Beatrice M.K. Newland is a senior gender and human rights specialist with more than 15 years of experience leading high-impact donor-funded programs across Liberia and West Africa. She has built a distinguished career advancing gender equality, expanding civic space, promoting women’s political participation, preventing sexual and gender-based violence (SGBV), strengthening access to justice, and supporting feminist movement building. Her work combines strategic leadership, evidence-based advocacy, and partnership development to drive sustainable social change in complex and politically sensitive environments.

Beatrice currently serves as ENSURE Project Lead at Kvinna till Kvinna, where she leads research and evidence-generation initiatives focused on shrinking civic space, backlash against gender equality, and the risks faced by women human rights defenders and other activists. Through this role, she supports the development of evidence-informed advocacy and protection strategies that strengthen the resilience and security of civil society actors operating in restrictive contexts.

Previously, as Executive Lead of POWER-Liberia, Beatrice directed programs that reached more than 5,000 direct and indirect beneficiaries across 14 counties. She worked closely with over 30 civil society organizations, community structures, and government institutions to strengthen accountability systems, advance feminist leadership and movement building, and influence policy reform processes. Her leadership contributed to stronger collaboration among stakeholders and increased civic engagement on gender and human rights issues.

As Gender Justice Program Manager at Oxfam Liberia, she managed multi-year programs with cumulative budgets exceeding USD 3 million and led high-impact advocacy initiatives aimed at advancing gender justice and women’s rights. Among her notable contributions was leadership support to the Enough Excuses! campaign, which elevated public discourse on gender equality and strengthened engagement among policymakers, civil society actors, and communities. She also played a key role in national dialogue processes and multi-stakeholder coordination efforts that increased the visibility of gender justice issues within policy spaces.

Beatrice also served as a regional coordinator and consultant for the European Union-funded Enough! Project in Ghana and Liberia, where she facilitated cross-country collaboration, provided technical guidance to implementing partners, and strengthened knowledge-sharing and learning across the region.

Throughout her career, Beatrice has delivered measurable results. Program evaluations attributed to her leadership and technical oversight recorded a 25% reduction in the acceptance of harmful gender norms, a 48% increase in male allyship for gender equality initiatives, and a 30% improvement in community attitudes toward survivors’ rights. These outcomes reflect her commitment to transforming social norms and promoting inclusive community development.

An accredited BRIDGE facilitator, Beatrice has designed and delivered capacity-strengthening initiatives for more than 1,000 stakeholders, including policymakers, women human rights defenders, civil society organizations, government officials, and grassroots leaders. Post-training assessments demonstrated improvements of up to 70% in participants’ knowledge and understanding of gender equality and human rights principles.

Beatrice is widely recognized for her ability to build strategic partnerships, mobilize diverse stakeholders, and deliver transformative results in challenging environments. Her expertise in gender justice, civic space, movement building, research, and advocacy continues to contribute to policy change, institutional strengthening, and improved outcomes for women, girls, and marginalized communities across Liberia and West Africa.