My Family in Exile Dame Stephanie Shirley CH
Event details
Holocaust Memorial Day Lecture
The University of York is honored to welcome Dame Stephanie Shirley CH for this year’s Holocaust Memorial Lecture.
In this profound and inspiring talk, Dame Stephanie will share her family’s experience of escaping Nazi persecution, their life as refugees, and her remarkable journey from a child of the Kindertransport to one of the UK’s most influential entrepreneurs and philanthropists.
Reflecting on the themes of survival, resilience, and the power of remembrance, Dame Stephanie will address the legacy of the Holocaust and how its lessons resonate in today’s world. Her personal story speaks to the enduring human spirit and the vital importance of tolerance, compassion, and action in our society.
About the speaker
Dame Stephanie Shirley CH, also known as Steve, is a workplace revolutionary and successful IT entrepreneur turned ardent venture philanthropist.
Dame Stephanie’s story begins with her 1939 arrival in Britain as an unaccompanied five-year-old Kindertransport refugee. This defining experience equipped her with fortitude and made her determined to live a life worth saving.
In 1962, she started a software house, Freelance Programmers, and pioneered new flexible work practices that changed the landscape for women working in technology. She went on to create a global business and a personal fortune which she shared with her colleagues, making millionaires of 70 of her staff at no cost to anyone but herself.
Since retiring in 1993, Dame Stephanie’s life has been dedicated to venture philanthropy in the fields of IT and autism. She initially founded Autism at Kingwood in 1994 to support her late son Giles, and her charitable Shirley Foundation went on to make grants of nearly £70 million. In 2009/10 she served as the UK’s first ever national Ambassador for Philanthropy.
In 2013, Dame Stephanie was named by Woman’s Hour as one of the 100 most powerful women in Britain. In 2014, the Science Council listed her as one of the Top 100 practicing scientists in the UK. In 2015 her TED Talk received a standing ovation and it has since received 2.2m views on YouTube. In 2017, Dame Stephanie received a Companion of Honour (CH), a membership limited to only 65 individuals globally, for her services to the IT industry and philanthropy