President
Term: 2019-23 (four-year term)
Residing: Twickenham, England
The president confirms the agenda and timing of all board meetings and the General Assembly, and presides over the meetings. The president also serves as an ex-officio member of all committees, and has oversight of the development and implementation of World Lacrosse strategic and operational plans.
Sue Redfern brings a lifetime of dedication to the sport of lacrosse to her role as president of World Lacrosse. Since being elected in 2017, she has led the organization through a period of unparalleled growth and development, including modernization of the organization’s governance structures, attainment of full recognition by the International Olympic Committee, and the establishment of commissions focused on diversity and opportunity, women in sport, and ethics. Since the beginning of 2017, World Lacrosse has welcomed 19 new member-National Federations for a global membership of 75, and strengthened its relationships with the Continental Federations.
Redfern’s lacrosse career began in 1969 as goalkeeper for the Birmingham Ladies Lacrosse Club and spanned 17 years with Birmingham and the Worcester Ladies Lacrosse Club. Her administrative and organizational work for more than four decades includes team, tournament and league management at all levels of the sport, from local to international. For 20 years, she assisted in organizing the six-day National Schools Tournament in England and, in 1997, was named director of the 2001 International Federation of Women’s Lacrosse Associations Women’s World Cup held in High Wycombe, England.
Redfern has held numerous national and international lacrosse leadership positions, including chair of the All-England Women’s Lacrosse Association and chair of the English Lacrosse Association. From 2001-08, she served as vice president (administration) of the IFWLA, participating in its transition to the Federation of International Lacrosse (now World Lacrosse). From 2011 to 2017, she was an official representative from England to the International Federation.
In 2009, Redfern was honored with both the FIL Lifetime Achiever Award and the FIL Development Award. In 2008, Prince William presented her with the Torch Trophy Trust Award for her services to lacrosse. Other honors include the IFWLA Honorary Life Member Award, the ELA Development Award, the ELA Award for Services to International Lacrosse and the AEWLA Honorary Life Member award.
Redfern’s commitment to lacrosse has been matched only by her distinguished career in academia. She retired in 2012 as director of information services and librarian at Roehampton University in London, where she managed a staff of up to 150 and oversaw a wide array of university media and information services. While there, and previously at other institutions, she published numerous professional articles and presented at many conferences, advocating for innovative and effective ways to enhance teaching and learning, and was a member of several national and international organizations and committees dedicated to information services and academics.
A resident of Twickenham, England, Redfern holds a bachelor’s degree with honors and a master’s degree in business administration from the Open University, as well as a diploma in librarianship from Birmingham Polytechnic. She was initially elected as president for a two-year period in 2017, and with changes to officer terms, she was re-elected in 2019 for a four-year period.
