5 members of Ashden staff are stood smiling at the camera at the 2024 Ashden Awards ceremony.

Our Team

Our staff and trustees are passionate about climate action. See how they’re helping create a low- carbon future.

Management Team

Man sitting and smiling at camera

 

Man sitting and smiling at camera

Ashok Sinha- CEO 

Ashok, previously CEO of London Cycling Campaign, joins Ashden with a wealth of experience in environmental, sustainable development and justice issues in the UK and the Global South. 

After a PhD in renewable energy, a stint as a climate modeller and time as a policy analysis with Forum for the Future, Ashok moved into advocacy – serving on the Board of Amnesty International, helping to found and lead Make Poverty History and becoming the first Director of the Climate Coalition. Ashok is currently also the Chair of the London Sustainable Development Commission, an independent, unpaid body that advises the London Mayor.

Ashden team member, Ed Dean

Edward Dean - Director of Business Development

Ed leads on building the funding partnerships Ashden needs to deliver its mission and create impact. Success for him is much more than what the balance sheet looks like; it’s about a long-term relationship with the individuals and organisations that share Ashden's purpose.

A portrait of Jo Walton smiling at the camera.

 

Woman wearing a blue shirt smiling

Joanna Walton -  Director of Communications & People

Jo has been at Ashden since 2005 and is responsible for our communications. She is also a member of the Executive Management team with particular responsibility for HR. In her time at Ashden she has overseen the smooth delivery of 15 Ashden Awards ceremonies with speakers including former US Vice President Al Gore, Sir David Attenborough and Ashden’s Patron HRH The Prince of Wales.

She is a keen gardener, dog walker and reader and trying to be a better piano player.

Ashden team member, Alice Sullivan smiling at the camera sitting at a table

Alice Sullivan - Senior Finance Partner

Alice has worked in finance for 10 years, starting in local practice before finding a home in the not for profit sector. She leads the finance team to deliver both operational and strategic financial support.

Alice’s drive comes from breaking down the barriers many non-finance professionals have when it comes to numbers. Her passion is freeing delivery staff to do what they do best, with an accounting framework stable enough to let them reach new heights. Enabling and building confidence in the numbers for all non-finance staff is at the heart of everything the Finance team strives to achieve.

Alice is a member of the Association of Chartered Certified Accountants (ACCA) and has been with Ashden since 2018. When not working you can normally find Alice in her garden with her dog, weeding or enjoying a glass of wine-sometimes both!

Donal Brown - Director of UK Programmes

Dr Donal Brown is an experienced business owner, researcher and consultant with 15 years experience in the low carbon housing and renewable energy sectors.

Prior to joining Ashden, Donal was Research Fellow at the Science Policy Research Unit (SPRU), University of Sussex and is Director of the low carbon architecture firm and consultancy - Sustainable Design Collective.

A sustainable housing, energy and energy demand specialist, Donal has provided policy consultancy on housing, retrofit and renewable energy policy to the Welsh Government and UK Labour Party, and chairs the Board of Directors of the retrofit charity Retrofitworks.

Donal has a First class BSc in Environmental Science, Distinction in Climate Change and Policy MSc and a PhD in Business and Finance Models for Domestic Retrofit from SPRU.

Donal has published 14 peer reviewed journal articles, edited book chapters and produced numerous reports across multiple UKRI and EU Commission research projects.

Communications Team

A portrait of Jo Walton smiling at the camera.

 

Woman wearing a blue shirt smiling

Joanna Walton -  Director of Communications & People

Jo has been at Ashden since 2005 and is responsible for our communications. She is also a member of the Executive Management team with particular responsibility for HR. In her time at Ashden she has overseen the smooth delivery of 15 Ashden Awards ceremonies with speakers including former US Vice President Al Gore, Sir David Attenborough and Ashden’s Patron HRH The Prince of Wales.

She is a keen gardener, dog walker and reader and trying to be a better piano player.

Man sitting and smiling

 

Man sitting and smiling

Craig Burnett -
Editor

Craig makes sure Ashden's voice is powerful and passionate. As well as thinking about the climate stories we want to tell, he writes and edits articles, pieces, reports, video scripts and more.

Woman with glasses sitting next to a plant

 

Woman with glasses sitting next to a plant

Sue Wheat -
Press and PR Lead

Sue shares the powerful examples of our climate champions with media around the world. Prior to joining Ashden, she worked as a journalist and a communications professional specialising in environmental issues, refugees and international development.

When not working, she loves honing her green building skills.

Woman in black top standing in front of a moss wall

 

Sam Owen - Digital Communications Lead

 

Woman with glasses smiling at the camera holding a pink mug and a book

 

Woman with glasses smiling at the camera holding a pink mug and a book

Fran Tute - Communications Officer

Fran works across Ashden's digital and press communications. She maintains the website, creates social media content and shares relevant and inspiring stories. Before joining Ashden, Fran worked at the Sainsbury Family Charitable Trusts on a wide variety of communication projects.

 
Woman with long hair and fringe sitting on chair wearing a brown shirt and black jacket

 

Woman with long hair and fringe sitting on chair wearing a brown shirt and black jacket

Abigail Ray - Communications Co-ordinator: Let's Go Zero Campaign

Abby uses her strategic storytelling and campaigning skills to support schools in lowering their emissions and inspiring students into climate action.

With more than 20 years in national journalism across print and digital, as well as being a qualified marine biologist and anthropologist, Abby puts people at the heart of her stories and makes sure our many channels of influence speak with one voice.

When not campaigning, Abby enjoys life-drawing, tango dancing, long-distance open water swimming and impatiently gardening.

 
Man standing in front of moss wall

Jon Spaull - Film and Photography Producer

 

Fundraising Team

Ashden team member, Ed Dean

Edward Dean - Director of Business Development

Ed leads on building the funding partnerships Ashden needs to deliver its mission and create impact. Success for him is much more than what the balance sheet looks like; it’s about a long-term relationship with the individuals and organisations that share Ashden's purpose.

Ashden team member, Lucy Blackburn smiling in black and white

Lucy Blackburn - Senior Corporate Partnerships Officer

Lucy is responsible for the stewardship of Ashden’s corporate partners and fostering new relationships, both in the UK and internationally. At its heart this means the development of partnerships that are mutually beneficial and based on a shared commitment to sustainability.

Ashden team member, Catherine True, a woman wearing a green coat on a hill with the countryside behind her

Catherine True - Grant Fundraising Strategic Lead

Catherine works alongside the Director of Business Development to ensure Ashden has the financial resources to pursue its mission.  This involves fostering relationships with government and philanthropic funders and developing grant funding proposals.

Prior to joining Ashden she held fundraising positions at ActionAid UK, British Red Cross and Frontline AIDS.  When not working, she can often be found walking on the South Downs.

Woman with brown hair standing and smiling

 

Woman with brown hair standing and smiling

Krissy Lenartowicz - Fundraising Officer

Krissy works within Ashden’s fundraising team. She manages fundraising systems, organises fundraising-related events, and researches prospective partnerships. She is also responsible for the stewardship of Ashden’s individual giving programme.

Before joining Ashden Krissy worked in marketing. She is currently studying part-time for a Master’s degree in Sustainable Development from the University of Sussex.

Cities Team

Simon Brammer

 

Simon Brammer -
Head of Cities

Simon heads up our cities programme that aims to create liveable, sustainable cities. At the heart of this approach is a network that brings together the UK metro mayor regions. Using our winners to demonstrate the possibilities, we are showing policymakers that by tackling climate change you can simultaneously address a multitude of other challenges. Challenges such as cleaning up toxic air, providing affordable warm homes or creating new, fairly paid jobs. We want a just transition.

Ashden team member, Cara Jenkinson sitting in front of a row of solar panels

Cara Jenkinson
Cities Manager

Cara works with Simon Brammer to support our UK Award winners, helping them to share best practice and showcase their work to influential audiences including policymakers. She also works with Steve Hall on the UK Awards process, including researching potential applicants and undertaking visits of shortlisted applicants.

She has been involved in community energy for several years, and appreciates the impact of promoting innovators in sustainable energy.

Ashden team member, Matt Ahluwalia smiling

Matthew Ahluwalia  -
Senior Programme Officer

Matthew supports Ashden's UK awards work by carrying out research into new award themes, such as Citizen Engagement and Green Skills. This includes investigating both sectors to better understand how the Ashden Awards can have the greatest impact, whilst beginning new conversations with potential applicants for the awards. He also supports the Cities programme through providing research for our range of publications and events.

Portrait of Frieda

Frieda Wignall - Junior Programme Officer

Frieda works alongside Matthew, Cara and Emma Jones in the Cities Team. She is based in Nottingham, where she was born and raised, having also recently graduated from the University of Nottingham. She investigates inspiring local and grassroots examples of innovative climate solutions across the UK.

Man smiling in front of a moss wall

Man smiling in front of a moss wall

Phillip Morris - Energy Learning Network Programme Lead

Phillip has worked in the sustainability sector for over 15 years. Principally focused on energy, he has worked for private, public and third sector organisations. 

Phillip started his energy career at Sustain (now Anthesis) managing large domestic energy efficiency programmes. Since then Phillip was worked for the Centre for Sustainable Energy, carbon emissions and supporting communities and individuals to engage with energy.  

International Team

Isona Shibata -
Head of International Programmes 

Isona leads Ashden’s international programmes team. She has a background in sustainability and the built environment and has designed and delivered projects in East Anglia and the Niger Delta, as well as working remotely on projects in South Asia and the Carribean. Core to her work has been a focus on vernacular techniques and materials, and the value of locally-rooted design approaches.  

More recently, Isona has worked on a variety of programmes in sub-Saharan Africa, including financing for energy access; youth enterprise development and employability; and circular economy in textile and food value chains.  

Ashden team member, Dawn Stevenson wearing a purple beanie and smiling with a river in the background

Dawn Stevenson - International Senior Programme Officer

Dawn helps run Ashden’s International Awards, searching for the most game changing solutions globally and collaborating with thought leaders so that we can deliver the most exciting and impactful awards possible. She is constantly thinking about how Ashden can keep creating opportunities for innovators to tell their stories, reach new audiences and get the support they need to thrive.

Before Ashden, Dawn worked on UK government international climate and energy programmes.

Outside of work, she loves adventure travel, always planning the next surf, ski or mountain climbing challenge. She also loves painting and salsa dancing.

Let's Go Zero Team

 

Alex Green -
Programme Manager - Schools

Alex is the Schools Lead for Ashden and leads on Let’s Go Zero 2030, a campaign that supports UK schools working together to be zero carbon by 2030. She managed Ashden’s sustainable school awards and peer to peer LESS CO2 programme for 7 years before launching the Let’s Go Zero campaign in 2020.

Alex has a Masters in Environmental Management from the University of Cape Town and has previously worked running an environmental business awards scheme for a local authority, supporting small businesses to cut carbon and regulating industry at the Environment Agency.

Woman with short brown hair wearing a beige jacket

 

Woman with short brown hair wearing a beige jacket

Suzy Van den Eynde  -
Let's Go Zero Coordinator and PA to Giles Bristow and Ed Dean

Suzy joined Ashden in 2008 and manages the Let’s Go Zero sign up process, liaising with campaign partners and  participating schools. Suzy supports our fundraising team with administration and events organisations. She also provides PA support to the directors of programmes and development.

Woman in green jumper smiling at camera

Woman in green jumper smiling at camera

Suzanne Gibbon - Programme Coordinator

Suzanne is part of the team leading Ashden's schools' campaign, Let's Go Zero 2030, a campaign that supports UK schools working together to be zero carbon by 2030. She helps to build the movement of change by engaging with local authorities and organisations. She also speaks with schools directly, collecting inspirational stories that have made strides on their path to zero carbon.

Suzanne has a Masters in Climate Change: Environment, Science and Policy from Kings College University. She has previously worked for an environmental charity with a focus on community engagement, environmental education, and green space consultation.

Woman in blue shirt sitting and smiling

 

Woman in blue shirt sitting and smiling

Alison Lasenby - Programme Officer

Alison is part of the Let’s Go Zero team, helping schools on their journey to zero carbon. She works on the OVO Foundation Nature Prize, which awards schools for creative nature projects that inspire climate action and bring students closer to nature.

After teaching for nearly a decade, Alison is excited to focus on helping schools lower their environmental impact and become more sustainable. She is currently in the last year of a master’s degree in Sustainability and Behaviour Change at the Centre for Alternative Technology.

Woman smiling and holding a white mug

Lucy Archer - Climate Action Advisor Project Manager 

Lucy is the Project Manager for the Climate Action Advisors programme within Let’s Go Zero, supporting schools on their journey to zero carbon. She manages a team of Climate Action Advisors who support school leaders, local authorities and others to carry out projects that reduce emissions, inspire young people and spark change in the wider community.

Lucy has worked in and with schools for the past 10 years, as a teacher, environmental educator, and youth development manager, encouraging young people to care about the environment and take action to address the climate crisis. She is a trained geography teacher and has a Masters in International Development.

Man in a white shirt sitting on a seat and smiling

 

Man in a white shirt sitting on a seat and smiling

Alex Seal - Climate Action Specialist

Alex is part of the team involved with Ashden's schools' campaign, Let's Go Zero 2030, a campaign that supports UK schools working together to be zero carbon by 2030. He helps to provide the most appropriate and effective guidance to our team of Climate Action Advisors by engaging with best practice and sharing examples of successful decarbonisation schemes more widely to inspire progress. He also speaks with wider partners directly, ensuring that the most up to date routes to zero carbon are shared widely and are accessible for all.

Alex has worked within schools for the past 15 years, both abroad and in the UK.  He has been a teacher, environmental lead and senior leader, inspiring the next generation to take climate action and prioritise environmental stewardship in their futures.  He is a trained geography teacher and has a bachelor’s degree in Geography with Chinese Studies.

Man with glasses wearing a stripey jumper sitting and smiling

 

Man with glasses wearing a stripey jumper sitting and smiling

Max Evans - Grant Coordinator

Max is a member of the Let's Go Zero team, supporting schools to reach zero carbon by 2030. He coordinates the Zero Carbon Fund which funds established programmes and projects who are helping schools in the UK to decarbonise.

Woman smiling at camera

Tara Choudhury - Project Assistant

Tara supports our Climate Action Advisors programme, helping schools across England on their journey to zero carbon. She works closely with our team of Climate Action Advisors, coordinating their work to encourage schools to sign up to the campaign and deliver change for the wider community.

Climate Action Advisors

East and West Midlands

 

Jo Pettifer - Climate Action Advisor

Jo is a Climate Action Advisor for the East and West Midlands working within the Let’s Go Zero campaign supporting schools, nurseries and colleges on their journey to zero carbon. Her work includes supporting school leaders, local authorities and others to carry out projects that reduce emissions, inspire young people and spark change in the wider community.

Before joining Ashden, Jo spent 15 years working in schools, in roles ranging from TA, Teacher, Assistant Head and Trust-wide Sustainability Project Coordinator.

 

Cindi Blunt - Climate Action Advisor

 

 

Jelly Moring- Climate Action Advisor

Jelly is a Climate Action Advisor for the Midlands region working within Let's Go Zero, a campaign that supports UK schools working together to be zero carbon by 2030. She works with school leaders, local authorities and others to carry out projects that reduce emissions, inspire young people and spark change in the wider community.

 

Jelly has worked in the third sector for over a decade in housing research, programme management and sustainability management roles. She is also a member of the Council at a parent climate movement supporting parents to take climate action and build resilience within their communities.

Sarah Mills - Climate Action Advisor

Sarah is part of Let’s Go Zero’s team of Climate Action Advisors for the East and West Midlands, helping schools become zero carbon by 2030.  She provides guidance and support to school communities, connecting them with the information and resources they need to succeed in lowering their carbon footprint.  

Prior to joining Ashden, Sarah spent 12 years teaching in schools in the UK and US and has extensive experience coordinating school sustainability initiatives around energy, waste and active travel.  She led a municipal sustainability group working to find effective ways to decarbonize homes and the community through events such as movie/speaker nights and an annual Green Fair.  She secured major funding for a transformative Education for Sustainability summer training program for teachers and has researched behavioural change in relation to climate during her time as an educational TV producer.   

Rosie Pincott - Climate Action Advisor

Rosie is part of the Let’s Go Zero team working as a Climate Action Advisor in the Midlands. She will be working to advise and support schools to decarbonise and build a better educational environment for the future. 

 

Previously Rosie has been a Science Teacher in the UK and abroad for 5 years and has developed environmental clubs in both these schools. She has developed her understanding of education through her Master's in Education and Leadership from Exeter University.  

Kumari Kher - Climate Action Advisor

Kumari has specialised in mental health for children and as a health visitor for 18 years. Working in the community has given her an understanding of the inequality in schools and the importance of making a difference.

South East and West

Catherine Odell- Climate Action Advisor Team leader

Catherine is the Team leader for South East and South West. She has worked with schools for 20 years, supporting them to explore global issues in ways that can really engage young people and amplify their voices to make positive change happen.

Libby Terraz - Climate Action Advisor

Libby has lived in Southampton for over 20 years. She has loved working with the super enthusiastic ‘Planet Protectors’ at her last school, where she was a primary music teacher. Libby even goes grocery shopping on her bike, and has been known to carry a watermelon back in the basket.

 

Melanie Parr- Climate Action Advisor

Mel has a degree in Wildlife Conservation and enjoys volunteering in the UK and abroad in animal rescue centres, planting trees, carrying out surveys, and tracking animals. She previously worked for a local authority on a range of environmental projects and campaigns.

William Ewens - Climate Action Advisor

Will has worked in education for 19 years, most recently as a headteacher of two schools in Somerset. He has a great understanding of the challenges that school leaders are under and has these in mind when supporting schools. Will uses an electric bike, electric car, solar PV array and battery at home, with an intention to become carbon neutral.

Jen Gale - Climate Action Advisor

Jen’s ‘ecopiphany’ came when she decided her family would buy nothing new for a year back in 2012. This opened her eyes to the issues facing the planet and how our own consumption decisions can make a difference. She created an online platform called ‘Sustainable(ish)’ which is focussed on imperfect eco-action for ordinary.

Paula Malone- Climate Action Advisor 

Paula has been a primary school teacher and worked with Energy Sparks. She’s a trustee of Wicked Weather Watch, a charity focused on inspiring children to take climate action. She’s passionate about empowering children to take positive action.

Jasmine Newhouse - Climate Action Advisor

Jasmine serves as a Climate Action Advisor for the Midlands area, contributing to the Let’s Go Zero campaign. She is dedicated to assisting nurseries, schools and colleges in their pursuit of decarbonisation. Jasmine’s role involves collaborating with school leaders, local authorities and various stakeholders to facilitate projects aimed at emission reduction.

Jasmine is an experienced teacher and has taught in classrooms across the UK and China. Beyond her teaching career, Jasmine has collaborated with a wide range of organisations to craft innovative educational programmes, that encourage climate action amongst young people. She is passionate about learning outside the classroom and connecting children with nature.

Woman smiling at camera

Woman smiling at camera

Chanodi Ratnayake - Climate Action Advisor

Chanodi has a master's in Urban climate and Sustainability, and a background in Architecture. She previously worked with schools raising awareness and inspiring positive change in sustainable transportation.

Woman wearing a black top with white flowers on smiling at camera

Woman wearing a black top with white flowers on smiling at camera

Felicity Brambling-Wells - Climate Action Advisor

Prior to joining the team, Felicity was engaged in more than a decade of work on environmental and social sustainability in Higher Education. She specialised in peer-to-peer engagement and gamification of climate education and action, drawing on her background in behavioural psychology and youth work.

London

Oci Stott - Climate Action Advisor

Oci says this is her dream job because it combines her experience in urban planning and sustainability and her previous role as a secondary school teacher, teaching in London for 13 years.

William Cappuyns- Climate Action Advisor

William has a Masters in Urban and Environmental Management so is skilled in creating sustainable and resilient solutions to different urban and environmental challenges. He taught for a year and has worked in the water and sanitation sector for three years. He’s excited about teaching the future generation to be “climate smart”.

Anna Orridge - Climate Action Advisor

Anna was the Green Co-ordinator at the Harris Federation, an education charity led and run by teachers. She’s on the steering committee of Croydon Climate Action, installing air monitors at schools and planting trees in nature-deprived areas. Her passion is inspiring climate action through story telling.

Holly Campbell- Climate Action Advisor 

Holly has an MSc in Sustainable Urbanism, and worked at the UK Green Building Council as a Sustainability Learning and Leadership Advisor. For that role she developed educational resources, tools, guidance and courses on sustainability for professionals in the built environment and construction industry.

Woman in dark navy top smiling

Woman in dark navy top smiling

Hannah Bowring - Climate Action Advisor

Hannah is the team leader for London and the East of England. She is deeply committed to inspiring everyone to do their part in living sustainably within the limits of our planet's resources.

East of England

Luciana de Almeida - Climate Action Advisor

Luciana worked with primary schools in Essex getting school children to lead on energy saving. She has extensive carbon reduction experience with local authorities and has led a collective purchasing scheme for solar panels.

Jeremy Williams  - Climate Action Advisor

Jeremy has been writing articles and books about climate change and how we respond to it for over a decade.

Man wearing blue shirt smiling at camera

Nige’ Stannett - Climate Action Advisor

Nige’ has a wealth of climate action experience working with schools & communities. This includes delivering energy saving programmes in schools & managing community climate action programmes for local authorities.

North West of England

 

Aisyah Duggie - Climate Action Advisor

Aisyah is the team leader for the North West of England. Her background is in environmental consulting, where she was responsible for managing multi-disciplinary teams to deliver environmental impact assessments.

Aurora Trujillo - Climate Action Advisor

Aurora has a PhD in Environmental Politics. She has been part of a variety of grassroots climate action campaigns, with a specific focus on the promotion of cycling.

Woman wearing a black top smiling at the camera

Woman wearing a black top smiling at the camera

Danielle McArdle - Climate Action Advisor

Danielle’s background includes teaching and leading in inner-city Primary Schools and, more recently, Project Management of retrofit projects for the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero.

Man wearing a light blue shirt smiling at camera

Tom Heaton - Climate Action Advisor

Tom was a chemistry teacher and head of department in secondary schools for ten years. He has a PhD in Civil Engineering materials, having researched alternative binders for masonry with a lower carbon footprint.

North East, Yorkshire and Humber

Man wearing a blue checked shirt smiling at camera

 

Man wearing a blue checked shirt smiling at camera

Rob Cattrall - Climate Action Advisor

Rob is the team leader for North East & Yorkshire and Humber. He has worked as a Geography teacher for 10 years and has been a senior leader in Doncaster and across a Multi-Academy Trust.

Man in a shirt smiling at camera

 

Man in a shirt smiling at camera

Matt Keyse - Climate Action Advisor

Matt has previously worked as an A-level geography and geology teacher. Matt has also been a senior tutor for the field studies council and a Community Scientist for the Open-Air laboratories project.

John Broderick - Climate Action Advisor

 

Richard Berry - Climate Action Advisor

Richard spent 20 years working as an energy efficiency specialist and environmental manager for a worldwide IT and Facilities management corporation.

Woman with blond hair wearing a black suit jacket smiling at the camera

Woman with blond hair wearing a black suit jacket smiling at the camera

Katherine Humpleby - Climate Action Advisor

Katherine was recently a senior leader across a Multi-Academy Trust, including leadership of primary and secondary teacher training. She is an inspector for Church of England schools and a Diocesan school development adviser. Previous roles have included Head of Geography and Geography teaching. She volunteered as a Trustee for three Multi-Academy Trusts.

Organisational Development

Ashden team member, Anita Henderson, smiling and sitting at a table

 

Ashden team member, Anita Henderson, smiling and sitting at a table

Anita Henderson -
Operations & People Manager

Anita has overall responsibility for organisational systems and processes that underpin Ashden’s work, ensuring the team have the tools and resources they need to work effectively.

She is responsible for recruitment, leads on our DEI work and is a Sainsbury Family Charitable Trusts DEI Ambassador.

Will Walker -
Policy Lead

Will is a local and community energy specialist with 15 years' experience in a range of a policy and delivery roles, including central government where he was brought in to lead the development of the UK’s first Community Energy Strategy. 

In his last role he worked on the UK’s largest transfer of solar farms into community ownership, boosting the sector by 20% and forecast to deliver £20 million of community benefit funding. He holds a Masters in Environmental Strategy and is a voluntary director of Brixton Energy Solar Co-operative.  

Dan Ritman - Impact Lead

Dan helps Ashden to ask and answer questions like, What difference are we making in the world? How can we tell? How can we strengthen our approach? He aims to embed curiosity, evidence and learning in our programme delivery and strategic thinking.

He has led impact, knowledge and learning work in several NGOs, with experience in climate action, active travel, global health and organisational development.

He is passionate about tackling the climate emergency.

Will Walker - Policy Lead

Will is a local and community energy specialist with 15 years' experience in a range of a policy and delivery roles, including central government where he was brought in to lead the development of the UK’s first Community Energy Strategy. In his last role he worked on the UK’s largest transfer of solar farms into community ownership, boosting the sector by 20% and forecast to deliver £20 million of community benefit funding. He holds a Master’s in Environmental Strategy and is a voluntary director of Brixton Energy Solar Co-operative. 

Ashden Trustees

Portrait of Sarah Bulter-Sloss

Sarah Butler-Sloss -
Chair of Trustees

Sarah Butler-Sloss has been internationally recognised for her work in the field of green energy over the past 20 years, best known for founding the Ashden Awards for Sustainable Energy in 2001. She led Ashden as Founder Director from 2001 to 2019. Sarah is a regular contributor to UK and global policy debates in the field of sustainable energy and an active member of the UN’s International Sustainable Energy for All practitioner network. Sarah is also the founder and trustee of the Ashden Trust and a trustee of ClientEarth.

Portrait of Emma Colenbrander.

Emma Colenbrander -
Trustee

Emma is Managing Director at Spring Impact, a non-profit that helps organisations to design, test and implement the strategies and partnerships needed to achieve impact at scale. Previously, Emma founded and led the Global Distributors Collective, an alliance of over 200 organisations that work to drive distribution of beneficial products to low-income households. She is a co-founder and former Executive Director of Pollinate Group, a multi-award winning last mile distribution enterprise in India and Nepal; an experienced trainer in social entrepreneurship and innovation; and has worked with the Australian Agency for International Development (AusAID) focusing on development finance and innovation. Emma is also a Trustee at the Postcode Innovation Trust.

Agamemnon Otero -
Trustee

Agamemnon is Founding Director of Energy Garden, Brixton Energy, Repowering, and Community Energy England and has a wealth of experience in community energy policy, finance, project development, management, and operations.

He helped launch UK industry advocacy body Community Energy England, and draft the Europe’s first national community energy strategy. He project managed energy coops Brixton Energy 1, 2, & 3,  Banister House Solar and Vauxhall Energy.

He is currently CEO of London’s largest community-owned solar project, Energy Garden. Previously, he was Director for Renewable Energy Project Finance and Social Responsibility at a financial institution and CFO for a renewable energy trading company. 

In 2014, he was made a London Leader; in 2016, he was awarded an MBE for services to community energy in the UK; and in 2017, he was named one of the 51 Most Impactful Green Leaders globally by CSR Congress.

He is frequently asked to speak about sustainable, low-carbon economies and has a master’s degree in Architecture: Advanced Environment & Energy and a Baccalaureate in Pre-Medicine, Literature and Fine Arts. His story is featured in the documentary “We the Power”, which had over 1 million views in its first month.

Andrew Reicher -
Treasurer

Andrew’s 43-year career has been in finance, private equity and development finance and investment. He joined CDC in 1999 and was Head of Infrastructure there and later at Actis, where the bulk of investments were in the electricity sector in Africa, Asia and Latin America. He advised the founders, invested and joined the investment committee of Berkeley Energy, a leading developer and operator of renewable energy plants in Africa and Asia. Since 2010, Andrew’s family have been active business angel investors in energy access in Africa.

Mark Campanale - Trustee

Mark is the Founder of the Carbon Tracker Initiative and conceived the ‘unburnable carbon’ capital markets thesis. He commissioned and was editor of Unburnable Carbon – Are the World’s Financial Markets Carrying a Carbon Bubble? in November 2011.  More recently, Mark co-founded ‘Planet Tracker’ which focuses on agriculture, seafood, forestry, water and textiles.  Mark is responsible for management strategy, board matters and developing their capital markets framework analysis. Their goal is to align capital markets with natural ecological limits to growth.

Prior to forming these groups, Mark had twenty five years experience in sustainable financial markets working for major institutional asset management companies.  Mark is a co-founder of some of the first responsible investment funds firstly at Jupiter Asset Management in 1989 with the Ecology Funds, NPI with Global Care, the AMP Capital Sustainable Future Funds, and Henderson Global Investor’s Industries of the Future Funds.

Mark served on the World Business Council for Sustainable Development working group on capital markets leading up to the 1992 Earth Summit; was a Member of the Steering Committee of UNEP Financial Sector Initiative (1999-2003). Mark is a Founder Director of the UK Sustainable and Responsible Investment Forum (UKSIF), 1990-2006, a member of the Advisory Board of the New Venture Philanthropy’s ‘Conservation and Markets Initiatives’; is Hon Treasurer of The Rainforest Foundation UK and on the Development Board of the Ashden Awards. Mark is an advisor to Consilium Capital, to Faith Invest and serves on the Advisory Board of Tribe Impact Capital. Additionally, Mark is Visiting Lecturer at the Master’s Course of the University of Cambridge’s Institute for Sustainability Leadership.

Mark has a BA in Politics & Economic History and an M.Sc in Agricultural Economics.

Woman with short hair and glasses smiling at camera

 

Woman with short hair and glasses smiling at camera

Louise Marix Evans - Trustee

Louise has over 18 years’ experience of tackling climate change with local authorities and city-regions with a strong focus on citizen engagement and delivering action.  As a Director of Quantum Strategy and Technology, she has supported Greater Manchester Combined Authority and various North West local authorities for over 12 years. She maintains her local focus through community renewable energy, local resilience groups and has set up a Repair Café in her village which is a haven of waste reduction and chatting over tea and cake.

During 2020 she was a Senior Advisor to the Climate Change Committee, focusing on local delivery of the sixth carbon budget. She researched and wrote Local Authorities and the Sixth Carbon Budget published alongside the Sixth Carbon Budget in December 2020.

Her early career focused on human rights in the Middle East, at Amnesty International and landmines charity, MAG.

Rebekah Shirley- Trustee

Rebekah is the Director of Research, Data & Innovation at WRI Africa, where she works to create widespread public access to high-quality data and insights for mobilizing sustainable development solutions.

Prior to joining WRI, Rebekah was the Chief of Research at Power for All, a global non-profit organization advancing universal energy access. Over her tenure she built a novel energy research dissemination engine that fills critical knowledge gaps for practitioners and decision-makers on implementing integrated utility energy services, unlocking agricultural value-addition, and creating livelihoods in the African context, receiving multiple awards for this work.

Rebekah earned her PhD and MSc from the Energy and Resources Group at the University of California, Berkeley, where as a University Chancellor’s Fellow she designed innovative tools for power system planning in emerging markets. She has fourteen years of experience leading energy and environmental research across Southeast Asia, Africa, and the Caribbean.

Hailing from the West Indies with roots in Jamaica and Trinidad, Rebekah now lives in Nairobi with her husband and family. Together they enjoy exploring Kenya’s great outdoors.

She is also a Visiting Research Fellow at Strathmore University, where she mentors young students and researchers

Jane Muigai Kamphuis - Trustee

Jane has over 15 years of global experience in the practice and application of international human rights, humanitarian and refugee law with United Nations Refugee Agency (UNHCR) in various countries - Kosovo, Sudan, Ghana, Kenya and Switzerland. While in UNHCR, she designed and implemented multiple empowerment projects for youth, women, and refugee communities in various areas including security, basic education and gender mainstreaming.

She designed and implemented training programmes, key among them including Training of Trainers (TOT) Curriculum for Camp Management for displaced persons. An accomplished researcher, Ms Muigai Kamphuis has conducted studies on various legal, policy, regulatory and skills training topics. In 2020 and in 2019, she authored Gaps in Kenya’s Regulatory Framework on Workplace Based Training and A Synthesis of Inter-Agency Knowledge on Workplace Based Training Applicable to Skills Training for Vulnerable Youth in Kenya, respectively, for United Nations International Labour Organization (ILO). In 2017 she authored Standards and Instruments for Pedagogical Upskilling of Master Craftsmen in Kenya for World Bank and Government of Kenya Youth Employment Opportunities Project (KYEOP).

Previously, she authored and co-authored various publications, including Camp Management Toolkit, a global tool for NGO, UN and Government officials running refugee and displaced persons camps

Hannah Harrison - Trustee

Hannah is a young environmentalist from Bolton interested in environmental philosophy, critical time studies and political ecology. In 2022, she graduated from Fitzwilliam College, Cambridge, with a BA in geography before spending a year teaching about the connections between climate change and theology in primary schools and youth groups in Cambridge.

Previously, she was a member of youth-led NGOs including ClimaTalk and Generation Climate Europe and represented the young people of the United Kingdom in Sharm el-Sheikh, Egypt, at COP27. Hannah will be travelling to SB58 in  Bonn, Germany, with the Future Leaders Network before pursuing a master’s degree in Human Ecology at Lund University, Sweden.  

Kit England - Trustee

Kit is a Senior Climate Adaptation specialist with Paul Watkiss Associates, with over 15 years’ experience in national and local adaptation in the public, private and third sectors. He specialises in work on place-based adaptation planning, finance and climate justice.  He established the groundbreaking Climate Ready Clyde, Scotland’s largest place-based partnership on adaptation, which produced Europe’s first transformational adaptation strategy and action plan and Resource Mobilisation Plan and bankable investment propositions. He also lead the climate finance workstream for Adaptation Scotland. Since joining PWA, he leads a portfolio of climate risk, adaptation planning, finance and economics projects, including place-based Adaptation Investment Planning for 100 European regions in Pathways2Resilience, strategic advice on private sector finance of adaptation, as well as leading work for the UK’s Transition Plan Taskforce to develop new private sector guidance on adaptation and resilience in Transition Plans. Prior to this, Kit spent over 15 years in local and national government working on a wide variety of economic and climate policies, primarily for Newcastle upon Tyne, Glasgow, Core Cities and DEFRA.

He has chaired the UK Core Cities Group on Climate Adaptation, and has advised the CCC, Local and National Governments, the Covenant of Mayors, and the OECD on adaptation programmes.

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Shruti Suresh - Trustee

Shruti is the Co-Director of Campaigns at Global Witness where she is leading critical work to shift the balance of power towards people and communities impacted by the climate crisis, advocating for the rights of communities and civil society in advancing climate justice and campaigning for business and government accountability.⁠

 

Kate Hughes - Trustee

Kate is CEO of the Resilient Water Accelerator, an initiative aimed at mobilising public and private finance to improve water security for those on the frontline of climate change. Previously, Kate worked for the UK Government for over 20 years on climate change and sustainability, leading teams working on clean energy transitions, green finance and nature based solutions.

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