SJC Women's Network eNewsletter - June 2025
Welcome to our Trinity Newsletter. This edition, we look back on a busy spring term of events throughout the Women’s Network, with events across Oxford and London. We commemorate the life of Joanne Skolnick, our Steering Group member who sadly passed away at the end of 2024. Joanne was celebrated in College as one of the inspirational women in the college’s Women’s Dinner in February and we will miss her future contributions to the Network.
In this newsletter, we also introduce several new committee members. Clare Keene joins the Network as a Decade Rep (2010s) and you can read more about her motivations for joining the Steering Committee. Leanne Mabena is our new JCR Women and Gender Minorities Officer and she talks us through many vibrant events being run in College. We also meet Rachel Hurwitz and Yaroslava Buktha, who now run the College’s Women’s Leadership Programme. Many events for current students can only take place with alumni support to volunteer their time and stories, and our Network relies on this generosity. So please do get in contact if you would like to get involved!
Rose Sundt (2015, Oriental Studies)
Communications Lead for SJC Women's Network
Click here to read more about Rose
The Women’s Network is sad to announce the passing of its Steering Group member Joanne Skolnick (1988, MSt Modern History).
In March 2025, Ipsos Mori researcher and long-time SJCWN Steering Group member Alex Bollen's first book ‘Motherdom’ was published. Read about the book launch here.
Holly O’Dea (previously Holly Ellis) was at St John’s between 2011 to 2014 and studied Biological Sciences. Since graduating, she works as a Clinical Scientist for the NHS, and has developed an outreach YouTube channel called the ‘Scouse Scientist’, which is targeted at demystifying STEM and encouraging women from varying backgrounds into science. She talks with the Women’s Network about her time at St John’s and why she runs the ‘Scouse Scientist’.
On International Women’s Day this Year (March 8th), the SJC Women’s Network joined the United Nations and people worldwide in this year’s theme 'Invest in Women: Accelerate progress'. Leanne's report on the event can be found here.
In February, the Women’s Network hosted an evening with Suzanne, Baroness Heywood, followed by a drinks reception hosted by the College President. Read about the event and watch the interview here.
Leanne Mabena is a first-year medical student and is currently the JCR Women and Gender Equality Officer at St John’s. Discover more about Leanne and her role here.
Rachel Hurwitz is a second year DPhil student in Evolutionary Anthropology and joins the Women’s Leadership Programme committee as one of its Co-Presidents. Find out more about Rachel here.
Yaroslava Bukhta is a current DPhil student in Anthropology and joins the Women’s Leadership Programme committee as one of the new Co-Presidents. Find out more about Yaroslava here.
Claire Keene completed her DPhil at St John's College in 2024 and is excited to be part of the Women's Network. Read about Claire's research and aims in her role in the Network.
Don't forget to join our SJC Women's Network group on Facebook.
Don't forget to join our SJC Women's Network group on LinkedIn