The night gathered women from a range of backgrounds and careers to network and share experiences within an open and welcoming atmosphere. Our 10 speakers, Suzanne Haynes PHD, Tash Sanganoo, Natalie Savery, Fabiola Doano, Sarah Bar Lev, Dr Ros Jabar, Carys Strong, Sadie Abubaker, Sian Fisher and Beth Baldwin, all spoke with immense honesty and courage with a collective goal of empowering the WAW community.

Our mission with the Open Mic Night - create a safe and honest space for the WAW community to articulate their journeys, emotions and offer insight into coping mechanisms. Every woman left the room feeling inspired and uplifted, with one attendee stating:

“All the speakers filled the room with inspirational stories. These all deeply touched our hearts, empowering us all to reflect on our own lives, and grow into an exciting future.”

The Women’s Academy Wales express the deepest gratitude to our ten key speakers and the invaluable contributions they brought to the event, your insights and dedication enriched the event completely.

Suzanne Haynes PHD focused on ‘Sitting is the new smoking, and strong women are the cure’ and how as women we must push through self doubt, leaving listeners inspired to be stronger both physically and mentally.

Next, we heard from Tash Sanganoo about embracing the ‘messy middle’ of careers, not being afraid to pivot and take control of your own life. Tash inspired listeners of all ages, reassuring that there’s ‘no point worrying about something that didn’t exist’.

The amazing Natalie Savery spoke next about authenticity, individuality and pushing through imposter syndrome. Self doubt must be counteracted with confidence and excitement, and giving yourself permission to lead is the only way forward.

Fabiola Doano spoke next and gave an incredibly moving talk about belonging and living in the moment in order to find your courage and purpose, for those pivoting careers remember ‘I didn’t start late, I started ready’.

Sarah Bar Lev’s ‘More than a few men in my marriage’ segment highlighted the gift of chaos and repurposing it for reinvention. Her resilience and growth after betrayal is commendable, and through leaning on others we can move from stuck to unstuck.

We next heard from Dr Ros and her magnificent vocation to end suffering through her medicinal career. Hardship taught her patience, kindness and resilience and we must view obstacles as opportunities for growth.

Speaker number seven was Carys Strong, reminding the room that we are worth so much more than our job titles and perfectly normal to have a messy career path! The more life experience we have the more contacts we build and skills we learn, a real and honest message.

Speaking on ‘leading the next generation of talent’ was the wonderful Saadia Abubaker, whose passion for enabling young people to thrive should be implemented in every business. All leaders must be culturally competent and listen to employees to create encouraging and diverse work spaces.

Another crowd favourite, Sian Fisher, spoke about moving from invisible to owning your space, body inclusivity and self expression. A topic the whole room can relate to, we must be proud to show up as ourselves!

Finally, we heard from our very own Beth Baldwin all about International Women’s Day 2026's ‘Give to Gain’ campaign. Beth spoke about the importance of creating a strong female community and elevating and celebrating each other’s experiences. It is integral to success to survive and learn to thrive, and what better way to celebrate that than the upcoming WAW International Women’s Day Awards on 6th March!

All speakers spoke with such poise and significance, with lots of tears and laughter from the crowd throughout the night. Thank you to you all again for your time and words of wisdom, we at Women’s Academy Wales could not gather our incredible community without your support and dedication. Another big thank you to the team at The Kuku Club for your hospitality and assistance, all of our guests recieved outstanding service from you all. The last thank you goes to the WAW team, our village is small but mighty and your support is greatly appreciated.

Keep your eyes peeled for our next Open Mic Night in May, you won’t want to miss it!