Danielle Cornish-Spencer is the Head of Technical Services at SDDirect, responsible for driving technical excellence, innovation, and cross-portfolio collaboration across the organisation. With over 20 years of experience in gender equality, gender-based violence (prevention and response), child protection, safeguarding, inclusive education, and social justice work she ensures SDDirect’s technical offer remains cutting-edge, inclusive, and responsive to global development priorities.
She specialises in the integration of Gender Equality, Disability and Social Inclusion (GEDSI) principles, social norms change, and organisational transformation to drive equity and accountability across development and humanitarian contexts. At SDDirect, she has delivered large-scale safeguarding and GEDSI initiatives for partners including the UK FCDO’s Girls’ Education Challenge, Irish Aid, the African and Asian Development Banks, UNICEF, and the Global Partnership for Education. Her leadership has strengthened safeguarding systems, enhanced reporting mechanisms, and built institutions’ capacity to prevent and respond to gender-based violence and child abuse.
A feminist leader and systems thinker, Danielle is passionate about using evidence, collaboration, and digital innovation, including the responsible use of AI, to enhance impact and drive organisational learning. Her leadership combines strategic vision with compassion, building the systems and partnerships needed to deliver sustainable, systemic change.
