Women in Leadership webinar (September) – PAST EVENT

Catherine Drennan

Head of Legal at the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority (HFEA)

Catherine has been with the HFEA since 2007 and was appointed Head of Legal in 2012. She has guided the HFEA through every one of the numerous high profile legal cases the organisation has faced over the last 14 years and in recognition of her contribution to this challenging body of law, in February 2019 she was named The Legal 500 Public Sector Person of the Year. Her work involves a broad range of legally and ethically challenging issues that arise when the law does not keep abreast of the rapid advances in science and medicine.

As the first regulator in the world tasked with regulating such a contentious and emotionally charged area, her work and that of the HFEA is closely watched by other fertility regulators and Catherine is often consulted by governments around the world seeking to introduce their own regulatory frameworks. At the height of the pandemic, Catherine succeeded in making the case for the Secretary of State for Health to introduce regulations to assist patients whose fertility treatment was impacted by the pandemic. One of Catherine’s proudest achievements at the HFEA is having ushered in a more collaborative and consultative approach to the resolution of complex issues of law and ethics.

Baroness Ilora Finlay

Professor the Baroness Finlay of Llandaff

Professor the Baroness Finlay of Llandaff established the Marie Curie Hospice in 1987 and the Diploma/MSc in Palliative Medicine in 1989; lead for Palliative Care in Wales 2008-2017 and developed wider bereavement support.

She is President of the Chartered Society for Physiotherapy, President of Attend; Vice President of Hospice UK and of Marie Curie Care. Past-President of BMA, RSM and Association for Palliative Medicine. Elected member of BMA Ethics Committee and Bevan Commissioner in Wales.

Baroness Finlay chairs the National Mental Capacity Forum (England and Wales) for Ministry of Justice since 2015. She also became a life-Peer in 2001 in the House of Lords; a Deputy Speaker since 2018.

She was previously member of various House of Lords Select Committee inquiries in Science and Technology, Allergy, the Built Environment and the Assisted Dying for the  Terminally Ill Bill. Vice Chair of various All Party Parliamentary Groups (APPG).

Baroness Finlay is also the founder of think-tank Living and Dying Well 2010 and chair of Alcohol Harms Commission 2019-present report ‘Its Everywhere’ 2020.