International Forum - London

Bryn Mawr College International Forum

Register now! The International Forum will convene in-person at the JW Marriott Grosvenor House in London on Friday, March 7 and Saturday, March 8, 2025!

The theme of the 2025 Forum is change, as the College enters a new era of leadership under President Wendy Cadge. This special event is open to all members of the Bryn Mawr community. In addition to dynamic panels and noteworthy speakers, the Forum will include professional networking, life design activities and takeaways, as well as rich social and cultural opportunities.

Register here

Click here to learn more about registration fees, cancellation, and hotel recommendations.

 

International Forum Schedule At-a-Glance

Friday
March 7, 2025

 

Optional Daytime Excursions

More information will be forthcoming on cultural opportunities in and around London!

6:00 PM              

Welcome Reception
Cocktails, hors d’oeuvres, and conversation with attendees and College leaders.

Saturday 
March 8, 2025

 
8:00 AM Breakfast and registration
Enjoy delicious cuisine and beverages as well as pick-up your International Forum registration materials and swag!
9:00 AM

Welcome and Opening Remarks by President Wendy Cadge and College leadership

10:00 AM

“Life-Changing: Stories of Resilience, Creativity, and Reinvention”
A liberal arts education in the Bryn Mawr tradition prepares graduates for not one path, but many. An alumnae/i panel will share lessons learned from navigating life’s many changes, including the unexpected.

11:15 AM Coffee/Tea Break
11:30 AM “Change-Making: Perspectives on Power, Collaboration, and Transformation”
Mawrters have a knack for challenging the status quo, thinking expansively about what’s possible, and persisting when confronted with obstacles. Hear from alumnae/i who have recognized a need, seized an opportunity, or been called upon to lead, and took risks to make a difference.
12:45 PM Lunch
1:45 PM “Agility Unleashed” with Dramatic Resources
This practical, playful, and professionally-facilitated experience will use improvisation exercises to enable attendees to communicate with greater flexibility and responsiveness, accept and build on the ideas of others, and allow for new levels of collaboration and connection. Attendees will learn and deepen valuable skills to become the community of support and co-creators for one another, leading into the life design workshop.
2:30 PM World Café: Designing Your Life
This hands-on workshop featuring the highly-regarded Designing Your Life principles, is applicable to every life stage and pursuit (both personal and professional), in partnership with the College’s Career and Civic Engagement Center. It will inspire attendees to think in new ways about what’s possible in their own lives, alongside a community of Bryn Mawr collaborators and thought partners. Forum Master of Ceremonies Tabi Haller-Jorden 1981 will synthesize key takeaways in a World Café-style summative session.
4:30 PM Coffee/Tea Break
4:45 PM Forum Review and Looking Ahead with Bryn Mawr
5:30 PM Cocktails and Celebration
Celebrate new connections made and continue the conversation with merriment at the Red Bar!
7:00 PM Forum concludes.

Sunday
March 9, 2025

 
Optional Daytime Excursions

More information will be forthcoming on cultural opportunities in and around London!

Featured Panelists and Speakers

Sonali De Rycker '95 | London, United Kingdom | Venture capitalist and Partner at Accel
Read Sonali's full biography below.

Agnes Gathaiya '96 | Nairobi, Kenya | Business transformation leader and Country director for East Africa at Google
Read Agnes' full biography below.

Debora de Sola von Habsburg '92 | José Ignacio, Uruguay | Multicultural writer, director, producer, and actor
Read Debora's full biography below.

Tabi Haller-Jorden '81 | Zurich, Switzerland | President and CEO of The Paradigm Forum GmbH, a global consultancy and think tank operating at the intersection of social justice and workplace innovation
Read Tabi's full biography below.

Angela Kane '70 | Vienna, Austria | Former senior diplomat and United Nations High Representative for Disarmament Affairs
Read Angela's full biography below.

Namita Luthra '91 | New York City, United States | Gender Equality Advocate and member Harvard Radcliffe Institute Schlesinger Library Council
Read Namita's full biography below.

Akua Nyame-Mensah '10 | Accra, Ghana | Executive leadership and culture advisor
Read Akua's full biography below.

Danny Tang '07 | Singapore | Co-Founder, CEO, and Head of Global Strategy of Hero Esports, an e-sports company delivering online experiences and large-scale in-person tournaments to virtual sports fans and gamers around the world
Read Danny's full biography below.

Severa von Wentzel '95 | London, United Kingdom | Trustee and Chair of the External Relations Committee, Secretary of the Bryn Mawr Club of the United Kingdom
Read Severa's full biography below.

 

A collage of 8 alum headshots, with the International Forum logo in the middle

Helpful Information

See below to learn more about registration fees, cancellation, and hotel recommendations.


The cost of registration includes all events, meals, and programs mentioned in the at-a-glance schedule above. Participation in optional social and cultural excursions may incur additional costs.

Register before December 31, 2024 for a special early registration savings! An additional discount is available to our Graduates of the Last Decade (GOLD), which represents alumnae/i from the classes of 2015-2024.

  • Register before December 31, 2024
    • GOLD - $50
    • All other classes and constituents - $75
  • Register after December 31, 2024
    • GOLD - $75
    • All other classes and constituents - $100


The International Forum venue, JW Marriott Grosvenor House London, is conveniently located in the central London neighborhood of Mayfair, which is easily accessible from nearby tube stations, Marble Arch and Bond Street. There are many hotels within walking distance of the Forum venue, but there are discounted room rates available to Forum participants at the hotels listed below.

JW Marriott Grosvenor House London

If you wish to stay on-site, guest rooms are available on a first-come, first-serve basis to Forum participants at a discounted rate. Please visit this booking site to make your reservation.
 

Radisson Blu Hotel, London Marble Arch

An additional block of rooms is available on a first-come, first-serve basis at the Radisson Blu Hotel, London Marble Arch. When you select your dates and room details, click on the Special Rates tab, select Promotional Code, and enter the code: BRYN07. The booking deadline for the discounted rate is January 7, 2025.


As you make your plans to attend the Forum, please keep in mind the following deadlines:

  • Registration for the 2025 International Forum closes on Friday, February 7, 2025. Changes to your registration including cancellations and modifications can be made until Friday, February 14, 2025 with a $10 processing fee.
  • Between Saturday, February 15, and Friday, February 21, 2025, any cancellations and modifications will only receive a 60% refund.
  • After Saturday, February 22, 2025, no refunds can be issued.

Please note any payments made via PayPal will be refunded via check.

Speaker Biographies

Read the biographies of our amazing speakers and panelists below.


Sonali joined the Accel team in London in 2008 and has witnessed the European ecosystem come of age firsthand. She focuses on consumer (especially marketplace), next generation financial services and software companies.

Sonali led Accel’s investments in Spotify, which went public in 2018, Letgo, which joined forces with OfferUP in 2020, and Avito, which was acquired in 2015 by Naspers. In addition, Sonali led Accel's investment in Calastone, which was acquired by The Carlyle Group in October 2020. Sonali’s current portfolio contains a number of high-potential companies, including: Kry, the pan-European digital health platform; Monzo, the digital, mobile-only bank; Primer, the automation platform for payments and commerce; Shift Technology, the leader in AI-driven fraud software; sennder, Europe’s number one digital freight forwarder; Soldo, the spend management platform, and Wallapop, the mobile marketplace for online goods.

Prior to Accel, Sonali was with Atlas Venture (now Accomplice). She also previously served on the board of Match.com (NASDAQ:MTCH).

Sonali is from Mumbai and graduated from Bryn Mawr College and Harvard Business School.


Agnes Gathaiya is the Google Country Director with responsibility for East Africa.  Before she joined Google she was the Chief Executive Officer of Integrated Payment Services Limited (IPSL) - popularly known as Pesalink. Pesalink is a real time payment switch connecting 42 banks and enabling their customers make instant payments anytime and from anywhere, affordable and securely.

Agnes has more than 26 years progressive experience in organizational transformation, predominantly focused on developing strategy and providing commercial leadership in sales and business development. She has held leadership positions in organizations including Deloitte Consulting, SAP and most recently Safaricom and has had an opportunity to work across Africa. She also sits on the Boards of Simba Group, One Acre Fund, United Way – Kenya, African Women in Fintech and Payments and the Payments Association of Kenya.

Agnes holds a Master’s in Business Administration from United States International University and a Bachelor of Science in Economics from Bryn Mawr College, USA. She has also been through the Harvard University Women in Leadership program and was recognized in 2010 by Business Daily as one of the Top 40 Under 40 Women in the country.

Agnes's first priority is her 15 year old daughter. Together they have had to suspend their wanderlust and pick up new pleasures like cooking and jigsaw puzzles.


Debora de Sola Habsburg '92 has a B.A. in French Literature and participated in the International Economic Relations program at Bryn Mawr College, PA. She is an award winning film-maker and actress from El Salvador whose multi-cultural heritage and experience living in Latin America, Europe and the United States, have led her to speak five languages fluently. In 2014 Debora founded Pollination Pictures, a production company that develops films that portray an array of social, cultural and environmental issues, expand perceptions about women and aim to inspire positive change. Debora currently lives in Uruguay, with her husband Archduke Guntram Habsburg-Lothringen of Austria and her two children.


Eleanor Tabi Haller-Jorden is the president and CEO of The Paradigm Forum GmbH (TPF), a global consultancy and think tank operating at the nexus of talent innovation, social justice and workplace redesign. TPF works with forward-thinking corporate, governmental and academic partners to translate strategy, communication and experience-based learning into innovative institutional change.

Previously, Ms. Haller-Jorden was the senior vice president of Global Learning Strategies at Catalyst, where she designed cutting-edge initiatives to promote organizational inclusion and innovation in diverse cultural contexts. She was the first general manager of Catalyst Europe, founded in 2006, where she partnered with distinguished corporate and academic members, as well as governments. Under her direction, Catalyst Europe launched a series of high-level events, including the Regional Learning Hubs, Regional Symposia and European roll-out of the Catalyst CEO Summit.

Prior to Catalyst, Ms. Haller-Jorden held the positions of officer at J.P. Morgan; lead partner at HNC Consulting; executive director at The Learning Labs; and founder of the Public Policy Centre in Philadelphia. An early publication she co-authored for the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency was hailed as “a definitive source for innovative public participation practices tied to environmental planning projects.”

Ms. Haller-Jorden is a frequent speaker and recognized voice in the international media. Recently, she was invited to speak at the UN Secretary-General’s High-Level Panel on Women’s Economic Empowerment. She has given the keynote addresses at the DEI Best Practices European Summit, National Diversity Women’s Business Leadership Conference, Healthcare Businesswomen’s Association Annual Summit, International Women’s Conference and European Commission International Women’s Day Conference; and speeches at 100 Women in Finance, the Women’s Forum and the Zurich-based chapter of TED convening events. She has been interviewed for the New York Times, Asahi Shinbun, Wall Street Journal, Financial Times, Business Today, Reuters, CNN, SRF2 Radio and BBC Radio 4; and was a commentator for “The New World of Work” on FNN.

Her board appointments and advisory roles are numerous. In 2017, she was named a Wilson Center Global Fellow and joined the boards of India-based foundations BDI and World of Opportunities for Women. She is a strategic advisor to EDGE Strategy, scholar-in-residence at Emma Willard School, and executive-in-residence at Bryn Mawr College and Babson College’s Center for Women’s Entrepreneurial Leadership. Other appointments include: UN Women National Committee Switzerland; executive board, Foundations for Learning; board of trustees, Milton Academy; advisory board, Business & Human Rights Platform, Lausanne Business School; European board, Healthcare Businesswomen's Association; EU Steering Scientific Committee, Seventh Framework Programme, Meta-analysis of Gender and Science Research; advisory board, IMPACT initiative, Öko-Institut Academy of Business and Society; and international council, Bryn Mawr College.

Ms. Haller-Jorden was nominated to join the Vital Voices Global Partnership, as a global ambassador, and the Women in Public Service Project, as a faculty member during the Peacebuilding and Development Summer Institute. She has been named a European Thought Leader by the IBM Global Innovation Outlook initiative and a Woman Worth Watching by Profiles in Diversity Journal. In addition, she has acted as a jury member for the Cisco Networking Academy’s European & Emerging Market Awards, as well as the Opportunity Now Awards. Ms. Haller- Jorden has been featured in Careerpreneurs (Lessons from Leading Women Entrepreneurs on Building a Career Without Boundaries) by Dorothy Perrin Moore and Capitalizing on the Global Workforce by Michael S. Schell and Charlene Marmer Solomons.

Since April 2013, she has been a visiting scholar at IMD Business School.

Ms. Haller-Jorden attended Princeton University as an advanced standing scholar and Bryn Mawr College, where she earned a B.A. magna cum laude in History and received the Helen Taft Manning Prize in History. She was named a Sage Fellow in Design & Environmental Analysis at Cornell University, and holds a M.Sc. in Industrial Relations from the London School of Economics and Political Science.


Angela Kane is a former senior United Nations diplomat with over 35 years of deep experience in political affairs.  She served in New York, as well as in field missions in Ethiopia-Eritrea, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Indonesia and Thailand. 

She is Professor at Schwarzman/Tsinghua University in Beijing and the Paris School of International Affairs (SciencesPo).  She is Senior Adviser to the Nuclear Threat Initiative in Washington, working on catastrophic global risks.  She is Vice President of the International Institute for Peace in Vienna and Senior Fellow at the Vienna Center for Disarmament and Non-Proliferation.  In 2022, she was appointed by Prime Minister Kishida of Japan as a Member of the International Group of Eminent Persons for a World without Nuclear Weapons.

Additional functions include Senior Network Member of the European Leadership Network, and Director of the Board of the Partnership on AI.  She serves as the Chair of the Board of the Dialogue Advisory Group in Amsterdam and sits on a number of non-profit boards in Europe, the United States and Asia, focusing inter alia on geopolitical developments, arms control, and the effects of technology, especially artificial intelligence.


Namita Luthra is a gender equality advocate and serves on Harvard Radcliffe Institute’s Schlesinger Library Council. She also sits on the advisory boards of The New Historia at The New School and LexSeeHer, and the president’s council of the New York Hall of Science. Luthra was on the boards of Monumental Women, which installed the Women’s Rights Pioneers Monument in Central Park, and of Sakhi for South Asian Women, which serves survivors of gender-based violence in the New York area.

Luthra worked for many years as a staff attorney at the ACLU Women’s Rights Project where she co-authored The Rights of Women: The Authoritative ACLU Guide to Women’s Rights. Prior to that, she was a staff attorney at the Office of the Appellate Defender representing indigent clients. She began her legal career as a fellow at the ACLU National Legal Department working on race and poverty litigation and the U.S. Supreme Court docket.

 


As a co-founder of Hero Esports, Danny has served as its CFO since inception in 2016, and was recently named CEO. Ms. Tang previously served as a senior associate and then a vice president at China Development Bank Capital from 2010 to 2014. Prior to that, she served as an investment analyst at Kohlberg Kravis Roberts & Co. from 2007 to 2010.

Ms. Tang received her bachelor’s degree in economics and mathematics with honors from Bryn Mawr College and her master’s degree of science in management from Stanford University.

She is passionate about the long-term future of the esports industry, and was recognized as one of the Top 100 Asian-Pacific Women-Powered Leaders by J.P.Morgan and Ernst & Young in 2022.

 

Severa von Wentzel ’95 is a Trustee of Bryn Mawr College, and Chair of the External Relations Committee of the Board. She also serves as Secretary of the Bryn Mawr College United Kingdom Alumnae/i Club.  Previously she was a teaching resources consultant at Médecins Sans Frontières in London, and had served as School Resources Coordinator, developing secondary school resources.  Severa has also worked in communications for the Director of Action Contre La Faim, an international charity addressing child malnutrition, and as health services liaison for the Terrence Higgins Trust, the UK’s largest sexual health charity. She fluently speaks English, German, French, and Russian.

Prior to 2007, she was a translator and consultant on several high-profile documents presented at international AIDS conferences by Transatlantic Partners Against AIDS. Severa was also a research assistant at the London School of Economics working on HIV policy papers, and a consultant and interpreter for the Foundation for Central Asian Development.  Prior to her career in public health, Severa was an export manager for Umbra, a home accessories manufacturer based in Toronto, and a research associate for Renaissance Capital. 

Severa earned her AB in Russian from Bryn Mawr (1995), a MA in Russian from Middlebury College (1997), an MSc in Social Anthropology from the London School of Economics (2003), and an MSc in Reproductive & Sexual Health Research from the London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine (2004).  Severa lives in London with her two children.


Akua Nyame-Mensah is a leadership advisor, certified executive and leadership coach (ICF), recognized L&D facilitator, and speaker, and is the host of the Open Door Conversations Podcast and the monthly #PeopleBeforeStrategy Roundtable. As a former startup executive, she launched an online platform for the first African-based technology unicorn. Akua has had the opportunity to live and work in the U.S., Nigeria, Ghana, Kenya, and South Africa and has consulted in and visited over 30 countries worldwide. She now partners with multinational organizations and high-growth startups to design and implement leadership experiences and immersions virtually and in person worldwide. In her work, she loves combining 'traditional' coaching approaches with leadership psychology, neuroscience, emotional intelligence research, and spiritual modalities. Akua works with leaders who are juggling a million responsibilities. She helps leaders clarify where they should focus their time and energy each day through her services and products so they go from taskmasters to strategically aligned.

Outside of her coaching and corporate speaking engagements, she is a regular mentor, coach, and judge for various entrepreneurship-focused organizations, including Stanford Seed, Google for Startups, Arlan's Academy, Founders Institute, Seedstars, African Business Heroes, FemGems, and The Women's Impact Alliance. Akua has a master's degree from the University of Pennsylvania, a leadership-focused MBA from the Africa Leadership University School of Business, and was a Growth and Structure of Cities major at Bryn Mawr College.

About the International Forum

The International Forum is an opportunity to gather our vibrant, global community of more than 22,000 alumnae/i and 6,000 parents to:

  • Engage in deep, multi-dimensional and substantive discussions around a timely topic
  • Exchange ideas and forge greater connections among each other and with the College
  • Be inspired to continue making meaningful contributions to the world

More than 300 alumnae/i, parents and friends of Bryn Mawr from 37 countries and a multitude of time zones registered for the live, online events at the inaugural International Forum in 2021.

Questions?

Sara N. Wallace
Senior Director of International Advancement
Alumnae/i Relations and Development
610-526-5551
snwallace@brynmawr.edu

 

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Contact Us

Alumnae/i Relations and Development

Helfarian
101 North Merion Avenue
Bryn Mawr, PA 19010
Phone: 610-526-5532
Fax: 610-526-5228
bmcalum@brynmawr.edu