About the Event

Organized by the official WD2026 Resourcing Working Group, join this urgent session focused on actionable change in funding feminist movements. Through lightning talks and interactive discussions, speakers will explore sustainable models and accountability mechanisms and demystify funding narratives, emphasizing accessible and effective solutions, including the roles of philanthropy and official development assistance (ODA). Participants will unpack examples of how movements hold states accountable while building resilient infrastructures centered on feminist values. Leave equipped with concrete ideas and tools to enhance your resource mobilization efforts for a better future.

Event Details

Date: Wednesday, April 29, 2026

Time: 4:00-5:30 PM (AEST)

Location: Meeting Room 210, Melbourne Convention and Exhibition Centre

*NOTE: To attend this event, you must have a confirmed registration to participate in the Women Deliver 2026 Conference.

Speakers

• Celia Turner, Partnerships Managing Officer, Urgent Action Sister Funds

• Sandra Macias Del Villar, Co-Director, Alliance for Feminist Movements

• Lyric Thompson, Founder and CEO, Feminist Foreign Policy Collaborative

• Nagla Abbas, Young feminist activist and Founder, Usawa Kwa Wote

Biographies

Celia Turner |

Partnerships Managing Officer, Urgent Action Sister Funds

Celia Turner (they/hem) is a feminist philanthropic advocate for gender, racial and economic justice organizations and movements. As the Partnerships Managing Officer for the Urgent Action Sister Funds, Celia raises the visibility of feminist rapid response and nurtures partnerships for the Sister Funds’ collective support of women and LGBTQI+ human rights defenders across the world. They previously lead and managed institutional and philanthropic partnerships at the Astrea Lesbian Foundation for Justice. Learn mroe about Celia’s background and experience here.

Sandra Macias Del Villar | Co-Director, Alliance for Feminist Movements

Sandra Macías del Villar (she/her) is a passionate intersectional Latinx feminist with extensive experience working in the human rights philanthropic sector. She has specialized in feminist grantmaking with women’s funds as well as resourcing social justice movements and grassroots organizations for more than a decade. Sandra is currently the Co-Director for the Alliance for Feminist Movements and has deep expertise in the crises, development and humanitarian sectors. In these spaces, Sandra has been a strong advocate with and for women, girls, trans and gender nonconforming people as well as historically marginalized populations.

Lyric Thompson | Founder and CEO, Feminist Foreign Policy Collaborative

Lyric Thompson (she/her) is the Founder and CEO of the Feminist Foreign Policy Collaborative, where she publishes and advises governments and thought leaders on feminist foreign policy. In her 2-decade career, she has advocated on women’s rights issues at the United Nations, G7/G20, White House, the U.S. State Department, USAID and the Department of Defense. She is an adjunct professor at the George Washington University, where she teaches a graduate level course on women’s rights advocacy. Previously, Lyric has served as: the Vice President of Policy, Advocacy, and Strategy at the International Center for Research on Women, the founding co-chair of the Coalition for Women’s Economic Empowerment and Equality, co-chair of Girls Not Brides USA, on the Executive Committee of the Civil Society Working Group on Women, Peace and Security, on the Women’s Human Rights Coordination Group of Amnesty International, USA and as the Senior Policy Manager for Women for Women International. Learn more about Lyric’s background and experience here.

Nagla Abbas | Young feminist activist and Founder, Usawa Kwa Wote

Nagla Abbas (she/her) is a young feminist lawyer and a youth and girls’ rights advocate from Zanzibar, working on justice, peace, and gender equality across Africa. She holds an LLB in Law and Shariah from Zanzibar University and has over five years of experience in human rights and access to justice. She currently works with Save the Children International – Zanzibar as a Legal Officer at One Stop Centres, where she supports survivors of gender-based violence and violence against children through legal aid, psychosocial referrals, and case management.

She is the founder of Usawa Kwa Wote, a youth-led initiative (implemented as part of her role as a Women Deliver Emerging Leader from the West African cohort), which has reached over 3,000 adolescent girls with SRHR education, menstrual health support, leadership training, and economic empowerment programs.

Through her legal aid work, she provides legal support and community education on sexual violence, digital safety, and land rights. She also works with Assalam Community Foundation on programs and fundraising, and is actively engaged in peacebuilding efforts in Zanzibar and Pemba.

She is a member of the Tanzania Women, Peace and Security Coalition and serves as a Commonwealth Youth Peace Ambassador.