Our story

Our story is the same as yours.

Coming from a developing country, I know first hand the challenges of accessing quality education and employment opportunities. So I decided to pack my dreams and venture beyond my country. On that journey, I also embarked on another one: a lifelong commitment to sustainability.

I won a scholarship to pursue doctoral studies at The University of Queensland in Australia and an MBA. Since then, I have worked tirelessly in more than 30 countries across five continents, where I have lived and worked. That experience has led me to work alongside women in every field of sustainability: science, policy and practice.

On those journeys, many of these women remind me how difficult it was for me to access better opportunities. I see myself in them.

The Women Sustainability Forum was born in 2015 to give a voice to women who have also fought to advance their careers despite limited resources, scarce opportunities and stereotypes.

At the Forum, we do more than help women advance their careers. Several have secured fully funded postdoctoral opportunities, others have reached leadership positions in their workplaces, and many have simply felt more represented and recognised for their work in creating better futures for all.

To each of them, with my deepest gratitude, I dedicate the work and the impact we have achieved through the Forum. I am proud of every one of them, and of a global community that remains united across borders for a better future.

Isabel B. Franco, Ph.D, MBAWSF Founder and Director