From raising £1,000 in her living room to supporting 8.5 million refugees across 51 countries, Josie Fernandez-Marelli turned compassion into one of the world's most impactful grassroots charities. Here's what she had to say about the successes, challenges, and inspirations she encountered on her journey.

What is your biggest success to date as a female leader? Conversely, what has been the greatest challenge?

For me, the biggest success and the biggest challenge are one and the same: founding and leading an organisation that stays true to its values. Choosing Love is our ethos, our philosophy and our framework. I couldn’t be more proud of the work that we do, but navigating through the complex world we live in, through a humanitarian lens definitely doesn't come without challenge.

How, if at all, has your career path been shaped by gender and what advice would you give young women starting out in philanthropy and arts today?

My gender has always been something I’ve been aware of throughout my career, while also understanding and holding the privilege that comes with being a white woman. Being a female founder and CEO, especially as someone who is feminine, has been tough at times and I’ve certainly found there to be situations where people aren’t taking what I say - or me - seriously, or making judgements about me based on my gender.

In the humanitarian space, most grassroots organisations are founded by women, in the voluntary space, there are lots of women, and in our own team at Choose Love there are lots of women. But when you get into Government or top level Philanthropy spaces, it’s less like that. Sometimes that can be a strange shift. But my advice to young women today is to always, always believe in yourself and don’t take no for an answer.

Find people who lift you up and believe in you as you believe in them. Look after each other, keep building each other up, and know that your authentic self is amazing and valid - don’t let anyone make you feel like it's not.

The theme of International Women’s Day 2026 is ‘Give to Gain,’ emphasising the power of reciprocity and support. How does this theme resonate for you?

This theme resonates so much to me! The biggest power that we have is coming together to make something bigger and stronger and further-reaching than the sum of its parts. At Choose Love, we know this and we rely on an ecosystem of networks that unites and amplifies the message of humanity.

There is no way we, or I, could have done this on my own. We are a movement and that means that every single person - including so many women - whether they’re supporters or partners, has played a huge role in our growth and everything we’ve achieved.

This International Women’s Day, Wolf & Badger activations are focused on the phrase ‘Every icon has an icon,’ prompted by the women who inspire us. Tell us about the women who inspired you throughout your career and how.

Honestly, there are just too many women to name. Every single day I’m inspired by women - the women in our Choose Love Team, the women who run organisations that we support, the women who donate to us, the women in my family, my dear friends. Through this work, I have made so many new friends with women who have supported us and shared their experiences of displacement, and I have learnt and understood so much from them. I can’t put into words how much all of them mean to me.

Over 80% of the independent brands on Wolf & Badger are female-founded. Is there a favourite piece/designer you would most like to add to your basket?

It's too hard to pick just one, but I love that you can find out about each brand and designer at Wolf and Badger. It’s my go-to for smart work tips that are still exciting and original, with a story behind them.

Choose Love has just launched an auction of world famous artists to raise money for humanitarian efforts in Palestine which will run March 26th - April 9^th and feature works by Es Devlin, Nan Goldin, Grayson Perry and Malak Mattar.

Choose Love started as nothing more than a group of friends with a plan. In 2015, absolutely devastated by scenes of thousands of people forced to live in terrible conditions in the Calais refugee camp in northern France, Josie knew she had to do something.

Using her experience and contacts in the music industry, she rallied together friends with the hashtag #HelpCalais. Within a week, they had raised over £50,000 and were soon receiving thousands of donated items every day. That was when Choose Love was born. Josie has gone on to lead the growth of Choose Love as it’s CEO. In ten years they have supported over 8.5 million displaced people, working with over 600 partner organisations across more than 50 countries and raised over $160 million.

Josie is a leading advocate for refugee rights in the UK, and seen as a thought leader across the sector, one of the Evening Standard's 1000 “Changemakers”, one of Vogue’s Next-Gen Game Changers and Elle’s 40 for 40 Women of Hope