am now focusing my career specifically on behaviour change and psychology. This applies both to my day job in marketing, but also to my involvement in LSE Power. I’ve been co-leading the network for a year and a half, and it’s been an incredible experience to work with a fantastic group of colleagues across the School to try and facilitate cultural and behavioural changes in the organisation to improve gender equality.

Adelaide: I am now a Graduate Admissions Selector for a range of courses in 5 departments. This is a diverse role that gives me an opportunity to work with a range of departments. In addition to this, I am currently a School Governor for East Sheen Primary School, in Richmond.

What are you most proud of, either inside and outside of your time at LSE?

Stephanie: I’ve been most proud of efforts that I’ve worked on collaboratively with other motivated individuals across the School. Organising the LSE Power Conference for the past three years and serving as the External Relations member on the Steering Committee has been immensely rewarding.  I feel grateful for the opportunity to develop professionally as well as engage in important work to progress the gender equality at the School.

Sarah: Outside LSE I’m proud of being the first person in my family to get a degree. My family are from Cornwall and all work in trades where they use their hands (builder, tree surgeon, gardener, repair man). Inside LSE it’s being part of the team that worked on the significant Atlantic Philanthropies gift and leveraged HEFCE match funding (equalling £96 million in funding for the School).

Liz: I’m proud of my work in the Department of Management, where I’ve lead a small but high performing team to attract 650 of the best students from across the world to study on our 10 Master’s and Executive programmes each year, bringing in a revenue of just over £20 million per year in tuition fees and thus enabling LSE to fund much of the great work which happens across the School. I’m also very proud of what the LSE Power network has achieved – we’ve run many great events aiming to engage and inspire the incredibly talented group of women who work across LSE, including our annual conference which is growing every year. We have also managed to engage senior leaders and male allies in our work towards gender equality, and I’m feeling positive about the future for talented women at LSE.

Adelaide: During my time at LSE, being involved with Power is something I am really proud of. I value the discussions the group has regarding gender around the school and the practical nature of the events and other efforts made by the group. I value my role and the opportunity I have gained from being on the steering group.

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Find out more about the network and how to get involved